Where is the sourness coming from in this beer?

[brewedforce]

I am drinking Penobscot Bay Brewery Meadow Road Wheat Beer right now. It says on the label it is 'true to the Hefeweizen tradition' and uses only 'malted wheat, lager malt, a top fermenting Bavarian yeast, and is lightly hopped with Tettnang'. It is excessively sour which I have never experienced with a Hefeweizen, although it is called 'Wheat Beer' and not Hefeweizen. I'm not sure if this is intentional? From what I am reading it seems like sourness is NOT ever a desired trait in a hefeweizen, but a Berliner Weisse is fermented with Bavarian yeast and Lactobacillus, perhaps that is more the style they are intending to brew? I read something that says that Berliner Weisse are commonly brewed with a Bavarian yeast and then in secondary Lactobacillus is added, so perhaps they are just not leaving that part out?


I am just trying to figure out if perhaps I got an odd batch, or if I didn't what exactly would be the cause of the tartness? Is it just from whatever specific yeast they brewed with? I am still new to brewing but I am not familiar with yeasts that produce this much acid, only bacteria. Also, everything I have read seems to indicate that when someone's wheat beer is sour it is an issue, and in my experience I have never encountered this quality in a wheat beer that isn't known for it. Thank you for your help!

 

[lumpher]

i looked it up to see if there was anything:
http://www.winterportwinery.com/brewery.asp
nothing that would indicate sour, only typical sweet wheat ( and i like wheat beers ). you might have an infected bottle

 

[brewedforce]

Thank you for the support! I too am a big fan of wheat beers and I have drank many different kinds. Never have had an accidentally infected beer but I have had many sours and it was undoubtedly similar (also the aroma was quite... funky, what I would expect an infection to smell like, although I can't recall the aroma of other sours as I haven't had any in a long time), and as you say all the other wheats have all been 'sweet wheats', never sour. I have e-mailed them to ask about it.

 

[Kaz]

It seems like I remember having that beer when on vacation in Maine last fall and I kind of remember a similar experience. Overall, their beers were okay but nothing to get excited about. I brought a few home with me and most of them were also so-so. I really liked Black Bear Microbrewery in Orono if you haven't tried their taproom out, its worth the visit.

 

[lumpher]

seriously? i'm not going to question your word on it, kaz. i'll stay away from it based on that ( not that i have to worry about it here in texas ). they may have contaminated eqpt if their wheat beers are sour

 

[brewedforce]

Thank you, I will check out the taproom, I have a couple friends going to school there! Close enough to be worth the trip. But if you remember it being similar maybe that is just the way it is!

 

[Kaz]

I feel like I should clarify. There beers weren't bad, just different. Its a winery that recently started brewing beers. To me everything tasted like I would expect beer to taste if it were made by a winery. Everything was very clean and refined tasting, I guests sometimes I like my beer on the "rough" side. Black Bear was more my style, nice small taproom, staffed by the brewer and his wife and out had a nice local vibe to it.