100% Brett Barrel Fermented Lichtenhainer Weisse - Westbrook Brewing Co.

hoodoyoubelongto

South Carolina

4.54/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Bottle from the brewery. Had sampled the non-brett version last St. Patrick's day and really enjoyed it but this one took it to a whole new level. Interesting, slightly bacony taste reminiscent of the non-brett beer yielded way to intense sour flavor. Mouth puckering goodness. Westbrook is doing good things with sours.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 00:59:09 | More by hoodoyoubelongto

BlackBelt5112203

South Carolina

4.16/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 mL bottle poured into a nonic pint glass at fridge-cellar temperature.

L – Pale gold color with a 2-finger fizzy, white head that dissipates in seconds. No lacing. At first, the beer was slightly hazy and had tons of bubbles. Then, I got some yeast into the glass making the beer very cloudy.

S – Lots of aromas going on here with definite sour acidity, faint grapes and raspberries, smoky and almost meaty malt, and a nice, subtle amount of musty Brett.

T – It starts off tart with subtle shades of raspberries and grapes. Tartness builds until mid-taste where smoky malt tinged with salty ham begins to take over. There’s a bit of musty Brett at the very finish.

F – Light-bodied with lots of carbonation, a mouth-coating and tart but crisp mouthfeel, and a dry and slightly musty, earthy finish. Smoky tartness lingers for a bit and is much more pleasant than it sounds.

O – This is a nice and unique Berliner weissbier. I’ve never had the original Lichtenhainer, but from what I can tell from the reviews, most of the elements are still present. The additions of Brett and ageing in wine barrels seem like they may have added some nice mustiness, dryness, and fruitiness. Overall, I think this is a very nice brew and I’m glad I picked this one up.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 05:00:09 | More by BlackBelt5112203

Florida9

Illinois

4.09/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Clear light yellow in color. There is a slight haze. No head, no lacing.

S: Aroma is quite complex, while also being somewhat odd and disjointed. Notes of smoke and char along with band-aid, rubber, and latex. Also very spicy. Interesting. Not sure if I like it, but interesting none-the-less.

T: Again, there is a lot of smoke. The malt character is very light, so the smoke comes off quite strong. Very tart, approaching sour, but I'd still call it tart. Lemon, lemonade, mild spice, some very light wheat and some very noticeable Brett.

M: Light bodied. Tart. Very mild bitterness. Prickly mouthfeel.

O: I came to appreciate and enjoy this beer. It certainly is a different beast with a lot going on at one time on.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 01:59:56 | More by Florida9

UCLABrewN84

California

4.06/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thanks to NoSignsOfPain for sharing this one during the Churchill's weekend festivities.

Bottled 9/19/12.

Pours a murky light orange with a foamy off-white head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is sour and tart with malt, grain, smoke, and fruity aromas. Taste is much the same with a sour smoke flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of acidity on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp and prickly mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer that is interesting and quite tasty.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2013 02:43:29 | More by UCLABrewN84

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.35/5  rDev +13%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served from bottle into a Mikkeller oversized wine glass. Poured a hazy golden yellow with a half finger white head that subsided to a minimal amount quickly. Maintained phenomenal lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, funk, tart, sour, wheat, fruit, smoke, and meat. The flavor was of sweet malt, smoke, sour, tart, wheat, smoked meat, fruit, wood, and funk. It had a light feel on the palate with high carbonation. Overall this was a fairly great brew. I was a huge fan of the original version of this brew, so when I heard a long time back that they were doing it with Brett AND putting it in red wine barrels I made it a mission to get my hands on some of this. It definitely did not let me down. The aroma was very close to the base brew with not a lot of the barrel coming through, but more of the smokiness and tartness. The flavor however opened up with nice barrel notes and smoky tartness that made this one extremely easy to drink. Doubt I could pound a gallon of this one based on past experiences of tart Berliners in the past, but I would definitely give it the old college try. Another nicely done brew by Westbrook that I would suggest any sour fan out there try at least once.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 13:36:33 | More by thagr81us

MasterSki

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Someone shared this at Ryan's place - not sure who, but thanks! Served in a Russian River tulip.

A - White foam quickly settles to a collar and wisps, leaving minimal lacing behind. Murky dehydrated urine-colored body. Not a looker by any means.

S - The smoked notes dominate the aroma, just like in the regular Lichtenhainer. I don't get much brett here, but there's perhaps a bit of dry oak and lactic tang. To be honest it's pretty much all smoked malt.

T - The taste shows a bit more variety, with some medicinal and funky brettanomyces notes amid all the smoke. There's also some fruity and vinous oak flavors well into the periphery. The lactic character of the Berliner gets a bit overwhelmed by everything else, although there's a touch of lemon and wheat.

M - Very dry texture, with mouth-coating smokiness. Moderate carbonation, reasonably hefty medium-light that's a bit chewy, and unsurprisingly no alcohol presence.

D - It's more complex than the original, but the be honest the smoke still dominates the other flavors. These Westbrook beers all have great scores on here, but so far I've been underwhelmed. Would be willing to try this again with a bit of age to see if the wild aspects come out a bit more, but not something I'd actively seek out.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 16:05:10 | More by MasterSki

jsanford

Georgia

4.48/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours cloudy gold with a thin white head that settles to a very slight ring and patchy haze. Huge beechwood smoke aromas, tart lactic acid and yogurt, and a faint wine character. Really nice. Taste is similarly smoky, more beechwood, maybe a little bit of bacon, along with tart yogurt, lemon juice, and wheat. The wine character is muted, but contributes a very nice dimension to the beer. Mouthfeel is light and crisp, with a medium-thin body and good carbonation. Such an excellent beer, so glad to try this barrel-aged rarity!

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2012 23:43:51 | More by jsanford