I think this is just gold. Today, The Session, the monthly celebration of one theme by beer bloggers all around the globe...was forgotten by The Barley Blog:

I need to pay attention to my own blog announcements — I forgot that today was Session #19. Well, I didn’t really forget about the date, I just neglected to pick up an appropriate beer in advance. That said I am hitting up Total Wine on the way home today, so perhaps I’ll get the motivation to post a late entry. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. See you then.

Excellent. I point this out not to make fun but to show solidarity. You know, generally. See, I forgot to think about what to think about. I knew that Stan was actually going to be in Germany. I knew plenty of others were going to be able to tell you more about brewing Teutonic as with this post over at Musings Over A Pint. But I didn't take the time to think about what I knew. Clearly the moment calls for one thing - faking it.

So, over the last 30 days, I took the time to carefully survey the beer market: the neighbourhood bierkelleren, the famous shirtless lederhosened lager pubs my Kingston is famous for and saw that there was one German beer we love more than any other and one that virtually flows in the streets...you know, when the maple syrup tap is shut: Berliner Weisse Bier! Ja! Ja!! Ja!!!

OK, this is a left over from our sour beer studies, I admit it. Ron, as always, tells you all you need to know about the style...or, in fact, simply style...here, here, here and here and here. There is likely more. How can't there be? I have the 1809 Weisse by Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, the same good folks who make the excellent weissebier like the two we tried last November. It pours a lightly effervescent light cold with no head. On the nose, quite yeasty apple cider with just a little bit of barnyard. In the mouth, prickly. It's like a softened version of a dry fairly neutral Portugese white wine or a light sparkling Ozzie gone mostly flat. Hey - ich habe nicht es satt! Ja! Ja!! Ja!!! Stark and mineral but not overwhelmingly acidic or sharp like a lambic. Sure, there's some grassiness, some apple juice and white breadiness with a lighter sourish tang at the finish. But what a relief. And interesting to see how Ron notes "I find most interesting the fact that the beer was usually watered down just before packaging" as this is one of the more watery beers I have every had - though at 5% neither a true session beer or the beer that CAMWA was set up to promote.

This is a sure fire entry beer for the sours to come as one grows through beer. Tom at Yours for Good Fermentables has more about the Weihenstephan's 1809 Weisse here. Effusive praise from the BAers.