Professor Fritz Briem Grodziskie - Professor Fritz Briem

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

3.43/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle into a flute glass

A: Pours clear light golden color with a finger of dense foam. Retention is impressive. Great looking beer.

S: Light bacon-like smokiness with even lighter lemon citrus scent. Some wheat in the background.

T: Tastes just like a mixture of a rauchbier and a berliner weisse. The sourness is very light, though. The smokiness comes out a bit more in the taste than it did in the aroma, but it's still pretty faint.

M: Light bodied with strong carbonation.

O: Not bad, but all the aromas and flavors are pretty weak. However, this is enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2012 03:14:17 | More by coreyfmcdonald

avalon07

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a yellow color and a hazy consistency. There was a half inch of foamy, fairly long-lasting head. Average lacing.

S: Had an aroma of malt, a little fruit and some smokiness.

T: Tasted of a bit of citrus (lemon) up front, with some malt in the finish. The smokiness wasn't nearly as prevalent as with other beers of the style. A very focused, tight flavor.

M: A good amount of carbonation with a creamy, smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: On the whole, this is a solid, drinkable beer. Worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 13:08:56 | More by avalon07

metter98

New York

3.85/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Hazy light yellow in color, the beer has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high white head that gradually died down, consistently leaving a thin layer of bubbles on the surface and a thick ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light to moderately strong aromas of smoke, sourness and wheat in the nose.
T: Smoky flavors stand out in the overall taste, but these are much more subdued compared to a traditional Rauchbier given the light-bodied nature of the wheat malts. Some hints of sourness are also present.
M: It feels light-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is an interesting take on a forgotten style and seems to resemble a hybrid between a Rauchbier (with the smoke) and a Berliner Weissbier (with the sourness). The light-bodied nature and low alcohol content makes this very easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2012 04:06:52 | More by metter98

nickfl

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours with one finger of white foam on top of a slightly hazy, golden body. The head settles rapidly and leaves only light lace.

S - Smoky, phenolic, and spicy with notes of wheat, clove, basil, and anise.

T - Spicy wheat notes up front with a hint of vanilla and some coriander. More spicy character comes out in the middle as clove, lemon, and anise appear. The beer finishes with wheat, bready malt, light smoke, and more lemony coriander character as well as a light, lingering tartness.

M - Medium body, moderately high carbonation, and a slightly dry finish.

D - With historical styles like this it can sometimes be kind of hard to judge, but in this case it is a very drinkable beer by any standard. Reminiscent of a Gose with an even more spicy character and light, but noticeable, smoke character that is at its strongest in the aroma. Like the other Fritz Briem beers, this is a must try for any true beer geek.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 01:56:22 | More by nickfl

emerge077

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

My first Grätzer, this historical style has been on the radar for awhile. First impressions are that its a Berliner Weisse/Rauchbier hybrid. Intentionally sour and smoky, as listed on the label.

Lightly hazed golden orange, not much visible carbonation, but an ample head of foam on top. Copious lacing sticks to the glass, and a floating cluster of bubbles remains on the surface.

Smoky rauchbier aroma at first, pork-derived, sweet smoky bacon, with a light lemony accent behind it. Flavor is similar, smoky woody malts blend oddly enough with lemongrass and a flash of tartness upfront. Lingering aftertaste of sweet smoked malts, and vague floral fruitiness. Even celery maybe. Tartness is gentle and not overly dominating. Aftertaste is really mild and pleasant actually. Carbonation is fairly low, and its medium bodied. Something different to be sure, hope this historical series continues.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2012 03:48:37 | More by emerge077

TMoney2591

Illinois

2.85/5  rDev -25%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served in a Chicago Bears shaker pint glass.

