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Berliner weisse Weisse originated sometime in the 19th century, and evolved throughout its history. Historical Berliner Weisse is thought to be consisted consist of barley malt and a high proportion of poorly modified wheat malt (for head retention) in a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio, although at least two German Berliner Weisse breweries in the 1970's used 100% barley malt (the word "weissbier" originally referred to both barley and wheat air-dried malt) <ref>[http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/berliner-weissbier-in-1970s-part-one.html Berliner Weissbier in the 1970’s (part one). Shut Up About Barclay Parkins blog. 03/08/2015.]</ref>. Decoction mashing was also used, and was thought to impact impart better flavor than a single infusion mash. Hops were added to the mash tun during the mashing process or boiled with the decoction. Sometimes the boil was skipped (or boiled fora for a short time- for considerations on DMS formation, see [[Dimethyl_Sulfide#Short_Boils_and_Raw_Ale|DMS in raw ale and short boils]]), and sometimes a traditional boil was used. In the late 19th century The wort was not boiled because brewers thought that this was necessary for the cultures found in the mixed fermentation, however after the turn of the 20th century it was discovered that the microorganisms originated from surfaces in the brewery (although Mike Marcus from Chorlton Brewing Co has isolated ''L. casei'' that survived sparging the grain bed, indicating that some lactic acid bacteria can survive sparging temperatures and might have in fact had a souring impact on Berlier Berliner Weissbier that was not boiled <ref name="marcus"></ref>). The mixed cultures during primary fermentation were made up of ''S. cerevisiae'' and lactic acid bacteria in a 4:1 to 6:1 ratio, and was fermented between 25-30°C. The beer was fermented in open vessels until fully attenuated, and then carbonated with 12% krausen for a high, champagne-like carbonation. Top cropping was a regular practice. The beer would continue to develop in the bottle due to ''Brettanomyces'' and lactic acid bacteria <ref name="Hubbe"></ref>.

In 1956, W. Barrach patented a production method of Berlienr Berliner Weisse that involved blending two different beers. 80% of the wort was pitched with a mixed culture that was maintained by the brewery. The other 20% of the wort was inoculated with ''L. brevis'' and incubated at 30°C. The two beers were blended to reach the desired acidity, and krausened with fresh wort to create carbonation. After a short conditioning time, the bottles were sterile filtered and then bottled or casked <ref name="marshall" />.

Information regarding the microbiology of historical Berlier Berliner Weisse is rare. A study from F. Schönfeld in 1938 describes the proportion of yeast cells to lactic acid bacteria cells through the first stages of fermentation. He describes the ratio as being 4:1 (yeast to lactic acid bacteria) at pitching time. After 18 hours, yeast saw growth, but after 40 hours the yeast population began to decline as attenuation completed. Another later study found that this ratio favors yeast growth, which hinders lactic acid bacteria growth and the production of lactic acid. Poor management of the microbes was blamed for not achieving enough acidity, and was described as being a common problem in Berliner Weisse, as well as not achieving enough carbonation in the bottle. Berliner Weisse producers developed many methods for trying to achieve a certain kind of flavor profile in Berliner Weisse, which has been compared to that of [[Lambic]] and [[Gueuze]]. Indeed, an early study on Berliner Weisse by Methner in the 1980's discovered that ''[[Brettanomyces]]'' was a typical and important part of the flavor profile of Berliner Weisse <ref name="Hubbe"></ref>. The flavor of Berliner Weisse was described as being flowery and fruity, and a product of ester formation by ''Saccharomyces'' and ''Brettanomyces'' (see [[Brettanomyces#Ester_Production|''Brettanomyces'' esters]]) <ref name="Hubbe"></ref>.