The Bruery Hottenroth Berliner Weisse (A Sour Beer For Summer) Coming 7/2

School’s out, the sun is shining and in another week, The Bruery will be releasing their warm weather seasonal, Hottenroth Berliner Weisse – a low alcohol, tart German-style wheat beer.

The history of the Berliner Weisse isn’t very clear, but we do know that it spawned from Berlin in the 16th century and reached a peak in the 19th century with over 700 breweries producing the style. Today, very few breweries still create this light, tart and hazy yellow ale, but it has seen a small renaissance within the American craft brewing community.

The Berliner Weisse rarely rises above 3.8% abv and is dominated by a clean lactic sourness, with virtually no hop flavor. But don’t be skeptical, this isn’t your typical light beer – it packs a flavorful punch. Tart and a bit bready, it is one of the most refreshing and satisfying beer styles you can find.

The uniqueness behind the Berliner Weisse doesn’t end with it’s low alcohol and dominant sour character. The traditional serving method in Berlin is to add flavored syrup to the glass when it is poured. Either a green, woodruff syrup or a red, raspberry syrup are added to the beer, giving it a fruity flavor, almost like a soda pop. And if you are extremely traditional, you might even drink it through a straw – though we’ve never tried that one ourselves.

The Bruery’s Hottenroth Berliner Weisse took silver at both the 2011 Great American Beer Festival as well as the 2012 World Beer Cup for the style and it will be hitting shelves at Provisions next week. When we can get it, we also carry traditional German Berliner Weisses such as 1809, just ask one of our staff members to help you find it on the shelf!