Berlin Pub Guide: the best beer bars, brewpubs and beer gardens

Berlin Pub Guide

the best pubs, brewpubs, beergardens and beerhalls

The latest version of this site is at my new domain http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/berlpubs.htm.

Introduction
Berlin During its heyday as the capital of the German Empire, Berlin was home to some of the country's largest and most influential brewers. Their trading area stretched far to the East, but with the loss of territory to Poland after the two world wars, the extent of their influence contracted. The peculiar status of West Berlin for 40 years after the last war, left the brewers penned into a small enclave, with little scope for expansion except at each other's expense. In the East, breweries operating under some of the same names (Kindl and Schultheiss) continued a sort of parallel existence operating from these companies' plants which lay in the Soviet sector.	Index Good Old Days Berlin Beer Festival Berlin Brewing Industry Berlin Beer Styles Berlin Pubs East Berlin Pub Map East Berlin Pub Listings West Berlin Pub Listings Berlin Breweries Breweries in the ex-DDR Other German Beer Pages Berlin Hotels
The good old days Since 1989 much has been said about the poor quality of DDR beer, mostly by those who never drank a drop of it themselves. Much is made of the lack of adherence to the Reinheitsgebot and the lack of investment. To begin with the former, pils and special beers were usually brewed with around 85% malt - a percentage perfectly acceptable in most countries. In any case, how well-established is the Reinheitsgebot in the former Prussian territories. As far as I am aware, it only came into force in the whole of Germany after 1901, previously having been a purely Bavarian law. Given that it was ignored during the two world wars, this means it was only in force in E. Berlin 1901 - 1914 and 1919 - 1939. An impressive 33 out of the 750 years the city has been around. As for the lack of investment and old-fashioned equipment; the same commentators who denounce this in the DDR, are charmed by it elsewhere. Look at the praise heaped on Cantillon or Oud Beersel in Belgium for being museums.
East Berlin Beer On the more subjective matter of taste, the Berliner Weisse brewed by the VEB Schultheiss Brauerei Schönhauser Allee (Abt. Weissbier) was the classic version of the beer, unfiltered, unpasteurised, uncompromising in its flavour, and definitely far superior to its western counterpart. The closure, in the 1990's, of the brewery which produced it was a tragedy for beer lovers. It had also been the first home of the revived Leipziger Gose, when the style was brewed again in the mid-80's after a 20-year break. Amongst pils beers, the old Bärenquell Berliner Spezial was probably the best of all Berlin, more assertive and characterful than its western counterparts. When served on draught, not only were the eastern beers a good deal cheaper (around 1M for a 0.5 litre) but were much less likely to be ruined by excessive top pressure or chilling. Not that everything was perfect. To carry out a pub crawl required an encyclopaedic knowledge of the diverse and bizarre opening times and a good deal of luck when trying to find a seat. Often pubs were unspecific about which brewery was supplying the beer and the choice available was fairly limited. With the exception of a couple of places selling Czech beer or posh hotels with Radeberger, there was only really locally-produced stuff available. But what's so wrong with that, when the area has a decent number of proficient brewers? (Go to Munich and try looking for beer from outside the city.) A tragic (but thankfully, temporary) loss was the Weissbierstube, which was in one of the shopping arcades by the Rotes Rathaus. They sold a whole range of cocktails made with (the real) Berliner Weisse. (If you look below, you'll be pleased to read that it's open again).	Berliner Bierfestival Berlin is home to an annual beer festival, claimed to be the largest event of its kind in Germany. Started in 1997, it takes place in the open air, along the Karl-Marx-Allee between the Frankfurter Tor and Strausberger Platz (the last time I was out that way was to pick up some documents for my wedding from the DDR Innenministerium). The 9th Internationales Berliner Bierfestival will take place on 5-7th August 2005. For more information, see their webpage: http://www.bierfestival-berlin.de/ 240 breweries from 80 countries will be represented, offering around 1750 different beers. Also making an appearance will be yours truly. I would like to say inconspicuously, but you know the effect of a beer diet. Expect a few more details about the event after my return. How to get there: U-Bahn line 5 from Alexanderplatz to Strausberger Platz, Weberwiese or Frankfurter Tor U-bahn station.
If you want to get an idea of what drinking was like in East Berlin before the wall was breached, take a glance at an article I wrote in 1989: “Get Weisse behind the wall: A guide to pubs in East Berlin”. Check how many pubs made it to both guides. To be more positive, beers from old DDR breweries have made a strong comeback in the eastern parts of Berlin. The consumer's choice has been greatly augmented by the introduction of Czech dark lagers on draught. In Prenzlauer Berg, always a good spot for a pub crawl and a re-enactment of selected scenes from Cabaret, new 'Szenekneipen', trendy bars, have sprung up in recent years. Now, if I could only find a drop of the old Mühlhausener Pilsator on draught somewhere.	“Beer and Breweries” bus tour Here's how the organisers (Berlin Inside Out) describe it: "During the three-hour tour we visit several old breweries and other locations related to this forgotten part of Berlin’s history. And then we will sample the real stuff at the famous “Brauhaus Mitte” independent brewery!" It sounds pretty interesting to me. I just wish I had heard about it before my last trip to Berlin.

