Hottenroth Berliner Weisse - The Bruery

SiphonKing

Illinois

3/5  rDev -26.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Pours straw in color. Acidic aromas, tartness and puckery are the best descriptors here.
I was recommended this from my local retailer, and I am a fan of sour, acidic/tart beers including this style. It could use a splash of woodruff or raspberry syrup as tradition dictates. Decent beer, it's nice to see someone attempting this style at all in the U.S.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2009 21:19:01 | More by SiphonKing

KeefD

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -26.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours the palest yellow I've ever seen in a beer, with a large white fluffy head that left little lacing. A lot of raw wheat in the aroma, grainy, husky, light sourness. Taste is more sour than the aroma lets on, light funk in there, grassy, lemony, with a lovely wheaty twang and a dry finish. Crisp body, easy to drink. Never becomes too sour. Really not digging the raw wheat aroma when I take a sip, as I it takes away from the good flavor, I try to hold me breath. Wish I had some raspberry syrup to pour in this thing. Not bad, but there's still no Berlinerweiss that can hold a candle to NG's Unplugged version.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2010 00:44:44 | More by KeefD

scoots511

California

3.08/5  rDev -24.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Note: The comments below are from beer tasting notes written in early 2009. I will update this with my next tasting.

Highly carbonated

Slight sour fruit and citric taste

Berliner Weisse production notes: Mashed hops (into grain, hops not boiled) will impede the pedicocci and lactobacillus which imparts flavors to this sour wheat beer (50% wheat). Popular in the 19th century, Napoleon liked it. Germans cut it with syrup, raspberry.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2010 20:11:49 | More by scoots511

cjgator3

Florida

3.1/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750ml bottle

A- Pours a very pale and slightly hazed straw yellow color with a fizzy white head caused by the high amount of carbonation.

S- The aroma is tart, making my mouth water and tingle with every smell from the tartness. There is hints of lemon and yeast.

T- The taste like the aroma suggests is very tart and mouth-puckering for me. Behind the tartness, I can pick up on hints of lemon and some yeast as well.

M- The mouthfeel is light bodied with a high amount of carbonation.

D- Overall, I'm not a huge fan of this style overall. However, I can appreciate that this is a good representation of the style. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2010 04:43:39 | More by cjgator3

zrab11

Indiana

3.15/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A- Pours a golden straw Color with thin head

S-Has a lemon smell to it not much else.

T-Mostly tastes of lemon with a little hint of spice in it

M-Light bodied with good carbonation

D-Didn't really do it for me.. Might just be how this style is. But this mostly tasted like water with lemon juice squeezed into it. Easy to drink but not really much flavor or a very desireable flavor at that. will try others of the same style but prob. wont get this one again

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 19:04:05 | More by zrab11

Oxymoron

Colorado

3.23/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Hottenroth, related to David Lee Roth? Pours a slightly hazy lemony yellow hue with no much on head retention and lacing. Ok for style though.

The nose is subtle overall. Some light grainy and wheaty notes but very limited on the sourness. Some lemon and a light yeast note that is closer on the Belgian style than Berliner Weisse. Some pepper notes and a light DMS character but not over bearing.

The taste is closer but still misses the mark for style. The sourness is present but limited. The malt comes out with more noticeable wheaty and pilsner flavor. Some lemon juice notes that leaves a slight citrus finish in the aftertaste. Some minor funk and barnyard notes but subtle.

The body is light but has some lingering sweetness. Overall Berliner Weisses are tough. Not bad, just missing some more sour/lactic quality.

Serving type: on-tap

10-29-2008 22:03:28 | More by Oxymoron

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Cat piss and cider. And I am quite familiar with the style and its production, and this is not quite right. It's not horrible (well, unless you think all Berliner-style weisse is horrible...), but it should be better, somehow cleaner, and definitely less cidery. Oddly, it's an incredibly easy beer to make. And this is a little known fact, but because of that, it was actually quite common in the U.S. at one point. I digress, you are kind of at the mercy of the 'unknown' in its production, but you do have some control, and you do have taste buds... it's also an easy beer to blend if something goes astray! I've never had another beer from The Bruery so I can't judge it against anything else they've done. Hopefully what I had was just a bad batch. Oh, I should mention though, that it was well-received by the rest of my party.

Serving type: on-tap

10-07-2008 00:58:08 | More by NeroFiddled

jammapamma

North Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

So after having 1809 this just feels a little weak to be honest. I get a lot of one dimensional lactic acid from this, that gets boring quickly. I don't get any of the lemon, citrus or anything like that, I was hoping for so much more from the Bruery.

