Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse - Professor Fritz Briem

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

This is a fascinating and amazingly interesting beer. It's not an appealing beer to behold, being a little cloudy and full of floaties. The head is a soda-pop fizz that fades as quickly as it forms. The aroma, however, is complex and intriguing. Sour-smelling, lactic, horse-sweat, funk, grass, and straw. It's not as appealing as a lambic's smell, but it is interesting, and will surely keep your nose engaged. The taste is not really sour..but very well balanced. More funk, and a very appealing crispness. It would be quite refreshing on a hot summer day (too bad I'm drinking it on a cold winter night). Light body, with a relatively low carbonation. Great smoothness and texture...I love the mouthfeel. All in all, this is not a beer that I'd go out of my way to drink, but it's a wonderful experience. Hail the funk!

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2011 02:30:21 | More by Suds

Pecorasc

Oregon

3.43/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Purchased on 2/10/10 from Belmont Party Supply in Dayton, OH, and consumed the same day. 1 pint .9 fl oz bottle poured into a short wide tumbler and split with my lady. Bottle is certainly verbose, boasting traditional mash hopping and no wort boiling, as well as dubbing this part of a "Historic Signature Series." The bottle gives a loud hiss upon opening and smells of lactic acid and honey.

A- Pours a polished pale straw to straw with no head in the center and a large-bubbled, active, white collar (not to be confused with a large, bubbled, active, white collar). This is the clearest of the Berliner Weissbiers that I've had the pleasure of laying eyes on (third of three). Achieving this amount of clarity without boiling must require filtering, no? Can filtering be considered "traditional"? I'm not sure if I should add or subtract points: I guess I won't do either. A handful of beading bubbles aggressively race to the surface. No lacing- I would like to blame that on the acidity, but as discussed below, that may not be the case.

S- Sweeter than expected: oatmeal, wheat, rice, maple syrup and brown sugar (only in sweetness, not in dark sugar character), and a fruity-apple character. A small amount of lactic bacteria influence and equally as little yeast character. Much too mellow in what is arguably this style's two most important categories. Smells eerily similar to the "king of beers" with an added small amount of lactic sourness.

T- The acidity is gone as quickly as it shows itself, and is minimal at best. Very balanced between wheat and pils malt flavors, although finishing on the wheat based, sweet side. A fruity, apple flavor blends in with the small amount of acidity in the beginning and continues on after the sourness subsides. This is an average beer with too little acidity (even for a Berliner Weissbier) to lift this much above average.

M- Medium bodied for 5.0% ABV with a moderate to high amount of sweetness in the finish. Doesn't look very carbonated, but once on the tongue, it really expands with an elevated amount of carbonation. Any amount of "swishing" makes the beer fizz uncontrollably. Good for the style, but doesn't finish dry enough.

D- Overall, this scores well above average for drinkability. But, compared to other beers within its own style, it probably scores just above average (taking into account my limited experience with this style). Not sure this really qualifies as a historic representation. At 5%, aprroaching the higher end for style. Refreshing, but not in the ways I was hoping for.

Nothing leads me to believe I didn't drink this in good condition, but looking at the other reviews I would really like to give this another try since I like the style and this does come from a reputable brewer of wheat based beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2010 04:00:26 | More by Pecorasc

schwaeh

Ohio

3.45/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Picked this up in Zanesville, being forewarned by my buddy that it was probably an older bottle; I hope it worked out in my favor. No bottle dating ugh...

A: Pours a transparent light honey-yellow color, crazy carbonation. This this thing's head blew up into a faygo style fizz mountain, quickly receding into a little bubble cap.

S: This isn't the aroma I would expect from this style, the main thing is a kinda old caramel malt aroma. Some bubblegum, lacto, aged hops, and malt. Along with caramel this really has a honey sweet aroma.

T: As soon as I drink this has a "I start off seeming tart so I'm gonna get super puckering" thing that never really comes to fruition. It has a a good wine tartness I get some apricot, white grape, an apple variety, and spicy wheat. I enjoy the white wine characteristics on the swallow, the wheat kinda washes them out on the finish a bit. There is a fair amount of oxidation to go around.

M: Fizzy in the mouth. Real slick and coating with a not-too-thin body. One of the highlights of the beer for sure.

O: I've loved the other representations of this style I've had before, so I had high hopes for this one. I'm pretty sure this was indeed an older bottle and this stuff doesn't hold up the best. I would feel bad about rating this lower but they can't bother bottle dating these. I'd have to pass next time, too big of a gamble when most of the other Euro brewers can manage to date.

Leaving it in the glass for a little bit seems to let this open up much better. Dry white wine really begins to take over.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2012 23:55:43 | More by schwaeh

Jmamay22

New York

3.48/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is a personal first for this style. From what I've gathered this beer should act as a good representation.

