Berliner Weisse mit Schuss

Berlin's iconic sour wheat beer served with a shot of sweet syrup—green woodruff or red raspberry—creating a colorful, refreshing summer tradition.

Berliner Weisse dates to at least the 16th century in the Berlin region, with some records placing the style as far back as 1572, and it was the dominant alcoholic drink of the city for much of the 19th century when nearly 700 breweries produced it. Napoleon's troops, occupying the city in 1809, gave it the enduring nickname le Champagne du Nord — the Champagne of the North — for its effervescence and elegant tartness. The mit Schuss tradition, meaning with a shot, developed organically from the sourness of the beer's natural lactic fermentation, which Lacobacillus bacteria produce during the brewing process. Adding flavored syrup directly to the glass was a way of domesticating the tartness for everyday drinking. The two canonical syrup choices became Himbeersirup, a vivid red raspberry syrup, and Waldmeistersirup, a green syrup made from the sweet woodruff herb that grows abundantly in German forests, with a distinctive flavor somewhere between vanilla and freshly cut grass. Berliner tradition holds that ordering with a raspberry schuss is Rot and ordering with woodruff is Grün — the waiter simply asks which color you want. Purists drink the beer unadorned to appreciate its unadulterated sour character. By the late 20th century fewer than two breweries in Berlin were still producing the style, but the global craft beer revival of the 2010s has substantially extended its reach beyond the city's borders.