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'''Berliner Weisse''' is a top-fermented, bottle conditioned wheat beer made with both traditional warm-fermenting yeasts and ''[[Lactobacillus]]'' culture. Although many modern new world examples are [[Wort_Souring#Souring_in_the_Boil_Kettle|kettle soured]] and not fermented with ''Brettanomyces'', traditional Berliner Weisse mostly (if not always <ref name="marcus"></ref>) underwent a secondary fermentation with ''[[Brettanomyces]]'' <ref name="marcus">Private correspondence with Mike Marcus of Chorlton Brewing Co by Dan Pixley and Richard Preiss. 10/31/2016.]</ref><ref name="Hubbe">[https://lookasidewww.fbsbxfacebook.com/filegroups/MilkTheFunk/1407620505932826/Final%20work%202%20-%20Thomas%20H%C3%BCbbe.pdf?token=AWyH17JH23uJ-wby5L7bZBZ-_G9EbxFbtNZhoHdq9nFQXDyOlNW66kYos4cpt_oOzIGzmllGYexkcE6o3bESICERaG8rSM4SruxzJVAaDb7UaoeAfVvLY_7uNezyeiynjnVG1T1zYyf-Zl4f2E6NwyOIX0y9hlh78XXVWFGHZySDEA Effect of mixed cultures on microbiological development in Berliner Weisse (master thesis). Thomas Hübbe. 2016.]</ref><ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1352210248140519/ Conversation with Richard Preiss regarding his results culturing from old bottles of Berliner Weisse. 08/14/2016.]</ref><ref>[http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2009/09/berliner-weisse-and-brettanomyces.html "Berliner Weisse and Brettanomyces." Ron Pattenson. Shut Up About Barclay Perkins. 09/14/2009. Retrieved 09/22/2016.]</ref>. Traditional examples are described as being generally very sour, clear wheat beers with good head retention <ref name="marcus"></ref><ref name="Hubbe"></ref>. Modern American examples are probably equally sour as historical versions, often have a rapidly vanishing head and a clear, pale golden straw-colored appearance, and often lack ''Brettanomyces'' character due to using a kettle souring process. The taste is refreshing, tart, sour and acidic, with a lemony-citric fruit sharpness and almost no hop bitterness.
Served in wide bulbous stemmed glasses, tourists in Berlin will often order on as a "Berliner Weisse mit Schuss: Himbeere" or "Berliner Weisse mit Schuss: Waldmeister". These are syrups that are added to make the sourness more palatable. Himbeere is raspberry (red) and Waldmeister is woodruff (green).
===Microbiology and Fermentation Profile===
:''Editor's note: much of this information has been provided by Thomas Hübbe, and based on his [https://lookasidewww.fbsbxfacebook.com/filegroups/MilkTheFunk/1407620505932826/Final%20work%202%20-%20Thomas%20H%C3%BCbbe.pdf?token=AWyH17JH23uJ-wby5L7bZBZ-_G9EbxFbtNZhoHdq9nFQXDyOlNW66kYos4cpt_oOzIGzmllGYexkcE6o3bESICERaG8rSM4SruxzJVAaDb7UaoeAfVvLY_7uNezyeiynjnVG1T1zYyf-Zl4f2E6NwyOIX0y9hlh78XXVWFGHZySDEA master's thesis] which is written in English and provides excerpts from German publications that the wiki editors are currently not able to translate themselves.''
Information regarding the microbiology of historical Berlier Weisse is rare. A study from F. Schönfeld in 1938 describes the proportion of yeast cells to lactic acid bacteria cells through the first stages of fermentation. He describes the ratio as being 4:1 (yeast to lactic acid bacteria) at pitching time. After 18 hours, yeast saw growth, but after 40 hours the yeast population began to decline as attenuation completed. Another later study found that this ratio favors yeast growth, which hinders lactic acid bacteria growth and the production of lactic acid. Poor management of the microbes was blamed for not achieving enough acidity, and was described as being a common problem in Berliner Weisse, as well as not achieving enough carbonation in the bottle. Berliner Weisse producers developed many methods for trying to achieve a certain kind of flavor profile in Berliner Weisse, which has been compared to that of [[Lambic]] and [[Gueuze]]. Indeed, early study on Berliner Weisse by Methner in the 1980's discovered that ''[[Brettanomyces]]'' was a typical and important part of the flavor profile of Berliner Weisse <ref name="Hubbe"></ref>. The flavor of Berliner Weisse was described as being flowery and fruity, and a product of ester formation by ''Saccharomyces'' and ''Brettanomyces'' (see [[Brettanomyces#Ester_Production|''Brettanomyces'' esters]]) <ref name="Hubbe"></ref>.