Hottenroth Berliner Weisse - The Bruery

Douglas14

California

5/5  rDev +22.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

The beer has a super light yellow color...must be pure base malt (barley and wheat, maybe?). Great clarity. Little to no head. The aroma is sour and of cereal. The flavor has such a nice sour kick to it. There is also some corn flavor, but not DMS-like...more cereal and grainy. The carbonation seems high but it's nice in this beer...it helps accent the sourness. At ~3% ABV in addition to being great tasting, this beers drinkability is off the charts.

It has such an unreal clean lactic flavor. No acetobacter/vinegar flavors. Pure clean sourness. There is no doubt in my mind that this is easily my favorite session beer of all time, and one if my absolute favorites of all time.

Serving type: on-tap

05-17-2009 20:36:26 | More by Douglas14

CampusCrew

Florida

4.95/5  rDev +21.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

appearance: poured fizzy. golden with no head rentention and no lacing

smell: lemon, tartness

taste: good sour weiss, first real berliner I have had. interesting

mouthfeel: light bodied, high carbonation

drinkability: great summer ale and good for it's purpose

update: starting to love this style and this beer. re rate

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2010 00:30:20 | More by CampusCrew

raverjames

Virginia

4.95/5  rDev +21.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Here is a beer that I think people have a hard time rating without the proper exposure to the style. Having tried about 7 different Berliner Weisse brews from commercial breweries, and many many homebrew attempts, I think this beer is the perfect example of the style. The smell is clean with a touch of wheat/grain, yet you still get that touch of lacto vinegar and citrus. The flavor is well rounded and features citric acid and light grains. It is the perfect level of sour, and the carbonation is spot on. I love this beer and could drink it all day. The only part that isn't perfect is the head, which didn't seem to last long. But who cares about that with a stellar berliner like this.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2010 15:36:19 | More by raverjames

psiweaver

Washington

4.88/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

poured out of a fresh growler into a pint glass.

pours a nice hazy light yellow color thats somewhat clear with almost no head.

amazing sharp smell with a great wheat spicyness to it.

this beer is flat out tasty it is amazing how much flavor is crammed into this beer for such a low ABV, its got a nice sharp citrus sour funk to it and yet still has some spice and smoothness from the wheat.

great mouth feel and drink ability extremely refreshing easy to drink and just a flat out tasty beer. Wish I still lived close enough for growler fills.

Serving type: growler

08-05-2010 18:55:41 | More by psiweaver

botham

Illinois

4.85/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

on tap at the Linkery in San Diego. pours a cloudy straw color with three fingers of tight pillowy white head. great retention and no lacings.

aroma is of funk and wet hay mainly with a subtle sour/sweet note that fades behind the funk. little else.

taste is very crisp and fresh on the palate with less funk and only a touch of sweet yeast on the back end. very well put together and refreshing. the light funk gives way to a subtle sour note on the back of the palate. excellent.

mouthfeel is light bodied, lightly effervescent and so crisp it cleanses the palate. the texture is lightly tart after a bit of warming.

drinkability is excellent. perfectly proportioned with a crisp, refreshing profile. an excellent summer beer with the perfect balance of funk and sourness. cheers!

Serving type: on-tap

08-20-2009 13:44:44 | More by botham

PeprSprYoFace

California

4.85/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Fo a Berliner this is one of the best I have tasted. I hope to duplicate this in a homebrew some time. It is verytasty.

poured into a Weihenstephan weizen glass. Perfect color. Very light but cloudy. Nice head formed but dissapated to a thin film. If it had a better head it would look perfect.

Smells a little more funky than some of the ones from Germany I have had but I love the smell.

Taste is awesome. Not too tart. A slight funk from the Bret. And a nice wheaty flavor. Very tasty.

Mouthfeel is perfect. High carb and predict viscosity.

Drinkability is high. Jm aboutto drink the whole 750 myself. I could drink sever pints at a bar.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2010 03:47:36 | More by PeprSprYoFace

mdvatab

Indiana

4.85/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured from bottle into tall weizen glass

Aroma: Tart lemon zest, accompanied by a pleasantly musty barnyard funk. Hay with light cereal grain in the background.

Appearance: Light pillow of three-fingered bright white foam collapses quickly after first pour, but hangs around more after subsequent ones. Wow! The body is crystal clear, and of an almost iridescent light gold color that's more striking than any other beer I've had.

Flavor: Lemony tartness meets the tongue first. Extremely light with significant refreshing tartness, which works very well with the crisp carbonation. The puckering sour citrus flavor remains through a quick, clean finish.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, champagne-like CO2. Light body. Low alcohol is evident, but not missed in this one.

