May 18, 2016

Flying Dog Brewhouse Rarities Berliner Weisse

I don’t run across too many examples of Berliner Weisse in my beery travels and purchases. In fact, I think this is only the third that I’ve reviewed for this site — all of which are American made. With their Brewhouse Rarities, Flying Dog hasn’t really been one to shy away from rare genres or experimentation. And that’s exactly what we’ve got here with this lactobacillus driven beer.

A solid wave of lemony tartness dominates this brew right from the first sip — providing a strong citrus character and an almost mouth-puckering bite. Much like diving into any type of sour or tart beer the first time, that initial sip of Berliner Weisse takes a moment to adjust the tastebuds accordingly. Once you get past that opening salvo of tartness, hints of wheat, honey and lightly toasted bread help even everything out before resolving in the lightly drying and refreshing finish.

The Brewhouse Rarities line of beers allows this Maryland brewery to experiment and have fun, or in this case to tackle a traditional German brew. It’s not a beer for everyone, especially those expecting something more benign or hefe-like, but for those of you that like a good bit of sour tartness to awaken the spirit, this is a great beer for you. Add in the fact that it’s a mild 4.2% ABV and you’ve got a great Spring/Summer treat for any hot afternoon fun.

This is a review of a promotional sample.