Hottenroth Berliner Weisse - The Bruery

ehammond1

California

4.18/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (2011)

The Bruery Provisions
Orange, CA

Clear straw and golden yellow with a quickly forming but quickly dissipating white head. Not much lace left down the glass. Lots of small carbonation bubbles rushing up through the beer long after settling. Near perfect per the style.

Aromas of lemon, apple, pear, and wheat dominate. There's also some hay and grass as well, as well as a mild tartness hiding in the background.

Initial tartness followed by sweet lemon and apple, then some grass and hay, wheat, and a mild sour tartness at the end.

Incredibly easy drinking. Highly carbonated. A wonderful summer all-day sipper.

A wonderful Berliner Weiss I'd love to have in my fridge at all times.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2011 21:48:41 | More by ehammond1

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4.38/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle shared by Sammy, 750ml into some tulips.

Poured a whiteish and hazy straw yellow, good sized white head sits atop. A heavy film of head is retained. Nose has straight lemons, wheat and a bit of funk. Uncomplicated, distinct and to the point. Taste is tart through and through, lemons with some light wheat and breadiness on the back-end. Puckering finish, and a relatively quick mouthfeel. Very light body. Very drinkable, and the best berliner I've come across in some time. Extremely quenching, and one where I would've love to have tried the blueberry and raspberry variations(maybe with some woodruff syrup too if available). Incredibly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2011 17:09:52 | More by liamt07

bashiba

Iowa

3.9/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a very cloudy white, one of the lightest colored beers I have ever seen.

The smell is very light and tart with a light sweetness.

The first drink is very acidic and sour, but this really fades as you drink it becoming very light and wheaty with a light sourness being relegated to the finish.

The mouthfeel is light and acidic with some mild carbonation.

A very light easy drinking beer, the mild sourness adds some nice character to the subtle wheat notes.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2011 16:14:39 | More by bashiba

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

4.22/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy pale golden colour, light white head, subtle lacing. Smell is funky, tart lemons, sour in the nose and pretty yeasty. Taste is sour, tart and lemony, yeast, citrus, lemon juice like points, very nice. High prickly carbonation you can feel all across the tongue, good feel, nice weight. Very nice stuff here, very drinkable, I think we knocked off the bottle in about 3-4 minutes, would welcome again gladly.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2011 19:36:25 | More by peensteen

SFLpunk

Vermont

3.83/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750mL brown glass pry-top bottle thanks to rtepiak. No date that I can find.

Pours clear then cloudy towards the end, which makes sense. Very little head. Nose has some classic lacto-funky head. Hay and freshly cut grass. Peach pits, lemon zest/juice/pulp. Palate is mildly tart, juicy. Mango, lemon pulp, yellow grapefruit, wet hay, wet grass/freshly mowed grass. Snappy short finish.

Notes: Solid, mildly tart and a little funky. Glad I have a second bottle coming from DarthKostritzer so I can see a little more development.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2011 04:10:41 | More by SFLpunk

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Wonderful drinkability if sour or tart is in your repertoire. Cloudy yellow with a big soapy head. Funky, lemony, yeast aroma. Smooth mouthfeel despite tartness, Drying finish. Hits the bullseye.Lots of flavour for very low abv, sessionable. Great by itself or with food.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2011 17:41:20 | More by northyorksammy

ZimZamZoom

West Virginia

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a capped 750 into a couple tulip glasses. Hey this is a very light gold to straw colored beer, nice thick white head thick with big carbonation bubbles. Head fades slowly to a thin layer.

Carbonation fills the nostrils and makes them all tingly as I smell this pretty beer. Aroma is crisp, tart with a nice little tang from wheat malts. Very light and refreshing is the promise. Tart flavor, bordering on what you might call sour but this is just to light and crispy to be called such. Interesting to detect maybe a bit of saltiness. Finishes very crisp and clean, drying out big in the end leaving me thirsting for more.

