I’ve been wondering for years (since the 90s in fact) when Samuel Adams would release a Berliner Weisse, and lo and behold, that day has finally arrived. To be fair, last year’s Longshot sampler did include two bottles of Samuel Adams Longshot Raspberry Berliner Weiss, and they were tasty indeed. That was a Berliner Weisse mit schuss, however, or with a dash of syrup. Usually, the Germans add the syrup (often raspberry or woodruff) after the fact.
Samuel Adams Berliner Weisse, however is a new release and part of the 2017 American Summer Variety Pack. It’s a straight Berliner Weisse, and you will receive two bottles of it and the other 5 featured beers in the variety pack. The other beers are:
· Samuel Adams Tropic of Yuzu
· Samuel Adams Golden Hour
Berliner Weisse is all the rage these days in beer geek circles, but it’s nothing new. The style dates back centuries in the Berlin area of Germany (Napoleon famously referred to it as Champagne of the north). The style is known for it’s low alcohol content and acidity imparted by a lactobacillic fermentation.
Ingredients from the website:
HOP VARIETIES: Hallertau
Mittelfrueh Noble hops
MALT VARIETIES: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, White Wheat,
Acidulated Malt
Samuel Adams Berliner Weisse has an alcohol content of 4.8% by volume with 15 IBUs. My bottle is notched as best before September 2017. Samuel Adams 12-packs run around as low as $13.29 in my area, though I received my bottle of Berliner Weisse directly from Boston Beer for review purposes. To pay it forward for their generosity, I donated groceries to my local food bank.
Samuel Adams Berliner Weisse pours to a hazy yellow color with a thick fluffy (and short-lived) head and a sour acidic nose. Taking a sip, the beer is crisp and wheaty up front and immediately assaults the palate with a tart, quenching sourness that I want in the style. It’s not a puckering sourness as you’ll get with one of the German examples like Schultheiss or Kindl, but it is appetizing and leaves me with a refreshing more-ish finish. Citrusy lemon notes are here too and add to the crisp refreshment.
Samuel Adams Berliner Weisse is a tart refreshing summer treat. The sourness is refreshing, if not as puckering as I want as mentioned previously, and I would have liked to have seen a lower alcohol content (Kindl runs 2.5%), but in all fairness these are traits I have found with most of the examples of the style from American craft brewers. If I ran across Samuel Adams Berliner Weisse in six-packs or on tap at Taco Mac, it’s a beer I would certainly 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
(D)=Draft