Berlin's Brewing Industry
Berliner Weisse is another matter. A beer brewed with a hybrid yeast/lactic acid bacteria fermentation, it has a delicious and refreshing sourness unique in Germany (with the exception of Leipziger Gose). It can be difficult to appreciate for those not used to sour beers. Maybe impossible is more accurate. To disguise the challenging acidity, it's often drunk with a dash of syrup, which leaves it bright green (with woodruff) or red (raspberry). In style, it's closer to the wheat beers of Belgium, which are also sourish, than the spicy South German variety. The strength is also unusual for germany: only 9% plato or 2.5% - 3.5%. It's usually rare to find anything under 4.5%. A wonderful and unique drink - do please try it without the syrup. The sourness may take some getting accustomed to, but it's worth it to appreciate the full subtlety and complexity of the flavour. Apparently, in the past stronger versions of the beer existed. The traditional glass didn't have a stem, as it does today, but was a more like a flat-bottomed bowl. It looks like it had a diameter of 15cm and a height of 10cm, My vagueness is because I'm estimating the size from an old illustration, not necassarily a 100% accurate source.	Large breweries For Berlin's brewing industry, the slow decline of decades has been replaced by disintegration since reunification. Today only three full-strength breweries remain - Kindl (part of the Radeberger Gruppe), Schultheiss (Brau und Brunnen Verband) and Burgerbräu, the last independent. Kindl and Schultheiss have both closed several Berlin plants since 1990. One thing that has shown remarkable resilience, is Schultheiss and Kindl's duopoly. The two breweries have dominated the pub trade since the 1920's and don't look like giving up their control just yet. Neither is the force they once were in German brewing - operating in a tiny enclave of capitalism, isolated from most of their old markets, how could they be? Both still brew Berliner Weisse, along with numerous Pils-style beers, Schwarzbier and Bock, of both the pale and dark varieties. Both Kindl and Schultheiss are currently brewing far less beer than they were at the time of re-unification. I can't imagine that closing most of their breweries could have helped their output figures. The closure of one of the remaining plants would effectively put an end to Berlin as a serious brewing town. Which is what will happen in 2006, when the Kindl plant will close. The merger of Brau und Brunnen and Radeberger Gruppe, has left Kindl and Schultheiss with the same owner. No surprise then that one of the breweries has to close.
New breweries As elsewhere in Germany, new brewpubs have been popping up (and sometimes dropping back down again) over the last decade. There now total about ten, spread all around the city, but with a couple handily close together in Berlin Mitte. Most newcomers stick to the proven unfiltered Hell-Dunkel-Weizen formula. Exactly the same as you can find verywhere else in Germany. Why don't any of them brew Berliner Weisse? You tell me. The most interesting of the new boys is Marcus-Bräu, where the brewer has decided to stop brewing with one hand tied behind his back. Blind adherence to the Reinheitsgebot doesn' t make much sense when you're a brewpub. You need to brew beers that stand out from the industrial lagers of Megabräu Chemische Getränke Fabrik GmbH. How can you do that if you're stuck with just malt hops and yeast? The dearth of innovation in pub breweries - how many have a Hell and a Dunkel and nothing else? (excuse me, I'm being too unkind: the more daring now brew a Weizen, too) - illustrates my point. The brewer at Marcus-Bräu has incurred the wrath of some colleagues, who no doubt see his use of honey and cherries as heresy. But Before anyone starts tying him to a stake and piling up the brushwood, I have a few points I would like to make: Kirschenbier (cherry beer) was made for centuries in North Germany the majority of German brewers have no qualms about churning out Bier-Misch-Getränke (vile mixtures of beer with god-knows-what-else) that are of infinitely worse quality adding syrup to Berliner Weisse could be a last perverted remnant of the fruit beer tradition

