• Most beer authorities trace the origins of
    Berliner Weisse to a beer being produced
    in Hamburg which was copied and brewed
    by 16th century brewer Cord Broihan.
    His beer became very popular, and a
    version was brewed in Berlin in the 1640s.
    Frederick Wilhelm encouraged the spread
    of the beer throughout Prussia, declaring it
    as “best for our climate.” Frederick the
    Great trained to brew it. A popular story is
    that Napolen’s troops dubbed it “The
    Champagne of the North.”
    Low in alcohol and refreshingly tart, it is
    often served with flavored syrup like
    Woodruff or raspberry. This is a wheat ale
    with lactic acid, which gives it it’s bite.
    Hops are not a feature of this style, but
    there should be some esters poking through.
    Enjoy the acidity, white bread and graham
    cracker malt flavors, then opt for doing
    it again with a flavored syrup!
    Lined up, a raspberry BW, an unadulturated
    version, and a woodruff BW look like a
    traffic light.
    The name is a reference to a line from the
    movie, “Top Secret.” An SS officer says,
    “Do you vant me to bring out the Leroy
    Neiman paintings?”

Leroy Neiman Painting

Style Guidelines: Berliner Weisse (also tart cherry and blood orange versions)

Rotation Schedule: not yet established

Food Pairings: aged ham; Havarti; cheesecake with raspberries; smoked salmon dip

Body: medium
Color: hazy light straw

Grain: British lager and American red wheat

Bittering Hops: German Hallertau
Finishing Hops: none

Original Gravity: 1.050
IBUs (estimate): 10
Alcohol By Volume: 4.5%

First Tapped: April 14, 2017, naturally carbonated in the firkin
Subsequently, brewed by Commonhouse Ales as "Scarlet, " a tart cherry version, and released on draft only July 20, 2017 throughout Cental Ohio.