It's been a while since I was excited to try a Polish-style beer... This one pours a lightly hazy goldenrod topped by a finger or so of dirty cream foam. The nose comprises lemon-coated must, light wisps of smoke, and toasted wheat. I can't say this is the most appealing smell in the world, but it's not all bad. The taste starts off with a mildly tart lemon flavor, then goes into a lightly smoky haze, then revisits the sourness with some sour, funky wheat. Again, like the smell, things just don't come across as appealing, with neither the sourness nor the smoke coming through well enough, strong enough, for either to succeed, even when they start to cooperate. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a sticky finish. Overall, an interesting trip into brewing history, but this artifact just doesn't work for me.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 05:45:45 | More by TMoney2591

jsanford

Georgia

3.98/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Churchkey in D.C.

Smoked Sour What beer from Professor Fritz Briem (maker of one of the finest Berliner Weisse around)? I'm there! Pours a clear honey-gold with a soapy white head. Lovely aromas of Beechwood smoke, wheat malt, and lactic acid with a slight herbal character. Taste is similar to the nose, nice balance of smoke, wheat, and lactic acid with just a touch of funk. Reminds me a bit of the Westbrook Smoked Berliner Weisse I had at Brewvival last year, but not as clean. Mouthfeel is fairly light, with a slightly watery feel and lowish carbonation. Overall a very unique beer that I'm hoping gets bottled in the future. Incredibly happy to have tried this!

Serving type: on-tap

12-15-2011 01:43:49 | More by jsanford

pmsawyer

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Max's

Appearance - Hazy light gold with good solid head and decent head retention.

Smell - Sour grain with light smoke light spice.

Taste - Good balance of sourness and grains and hops. Pleasant tartness that does not dominate. Light smoke flavor adds to the taste without overwhelming other flavors.

Texture - Medium body, moderate carbonation with dry finish.

Overall - Thanks to Max's for this rare offering. Refreshing brew and hope the style popularity grows.

Serving type: on-tap

12-11-2011 14:08:42 | More by pmsawyer

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The description of this beer at Max's doesn't sound super attractive, but what the hell... I had to try it.

The beer pours a slightly hazy golden amber color, with pretty good head retention and considerable lacing. On the nose.... um, not getting a whole lot here folks. There's sort of a light, smoked honey flavor, but that's about it. OK. On the palate, I'm now getting the bar menu description (a smoked, sour wheat beer). Sure enough, the beer is slightly sour and there's definitely a wheat beer flavor compoent going on. There is also some light fruit and hoppy bitteress in this beer, which is kind of impressive, given the low abv. The beer is otherwise pretty dry, and to no great surprise, has a pretty light mouthfeel.

Couple of thoughts. IMHO, it takes considerable cajones to make this kind of experimental ale. The beer is surprisingly tasty and flavorful, especially considering the low abv. and weird combination of flavors. Yet much to my surprise, that combination works pretty well, and I found myself enjoying this beer more than I expected. The sour component is pretty restrained, and in a beer with this low abv., I'm guessing that's not easy to do.

All things considered, this is pretty impressive....

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2011 21:14:59 | More by johnmichaelsen

BeardedBoffin

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Grodziskie is a Polish wheat-style brew from the days of yore. This current draught rendition, from Germany, arrived a cloudy golden color with a big sticky white cap of foam. This brew certainly has wheat character, but the smokey skeleton brings it together. The aroma is nutty and interesting. The body is thick with wheat. The flavors are earthy, smokey and yeasty. A slight touch of spice at the end provides balance. An interesting recreation of a bygone beer.

Serving type: on-tap

11-27-2011 01:46:11 | More by BeardedBoffin

oline73

Maryland

3.18/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

I had this on-tap at Max's. Poured into a sample glass.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy golden color with a solid layer of fluffy white foam. Some lacing and decent head retention.

Smell: Mildly sour with a hint of banana and some spice. A bit floral and not very smokey.

Taste: I thought this was really different from anything I've had. Sour, but not overly so. Some smoke and a bit acidic. I'm tasting the wheat and a confusing flavor that is a bit herbal. The finish is bitter. A bit muddled.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with fluffy carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: I had a tough time describing this one. Really different.

Serving type: on-tap

11-22-2011 04:44:16 | More by oline73