Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse - Professor Fritz Briem

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

JeffV

Virginia

4.6/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a great gold color with some cloudy yeast floating around. It is clearer at the bottom than on top.

Smells great. A little soury. Kind of sweet.

This is amazing. Elegant and Refreshing. I wish I could have this by the keg for the summer time.

Very nice mouthfeel. Enough said.

The tartness might be a little much for a long session but this is a terrific beer and I'd like another.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2009 03:24:45 | More by JeffV

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

elinash

New York

4.5/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This is an absolute perfect example of a berliner weisse. I can't imagine drinking it with syrup, though. It pours with little head, and it's a pale yellow with cloudy yeast. The aroma is slight lemon and light flowers with yeast. Mouthfeel is spritzy, the tartness of the taste changing the mouthfeel. Refreshing, light, and extremely quaffable. I'm glad the world's oldest brewery hasn't sold out.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2007 00:51:57 | More by elinash

Petrislav

Georgia

4.3/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into pint glass

A: Vigorous bright white champagne bubble head, pale gold and hazy with sediment

S: Sweet, acidic like a sparkling wine, dry, fruity, many different smells and aromas, complex

T: Not as fruity or dry as champagne, has notes of grape/white fruit, tart

M: Tart, sweet and bubbly

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2010 21:18:57 | More by Petrislav

scoots511

California

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a fizzy white head, bigger bubbles that disappear at a higher rate. Looks nice and clear, turned cloudy towards the end of the bottle when the yeast was stirred up a bit.

S: Lemon, sour some malt

T: Lemon, slight sour, slight acidic taste. I could still taste some of the tartness when I licked my lips.

M: Nice fizzynness reminiscent of a lower carbonated deus, etc

O: Light and lightly tart, refreshing concoction, it actually reminds me of my wifes prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) a bit. This was my first berliner weiss, it seemed nice I've rated it 4's across the board.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2011 02:02:27 | More by scoots511

Living816

3.73/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A tasty beer, but one that seemed a bit absent. It had clear undertones of a hefeweizen beer, excepting some citrus and bright flavors independent of the sour, with obvious wheat and spice just to remind you of its origins from zee Germans.

As for the sourness, it just didn't come through. Present yes. But not in force. For something claiming to be this historical recipe by zee great doktor, lekturer and bier maker fritz briem, I thought it was a little flaccid.

Clearly above average in category and way above average in beers overall. But a lackluster turnout. It's a hefeweizen that has gone sour. Too much wheat character.

I'd give it an 83/100.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 03:21:19 | More by Living816

kiya

California

4.43/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A great label design on this one...
Pours a golden yellow with a light head that disappears within a minute. The initial scent is that of a overripe pear with a strong barnyard and wet hay scent that seems quite strong for a Berliner Weisse.
The flavors are intense even when straight out of a fridge. There's crisp apples, hard cider, and a lot of lemon flavor. The lemon accent is extremely strong and goes very well with the more dark grassy scents coming off the top of this beer. Throughout the glass the beer continues to be heavily carbonated, giving it a very light feel. The balance is perfect on all levels, its crisp and clean yet has strong notes of a deeper beer on the nose.
One of the best BW styles i've had.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 02:44:53 | More by kiya

Reiksguard

Rhode Island

3.95/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Rated from a bottle conditioned 500ml poured into a pint glass (didn't have the appropriate glassware).

Poured a hazy light gold with a very deep head that dissipated rather quickly. The nose of the beer was mild at best - perhaps some buttery notes. The taste and mouthfeel were very good. I would classify it as a mildly sour beer with a good pale ale base. Minimal hop flavor.

Overall, a very good beer - something I would drink more than one of in a night.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2009 00:57:26 | More by Reiksguard

ausonius

New York

4.8/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

500 ml bottle into a Riedel Vinum Bordeaux

My bottle - like all the other ones I've seen say Dr., not Professer, but whatever.

Murky yellow, straw, orange.
Big foamy Wheat Beer head. Settles in a few minutes. Not too much lacing with this foamy head.

Nose: Sweaty lactic sour with earthy key lime & some funk in the background. Violet, licorice, fresh semolina bread, & a hint of raw tangy, pungent honey.
Some complex yeasty Belgian-like creamy sweetness.
Miraculous & unique.

Palate: Big, full, round & grainy. Pungent/spicy ginger & beautiful grainy wheat. Hints at limestone minerality allied to blood orange/lime & wheat character. Vinous, & even Champagne-like, in an earthy, lactic way.
Pretty friggin' complex on the palate as well.

