Sour Struggle

Tasting session 14

Beer 1 Choices: Gose, Witbier, Berliner Weisse, Gueuze

Beer 2 Choices: Irish Stout, American Porter, English Porter, Schwarzbier

Score: 1/2

Beer 1 things to look for:

Gose: coriander/salt

Witbier: not sour

Berliner Weisse: clean lactic, bread dough

Gueuze: complex acidity

Notes:

There was acidity coming through in the aroma and a taste test confirmed this, so I eliminated Wit, as those beers aren’t sour. I didn’t get the coriander/salt character I’d expect in a Gose, so eliminated that next. I love drinking Gueuze, but have never tried a traditional Berliner Weisse, so had a hard time with the last elimination.

The only Berliner Weiss I’ve tried are US craft versions which usually incorporate fruit and additional sweetness in their profile. I knew traditional ones were more acidic, but I didn’t expect them to get to the level this one did. Also, the sample had very little carbonation/head. Since I’ve had Gueuzes that are pretty acidic and on the lower end of the carbonation scale, I selected that as my answer.

According to our guidelines, Berliner Weiss should have “very high carbonation” (which this didn’t have), and that “clean lactic sourness dominates and can be quite strong” (which this did have). After some research, I learned that traditionally, Berliner Weiss is served with sweet syrups to balance the acidity (hence US craft versions adding fruit/sweetness). The sourness in a good Gueuze shouldn’t be harsh or lingering, so next time this will be a good thing to look for when differentiating.

Beer 2 things to look for:

Irish Stout: dark roast

American Porter: US hops and bitterness

English Porter: fruity esters

Schwarzbier: clean yeast, dry roast, bitterness/hop character

Notes:

A taste test confirmed the sample lacked US hop character (grapefruit/pine/weed) and wasn’t bitter enough to be an American Porter. There was for sure some bitterness though, and the hop character was more pronounced than I’d expect it to be in an Irish Stout; the bitterness in Irish Stout is largely from the roasted malt (similar to the bitterness found in coffee). The same went for eliminating English Porter- the sample was a bit more hoppy than I’d expect it to be for Porter and it also lacked fruity yeast character. 

The beer had similar character to a German Pils- clean yeast and Nobel hop bitterness/flavor, but with a little roast. Very sessionable! Some call Schwarzbier “Black Pils”, so that sealed the deal for this one.