1809 pours a lively and somewhat hazy golden yellow. The active fizziness provides a white head that quickly disappears leaving only the golden beer.

Smells of tart lemon zest and contains a slightly grassy or hay like scent.

Very tart tasting, but not overwhelmingly so or causing me to reach for some syrup. Lemon qualities stand out more so than in the nose. Crisp and clean finish.

Mouthfeel is reminiscent of ginger ale with large active carbonation. Likely to style, but not to my tastes. Highly drinkable, but I wouldn't reach for another. Altogether a fairly straightforward beer that doesn't carry much depth. I don't see the call for syrup as necessary.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2008 19:30:33 | More by Jmamay22

gabeerfanswife

Georgia

3.48/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Split a bottle with gabeerfan. I was anxious to try this as a different style of wheat beer I have not yet had. Its probably better closer to the source. I was a bit underwhelmed for all the hype.

A: No head at all. Looks more like wine or cider coming out of the bottle into the bulb glass. Also not cloudy either.

S: tart and wheaty; in line with the style

T: ehh...I am a big hefe fan and this took some getting used to. This is very fruity but is more like lemons and pears. No banana, no clove, no coriander. Really, it tasted a lot like pear cider to me; just dryer.

M: not much fizz at all.

D: I would like to try other brands in this style and would probably like this beer better closer to its source. Not sure I will be picking it up in the bottle again any time soon.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2008 00:49:39 | More by gabeerfanswife

7ate9

Virginia

3.48/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Cloudy gold color with a big bubble fluff head that dies to nothing and leaves no lace. fine.
Smells a bit farty sadly. Smells like wine that's been left on the lees for too long. Anaerobic decomposition stank. A bit eggy. Some h2s smellies? Or like a half jug of apple cider you forgot you had in the back of your fridge. Not entirely unpleasant but not so nice.
MMM taste is clean tart and refreshing with absolutely no hint at all of the stinksies in the nose. Not complex but so nice to quaff. Lemon and cider with a bit of wet grain on the swallow.
Carb is lively and inviting and it goes down nice a easy.
I wish that nose was a bit cleaner. I understand the process lends itself to that...but not all of 'em I've had have a stank. With my experience so far with this style I've liked the American versions much better than the german versions. This one is alright and nice to quaff.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2011 21:02:19 | More by 7ate9

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

(Served in a weizen glass)

A- This beer pours a hazy golden straw yellow body with a strong carbonation of big bubbles. The head is a big soapy white that fades quickly to a thin ring.

S- The crisp clean smell of wheat has a slight tart note to it but it is very clean.

T- The slight tart note has a hint of lemon and a light fresh wheat followed by a note of club soda. The finish is a light cider note with a hint of mead flavor.

M- This beer has a medium-full mouthfeel with a very dry finish.

D- This beer has a light tangy note but it is very filling. This beer is smooth but there is not much depth of flavor and the tartness is a bit too soft to keep in interesting.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2007 01:21:25 | More by rhoadsrage

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle into a Duvel tulip

A- Pours a cloudy shade of orangeish/yellow with a two finger pure white head that sticks around for awhile

S- nice lemony laced aroma

T- tart and lemony...but I'm also getting hints of booze (in a 5% beer?!) and some sweetness as well

M- actually a little thick...decent body to it, which is a turnoff for the style

O- it's a good beer, but it's not a good berliner weisse.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 18:10:20 | More by bigfnjoe

AshleyMiller

Vermont

3.53/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

thanks to ejeffer11 for this; poured into my stone snifter

a - pours a beyond opaque straw gold and this one's a bubbler! more than a three finger head that died after a few minutes, leaving no lacing whatsoever.

s - spicy german yeast, plenty of herbals in there as well

t - this one started colder than it should have and all i could taste was tart early on. as it warms an apply tart dominates. those with me thought it tasted watered down, which i only half bought into. the german yeast if very present throughout as well.

m - medium bodied with tons of carbonation, which i balanced the tartness nicely. a sipper for me.

o - this was my intro into berliner weissbiers, so i don't have a lot for comparison. but it was good as an after dinner beer to sip on while drinking. i definitely prefer lambiks and russian river sours in comparison, but it was great to try a german sour.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2011 04:18:51 | More by AshleyMiller

midnite2sixman

Michigan

3.55/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I poured this from a 16.9 bottle. It pours a hazy straw color with an immediate head from an aggressive pour which dissipates in a swirl of bubbles that continue to rise from the beer for a long time after the pour

Smells like fresh green apples, not the crap apples you buy in stores that are 2lbs and genetically modified. A real apple. Probably granny smith.

Taste is a bit sour with a sweet finish kind of a like an apple champagne or something like that.

