Hottenroth Berliner Weisse - The Bruery

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

Louisiana

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

drabmuh

Maryland

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

Beer is poured from a beautiful bruery bottle into a wheat beer glass. Beer is nearly clear like water. Half way through I violently dislodge everything on the bottom of the bottle in order to give the beer some color. Ends up being hazy and lightly yellow, still looks like cloudy water. Carbonation is high and aggressive, giant bubbles, head forms but falls away quickly leaving no lacing. Carbonation is steady but can't hold up a head. Weird looking beer.

Beer is lactic in aroma, with a carbon dioxide smell to it. I can smell CO2, can't you. Its one dimensional but about as expected.

Whoa this is sour. And has an aftertaste of wheat. That's unfortunate. The sour flavors are fine but the cereal rears up late in the beer and kind of ruins the good tartness in the corners of my mouth. No sweetness, no real bitterness to it. Drinkability is OK mouthfeel is OK. Overall, I don't really care for it though.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2010 03:44:11 | More by drabmuh

femALEist

California

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

It's a Berliner Weissbier and only 3.10%. It poured a bright yellow. It smelled a bit funky, Brett, not too tart but with a bit of lemon. It tasted like sour lemons, green apples then turns to yeast. It is very light and I learned from some fabulous East Bayers that it is meant to be drunk with sweeten syrups, which I would love to try sometime.

Serving type: on-tap

03-25-2010 20:48:13 | More by femALEist

Pencible

Virginia

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

A: This poured a hazy pale straw color with quickly dissipating white head.
S: It smelled like sour lemon and grassy hops, along with very dry, earthy white grapes like champagne.
T: It tasted like dry white grapes and tart lemon, with sour grassy hops and perhaps some persimmon. No real malt or yeast to balance, resulting in a very puckering tart aftertaste.
M: It was watery with some carbonation.
D: This was a very tart beer, but not in the same way as a wild ale or lambic. It was interesting to try, and I could certainly understand why it's traditionally drunk with fruit syrup added. Recommended only for experimentation purposes, or if you're a huge fan of this unique style (as it seems to be a good representation).

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2010 18:46:04 | More by Pencible

Trilogy31

California

3.6/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Pours a pale clear yellow/silver with a lively head that leaves quickly without a trace, looks like champagne and the carbonation is right on par with that too. The nose is subtle with a slightly sour vinous quality, along with cherry and a touch of earth along with a funky minerality. The taste is spot on champagne, dry, nice acidity, chalky with a slight sourness and almost a french "terrior" of minerals and earth. Very good to drink just not a fan if its considered a beer as it could trick most into being champagne and though i like it, to style its just not there

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2011 04:26:12 | More by Trilogy31

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

claspada

New Jersey

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

Pours out a clear, pale yellow color with a frothy, sudzy, white head that settles out fairly quickly.

Aromas begin and end quite straight-forward with a sour, lemony flesh/zest with a small amount of white wheat malt backbone.

The tastes begin with a faint pilsner maltiness coupled with a little wheat. After the short hint of sweetness, you get some tart fresh lemon juice and wave of lactic sourness.

The mouthfeel is quite light-bodied but that is fine for such a low ABV beer, with medium carbonation. Finish has a pleasing sourness on the light, lemonesque finish.

Overall I am not particularly enthralled with this beer, the sour twang notes are a bit too light and the mouthfeel could use a slight carbonation bump. Flavor profile was not too far from an undersweetened lemonade.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2012 18:37:42 | More by claspada

Jayli

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 mL bottle

A: WOW - this has to be the palest light yellow in a beer that I have ever laid eyes on. One finger of sudsy bright white head sits on top. Head recedes relatively quickly with no real lacing to speak of.

S: Nose has a bit of funk to it, major Belgian yeast, and a ton of lemon.

T: Taste is tart up front. I think at first sip, I may have actually puckered a bit. Taste starts slightly funky, with belgian yeast on the forefront of your tongue. Taste then moves in to a real sharp lemony bite that is somewhat watery and then leads to a nice wheat flavoring to round this out.

M: Light body, medium to high carbonation, thin somewhat watery feel.

D: This is my first example of this style, somewhat thin and tart. I personally would have liked a fuller body to this beer, but certainly one to enjoy a few pints of.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2010 01:01:09 | More by Jayli

dstc

Florida

3.63/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a very pale yellow. big white head falls to about nothing. Thinnest of lace.

Big, sour aroma with hints if lemon.

Sour taste. Lemon flavor, green apple and a bit of funk. Definitely a sour beer.

Thin to medium bodied and carbonated, very low alcohol.

Decently done I guess but not for me. Little too thin and a little too sour. Well done though.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2010 15:03:42 | More by dstc

Immortale25

Florida

3.64/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a snifter. No freshness date.

A- Pours a hazy light straw color with a 1/2 inch head that doesn't retain long before disintegrating to a thin ring around the edge of the glass and a small thin patch of surface foam. Slippery non-resilient lacing.

S- Pleasant aroma of lemon, peach and a hint of vinegar.

T- Light, unobtrusive citrus flavor that has a nice amount of tartness. Extremely easy to drink as it should be for a beer with this low of an ABV. Notes of lemon, grapefruit and granny smith apple.

M- Dry almost to the point of chalky with a moderate pucker. Low carbonation is unexpected and disappointing. The lightest of bodies.

O- Though I wasn't expecting much from a 3.1% Berliner Weisse, I was at least looking forward to a more lively drink. This is just a limp version of the style. Only the second beer from The Bruery that I found to be less than great. The other was White Oak which was on the other end of the spectrum in terms of alcohol and flavor where there was too much of both.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 02:51:24 | More by Immortale25

TheKingsOfHop

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle poured into tulip shaped glasses:

A: Fresh squeezed lemons with decent carbonation. Starts off with a towering white head that vanishes as quickly as it came, leaving little bubbles dancing around the top of the glass.

S: A barnyard funk, followed by a grassy smell, finishing with a splash of lemons and grapefruit.

T: Tingly and sour all over the palate making us salivate for more. Refreshing and citrus y, like a glass of cold water with lemon.

M: Light/medium body with pins and needles all over the inside of the mouth.

D: Great beer to enjoy on any occasion. Extremely low ABV like always for this style, making it a enjoyable session beer.

Cheers,
The Kings Of Hop

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2009 00:57:29 | More by TheKingsOfHop

FtownThrowDown

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a very light gold, yellow in color. There's a dirty, thin head that forms on the pour.
Smell is yeasty, somewhat lemony and just a bit of smoke or burnt malt in the background.
Taste is much more of the same. And the initial flavors thru midway through each sip are very nice. But there's still this burnt, smoky grain flavor in the backend/finish that keeps getting my attention and detracting from the rest of the beer. If it weren't for this, this beer would be very enjoyable. As it is, it's still solid, but just can't focus on the rest of the beer, while I now that flavor is coming in the finish.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2009 18:36:56 | More by FtownThrowDown