Beer Styles
Beers are mostly limited to the bog-standard German lager styles of Pils, Export with the odd Bock thrown in for fun in the Winter. More recently, Schwarzbier, the new favourite in the East, has turned up in Berlin brewhouses.

Be warned that the vast majority is pils, pils and more pils (with perhaps a pilsner for variation). But isn't that true of almost everywhere nowadays? Beer quality is reasonable, probably a bit higher than in the country as a whole. At least none of the local breweries has gone over to "Billig-Bier", the sort of muck that Oettingen stack up to supermarket ceilings. But it pays not to get too complacent - who could have imagined 20 years ago the state the German brewing industry is in today?

For those after more details, I've listed all Berlin's breweries and the beers they brew.

Old Berlin beer styles
Berliner Weisse apart, there is little very stylistically interesting or different about the beers brewed in Berlin today. The lager revolution in the 19th Century washed away all the rest of the top-fermenting tradition. Lager (the dark, Munich type) was first brewed in 1827 or 1828. Before then, there had been three main styles:

Braunbier
Bitterbier
Berliner Weisse
Within 50 years of their introduction, bottom-fermenting beers outsold the traditional Berlin styles. Only Berliner Weisse made it past WW I.

Berlin Pubs

This is a list of a few pubs in the city. North Germany can be a great disappointment for thirsty visitors. Bland bars - where formica still rules - can be found with depressing ease. The décor is in a dull international style, which even manages to make some of Britain's modernised pubs look interesting and cosy. Take a look at pre-WW I (or pre WW II, for that matter) postcards of beerhalls, beergardens and Eck-Kneipen. All of them are far more inviting than their present-day equivalents. I can't believe that every pub in Berlin got gutted in the war.

At least Berlin has some life in the evenings. I must confess to being gobsmacked by the tiny percentage of beer sold on draught in Germany (just under 20%). That explains the dead pubs I've found so often. Nuremberg is a good example: decent size population, pleasant city centre, not a soul to be seen in any of the pubs. Unfortunately, as in a lot of North Germany, a lot of places are bland bars, with nothing to recommend , especially in the city centre.

As in most of Germany, most pubs of any size serve meals, often quite traditional in nature and usually pretty good value. Of course, it will be pretty heavy on meaty and fried things, with the odd half pig plonked in front of you.

Public transport
Berlin has an extensive network of trams, trains and underground. In a city of this size, you're going to have to use public transport, unless you have your own chauffeur.

You can find out more at the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe site.

Berlin Pub Guide

East Berlin Pubs

A tale of two cities
Even after all this time, I still can't help thinking of Berlin as two cities. Hence I've split this guide into two.

Those unfamiliar with Berlin should note that the East has the city centre. And most of the grand public buildings. And trams.

Berlin Pub Map

1. Brauerei Mitte
2. Alt-Berliner Weißbierstuben
3. Nussbaum
4. Georgbräu
5. Zur Letzten Instanz
6. Lemkes
7. Sophien'eck
8. Deponie Nr. 3

Brauerei Mitte
Karl-Liebknechtstr./R.Luxemburgstr., 10178 Berlin. Tel. 030 - 247 83 83 Fax: 030 - 392 7522 Email: kontakt@leopoldsgruppe.de Homepage: http://www.leopoldsgruppe.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Fri: 10:00-24:00 Sat-Sun 10:00-23:00
Number of draught beers: 3
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Hell Alt Cupfer (seasonal) Dunkel Weiss
Food: Snacks, meals.
Brauerei Mitte is a brewpub on the first floor of a shopping centre close to the Rotes Rathaus (and Berlin Alexanderplatz station). It opened in 1994 and sells distinctive, unfiltered beers. It regularly hosts live music and there is a separate restaurant with a more extensive menu than the pub itself. It was formerly called Alexander Bräu and Leopold's Brauhaus. The many changes of name is not a good sign.
Rating:	Public transport: U-bahn U2, U8/S-bahn S3, S5, S6, S7, S9-bahn Alexanderplatz.

