Drink this now: Sixpoint's Ich Bin Kein

To celebrate the TONY Beer issue, we teamed up with the Red Hook brewery to create the ultimate session beer.

By Chris Schonberger Wed Feb 15 2012

  • Photograph: Wolfgang Lian

    Light malts, including a percentage of wheat malt, form the backbone of Ich Bin...

    Light malts, including a percentage of wheat malt, form the backbone of Ich Bin Kein.

  • Photograph: Wolfgang Lian

    Brewer Ian McConnell steeps the grains with hot water to slowly convert...

    Brewer Ian McConnell steeps the grains with hot water to slowly convert starches into sugars and create a liquid called wort.

  • Photograph: Wolfgang Lian

    The brew kettle where the wort is flavored. The Berliner Weisse is inculcated...

    The brew kettle where the wort is flavored. The Berliner Weisse is inculcated with a lactobacillus culture to produce its signature tang.

  • Photograph: Wolfgang Lian

    The fermenters where the yeast is added to the wort to create beer

    The fermenters where the yeast is added to the wort to create beer.

  • Photograph: Wolfgang Lian

    The limited-edition kegs will make their way from the brewery to some of our...

    The limited-edition kegs will make their way from the brewery to some of our favorite bars.

Photograph: Wolfgang Lian

Light malts, including a percentage of wheat malt, form the backbone of Ich Bin...

Light malts, including a percentage of wheat malt, form the backbone of Ich Bin Kein.

Talk to any brew nerd about what trend they predict will explode in 2012, and you're bound to hear a common appeal for the session beer—essentially, any flavorful and well-balanced brew that clocks in under 4.5 percent alcohol by volume. (Budweiser, as a reference point, is 5 percent.) Industry insiders have been touting these soft-spoken suds for years, but they've struggled to gain traction among American hops-heads weaned on intense IPAs and other boozy styles. To boost the cause, we asked Sixpoint to craft an obscure sour-wheat ale known as a Berliner Weisse—a storied session style in the German brewing canon (Napolon and his men called it "the champagne of the North"), but one that's rarely found in NYC taps. The result of Sixpoint's tinkering is the lively, hazy-gold Ich Bin Kein, the latest entry in the brewery's Mad Scientists series. At a lunchtime-friendly 3.4 percent ABV, the pleasingly acidic quaff is built for refreshment rather than inebriation, delivering a crisp, lemony bite that cleanses the palate and leaves you wanting more. Of course, you won't need to think twice before calling for another pint—the only problem will be getting some before it's all gone. The limited-edition collaboration will be simultaneously on tap at more than a dozen of our favorite beer bars  on Thursday 16 at 7pm.

Where to find Sixpoint's Ich Bin Kein

Manhattan

Brooklyn

Bronx

Queens

See more in Bars

Share your thoughts
  4. * mandatory fields