The carbonation was a little light for the style, which is supposed to be highly carbonated around 4 volumes. This felt more like 2.5, similar to an American pale to me.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2010 03:13:24 | More by jammapamma

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

3.25/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750ml bottle into a tall tulip

A: Very nice looking beer - pours a transparent light golden color with active carbonation throughout. Two fingers of fluffy head forms. Retention is very good.

S: Lemon tartness upfront with a good dose of wheat. A bit of stone fruit as well. Very clean smell.

T: Lemon tartness balanced by a good dose of wheat and a bit of fruity sweetness. I get a bit of and off flavor in the aftertaste - Almost a mustiness, maybe a bit of wet cardboard.

M: A tad thick for the style, with appropriate carbonation.

O: The aroma on this was great, but I had a hard time getting over the off flavor described. It's not bad, but not one of the better Berliner Weisses I've had.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 02:01:49 | More by coreyfmcdonald

kojevergas

California

3.28/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served on-draught into a beer flute at The Bruery's tasting room in Placentia, California. Reviewed from notes.

A: Pours a one finger head of average cream, thickness, and retention. Colour is a cloudy copper-gold. Semitransparent.

Sm: Bretts and off notes (like baby food and carbonation). A moderate strength aroma.

T: Very structurally brief. Sweet peachy syrup is present, with wheat and lactic notes on the finish. Balanced but muted and restrained. Simple and a bit boring. Lightly sour on the finish, which I like.

Mf: Smooth. Wet. Moderately complementary of the flavours.

Dr: Highly drinkable, but boring and of limited quality. I wouldn't have it again, but with work it could be a good example of the style done right.

B-

Serving type: on-tap

01-17-2012 04:38:26 | More by kojevergas

callmescraps

Massachusetts

3.33/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Blue Palms, was intrigued.

Appearance - A couldy light gold. A ton of haze. Very light. Nice rocky head. Almost lemonade looking.

Smell - Ok, so NeroFiddled called it "cat piss". Um, I definitely see where it's coming from. Some tart lemon, but then this musty stinkiness that was very off-putting. Not good and funky, but more like a couch that an alley tom cat had used to mark its' territory.

Taste - Surprisingly better. Very tart. Quite tart. Some citrus and lemon. A hint of funkiness, but that weird mustiness disappeared. Nice and light, but so thin and tart that it's a little tough.

Mouthfeel - On the lighter side, but some nice carbonation.

Drinkability - The tartness and lightness might be great on a hot day, but it's almost so tart that you don't want too much more.

This is a strange style, and I get that. However the smell was simply bad. It reeked. The flavor was much better and pretty nice. I'd like to try some more examples of this style, but I just didn't think it was a great beer, frankly.

Serving type: on-tap

08-01-2009 18:18:20 | More by callmescraps

OneDropSoup

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -17%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a stemmed tulip: Hazy, pale yellow that lights up like stained glass. 2 fingers fluffy white head that drops within a couple minutes. A few streams of bubbles, a few specks of sediment.

Smells of sour lemon, with a big yeast smell that's doughy & an egg/sulfur smell that's kind of a turn-off. I get it, but it's not exactly appetizing.

Mad tart! Lemon sour, wheat tartness with an aftertaste like raw bread dough and soft pretzel. Really subtle sweetness. Thankfully none of the sulfur found in the smell.

Very acidic, a little sharp, with a thickness in the aftertaste -- as in, it makes my saliva more thick & viscous.

Not super complex, kind of relies on 2 notes, but interesting nonetheless. Good but challenging, one's enough for an evening.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2010 10:24:17 | More by OneDropSoup

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.38/5  rDev -17%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

From: Binny's, IL
Date: 2012 summer
Glass: Tulip

This is a very pleasant beer, fairly pale in color, aroma, and flavor, and could be seen as a good, refreshing, summertime beverage. By pleasant, I mean mostly non-offensive, complicated, or expressively bold: if you were seeking out a malt beverage that was vaguely sour and soda-like, then the Bruery's Hottenroth Berlinerweisse would be your target. Slightly disappointing, given the brewery's reputation for sour styles, this is an easy-drinking Berlinerweisse that could be a gateway sour. Otherwise of interest for aficionados of the style, and then probably only once.

Pours a 4cm tall head of clean, white bubbles that are small in size. Retention is less than a minute, the head fizzing away fairly rapidly, leaving a total absence of foam upon the body of the beer or the sides of the glass. As such, lacing is nonexistent and one is left looking solely at the beer's body once the head has burned through itself. The body is a transparent, pale yellow color, with light making the beer almost appear as clear as water. Carbonation is visible, the streams sparse, but somewhat vigorous in floating to the surface.