Overall: I've said from time to time that, although I love craft beer, I still think a light American lager is the most refreshing beer during the summer. Well, I'm eating my words big time with this one. Highly sessionable, and HIGHLY recommended! I just wish it were more readily available...

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2011 17:38:17 | More by mdvatab

JoeProbst

Virginia

4.83/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I am really smitten over this beer.

Funny story: My mom "hates" beer. Up until a few days ago she has not had a bottle of beer she enjoys. I took the label off this guy and brought it home to my folks, and said it was a rare champagne with no label and it had been given to me by a friend as a gift.

I poured her a glass of it and she just dug right in. She absolutely loved and raved about how nice and refreshing it was. Only when I told her it was beer did she realize how much her pre-dispositions had warped her appreciations.

Appearance: Brightly yellow. A foam of bubbles. Looks like an oasis of liquid gold.

Smell - Smells a bright, tart, delicious 'yellow'. You can almost taste how the beer is from the nose alone.

Taste - This Berliner Weisse is really friggin' delicious. It goes down SO easy. Why don't we make table beers like this any more? Acidity is spot on--it's really hard to take your lips off the glass.

Mouthfeel - The highlight of the beer. It is so delightfully thin, drinkable, bright, yeasty. Uhn! The high level of carbonation carries this tarty tingle all over your mouth. It's like winning the lottery. I could drink this beer for ages, especially in this Virginia Heat.

Overall - Exemplary. Refreshing. A delightful burst of refreshment. Only gripe is I wish I had about 30 more bottles of this nectar.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2011 14:46:21 | More by JoeProbst

JohnQVegas

Tennessee

4.8/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours slightly hazy, ultra-pale yellow, almost dishwatery, with a small, fizzy white head that quickly disappears.

Nose is musty, some horse blanket - wet leather really sticks out. Lemony citrus as well.

Taste is a combination of musty, wet leather and some citric sourness & acidity, with hints of barnyard coming through. Zesty, refreshing, delicious.

Mouthfeel is light, softly fizzy. Greatly adds to the drinkability.

Drinkability is through the roof - low abv, very refreshing. on a hot summer's day, there's no end to how much of this I think I could put down.

Overall, an interesting Berliner Weiss that seems to have just a touch more of a gueuze-like quality to it than is common. Loved it.

Serving type: on-tap

02-27-2009 13:30:34 | More by JohnQVegas

MiScusi

California

4.78/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Had 2 pints, served in a tulip glass at Beachwood BBQ.

Pours a very light, clear gold. The smell is predominantly wheat, basically like a wit with no spice. There is some tartness there but it is in really small amounts. The taste is, again, a nice subdued wheatiness with a very faint fruitiness, almost like it was fermented with a kolsch yeast that's giving it a bit of fruity esters. Very good overall. One could drink this all day and night it's so good.

Serving type: on-tap

08-15-2008 05:59:23 | More by MiScusi

Willibomb

South Carolina

4.78/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Love this beer!!

Very unique tart and sour finish, while still maintaining the beer notes that I would expect. This beer has a hazy yellow color with a very thin white head. If you smell it, you can't tell immediately what lies ahead for it has a very grainy and refreshing hop scent.

The drinkability and taste is where this beer really shines. I could drink this beer all day and never feel heavy or due for sugar shock, it ranks right up there with the light beers in refreshingness, and back with the dark beers in satisfaction and depth.

Simply a must try!

Serving type: growler

05-03-2010 22:05:45 | More by Willibomb

Avagadro

New Jersey

4.7/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A: Hottenroth is exceptionally lively, with torrents of tiny bubbles rising from the etching at the bottom of my Stella glass. The body is ever so slightly hazed, and the palest shade of amber one can imagine. Head forms in a frenzy, but quickly fades to nothing.

S: Bouquet is a bit shy, giving only the slightest hint of lemons.

T: Bone dry and exceptionally tart, this brew is both refreshing and delicious. Granny smith apples and lemonade meld together to form an deliciously tart treat.

M: Light, clean, and incredibly effervescent.

D: An outstanding example of one of the most fascinating styles of brew. I highly recommend this to any fan of sour brews, as it is quite delicious.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 04:22:50 | More by Avagadro

hopsbreath

Oregon

4.68/5  rDev +15%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Crystal clear pale yellow on the pour with a quickly dissipating paper white champagne like head. It dissipates to zilch, nothing, zero cap. No lacing is evident whatsoever. All of that fits the style guidlines perfectly. 5/5

Green apples, pinot, putrid wheaties, and tart citrus dominate the nose. This smells great! 4.5/5

Wonderfully sour taste has a hint of bleu cheese and tons of crisp rolled wheat comes across the soft palate on the finish. Its not super complex but it is so wonderfully good at what it does its worth the price of admission. 4.5/5

Thin, brisk, highly carbonated, and refreshing. Primo. 5/5

Do beers get any easier to drink than this? I think not! Another top score it is! 5/5

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2010 01:41:14 | More by hopsbreath

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.6/5  rDev +13%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Here we go again. Much, much thanks to the wonderful BA that sent me this bottle as an extra of all things! Enormous generosity here and much thanks. This one was busted out with dinner on Labor Day. Served chilled and poured into an oversized wine glass, it was consumed on 09/07/2009.