Alt-Berliner Weißbierstuben
Rathausstr. 21, 10178 Berlin-Mitte. Tel.: 030 - 242 44 54 Fax: 030 - 247 198 24 Homepage: http://www.prostmahlzeit.de/altberlinerwbs/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 11:00-24:00
Number of draught beers: ?
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Schultheiss Original Berliner Weisse
Food: Snacks, meals.
I'm delighted to be able to report the return of the Weissbierstuben. Yet another bar in the Nikolaiviertel, it's on the very edge, just a few doors along from the Rotes Rathaus. During the final days of the DDR, this one one of my favourite spots for downing a few glasses of the delicious East-Berlin-brewed Weisse. The idea is to recreate an old-fashioned Berlin Weisse pub. Somehow I can't imagine that back-street boozers ever looked quite this plush. Perhaps a bit too up-market to be 100% authentic. Still, it does sell all sorts of Weisse cocktails and is in a very useful location. Believe me, after a while in Berlin city centre you'll be happy to find anywhere half-decent to slake your thirst. My enduring memory of this bar is watching two - rather sheepish looking, it must be said - East Berlin skinheads drinking a beer. That was in 1988, before such characters acquired a more sinister air. The food, like the beer, is traditional Berlin style. There is outdoor seating for 120 people.
Rating:	Public transport: U-bahn U2, U8/S-bahn S3, S5, S6, S7, S9 Alexanderplatz.

Zum Nußbaum
Am Nußbaum 3, 10178 Berlin-Mitte. Tel.: 030 - 242 30 95
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 12:00-24:00
Number of draught beers: 3
Number of bottled beers: 5
Regular draught beers: Berliner Kindl Jubiläums Pilsener Märkischer Landmann Schwarzbier Rex Pils
Food: Snacks €3-6, meals €6-9. Beer €2.90 for 0.5 litre.
I just had to include another Nikolaiviertel pub, this time one of my great favourites, Zum Nußbaum. The exterior, with its enormous, steep roof, is a delight for the eye. The location - right opposite the Nikolai Kirche - is also top-class. If you can't find your way here, then you're beyond my help. Nußbaum is not quite what it seems. Let's take a walk back through time, to those long gone days of the DDR. I've never quite been able to understand why the communist governments of eastern Europe got so slagged off for long-term planning. A look at the UK rail network demonstrates what happens when you decide to do without it. To celebrate Berlin's 750th anniversary in 1987, the East German authorities decided to rebuild the area around the Nikolai Kirche, which had been pretty much bombed flat in the war. The fact that it was here that Berlin took its first cautious steps on the journey to Weltstadt, must have made it appear an appropriate choice. I generally have nothing but contempt for the bunglers claiming to be town planners, but this is one occasion when they got things spectacularly right. The buildings and the layout of the streets are deliberately small-scale and intimate, replicating the feel of an old town centre. Yet the majority of the buildings are unashamedly modern in their method of construction and detailing. Essentially, it's a "Plattenbau" type of flat, shaped into streets following a medieval street plan. It sounds dreadful if you describe it like that, but it is surprisingly effective. (It makes you realise that in the disastrous suburban housing estates of the postwar period - they're to be found in both East and West - the streetplan is main problem, not the flats themselves.) This is one of the rare occasions, when planners deserve a hefty pat on the back. But the Nikolaiviertel isn't all Plattenbau. In some places famous old Berlin landmarks have been reconstructed, though mostly far from their original site. Nußbaum belongs in this group. Until 1943, when it fell victim to Allied bombs, it had been Berlin's oldest pub, dating from 1571. It wasn't in the centre, however, but in Alt-Cölln that the original was located. I'm only guessing here, but I suspect that it was chosen for reconstruction because: it was Berlin's oldest pub; it had strong associations with Zille, who had been a regular; they had plenty of detailed photos to work from. Today, Nußbaum has a series of small, rather cramped rooms, which must mirror the original layout. No-one in their right mind would deliberately design a pub to be like this. The furniture mimics the anarchic tendencies of the architecture. But you couldn't fill rooms like these with a pristine set of modern tables and chairs. Now that would look daft. The food is contemporary Thai/Californian crossover, with a touch of Vietnamese. No, it isn't. I'm just kidding. Of course, Nußbaum really provides a selection of traditional Berlin dishes. In bottles, there's Berliner Kindl Weisse and three Schöfferhofer wheat beers.
Rating: ***	Public transport: U-bahn U2, U8/S-bahn S3, S5, S6, S7, S9 Alexanderplatz.