Aroma is dry, slightly sweet, a touch grainy, and with a modest hint of underlying soured mash tartness and Lactobacillus presence, like a lightly grainy Champagne with a touch of tart yogurt. Not bad, just a bit underwhelming.

Taste is not particularly sour, more of just a light tartness with additional flavors of unripe apple and wheat malt. Front of palate is primarily sweet, slightly grainy, with very light lemon flavor, but almost no tartness. Mid-palate is lightly sweet with the slightly bready wheat base malt being noticeable, also a touch sour, with faint lemon and yogurt-like flavors. Back of palate is slightly more tart, with light lemon and diluted plain yogurt being the most common associations, along with a light sweetness from the wheat malt and some brighter, sour apple-like esters. Aftertaste is of light yogurt-like tartness, sour apple-like esters, and some slightly bready wheat malt.

Beer is light in body, with carbonation levels of high intensity, resulting in a beer that's fizzy at first, then gradually becoming foamy and smooth on the palate; rather soda or Champagne-like. Closes quite dry, with little residual stickiness on the palate.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2013 23:36:37 | More by falloutsnow

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Had this at the Cigar City/ Bruery Takeover! at Redlight Redlight in Orlando.

A-very pale cloudy yellow with a thin white head

S-smells like aged corn, wheat, and some sour green apple. medium strength

T-comes in with a mouth puckering taste of corn and wheat. possibly a hint of green apple. the sourness lasts quite awhile, even in to the after-taste. there's a corn taste that also lasted awhile. its a unique brew but I'm not thinking this is a completely worthy one that i'll be buying again. definitely is a treat for the end of a night.

M-medium to high carbonation with a crisp finish

D-its definitely an easy drinker, but the taste isn't exactly something i want a whole lot of.the corn flavor isn't very desirable to me.

Serving type: on-tap

04-11-2011 20:49:10 | More by AdamBear

brdc

Wisconsin

3.45/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Thanks portia99 for this one.
Large corked bottle poured into a tulip.

Slightly hazy, very very light yellow, noce bubbly white head. Decent retention and lacing.
Aroma is slightly tart and citric, but not a lot beyond that.
Very very light on the palate, with a pleasant but fairly non descript taste. It is tart, and acidic, with fruity notes, but all a bit too light. Perhaps on a very hot day it would taste better. It is certainly not bad, but not really good either. New Glarus makes a significantly better version.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2009 21:11:44 | More by brdc

MbpBugeye

Ohio

3.45/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Very very pale nearly white. Big fluffy white head
Sour smell. Very yeasty and funky. You already know this will be a sour one.
Sour and puckering. Very yeasty and bready.
Very light, dry, tart and easy going
This beer is an easy drinking one at such a low ABV. Sours of this manner really just arent my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2010 08:01:24 | More by MbpBugeye

froghop

Washington

3.48/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

pours a cloudy white with a tint of yellow, a small white head that dissipates quickly, and a little lacing.

smell is of wheat, yeast, and lemon notes.

taste is sour, citrus, and wheat, ends sour and dry.

"mit schuss" raspberry syrup, becomes sweet and sour, and not as dry of a finish.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2010 17:44:04 | More by froghop

dirtylou

Washington

3.5/5  rDev -14%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle, scopped at city-wide in South Bend

low alcohol night-cap, cell-phone notes

appearance: poured into my hopleaf tulip, pale straw-yellow body with a dull beige rim. mostly murky - very light body

smell: grassy, lemon, pale bready aroma

taste: light lemon tartness, yeasty, kind of watery. sharp wheat mixed with muted lemon tartness combine in a watery, bland offering from the bruery

mouthfeel: light, crisp and tart

drinkability: fine

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2009 22:49:52 | More by dirtylou

stercomm

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -14%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bomber.

A - Light straw in color, lots of carbonation, looks like a white wine. Slight white head that recedes quickly.

S - lots of lemon, maybe a bit of grassiness.

T - nice lemons a slight sourness, a bit of slate on the finish.

