Piwo Grodziskie - Grätzer Ale

Professor Fritz Briem
Brewed at Schlossbrauerei Au
Style: Grodziskie/Gose/Lichtenhainer
Friesing, Germany

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein

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500 ml bottle into pint glass, no bottle dating. Pours hazy golden straw color with a nice 2 finger fluffy white head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Some ok lacing on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of lemon zest, herbal, toasted grain, bread, citrus peel, light smoke, and earthy spiciness. Some nice and balanced aromas with decent strength. Taste of lemon, orange peel, herbal, toasted grain, bread, wheat, floral, pear, and earthy spiciness. Lingering notes of lightly tart citrus, herbal, bread, toast, and earthy spiciness on the finish for a good bit. Great balance of malt flavors with the earthy spiciness; tartness is quite subtle overall. Medium carbonation and light-medium bodied; with a slightly slick and extremely smooth mouthfeel. Extremely easy to drink; with no alcohol presence as expected of 4%. Overall this is a really nice traditional style ale! Nice flavor balance and complexity; and extremely smooth. I really enjoyed this one.

Shared at WTWBA 2012, Brooklyn. The aroma is citrus, lemon, smoke, wheat. The appearance is a dark, hazy yellow, white head. The flavor is just like the aroma, but a little weak. The finish is sour, acidic, wheat like. Watery mouthfeel. Not great, but interesting to try.

Pours a cloudy, pale golden orange color with a half finger off-white head that quickly settles into a thin ring. Not much in the way of lacing. Smokey, slightly funky aroma with an interesting combination of wheat and smoke beer characteristics. Hints of zesty, peppery coriander, banana and bready yeast along with decently smoked malt. The smoke doesn’t overpower with subtle hints of charcoal, BBQ, and smoked meats. Medium bodied with a sweet tartness that I expected from the description but was lacking in the nose. Subtle earthy funk along with a strong citrus/lemon peel presence. Plenty of zesty spice with hints of coriander and pepper along with some bready yeast. Smoke less prominent than the aroma suggests. Tastes more like a slightly sour, sweeter wheat beer with traces of smoke lingering in the finish. Pretty good but if the sweetness was toned down and there was a bit more smoke I would love it. Interesting but I probably wouldn’t buy it again.

Bottle at WWBA ’12 Brooklyn. Flavors of smoked meat, wheat, lemon, and cherry. Lingering beef jerky flavor. Weird, awesome beer. A smoked/wheat/sour ale that somehow works.

500ml bottle. It pours a cloudy orange similar to a cider. The head is foamy and slightly off white and leaves some nice lacing. The smell is funky as all hell to me. Sauerkraut, white raisin, lemon, rye bread, funk. The flavor is nice. Crisp and bready. Just some beautiful malt flavors. Not much smoke but enough to keep it interesting as well as a nice fruity tartness. The hops lend a hand in balancing it out. There isn’t much bitterness but some nice herbalness. This is super drinkable. The smell is a bit off putting but wow is this a quaffer, I want a large scale cheaper version of this.

Tap at the Ginger Man, NYC. A very unusual beer this. Darkish yellow colour with a small head. Not much going on in the aroma. A very delicate flavour, yeast gives a bit of spiciness and a bit of lambic funkiness, but nowhere near as sour as the Belgians. Pleasant hop for a wheat beer. I really enjoyed it, subtle and quenching, actually like it more than the more sour wild wheats.

Bottle shared by nuplastikk...thanks Greg! - Pours hazy light amber with a thin ring of white head. Nose is sweet honey, light smoke, and a smooth graininess. Mineral and dry taste, with lightly soured wheat and grain. Sweet honey finish. Real thin and not well-carbonated. Weird, but it grew on me.

Bottle sampled at WtWBA Brooklyn 2012. Pours a golden body with thin white head. Aroma is light smoke, yeast, roasted malts. Mouthfeel is thin with notes of smoked malts and yeast.

Pouring at Where the Wild Beers Are. Pours a hazed gold with a thin white head. Soft smoke. Very soft smoke, touches of smoky malt. Light and easy drinking. Sweet malt with light smoke on the finish.

On tap at Congregation Ale House. Light sour wheat nose with a bit of smoky character. Funky lactic notes, too. Hazy golden amber with thin head. Medium-light body with light carbonation. Starts medium dry with light tart wheat flavor. Bitter notes throughout and at the finish, with a mild smoky character. Nice light beer, refreshing with a funky after.