Mit Schuss – Berliner Weisse

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Depending on who you believe, the Berliner Weisse was originally a specialty of the town of Hamburg, Germany that was copied and developed by the 16th century brewer Cord Broihan, or alternately brought to Germany by migrating Huguenots who developed the beer from the local red and brown ales as they moved through Flanders into Northern Germany. Whichever story you choose one thing is for darn sure: it really hits to the spot on a hot summer day (and boy there seem to be plenty lately).

The goal of this beer was to be a by-the-numbers sour mashed Berliner Weisse as a model for the presentation I was giving to my club and is one of the simplest grain bills in my recipe database. Don’t feel like a Berliner needs to be anything fancy (a bit of melanoidin malt is fine if you want to replicate a bit of the character from a decoction mash), what you’re looking for is a simple wheat base for lactic tartness and maximum refreshment. The recipe as-is is actually a really nice base for making a fruit beer (if you’re not the syrup type), I’ve had good success adding two pounds of kumquats in secondary to make a Kumquat Berliner that was really well received. Otherwise, feel free to sub out WLP011 European Ale with any clean, dry ale yeast. Some folks also like a bit of Brett character in their Berliners, so you can also pitch some Brett in addition to or in replacement of the Sacc.

Note: this recipe requires a sour mash, but please don’t be intimidated! Sour mashing is fun and easy to be successful at if you follow a few techniques. Really all we’re doing is creating an optimal environment for Lactobacillus and sub-optimal environment for things like Clostridium, Acetobacter, and mold. If you’re not familiar, please refer to my presentation on sour mashing, it should have everything you need to get started!

Mit Schuss

Tasting Notes

Aroma

A bit of light doughiness from the pils/wheat followed by a crisp and clean acidity. If I didn’t know better, I’d think there’s a bit of lemon; it reminds me of the aroma off a sparkling lemonade.

Appearance

A golden/hay color with a fluffy white head that fades quickly (leaving nice nice lacing). When this was first kegged it was really hazy, almost like a witbier. This was due no doubt to the late addition of acid malt I added to mash. After a month or so in the kegerator it cleared up as much once could hope for in a wheat beer.

Flavor

Crisp, tart, bready; everything one is looking for in a Berliner. There is maybe a very light fruitiness from the yeast, but it blends nicely with the acidity to create a delightful lemony character. Hop character is non-existent and there’s no trace of DMS, even given the short boil.

Mouthfeel

Light and spritzy, but it doesn’t feel too thin. No astrigency and a balanced acidity.

Overall Impression

This was my first time attempting to use the hybrid sour mash method, it gave me the clean souring I was looking for, but at the cost of extreme haze; next time around I’d probably try to mash the late acid malt longer or just use food grade lactic acid to lower the pH to what I’m looking for. Otherwise, I’m very happy with how this Berliner turned out, it’s crisp and refreshing with a delightful lemony acidity. The final pH was ~3.5 which was a nice balance of refreshingly tart and drinkable. I’d maybe go a hair more sour, but not too much more.

Check out the rest of my recipes in the index.