Hallo! My name is John, and I’m a Berliner Weisse addict. Berliner Weisse and I go way back, you see, back to the early 90s when I was drinking the classic Berliner Kindl Weiss and, the first domestic example of the style I ever ran across, Oldenberg Weiss. Today, Berliner Weiss beers are popping out of the woodwork in America, but most of them leave me cold.

Why? There are two rules I apply to a Berliner Weisse. First, it should be intensely tart and sour, with what I like to call a tarty tart tartness. Second, it should be low in alcohol. German Berliner Weisse (like Kindl) often runs around 2.5% by volume. Many American examples fail at least one of these tests; some fail both.

Denmark's Mikkeller brewery puts out a number of different fruited varieties of Berliner Weisse. The first I ever tried was Mikkeller Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Raspberry. The Germans do not put raspberry in their Berliner Weisse when they brew it, but they do sometimes add a dash of raspberry syrup when they drink it. Today, I'm drinking Mikkeller Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Pineapple, made with a distinctly non-traditional fruit adjunct for the style.

Mikkeller is a “gypsy brewery” and produces their beers at other breweries around the world. Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse is brewed in Belgium at De Proef. I have enjoyed the very excellent Angelique Abbey Style Dubbel from them, as well as Mikeller To From and Mikeller Hop Burn which they also produce under contract.  

Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weiss Pineapple has an alcohol content of 3.7% by volume, which is close enough for me to pass my second rule with a B. It is very pricey, however, at $4.48 for a half liter can. Mine is stamped with a best by date of 11/7/18, or July 11th of 2017 in the European date format. I think it will keep far longer; what's it gonna do, go sour?

Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Pineapple pours to a pale golden color with a light head of foam and a very sour vinegaresque nose barely hinting at the pineapple fruit. Taking a sip, the beer is wonderfully tart and refreshing, puckeringly sour as Berliner Weisse should be. I barely get the pineapple fruit, and that’s with a lot of reflection to find it. As a Berliner Weisse, I like this; as a pineapple Berliner Weisse less so.

Hey, I love Berliner Weisse, and enjoyed this beer as such. But I was told there would be pineapple. I really did not get much of that, and as a result, and at a pricey $4.48 a sixteen-point-nine-ounce can, it’s not a beer I would buy again.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled, Canned

(D)=Draft

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