The pour was magnificent. Rich and very bright golden yellow coming through wonderfully here. Huge head of white towers over the top of it and only barely settles down leaving tons of white lacing up and down the sides of the glass and a rich looking amount of carbonation on the insides of the glass. Huge tart aroma here. Sour just dripping off of it, running into a wonderful light wheat and grass like base. Very bright, you could pick up from across the room with ease. Even warming brought out some light bready notes but hints of lemon and tart apples still predominate. So I take a sip and I am floored. I am not really sure what this style is supposed to be, but wow. Light, crisp, clean, with rich carbonation and a smooth, rich feel that is second it none. Light grain and grassy notes, hints of sour and tart fruits are all blending together nearly flawlessly. Long and very dry finish only serves to further nail down the point that this was as solid as it gets. I really could have drank half a dozen of these, they were just that good. It was unreal how smooth and refreshing it was..



Overall, wow, just wow. I was not sure what to make of this offering, but if this is a year round thing, I am really, really impressed. One of the light, most easy to drink things I have run across in a very long time. Go get this one, go get this one now.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2009 22:59:18 | More by mikesgroove

brewcrew76

Wisconsin

4.6/5  rDev +13%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A - Crystal clear pale yellow with a thin white head that settles to a few patches of foam floating on top.

S - Fruity with apple, lemon and pears. Earthy and tart with a sweet breadyness.

T - Fairly tart with lemon, apple and a hint of citrus. Earthy with more green apple and a bit of wheat breadyness.

M - Light and bubbly with lingering tartness.

D - This is damn tasty and would make a great summer quencher and nice lawn mower beer. Would have never guessed it was 3.1%.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2010 22:48:28 | More by brewcrew76

rootbeerman

Virginia

4.6/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: pours clear straw yellow, with a initially two finger head which settled to a thin white layer.
S: a sharp/tart wheat, kristalweizen like banana and bubble gum.
T: tart, but not overly. Wheat and tartness lends to a light lemon flavor. Very crisp and refreshing
M: very crisp, light on the palate with prickly carbonation.
O: between Berliner Weiss and Gose two hard to find styles in, mainly by different brewers yet are my favorites.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2011 07:11:03 | More by rootbeerman

BrotherDylan

California

4.56/5  rDev +12%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Fantastically dry and painfully delicious. It invites sip after sip with a mouth stripping sour dryness. So tart, so delicious. Its better than candy ever could be. Its a sadomasochistic dream of a beer. Drink the 750ml to yourself but its better shared with friends. After all, how much fun is sadomasochism by yourself?

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 05:20:41 | More by BrotherDylan

jsanford

Georgia

4.55/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle poured into a Bruery Tulip. I think this bottle has at least a year of age on it.

A - Pours a clear glowing gold with a thin white head that dissipates quickly, leaving just a slight stream of bubbles. Berliner Weiss is a weird animal.
S - Deliciously crisp aromas of green apples, lemon juice, wheat, earthy Brett, and tangy, funky Lacto. Amazing.
T - Pretty similar to the nose, lots of green apple, lemon juice, wheat and funky barnyard flavors. Not as puckeringly-sour as a fresh bottle, the Brett got a nice little foothold in this. Wonderfully complex, especially for a 3% ABV beer.
M - Light bodied with lively carbonation. Crisp and dry, very reminiscent of a dry white wine.
D - Very tart and refreshing, perfect on a hot day. I threw back a couple of these one day while painting my kitchen, definitely helped make it bearable. This is a really nice example of a fairly uncommon beer style that I love to introduce non-beer drinkers to.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2010 16:51:42 | More by jsanford

drink1121

California

4.55/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

I think I had this beer in my proper cellar for about 10 months or so.

A- lemon-straw yellow with a quickly dissipating white head.

S- lemon citus and wheat. The wheat goes from pure wheat to sort of a bready wheat the longer you smell.

T- sour/tart lemon, wheat. And very very faint hops

M- on watery side but I would expect that from a 3% beer

D- I think I am going to down the entire 750 by myself. This is one fantastic brew and will get it again for sure

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2011 22:44:48 | More by drink1121

Hoptometrist

Oregon

4.55/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Served from the bottle into an oversized wine glass

A- Pours a pale yellow with a one and a half finger head. The head had tiny and medium sized bubbles popping all around the glass. Head dissipated rapidly as expected.