Georgbräu
Spreeufer 4, 10178 Berlin. Tel.: (030) 242 42 44 Fax: (030) 242 58 70 Email: info@georgbraeu.de Homepage: http://www.georgbraeu.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 12:00-24:00 (January - March) Mon - Sun - 10:00-24:00 (April - December)
Number of draught beers: 2
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Hell (unfiltered) Dunkel 5% (unfiltered)
Food: Snacks, meals. Prices:Beer 3.05 euros for 40 cl.
Georgbräu is a large pub brewery in one of the modern buildings of the Nikolaiviertel. A collection of different sized rooms set out in the typical beer hall style - fairly simple furniture, lots of wood, big tables. Not a bad try at creating the traditional German beer pub in a modern building. The terrace outside overlooking the River Spree (had I told you that the pub was on the river?. No, I didn't think I had. The address - Spree Ufer - is a hint for if you have a smattering of German and can remember the name of the river) is very scenic but, I have been warned, can be smelly in the Summer. As is usual in the modern interpretation of a pub brewery, the copper viewing vessels are used as a decorative feature and are prominently placed in the bar. Around them are clumped a series of panelled rooms, furnished in a traditional, robust manner The regular house beers are (how unusual) a pale and a dark lager. They aren't bad, but aren't anything special.
Rating: ***	Public transport: U-bahn U2, U8/S-bahn S3, S5, S6, S7, S9 Alexanderplatz.

