This is my first time trying a commercial straight-up Berliner Weisse and man, am I impressed. Hottenroth is certainly tart, but it is not in the realm of gueuze or La Folie. For such a small beer, it is remarkably complex. There is a big, bready graininess to it, and a nice lactic twang to balance it out. The Bruery always impresses me with their sours, and this is no exception.
I’m sad to say the bottle I had of it last year smelled and tasted very much like laundry gray water (smells and likely tastes).
Being less than 30 miles from Placentia, I would think that bottle of Hottenroth would not have been too old. Who knows though.
+1 to all of this. Saw this at bottle shop Friday and had to get it after reading Eric’s review. My girlfriend and I both really enjoyed it. Thanks for the heads up Eric
I have had ups and downs with this one. First time I tried it I thought it was very good and the second time as stated above I thought the beer was slightly off-putting, bland, and even very thin for a BW. Oh well…you win some, you lose some!