S- Strong aroma of lemon, pepper, white wine, wheat, and a little funky hay.

T- Wow that is sour. I have never had a beer this sour, I am pretty new to sours though. Huge sour lemon notes, big wheat bill, pepper, and white wine characteristics. There is a mild hay taste too, the hay funk is kind of an acquired taste I imagine, but that was the only drawback in the taste for me.

M- Very dry beer, drinks almost like champagne, highly acidic, lots of carbonation

O- This is a very tart and sour beer, mouth puckering sour and delicious. I really enjoyed this and look forward to trying more sours. I can see me getting beer quite a few more times. The dryness, acidity, and some of the taste remind me very much of white wine.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2011 00:57:53 | More by Hoptometrist

womencantsail

California

4.53/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

A: Hazy pale yellow in color with about one finger of foam that dissipates quickly.

S: Tart lemon, grapes, wheat, and maybe some sour apples.

T: Very tart initially, more sour apple flavor here than I would have thought from the nose, the lemon is definitely there. Nice cereal type taste from the wheat to give it a bit more depth.

M: Very light on the tongue, both in terms of carbonation and body.

D: A solid beer, my favorite so far from The Bruery. This is pretty much my go to beer from them. Just about every time I go to the tasting room, I leave with my growler filled with this.

Serving type: growler

07-25-2009 01:27:23 | More by womencantsail

vacax

California

4.5/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Growler from the Bruery. This is the second batch of this beer. The last batch had a nice tartness develop over time, but this one is much more sour to begin. This batch is more "on the mark" for the style and I am interested to see how this one changes over time as well.

A: Very light straw and hazy, a lot of light comes through this one. Head is very lively and luscious then settles down to nothing within a couple minutes.

S: Tart with some limited sour fruitiness.

T: Tart and citric flavors cascade on the center of the tongue and intensify before dissolving. Not quite a fruity flavor, but shares some similar acidic notes. As the tart fades after I swallow, some wheat flavors come through.

M: Light body and a good carbonation goes well with tartness. I love how simple this beer is, yet how beautifully these elements come together.

D: Tart and crisp, it a perfectly sessionable sour. I have drank growlers of this beer and had on tap numerous occasions and cannot get enough of the stuff. I wish the berliner weissbier was a more popular style.

I really enjoy this beer. Fantastic to enjoy almost anytime, or try adding some fruit syrups.

Review updated 10/31/09. Drinking this again, also had some more examples of the style since originally posted. This is the best one I have tasted, bumping up the taste score to reflect this.

Serving type: growler

02-09-2009 03:42:08 | More by vacax

weatherdog

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer was split 3 ways from 75cl bottle

It pours a very cloudy very pale straw, one of the lightest colored beers I've seen. A brilliant white head sits above it.

The smell has a ton of lactic sourness. Tart fruit notes like peaches and white grapes are the other dominating aromas. It is really pleasant and so refreshing and tart.

The taste is much like the smell. A huge wave of mouth puckering tart and sourness is the first thing that hit me. Then a ton of white grape and green apple hits me, reminiscent of a Riesling wine that has gone sour.

The body is very light with such a high carbonation which makes this the ultimate summer refreshment. I don't have a huge familiarity with this style but this one hits all the notes for me.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2010 05:20:23 | More by weatherdog

waltersrj

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2011 vintage from The Bruery.

Pour: Golden, straw colored body with a prickly white carbonation much like a white wine. The bubbles quickly recede and leave themselves along the glass.

Nose: Crisp granny smith apples, straw, slight lemon zest or rhind, wheat, salt, grass and pear.

Taste: Lemon zest, granny smith apples, wheat, salt and straw to begin. Mid palate the taste is more tart lemons and apple and a finish of pear, grass and mineral.

Mouthfeel: Drying like champagne after an initially prickly white wine body. Crisp.

Overall: My first of this style, this is exceptionally like the BA description. A fantastic beer, I'll enjoy this often over this summer. Absolutely fantastic.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2011 06:36:45 | More by waltersrj

Luk13

Quebec (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Bottle. Aroma: Lots of funk, white wine (cat piss), lemon. Weird but nice. Appearance: Milky yellow with small head. It’s far from cute but it is so unusual I kinda like it. Taste: Packed with flavors I can’t believe it. Lots of lemon, brett. This is very dry and very tart. I love it. Palate: Dry, thin Overall: This is the more drinkable and refreshing beer I’ve ever had. This 3% berliner weisse couldn’t have been better executed. If it wasn’t for the price tag and availabilty, that’d be my go to summer beer. Best surprise in a long time.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2011 21:47:19 | More by Luk13