Light bodied but I think filling from the heavy carbonation. Still, wife and I will have no problem downing this 750.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2011 22:57:49 | More by ZimZamZoom

edrachman

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Delicious summer beer (being drunk in downtown Manhattan in the calm before Hurricane Irene and I'm required to evacuate).

Poured into champagne flutes and the appearance would easily pass for champagne. Pale yellow and very bubbly with nice head after a vigorous pour.

The tartness comes through the smell and background of sweet miscellaneous candy.

Taste is very tart light wheat beer -- as its my first Berliner Weisse, I would imagine its typical of the style, but very tasty although nothing to knock my socks off.

Mouthfeel is like slightly tart champagne. Carbonation comes through strong and very drinkable.

Overall, a better beer than my review likely indicates. I wouldn't want this on a cold winter day, but a fantasticly refreshing summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2011 23:26:02 | More by edrachman

DovaliHops

California

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

Pours a clear, straw, white-wine-like color with a large white head that disappears slowly. Scent is tart lemon with some wheat and grain in the nose. Nice citrus aromas with bright, tart fruit notes. Taste is initially like a very light wheat beer that lacks in all the clove and coriander flavors (which is a good thing) and is replaced by tart lemon and citrus notes. Pleasant yeast flavors make the tart flavors more mellow than they want to be. Finishes with lovely lemon and wheat flavors. Mouthfeel is EXTREMELY light and airy...perfect for this style in beer. Drinkability is EXTREMELY high. Overall, this is an outstanding beer that represents this style to a tee. With such low ABV and such high drinkability, this beer is perfect for session drinking and hot summer days/nights.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2011 06:14:53 | More by DovaliHops

BdubleEdubleRUN

California

3.93/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Ontap this beer pours a light golden straw color with a small white head. It smells of sour candy, hops, lemon and wheat. The taste is much like the nose lemon peal, wheat and a very strong tart sourness. The mouthfeel is a medium light good carbonation and good balance of smoothness with the tartness. this is one of the few berliner Weisse beers I have had and it has convinced me to explore the style deeper.

Serving type: on-tap

08-21-2011 16:19:39 | More by BdubleEdubleRUN

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

4.03/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance - Translucent and very pale. The head falres up briefly and then crackles away, like champage. Delicate carbonation bubbles are visible.

Smell - Nutty and fruity, with a Sauvignon Blanc-like cat pee note, some brett funk, sweet almond, and lemon.

Mouthfeel and Taste - Very light bodied. Crisp and tingly carbonation matches with subtle acidity for a very refreshing flavour. Lemony, minerally and quite dry.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 19:11:15 | More by

dgilks

Australia

3.88/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cloudy golden colour with a miniature white head. Poor head retention.

Earthy with a light chestnut note. A touch tart and almost a little bit fecal.

Deliciously nutty with a moderate acetic and lactic tartness. A little herbal. This is definitely a berlinerweisse and it works nicely.

Light body with high carbonation. Spot on for the style.

A very good example of the style. Very much delicious. Nice.

Serving type: on-tap

08-08-2011 10:40:36 | More by dgilks

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

dragonWhale

New York

4.43/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Well it's been a little while, but here it is in NYC. Had the pleasure of trying this at the Bruery a few months ago, and now here it is, practically in my lap. But really, it's in my mouth. My co-worker turns to me, "Shouldn't we just stop working and drink berliner-weiss all day?" I don't have an answer. Suddenly, I do have a berliner-weiss in my hands. Ahh, an answer revealed. The work is done..Or has it just begun. This feels like a field beer, an operating heavy machinery beer. A fucking hot day and have a giant bottle to yourself beer. While you work. Whatever happened to our heritage?!
Tart with a refreshing lemon zing. The wick of lactic sour lit in my mouth. The head of the beer is so sexy, it pours, sparkles away. You can hear the head dissipate into the air, a mystic wonder. This is an excellent version of it, alcohol content spot on, the true working class beer, in spite of the talent and patience it must take to make. Cheers to the rue in all of you!

