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Fermentation Atlas

Alcoholic drinks from Berlin / Northern Germany

Berliner WeisseBerliner Weiße

Berliner Weisse is a light, sour wheat beer from Berlin. Yeast and lactic bacteria ferment the wort together, so it turns tart while it makes only about 3 % alcohol. Hops are kept very low because they hold back the lactic bacteria. Made in 5 steps over 2.1 days. The longest step, ferment sour and light, takes 2 days (Williamson C 2023). Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2 daysMeasured[williamson2023]Ferment sour and light
Temperature71 °CReported[williamson2023]Mash wheat and Pilsner malt
AciditypH 5.1Measured[williamson2023]Ferment sour and light

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceOne university trial batch of about 22.7 L of Berliner Weisse-style wort, split into three fermenters.
1.96 kgGerman Pilsner malt[williamson2023]
1.96 kgGerman wheat malt[williamson2023]
0.30 kgRice hulls · Helps the mash drain[williamson2023]
11.4 L mash water, 15.1 L sparge waterWater[williamson2023]
Top-fermenting yeast and Lactobacillus · The trial used Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum[williamson2023][bjcp2021-23a]
No hops in the trial · Traditional beers use very few; mash hopping is traditional[williamson2023][bjcp2021-23a]
Starterdefined-culture (yeast and lactic bacteria together)

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.1 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
StarchSugarAlcoholCO₂71 °Cshapes, not to countSaccharomyces cerevisiaeL. actiplantibacillusBrettanomyces restrained

What changes: In the hot mash, malt enzymes turn wheat and barley starch into sugar

Step 1 of 5
Mash wheat and Pilsner malt
Time
1 h
Reported
Temperature
71 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
L. actiplantibacillus
Brettanomyces restrained
Yeasts
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: mash.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

malt enzymes turn starch into sugar

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Unlike most ales, yeast and lactic bacteria ferment the wort together, so the beer is clearly sour. The gravity is very low (a Schankbier of 7–8 °P), wheat is often half the grist or more, and hops are kept to 3–8 IBU because hop compounds hold back the lactic bacteria. Compared with lambic it is cleaner and lower in alcohol, and any Brettanomyces character stays faint.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Served with syrupOften served with raspberry or woodruff syrup.
  • Märzen-strength Berliner Weisse (historical)A stronger version at 14 °P once existed.
  • Fruited or spiced versionsJudged in other categories (29A, 30A or 29B).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Berlin's own beer, traced to the 16th century. The style guide repeats the story that Napoleon's troops called it "the Champagne of the North" in 1809. It was once smoked. It is now rare in Germany but brewed in several other countries.

  1. [bjcp2021-23a] BJCP 2021, Beer Style Guidelines, 23A Berliner Weisseweb
  2. [williamson2023] Williamson C., Kennedy K., Bhattacharya S. et al. 2023, A novel image-based method for simultaneous counting of Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces in mixed culture fermentation, Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology 50(1):kuad007 (Berliner Weisse-style trial)paper
  3. [WP:Berliner Weisse] Wikipedia, Berliner Weisse (outline only)wiki