96 Points

One of the great, unique beers of the world.

Not sure if I can ever live without this one.

CHEERS!

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2010 23:19:43 | More by ausonius

gleemonger

California

4.6/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Very pale yellow and fizzy - looks very much like a cheapo adjunct. Frothy white head that falls quickly and leaves no lacing, but leaves a small head throughout.

Sour lemon and apples, some earthiness, yeasty banana. Very refreshing smelling.

Very interesting flavors here. Similar to the nose, I'm picking up the sour lemony apple flavors with a bit of an earthy, barnyard hop taste. Also getting a backbone of a weizen taste of banana and clove yeastiness. Super tasty and refreshing, very unique.

Crisp, highly carbonated but not too frothy (like an adjunct), thin.

This is my first of the style, so I don't have anything to compare it to, but got it because I've been wanting to try one and because of the good reviews. Definitely not disappointed, and would love to seek more of these out (and I've seen some random ones popping up at domestic breweries). I just really appreciate all the flavors that come through in this, despite the sour twang, which sometimes tends to overpower for me.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2012 01:56:07 | More by gleemonger

gabemasiulis

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A) This Berliner-Weisse is litght in color, quite murky, but still translucent, it had a decent size fine fizzy head, almost like a soda.
S) The aroma was sweet with a hint of a tart fruity taste, maybe kind of cherry-like.
T) This beer bites in dry, but rapidly swells to a sweet and wet lingering taste. The dark cherry sweetness lilts leaving the tartness at the bottom of the palate to linger.
M) This beer has a fair share of complexity to its feel. It starts dry, lingers wet, as if it were almost sticky, if it wasn't for the fizz dancing on the tongue.
D) The tart-sweetness, combined with the light fizziness strikes me like it would be a very nice summer celebration beer. It is tart, but very slightly, and leaves me wanting another.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2008 19:25:31 | More by gabemasiulis

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

stimy

Maryland

3.8/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I drank this at an "Art of Refermentation" beer tasting hosted by Garrett Oliver at the National Geographic.

These are my tasting notes:

This beer had a Lambic type aroma. The finish on the beer was tart. The mouthfeel was champagne like.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2008 17:38:29 | More by stimy

SourBatchKid

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Share with a few friends and some hot soft butter pretzels.

A- Sunshine yellow with a cloudy hue, about a finger (mine) of head that quickly evaporates to only the memory of foam. Be-careful, if you blink you might miss it.

S- It smells like I just walked into a french bakers kitchen, creamy butter, yeast, and the slightest of bit of buttermilk. I love how this smells, its like someone just baked up some butter milk biscuits.

T- Refreshing and slightly tangy, green love from the funky farmy horse barn-age. I am diggen this one and am really glad I got two.

M- Spicy carbonation that cuts my tongue as it aerates in my mouth. All most to the point of (good) pain, it slowly subsides. Its like S&M in my mouth, it like it.

D- This is a summer time patio pounder, I could drink this refreshing brew siting out side looking at the ocean. I cant thing of any thing I would rather have on a hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2010 16:28:04 | More by SourBatchKid

t8s8l8

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Look- A hazy golden yellow appearance. Nice smooth fluffy head that falls quickly and leaves a band of foam around the glass.

Aroma- slight acidic aroma, also present are fruits, pears and golden delicious apples, slight spiciness not necessarily clove like though, Brett seems to be current as well.

Taste- Real smooth it has that fruit bite from the acidic aroma that follows through in the taste especially in the middle. the mouthfeel is extremely light, not as dry as I was expecting, some what wheaty which i think is common. a champagne bubbly smoothness as well. the acidic character really plays nicely my mouth is still watering as I write this review.
Overall Experience- This was my first Berliner Weisse and i really enjoyed it. the aroma and taste was similar to a nice sour but the wheat character gave it a very summery kick. a mix of summer wheat with a sour would love to try some others of this style.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 21:56:47 | More by t8s8l8

MichaelGreene

California

4.28/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into my Erdinger Weissbrau glass. Small champagne like bubbles OUT OF CONTROL. So crazy fizzy, could not control the head as I was pouring it. Died down VERY quickly though, no lasting head, no lacing. However, I think that do to the champagne like quality of the beer, that is what I would expect. Not really a negative for this beer.

Smells very citrus like and light.