Serving type: on-tap

08-01-2011 04:17:11 | More by dragonWhale

marcobrau

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a light yellow and a bit fizzy. Slightly hazy. This had the best aroma of any weisse I've had; with a more fruity aroma as opposed to a lactic (spoiled milk) smell I've noticed in some other Berliners. Tart enough for the style; but certainly not mouth-puckering sour. Very light in body with a dry finish which normally would make a beer very quaffable, but the sour character actually had me sipping this beer. The very low alcohol content made this very refreshing after moving some furniture.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2011 03:11:31 | More by marcobrau

SilentSabre

Georgia

4.4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a lovely, pale, lemonade-esque colour with a snow-white foamy cap. Looks delicious!

Smell is lemon and modest 'dank basement'. Smells very light.

Flavour is certainly gentle, slightly sour, and pleasantly bitter on the finish. Absolutely refreshing.

Very modest in the mouth with a very light feel and gently carbonated. Unusually low abv, relative to other style, make this highly drinkable!

Absolutely spectacular representation of the style. Certainly glad to have had the opportunity to have tried this brewing masterpiece.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2011 20:49:06 | More by SilentSabre

Klym

California

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a stone nonic, shared with Cavery.

A: Pours like hazy white grape juice. A pale yellow, silver that is clear around the edges and more translucent in the middle. Nice microbubble head and some lacing.

S: Raw wheat sticks out, a sort of high-quality lagerish smell. Some grape in the nose too with a little bit of tartness.

T: Wheat comes in and goes into a berry sweet tartness that mixes and mellows out, leaving a sourdough bread aftertaste. Much more flavorful than I expected.

M: Medium carbonation, which I think is good. Much less or much more I think would hurt the drinkability of the beer. Very crisp and refreshing, definitely great summer drinking.

O: I'm not too used or into this vicinity of style but I actually found this enjoyable and quite drinkable. It would actually be interesting to try these with some of the recommended syrups. If lighter german styles are your thing, I have a hard time believing you won't love this.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 19:44:10 | More by Klym

Cavery

California

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml shared with Klym in a lovely afternoon, poured into Stone Nonics.

Sample was had without any added syrups (Haha, maybe next time)

A: Very light peachy pear flesh body with a humble 1/2 finger head. Rapidly bursting bubbles die a violent champagne yeast-like death as they fight for air at the top. The resemblance to fizzy champagne is undeniable.

S: Sweet yellow wheats and mellow hays. A nice subtle sweetness that is indicative of a very refreshing brew. Light notes of subdued baking apples, soft pears, and a little bit of kiwi. Naturally sweet like fruit, but not overly in your face. Quite nice indeed!

T: Fizzy wheatiness attacks you with a sweetness that rapidly rolls into tartness. The tartness takes over and reminds me a lot of unsweetened green apple sauce. A very soft flavored note that I will say is lychee like in intensity. Soft flavors that are rushed passed the palate due to the lightning speed of the tartness. The character of tartness in the flavor really takes this to realms of unsweetened boiled pears.

M: Very fizzy, but not on the same level as champagne. This comes off like a light-bodied champagne with different sized bubbles taking their roles at different times. Up front you get medium sized bubble fizz that rapidly dissipates, but small lively bubbles become apparent as you swallow. This helps make this brew be very refreshing.

