Mr Otter Bank gave me a bottle of his This Is Berlin to try. It’s a Berliner Weisse style Beer. This was the first batch which was aged with locally picked Damsons. As the bottle was about six months old the Damsons weren’t very detectable but it was still packing a sweet and sour punch. My non Beer drinking better half had a taste and she liked it. I have to say it was very refreshing and I ate some fresh strawberries with it which provided an interesting contrast. Keep an eye out for further releases which are guaranteed to be interesting.
Siren’s Calypso is a Dry Hopped Berliner Weisse. Calypso was a mythological Goddess, as opposed to a cheesy setting on the Casio keyboard you had when you were a kid. Each batch had different hops added and there is a code on the bottle which you can use to check their website to find out what is in your glass. Mine was hopped with Simcoe and Cascade. These are both hops I’m fond of but I think they are a little lost in this brew. It’s also quite dry and refreshing but I preferred the Otterbank interpretation of the style. If you’ve never tried a Berliner Weisse you should make it your business this summer. Sláinte!