Zur Letzten Instanz
Waisenstraße 14-16, 10179 Berlin (Mitte). Tel. 030 - 242 5528 Fax: 030 - 242 6891 Email: Post@ZurLetztenInstanz.de Homepage: http://www.zurletzteninstanz.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sat : 12:00-01:00 Sat: 12:00-23:00
Number of draught beers: 2
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Schultheiss Original Berliner Weisse Schultheiss Pilsener
Food: Snacks, meals.
It isn't a downtown crowded with soaring towers that an ambitious metropole needs to define its identity, but a pub that everyone can agree is the city's oldest. A lack of any real evidence to back the claim (which is often the case) isn't a problem, as long as you can achieve a general consensus. Letzten Instanz is the undisputed champion survivor of Berlin's destructive history. Originally called "Biedermeierstübchen am Glockenspiel" it acquired its current name in 1924. Though, it only gained the honour by default, after all it's rivals were nobbled during WW II, first by the RAF and then by a rather clumsy Red Army. However, one of them wasn't going to let a little thing like total destruction get it down. It took 40 years, but Nussbaum did do that rising thing that, you know, those birds with the serious fire mangement issues - what you call those things? it starts with a "P' - do. "Partridge?" Yeah, that's the one. So when Nussbaum arose like a partridge from its own ashes, they must have been shitting themselves down at the Instanz. Now, if they had rebuilt it en situ (that will be a fiver please Dave for my successful incorporation of all the required phrases), then Instanz could have been trying to swim in a lake of doo-doo. Unless the builder had the foresight to carve the year over the door, any founding date before 1977 can be a bit vague. 1621 is the one chosen here. The 1 at the end is a subtle touch - it makes it so much more believable. A nice round date like 1620 would have been much more suspicious. Not many people know this, but Berlin once had another wall - not the Antifascist Protection Barrier - but one they stuck up in the Middle Ages. What little remains is just around the corner from Letzten Instanz. With a history like Berlin's, you would have to be pretty thick to imagine finding more than a couple of stones. (Talking of thickoes, I have to tell you a story about about learning from experience. We were having a quite animated conversation, my manager and I, as usual. He had a several anger management issues. Though nothing like as serious as his management management issues: being a useless, incompetent bully with a hearing challenge - an inability to listen to anyone but himself. I've rarely been shocked by anything I've heard at work, but this sent a shiver right to the toes of my DM's. Whilst trying to explain one of his characteristic get-angry-first-think-later moments (later being 2077) he claimed to have deliberately used "simulated anger" as a method of "getting me back on track". Sitting firmly on the rails, I felt humbled by his unerring ability to select exactly the wrong approach to solve any problem. An outside observer remarked to him that, as the later sequence of events proved to be true, his "simulated" shouting and "simulated" turning purple in the face (I would love to have such total control my body) had not produced their intended result, perhaps other tactics would have been more appropriate. Human being: "If you had the chance now, knowing how badly wrong things went the first time, to act differently, would you? Manager: "No" Few have ever spoken so eloquently on the need to give managers the freedom to manage. Isn't the greatest part of intelligence this: the ability to analyse our past actions, observe their effect on those around us and, if the end result is not what was expected, to modify our behaviour until we get the response we want? I was impressed by my manager's radically different approach to conflict resolution. Keep shouting long enough (but do remember to keep your mind and ears firmly shut) until you get what you want, My youngest son (or Psycho Kid, as some of my less tolerant friends call him) is very committed to this approach. But, as years pass we all mellow. He's almost five now, and clever enough to realise that screaming until you get your own way, isn't always the best approach to social interaction. I want to know this: at what age does a manager acquire analytical skills equal to those of a five-year hyperactive sociopath? Is it just me, or is there no greater pleasure than sitting opposite a twat manager, seeing how purple you can get his face to turn? (Unless it's making bets with colleagues on how many minutes he can speak before saying "proactive". His record is two.) The charming, old-fashioned wooden interior was rescued and tastefully repaired in 1961-63 after extensive war damage. If you see photos of the state it was in after 1945, you might well wonder how on earth it was able to open at all before the renovation. It has a rambling, anarchic layout, with rooms on different levels. Just what you would expect of a pub which has grown and evolved over a couple of hundred years. To the left of the entrance is a small bar counter topped with a porcelain beer tap, surrounded by a few stand-up tables and a tiled stove. This is very typical of traditional Berlin bars. Panelled walls, red flagged floors and rickety old furniture are the recurring themes in a series of rooms which stretch over 3 houses and two stories. Some old enamel beer signs and a few old prints form the only additional decoration. It's sad to think how rare this sort of bar - once typical of Berlin - has become. I have a horrible feeling that the war can't take all the blame. Not a great deal has changed since re-unification, except that the landlord (who has been behind the bar since 1986) has taken over the property from the HO. Let's hope that's how things stay. The centre of Berlin can't afford to lose any of its few remaining original pubs. A surprisingly cosy pub in an otherwise pretty dismal part of the city. There is a small beer garden in the Summer.
Rating: ****	Public transport: U-bahn U2 Klosterstraße.

Lemkes Spezialitätenbrauerei GmbH
Dircksenstr., S-Bahnbogen 143, 10178 Berlin (Mitte) Tel.: (030) 247 28 727 Fax: (030) 247 28 728 Email: lemkes-spezialitaeten-brauerei@t-online.de Homepage: http://www.brauerei-lemke.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 12:00-24:00
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers: 0
Regular draught beers: Lemke Original Lemke Pilsner
Food: Snacks €5-8, meals €8-25. Beer €3.70-3.90 for 0.5 l.
Lemke's is a large, modern brewpub in railway arches just along from Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station. It produces two regular beers and a variety of seasonal beers. Inside, you'll find the ubiquitous industrial ducting, a bland brick bar and a surprisingly small brewing kit. It's pleasny enough, if a little dull. The rumbling of trains overhead is a disconcerting at first, but you soon get used to it. Outside there's a small beer garden.
Rating: **	Public transport: S-Bahn Line S3, S5, S7, S9 Hackescher Markt S-Bahn Line S1, S2 Oranienburger Straße U-Bahn Line U8 Weinmeister Straße Tram Line 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 15 Hackescher Markt Tram Linie 53, 13 Hackescher Markt

Paulaner's im Spreebogen
Alt Moabit 98, 10559 Berlin-Mitte. Tel 030 - 399 4332 Fax: 030 - 3230 4011 Email: paulaners@spreebogen.info http://www.paulaners-spreebogen.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sat 11:00 - 24:00, Sun 11:00 - 22:00
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers: 4
Regular draught beers: Paulaner Pilsener Paulaner Original Münchner Hell Paulaner Original Münchner Dunkel Paulaner Hefeweissbier
Food: Snacks €4-8, meals 9-14. Beer €3 for 0.5 l.
A large beerhall selling Bavarian beer and food. One of Paulaner's chain of tied houses.
Rating:	Public transport: U-Bahn Turmstraße, S-Bahn Bellevue