Taste is acidic, citrus like and mild. No aftertaste, but a lasting dry acid bite, very white wine/champagne like, more like a wine then a beer. Its weird but I could almost be fooled into thinking this came from the vine.

Mouthfeel, Exceptional, like champagne...exactly, close your eyes its champagne.

Drinkability is really good because, for this type of beer, its the best. I could actually sit and drink this regularly, where as others of this style are more just for trying.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2009 06:32:27 | More by MichaelGreene

CJStout

Missouri

4.55/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Upon asking clerk for a style that is somewhat out of the ordinary with a distinct flavor this beer was recommended. In short - great call.

Smell: Muted, fresh, appropriate for style.
Taste: Like a tart, sour (tastefully) Jolly Rancher German wheat beer.
Mouthfeel: Very carbonated, quenching.
Drinkability: Off the charts - would drink plenty (if I could afford it!!!)

Overall: Fantastic, refreshing beer! It scratches that summertime itch...

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2009 23:15:01 | More by CJStout

StarRaptor

California

4.2/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this at a sour tasting held 7-Mar-2011 at my homebrew club
A: Pale, Golden Yellow, Cloudy, very low carbonation/head (this will be a theme) and small particles floating towards the bottom (I refined this section in from my notes)
S: Lemony?, Sour, Sweaty
T: Lemony, very similar to Hottenroth from the Bruery, Mild Tartiness
M: Low carbonation but it tingles (I think these are opposing statements), Slick?
Q: A bottle of this? Yes. Like drinking a more neutral lemon water and as refreshing

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2011 19:04:11 | More by StarRaptor

cmoody91

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into pint glass.

A: big foamy head that dies off quickly into no lacing or head. very light straw golden color with a bit of cloudiness. Loads and loads of bubbles racing up and breaking the surface of the beer.

S: Lemon, green apple, super fresh and sweet smelling

T: Wheat, loads of fresh sweet tart fruits: apple, meyer lemon, tangerine. Finish is juicy and just a tiny bit dry. Sweet without being cloying. Lovely.

M: Light, finish is punctuated by carbonation.

O: Super great summer beer. Best Berliner i've ever had. Definitely pick up a couple bottles if you see it.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 02:26:45 | More by cmoody91

IrishKevin

Massachusetts

4.16/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a bottle (no experation date) into a weizen glass.

Big huge fluffy head typical of wheat beer.

Aroma was very citrusy with a little musty funkiness.

Had very pleasent citrusy tartness. Didn't hit you in the jaw like a lambic, but had a nice sour taste. Highly carbonated and refreshing. Would be great on a hot day.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2013 20:34:30 | More by IrishKevin

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

electrobunny

Florida

4.3/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Pours clear with a very pale yellow body and a thin white head. A lot of lemon in the nose with some apple and pear that give away the yeast in the bottle. Also some banana in the aroma along with some skunky grass notes. Very refreshing. Lemon, pineapple and apple cider are prominent. Definitely has a tart champagne quality with a some husk/wheat malt coming through at the finish. Hops are subtle but impart a nice grassy quality. Light bodied and well carbonated. Mouthfeel is tart and fizzy with a dry finish. Not a lot to this beer but it's very enjoyable if you're in the mood. The right amount of sourness to play off the malt. A bit Phenolic as it warmed but super easy to drink. Great presentation.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2010 02:29:47 | More by electrobunny

shamsoftabriz

Kentucky

4.4/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This was my first example of the Berliner Weisse style, and I was awfully impressed.

A: Very large head that continued to rise above the glass for a good minute after the pouring stopped. Golden sparkling appearance not unlike Champagne.

S: Bubbles in the nose. Crisp, clean, unsweetened Ginger Ale. Very dry. Again, reminds me of champagne.

T: Slightly sour, exceptionally crisp and dry. Sharp without much of an aftertaste. I could have used a touch more snap from the lacto b. bacteria, but it was quite good.

M: Clean and light

O: One of the most refreshing beers I've had. Think of a sharper, dryer S. Dupont with more fizz. Took me all of 3 minutes to guzzle it. Almost TOO refreshing, if that can actually be considered a fault. ultra-drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2011 02:43:31 | More by shamsoftabriz

BStalf21

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tried this at the map room in Chicago. Nice beer, I would have expected more tartness out of this the lemon comes through huge and ends up being more of a lemon hefeweizen more then anything else, no funk but some sour from the lemon flavor. medium body with a lot of yeast hanging around.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2012 03:23:00 | More by BStalf21