Berliner Weisse

A Berliner Weisse pours straw-pale, clear to a little hazy, and fizzes hard under a big white head that fades fast. It tastes clean and sour, a sharp lactic tang over a light bread-dough malt, with a gentle fruitiness in the best ones and almost no bitterness. At 2.8–3.8% alcohol it is a small beer by design.

Where it comes from

Berlin made it its own. In 1809, Napoleon’s troops called it the Champagne of the North for its lively, elegant character. Older versions came smoked, and a stronger one once matched a Märzen in gravity. In Germany today it counts as a Schankbier, a small beer, and few German breweries still make it, though brewers abroad have taken it up.

Brewers use Pilsner malt and wheat malt, often half the grist or more. Top-fermenting yeast and lactic bacteria ferment it together, which gives the sharp sourness. German brewing scientists hold that a little Brettanomyces yeast is needed for its fruity, flowery side.

How to serve it

Pour it at 7–10 °C into a wide goblet. Berliners often sweeten it with a shot of syrup. It goes with ham on pretzel bread, a Havarti, or a raspberry cheesecake.

Next to its neighbours

Against a lambic, a Berliner Weisse has a cleaner sourness, little or no wild funk and less alcohol. A Gose adds salt and coriander and tastes less sharp.

Berliner Weisse in numbers

Original gravity

1.028–1.032

Final gravity

1.003–1.006

Food

Ham on pretzel bread; Havarti; cheesecake with raspberries

Classic examples

Berliner Berg Berliner Weisse; Bayerischer Bahnhof Berliner Style Weisse; Brauerei Meierei Weiße; Lemke Berlin Budike Weisse; Urban Chestnut Ku’damm

BJCP style

23A Berliner Weisse

Sources

Checked October 29, 2026.

1. 23A. Berliner Weisse, 2021 Beer Style Guidelines — Beer Judge Certification Program
2. Berliner-Style Weisse — CraftBeer.com, Brewers Association