Mouthfeel is light and champagney.

Worth a shot!

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2008 08:14:56 | More by midnite2sixman

IMincedTheKing

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A noisy head recedes quickly from the top of the cloudy pinkish-orange pour.

Yeast and wheat on the nose. It's sort of bread-like, but very strange, with some hints of fruit.

On the palate, it opens tart and lemony leading to a doughy, wheaty finish, some green apple bursting through the middle.

The carbonation stings a bit at first.

Overall, this is pretty decent, but nothing I'd buy again.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2009 22:21:24 | More by IMincedTheKing

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - pours a golden color with great clarity into a hefe half-liter. The bead coming up to meet the 2 inch head is pretty cool looking. I held up on the pour and unwittingly disturbed some of the sediment in the bottle. A bit got in, clouding the view, but it's only a light haze. The head bubbles down but is staying at a cover thanks to active bubbling below.

Aroma - standard grain and a light funkiness.

Taste - a quick flavor of graininess, taken over by a lemony sourness in short order. Being style-prepped by Festina Peche, I was more expectant of the flavor, which helps. The funky element is light and this is a fairly enjoyable beer. The finish is dry, tart, and clean, albeit burp-inducing.

Mouthfeel - high carbonation, crisp body, lighter weight.

Drinkability - mostly tasted for posterity, but after the experience, I would have it in Berlin, no problem.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2008 05:36:37 | More by brewdlyhooked13

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.58/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle.

It pours a light hazy gold with a super foamy bright white head that lasts seemingly forever.

The smell has some brett scent to it, some funk, but mostly fruitiness. Mostly light fruits.

The flavor is similar. Light and zippy, though heavier than other examples I have had.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2011 20:45:43 | More by crossovert

wcintula

New York

3.58/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Quite a new experience for me. Poured into A "Berliner Kindl Weisse" glass, a small head was produced above the clear dark yellow body. The smell is tart like fruity wheat beer. The lactic acid creates an incredible tart almost sour raspberry flavor in the beer. Hops seem to go unnoticed as the bottle indicates the beer was only hoped during the mash from what I understand. The bartender told me that it's typically served with a raspberry syrup, this may help round out tat tartness next time around.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2011 13:13:45 | More by wcintula

JAYAR1

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Poured into my no-name tulip from a bottle purchased at Binny's
Very murky and you can't see through it.
Slight yeast and malt odor.
Very tart and dry, like a sparkling white wine ,maybe Prosecco. Somewhat grapey aftertaste.
Thin mouth feel. Nothing outstanding.
Overall, it's an interesting beer with with a non-traditional flavor. Thought I read it is usually served with a sweet syrup. Will drink again maybe with a little fowl.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2012 21:21:19 | More by JAYAR1

AlexFields

Tennessee

3.59/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours light yellow, similar to a hefeweizen. A bubbly white head forms but disappears as quickly as it came.

Smells of tart lemon and other citrus, wheat and bread (wheat bread?), maybe some spices and yeast.

Taste is pretty much spot on with the nose. Nicely tart and citrusy with some nice wheat flavors, refreshing and tasty.

This is a solid berlinerweiss but it's not mindblowing or a standout. Given the low availability for the style in general, I'm sure I'll be buying this one again.

7.2/10

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2011 18:02:19 | More by AlexFields

TexIndy

Texas

3.6/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Brought back from Indy. Poured from a 500ml bottle into a pint glass. The labels had interesting story about the style and how this is part of their lost style series - interesting. No dating info. It was a hazy pale straw color. Amazing amount of carbonation in it. Almost like champagne. No lacing. It had a massive fizzy white head that quickly settled into a thick foam that was constantly fed by the carb.

After reading the other reviews, I was drooling as I love sour beers but this one disappointed. The aroma was almost wit or saison like with some granny smith apple in there as well. Some sour from the apple but pretty muted. The taste had even less sour to it. Just a small sour bite. Not sure if I got a bad bottle or if I'm just used to really sour beers after going on a Wild Ale kick these days. The flavor was good but seemed to be lacking. A bigger sour bite would make this one outstanding. As is, this bottle is good but not great. Gonna have to find another sometime.

Overall, an interesting beer that has potential if it gets more sour to it. Hopefully, my bottle was off and I can try a new one in the future. I do recommend as it is rare style and it does have a unique taste.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2009 01:40:47 | More by TexIndy

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Extraordinarily clear liquid, at least until I poured the second half of the bottle. Now, there's LOTS of clumped yeast in the beer. Straw colored. Lots of carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass. Good starting head but it completely fizzes out to no bubbles and correspondingly no lace.

Mildly wheaty and quite sour to the nose. Some yeast.