M - light bodied, lots of carbonation

D - not bad for a summer sipper

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2011 22:46:27 | More by stercomm

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed on 1/1/2010. Bottle. Pours a clear light yellow with a small white head. Aroma of light sweettart candies, slight funk, light fruits. Flavor is initially sweet and tart with a bready, wheaty finish. Pleasant and easy drinking, although not as flavorful as I would have liked.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2010 01:49:25 | More by LilBeerDoctor

philipquarles

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

75cl bottle. Pours cloudy light yellow with a small white head that dies quickly. Little lacing. Smells citric and fruity; I would describe it more tangy than sour. Definite yeasty notes. Tastes quite sweet, actually, with a lot of wheat character and only mild tartnesss. Citrus. Lots of cereal grain. Light, borderline watery body, which is to be expected, but the carbonation is too low and doesn't really suite the beer. Definitely easy to drink, but I've certainly had better berliner weissebiers.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2009 23:13:07 | More by philipquarles

Erzengel

Germany

3.55/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice 0,75l bottle with crowntop. Thanks to kappldav for this beer!
Very pale in the glass, no head, light sour smell.
The beer in the mouth starts slightly sour, much less than expected. It continues with this light sour tone, that has a pineapple-like flavour in it. Quite interesting and unexpected for a Berliner Weiße.
The mainpart of this beer is very smooth, mild, the sourness leaves the mouth and is nearly gone with the finish. A bit disappointing, but it leaves a mild-smooth mouth-feeling in the end.
--> Great, light summer-refreshing beer. A bit lighter and less sour as its German counterparts.
The only thing I complain is the price - my bottle says 13,50$ - (which is ~ 9,20€). In my eyes far too expensive for such a beer. It's a good beer - but here in Europe you won't even sell it for half of it!

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2011 19:11:07 | More by Erzengel

Bmoyer0301

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -12%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance:

As I popped the cap on this champagne bottle I was greeted by a wonderful hiss and a waft of CO2 gas that slid out of the neck of the bottle. I reached back into my glassware cabinet and pulled out another one of my favorites, my Unibroue tulip which has a beautiful slender body with a protruding rim which helps channel all the aromas. I decided to pour this one real gentle because from experience Berliner Weiss's' tend to be quite carbonated and I sure don't want to overflow my glass with foam. Next, I titled the glass and bottle while it filled up quite quickly with a three finger thick head and then dissipated in only a few minutes almost leaving it appear flat. This beer is a beautiful pale yellow gold color with a fair amount of haze which isn't letting a large amount of light pass through. As I hold my glass up to the light and give a generous swirl, I am not seeing any lacing at all which just clarifies that this is a thin beer.

Smell:

Right off the start I am greeted with acidic lemons, green apples, and pineapples. There is a fair amount of funk that almost resembles hay and vinegar with a touch a corn meal and horse feed thrown in. Almost resembles, a really dry white wine or brute champagne with loads on corn flakes and wheat bread.

Taste:

Mouth puckering tartness all around! This is loaded with lemons and vinegar that almost make me wince its that sour. At this point there is no head at all but yet its highly carbonated on my palate. I can understand why people would want to add the recommended raspberry or woodruff syrups to sweeten this up and take the acidity down a notch or two its very intense. This reminds me of a liquid version of sour patch kids candy with baskets of green apples that have been soaking in margarita sour mix. Don't let my descriptors scare you away because this is probably the best beer to the style I ever had and not to mention its very hot here today and it's very refreshing and doesn't sit real heavy in my stomach.

Drinkability:

You better enjoy sour tart things before you tackle this bottle, because its a large one. I will be sharing the rest with my wife who always enjoys when I break out a sour beer. Overall I really enjoyed this beer and even better it was just perfect for this hot day. I will chalk up another win for the Bruery and their beers, they always seem to impress me. Since this is a rarely made st lye of beer i would definitely say you should give it a try if you come across it just for the experience. It was sour, tart, winy, and refreshing and should not be overseen when you go looking for a great summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2010 00:16:25 | More by Bmoyer0301

DoubleJ

California

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

Had this at The Bruery earlier tonight. Well, on to the beer:

Semi-hazy lemon juice yellow in appeaance. The aroma is mild with lemon and other citrus juice flavors, mixed with a tart note. The beer is very light in flavor, almost to the point of being nothing more than water. Similar lemon and orange flavors, some tonic water character brushes against the palate. It has refreshment potential, but the sweet/tart citrus flavors run out of steam towards the end.

I was glad to try it, but this beer ended up being too light for me. (I should also note this was the first beer I had during the night.) Maybe Berliner Weiss' aren't my thing.

UPDATE 6/20: more sour and tart flavors + less tonic water character = better beer. Lemme up the score here.

Serving type: on-tap

10-19-2008 03:34:55 | More by DoubleJ

weeare138

Pennsylvania

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

Thanks to hopdog for supplying this...
Appears actransparent lght gold with a small white head. Lots of carbontion slowly rises.
Smell is of sweet lemon, cracked grain, with some dried maize.
Taste is of the aromas with acidic tartness of lemon juice.
Mouthfeel is stinging of tartness and carbonation with a mouth puckering bite.
Not a whole lot going on with this one. Admittedly, not my favorite style.

Serving type: growler

12-09-2009 00:33:21 | More by weeare138