Craft Beer Enthusiast Path to Find Great Beer! : The Berliner

The Berliner by Round Guys Brewing Company

Tonight I am trying another Berliner Weiss. To me I think this style of beer screams summer. Seeing as how we are in June and summer is on its way, why not try brews that are going to available. I have tried one beer from the brewing company I am trying from tonight. They are a local brewing company and are thirty minutes away from my door. Round Guys Brewing Company is located in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Rounds Guys Brewing Company was thought about in 2008 and became a reality in 2012. In three short years, they have become well known in the region and expanded their distribution to Central Pennsylvania to the Jersey Shore. I have not made it to the Taproom, but I am hoping to make it there soon. I know that if you are in the area, you are able to find their beers in local bottle shops and grocery stores. I always like finding new brews to try from the local breweries around me. Tonight I am trying, The Berliner, it is a Berliner Weiss Style Ale. The Berliner has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 3.7% and an IBU of 1. Compared to last night's brew this is a little stronger in the ABV and is less bitter than the Manayunk Summer Paradise. I think the more I get involved with this style the more I am able to pull out style wise from these beers.

Glimpse of the can

To quote the can: "A Sour Ale - Try it. Explore it. Enjoy it ..."; "Bur-liner-weiss: n. The ultimate session beer. Brilliant effervescence brings to life the rich lemonade like character. Tart and sour deriving from a by-the-book traditional mash – no boil fermentation. Enjoy straight white from the can. Serves as an excellent base for creativity. Add Raspberry syrup to for a sweet splash of pink. Woodruff syrup for a marshmallowy green. Or simply build your own berliner-mosa. Try it. Explore it. Enjoy it."

Appearance of The Berliner

Appearance wise this beer is confusing me. When I first poured this brew, I almost thought it was a cider because of how clear it was coming out of the can. Then the more I looked at the appearance it looked more like a shandy. Trying to explain the appearance is proving to be more fun than I thought. To me this beer has a white tint to it, almost like a white cranberry juice appearance. Then when you look at it away from the light it looks pale and hazy. In terms of haziness, the carbonation adds to the haziness of this Berliner Weiss. This ale is not as cloudy as most wheat ales, but to me it really reminds me more of a shandy based off it's appearance. The head or foam of the beer was white and quickly dissipated, which is not uncommon with this style. In fact, this style is almost like a poor man's Champagne. You can add syrups and juices to add some sweetness to this style. Aroma is something that I really enjoy when it comes to sours and Berliner Weiss ales. The aroma for this style is something that reminds me of summer. Looking at this aroma, I notice the citrus sour aroma. In terms of which fruit aroma, I cannot pinpoint it right away. You definitely notice the lactic acid sour aroma, which is common for the Berliner Weiss's. To put it normally, when you smell this beer you might think it's bad, if you did not know it was a sour.

Based off of the aroma and the appearance, I am curious to see what The Berliner entails. I took my first sip of this ale and the first thing I notice is the tart taste. Taste is crisp and tart, almost reminds me of Champagne. The more I drank of this ale, the more I began to pick up on the citrus sour taste. It was almost like this brew started out as a fresh squeezed lemonade. There is a spice note that I picked up as well, but it is an underlying taste note. Mouthfeel is light and crisp, the carbonation of The Berliner aides in the mouthfeel. I added a little of a raspberry tea like a syrup to see what it would taste like. It's almost like a beer-mosa. It adds some sweetness and lessens the bite of the sour or tart note in the beer.

Kind of a beer-mosa

Overall, I think this is a good brew. Little more tart than I might like it, but definitely a Berliner Weiss through and through. I also love the name of the brewing company, speaking as a bigger guy myself, I appreciate the name. There is no monkey business with this beer and it is a well rounded brew from Round Guys Brewing Company. This beer actually reminds me of when you make fresh squeezed lemonade and you are trying to get the taste just right, well they got it on the money. I think the fact that you can add syrups or orange juice to make it your way, is ingenious. Because it allows people that are not particularly high on sours to still be able to enjoy them, while still experiencing the Berliner Weiss style.