Initial sip is mild but soon grows in lemony tartness. The beer is less carbonated than the appearance would lead one to believe.Crisp and clean, there is virtually no aftertaste except a lingering creaminess that reminds me of skim milk.

This tastes better once the yeast from the base of the bottle is added to the glass.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2011 22:11:23 | More by smcolw

hwwty4

Missouri

3.63/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a 16.9oz bottle into my Unibroue tulip. This beer pours a clear, straw yellow with a nice 2 inch white head. The aroma of this beer is what reminds me of sweet tarts. Definite sour notes, with a little grain, and just a hint of brown sugar. The taste is sour wheat malt. It seems to me to be really 1 dimensional. Just tart with a bit of what reminds me of green veggies. The mouthfeel is light and crisp. While drinkable, I find it just a little to tart for a beer that's not a sour.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2008 02:28:52 | More by hwwty4

hopdog

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

16.9oz bottle. Poured a light and hazy straw color with a huge sized white head. Aromas of cloves, bananas, wheat, and citrus. Tastes of wheat, lemons/citrus, and very light spices. Tart finish. Body on the thinner side. I could see drinking this on a hot and humid day.

Notes from and tasted on 6/12/07.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2008 06:08:22 | More by hopdog

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Large, noisey, white head that burns itself out into nothing. I'm told this is standard for the style. Cloudly, pale lager yellow. Lotsa bubbles.

Tart green apple.

Tastes like water (yet very dry, huh)that has had Lemonheads soaking in it--kind of a one trick pony. Again, not my thing but par for the course I guess. Thin.

I'll take everybody's word that this is a good representation of style and hey, the bottle says Napolean drank it so that's good. Right?

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2009 22:04:45 | More by donkeyrunner

jethrodium

California

3.63/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle. Pours a hazy golden with a huge white head that dissipates pretty quickly and leaves a small amount of lacing on the glass. The head reappears with some swirling of the glass. Aroma is wheat, grass, a light funk, and some lemony zest. Initial taste is a lemony zest, going into some wheat, light grapefruit. Finish is more wheat with some yeasty funk. Light body. Medium-low carbonation. Overall a pretty tasty beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2011 02:24:54 | More by jethrodium

klewis

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Pours a very pale and hazy straw color with a big frothy head. THe head quickly fizzes away. No lace.

S: Musty smelling, but with the familiar Weihenstephaner cloves and banana smell.

T: Tart and acidic. A strong lemon and citrus flavor up front gives way to a bready character in the finish.

M: Light with lots of carbonation. FIzzy.

D: The sourness takes some getting used to, but true to Weihenstephaner fashion, this is a good beer. I'll probably stick to the hefe next time though.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2007 04:46:27 | More by klewis

shbobdb

Indiana

3.65/5  rDev -11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Reviewing beers like this is always tough: does it matter more that it is a good beer or more that it is horrifically not to style?

The beer pours a nice pale straw with an incredibly amount of carbonation. It certainly looks like a Berliner Weiss.

But then the smell hits. Bananas. It seems like they used a weizen yeast for this beer, which is very unusual as Berliner Weisses normally use a very clean fermenting yeast strain. It is really a very one dimensional smell: just bananas.

The taste is an awkward love-child of Weizen and Berliner Weiss flavors. A blast of banana followed by a nice, light lactic tartness. Personally, I think it could have been more tart, but I tend to like my beers very sour. The aftertaste is a lingering "cream" from the protein in the wheat.

The mouthfeel is fantastic, nice and bubbly. Given that this beer is twice the strength of a modern Berliner Weiss, I was expecting the beer to be too full for the style, but it maintains a nice champagne-like mouthfeel: thin and bubbly. I dig it.

The drinkability of the beer is pretty good. I certainly like it and will probably buy it again, but I'm having a hard time getting past the banana. I mean, if they are going to use a weizen yeast, they should at least try to get some clove in there to balance it out. It reminds me of a homebrewed Berliner Weiss I made a while ago, where my girlfriend turned the temperature up in the apartment without telling me. The yeast I used (nottingham -- not quite to style either, I know) kicked off a ton of banana. Just one-dimensional banana. This beer reminds me of that homebrew.

Certainly not bad, but not what I was looking for either.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2008 17:30:00 | More by shbobdb

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle from Winking Lizard. Served with a cup of raspberry syrup which I declined. Pours a somewhat hazy yellow-gold color with a medium thin bone white head that diminishes slowly. Patches of lacing on the glass. Tart fruit, doughy malt and spices in the nose. Light-bodied and clean with a tart citrus and raspberry character. Mild spices and grainy malt flavors as well. The finish is fruity with a lingering tartness afterward. Overall this is pretty interesting.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2008 18:57:58 | More by Dogbrick