Sophien'eck
Eck Große Hamburger Straße 37, 10115 Berlin. Tel.: 030 - 282 21 09 Fax: 030 - 285 99 860 Email: info@sophieneck-berlin.de Homepage: http://www.sophieneck-berlin.de
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 12:00-24:00
Number of draught beers: 7
Number of bottled beers: 6
Regular draught beers: Jever Pils Schultheiss Pilsener Sion Kölsch Lager Schwarz Schlösser Alt Murphys Irish Stout Murphys Irish Red
Food: Snacks 3-7 euros, meals 6-12 euros, beer around 3 euros for a half litre.
Central Berlin is much richer in historical buildings than may at first seem the case. The district stretching out behind Hackescher Markt is a good example. It's here that you can find one of the largest concentrations of pre-1870 buildings in the city. Towards the end of the DDR era, a good deal of effort was expended in returnng Sophienstrasse and neighbouring streets to something like their original appearance. Time and money very well spent, if you ask me. Sophieneck occupies a triangular plot at the junction of Große Hamburger Straße and Sophienstraße. It's a traditional corner pub with a few seats on the pavement. It has a simple interior with film and beer memorabilia scattered around the walls. Wooden floors, and uncomplicated wooden furniture are the order of the day. It seems a fair try at a slightly fashionable and contemporary take on the traditional Berlin kneipe. Unusually for Berlin, you can find both Kölsch and Alt on draught. Not a bad beer range for a non-specialist outlet.
Rating:	Public transport: S-Bahn Line S3, S5, S7, S9 Hackescher Markt S-Bahn Line S1, S2 Oranienburger Straße U-Bahn Line U8 Weinmeister Straße Tram Line 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 15 Hackescher Markt Tram Linie 53, 13 Hackescher Markt

Deponie Nr. 3
Georgenstraße 187, 10117 Berlin. Tel. 030-20165740 Fax: 030- 44731530 Email: DeponieNr.3@gmx.de Homepage: http://www.deponie3.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Fri: 09:00 - open end Sat - Sun: 10:00 - open end
Number of draught beers: 6
Number of bottled beers: 7
Regular draught beers: Jever Pils Bürgerbräu Premium Pils Wernesgrüner Pils Bömisches Pils Bömisches Schwarzbier
Food: Snacks €6-9, meals €7-12. Beer €2.50-3.00 for 0.5 litre.
Deponie Nr.3 may not be the most memorable name I've ever encountered, but it is in a very handy central location. by Friedrichstraße station (how many delightful hours I've spent there queuing up to get a day visa). There is an explanation for the odd name: this used to be the tank garage of the NVA barracks Friedrich Engels. Only at the end of 1992 was it opened as a pub (there probably wasn't much space for tables between the T-62s). It's another pub located in the arches under the S-Bahn, this time between Friedrichstrasse and Museuminsel. The interior is a mixture of traditional Berlin kneipe and industrial chic. If you think that sounds a strange juxtaposition, well, I'm not going to argue wuth you. I'm starting to tire of ducting. The various items of furniture (including a substatial carved bar back) that have been looted from old corner pubs can't be faulted, but look ill at ease in their cavernous surroundings. Let's try to look on the bright side. It could be so much worse. Music Thursday and Friday. Beer garden. Has no fixed closing time.
Rating: **	Public transport: U-bahn U6, S-bahn S1, S2, S3, S7, S9, S25, S45 Friedrichstraße.