O: A nice brew, very refreshing. It comes off a bit mellow on the palate, but maybe that's why the style invites the addition of syrups. I was more than happy to enjoy it plain, and I got a real sense of the subtly lager/champagne fusion. Enjoyment of this brew is highly contextual. For me in a warm climate I can see this being a very enticing alternative to a great many Ales. I'd grab a bottle or two for a non-beer-drinker get together, and enjoy my craft beer without sticking out like a sore thumb. Points for refreshing, points for craft, but I'm not sure how true this is to the style. I'm very curious to try more in style now. Good beer for what it is, but if you aren't in a warm climate, this might come off a bit strange.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 19:24:15 | More by Cavery

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured from a bottle into a Duvel tulip

A- pours a very, very pale yellow with a one finger white head that fades instantaneous, as the style usually does. It's even lighter than yellow fizzy beer, which is a little weird to see....but the carbonation is impressive, with tons of bubbles floating to the top

S- getting a lot of lemon out of this one, but it's a different kind of lemon from a wheat beer...it's more of a tart one as opposed to that "lemon flavoring" you might get. My nasal passages are getting assaulted, and that's a good thing

T- it starts off very mild, and then the finish is very tart. Very crisp, very refreshing

M- it actually has a nice body to it, despite the low ABV. Pretty solid, but it has watery characteristics to it as well. All in all, very good

O- I love a great berliner weisse, and this is one of them. I just wish it were a little more affordable

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2011 00:32:02 | More by bigfnjoe

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

rudzud

Massachusetts

2.73/5  rDev -32.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.5

Picked up a bottle from Julio's a few weeks back. My friends bottle was pretty bad, but this one is slightly better.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip a crystal clear super light yellow with a fizzy one finger head that immediately fades to leave no lacing or anything.

S - Yeah, slightly better than my friends bottle, but this one still has a horrific burnt rubber aroma that overwhelms whatever light funk and citrus/wheat thats there.

T - None of that disgusting rubber on the taste. Starts and runs through all one note sourness that has some nice wheat flavours but ends with strong funk/burlap sack.

M - Hands down the best part of this beer. Higher carbonation on this one results in a nice prickly feeling on the tongue that makes it very drinkable.

O - Yeah, not sure what to make of this. The first time I tried it no one could get past one sip, this is slightly better but not by much. Incredibly disheartening.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2011 23:26:54 | More by rudzud

BeerBuckeye

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a pale yellow/wheat color. The head is more fizzy than puffy, dissipates quickly.

S - A funky sour smell, a bit tart, almost like a really natural lemonade. Some earthy background

T - Quite acidic and tart. Not unpleasant. There's just a bit of funk in here but it doesn't really pack the punch or anything. Provides a lot of tart lemon. Very interesting

M - Light body, very seltzer-y

Overall - Very drinkable and tasty in the summertime. Well brewed beer

Serving type: on-tap

06-29-2011 16:24:58 | More by BeerBuckeye

UCLABrewN84

California

3.6/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a murky white wine color with a 1 inch white head that fades to a film on the top of the beer. No lacing whatsoever. Smells of wheat and sour lactic notes. Taste is of mild wheat with a nice sour puckering quality. A high level of carbonation makes for a crisp and clean mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty tasting good beer but the appearance and smell are not that good. With a low ABV this is a beer you could easily drink all night.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2011 07:47:55 | More by UCLABrewN84

SneezyAchew

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

For whatever reason, this beer has improved enormously with the second glass I just poured for myself.

Served in a Hill Farmstead snifter. First glass was clear, this one pours a bit more murky. Lemondae-like appearance with quickly fading bubbles.
The smell does have a hint of burnt rubber and pepper to it, but also some sweetness in there.
Some tartness lingers on the tongue as it goes down. But I would describe it mostly as zesty, lemony, and almost Sprite-like, except more full, pronounced, tasty. A bit similar to white wine. Not overly carbonated.
Mouthfeel is bubbly and pleasant.
I've had better low abv beers. The Alchemist's Shut the Hell Up! comes to mind. Overall, I could imagine drinking a couple glasses of this outside in the heat, but the price is a turn-off. I feel like I am paying for the bottle, and that the presentation works against this particular Bruery beer. A 4/6-pack would be prefered.

Serving type: on-tap

06-19-2011 06:20:59 | More by SneezyAchew