Berliner Weisse, Napoleon’s “Champagne Of The North,” is a very refreshing light sour wheat beer. This example is very cloudy and has a huge white head that stays around forever. The aroma is of doughy bread with a bit of lemon, with some hay in the background and a light lactic sourness.
The flavor matches the aroma with raw bread dough and a touch of lemon, with a very pleasant tartness – just short of the "squinchy-face" sourness. The tartness and low alcohol are very enjoyable with a short, clean and crisp finish. This beer is very highly carbonated and has a slight but balanced funk character – mostly like fresh hay.
This is a great starter sour beer – it’s quick with the sourness, but then not heavy in body – very thirst-quenching. Pair this with salty Marcona almonds and some goat cheese or some spicy whitefish.