Schwarzwaldstuben Berlin
Tucholskystrasse 48, 10117 Berlin. Tel: 030 - 2809 8084 Email@schwarzwaldstuben-berlin.de http://www.schwarzwaldstuben-berlin.de/
Opening hours:
Number of draught beers: 10
Number of bottled beers: 4
Regular draught beers: Rothaus Pils Eichbaum Ureich Pils Eichbaum Hefeweizen St.Louis Kriek
Food: Snacks €3-8, meals €6-13. Beer €2.90 for 0.5 l.
A pub with beer from Baden-Württemberg (home of the Schwarzwald). And St.Louis Kriek from Belgium, which is a bit off-theme. There are more beers from Rothaus in the bottle. Well worth trying and extremely rare this far north.
Rating:	Public transport:

Restauration Tucholsky
Torstr. 189, 10117 Berlin - Mitte. Tel: 030 - 281 7349 Fax: 030 - 285 8016 Email: kontakt@restauration-tucholsky.de http://www.restauration-tucholsky.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 12:00 - ???
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers:
Regular draught beers: Warsteiner Pilsener Bitburger Pilsner Berliner Pilsener Köstritzer Schwarzbier
Food: Snacks €4-8, meals €8-14.
Traditional pub with a beer garden.
Rating:	Public transport: S-Bahn Rosenthaler Platz

Restaurantkneipe Café Giraffe
Klopstockstraße 2, 10557 Berlin-Tiergarten. Tel: 030 - 3435 1690 Fax: 030 - 3435 1691 Em Mail info@giraffeberlin.de http://www.giraffe-berlin.com/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 08:00 - 02:00
Number of draught beers: 6
Number of bottled beers: 10
Regular draught beers: Berliner Kindl Jubiläums Pilsener Berliner Pilsener Paulaner Hefeweissbier Guinness Stout Kölsch
Food: Snacks €5-10, meals €8-15. Beer €2 for 0.4 l.
A modern, single-storey building. The giraffe on the roof makes it easy to spot. Opens for breakfast at 8 o' clock.
Rating:	Public transport: U-Bahn Hansaplatz, S-Bahn Tiergarten

Aufsturz
Oranienburger Str. 67, 10117 Berlin-Mitte. Tel. 030-2804 7407 Fax 030-2804 7409 Email aufsturz@t-online.de Homepage: http://www.aufsturz.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 12:00 - 02:00
Number of draught beers: ?
Number of bottled beers: 100
Regular draught beers:
Food:
A trendy pub selling more than 100 different beers and 40 types of whisky.
Rating:	Public transport: S-bahn Oranienburgerstrasse.

Metzer Eck
Metzerstrasse 33, Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg.
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 16:00 - 01:00, Sun: 18:00 - 01:00
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers:
Regular draught beers: Berliner Pilsener Budweiser Budvar Warsteiner Pilsener Krusovické 12°
Food: Snacks, meals.
It is only a short walk to Alexanderpiatz from where you can take the U-Bahn to Prenzlauer Berg. Take the line in the direction Pankow (Vinetastrasse) and get off at Senefelderpiatz. This will bring you to within a hundred metres of the next stopping off point, the Metzer Eck (16-1) on the corner of Metzerstrasse and Strassbourgerstrasse. The street has the crumbling plaster facades typical of the whole area, but don't be put off by the apparent delapidation, for this is the real Berlin. The Metzer Eck is a small pub, which somehow managed to remain in private hands throughout the DDR period.
Rating:	Public transport:

Restauration 1900
Husemannstr. 1, 10435 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg. Tel: 030 - 442 2494 Fax: 030 - 4405 9031 http://www.restauration-1900.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 10:00 - 01:00
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers: 12
Regular draught beers: Berliner Kindl Jubiläums Pilsener Märkischer Landmann Schwarzbier Paulaner Hefeweissbier Rex Pils
Food: Snacks €4-8, meals €9-15. Beer €2.90 for 0.4 litre.
Restauration 1900 isn't the snappiest name I've heard, but it is accurate. It's a restored corner local, dating from the start of the 20th century. Towards the end of the DDR period, Husemannstrasse was restored to something like its original appearance. Unlike most of Prenzlauer Berg, where the crumbling plaster facades were still pock-marked from wartime bullets. Inside it's simple, but cosy. Old photos of Husemannstrasse, illustrating the many changes it has undergone, form the main decoration. It's depressing to see how the restored shop fronts have been replaced by typical crappy modern ones since reunification. It has a small beer garden.
Rating: ****	Public transport: U-Bahn Senefelder Platz

Weitzmann
Husemannstraße 2, 10435 Berlin - Prenzlauer Berg. Tel: 030 - 442 7125 Fax 030 - 440 7730 Email: weitzmannch@hotmail.com http://www.restaurant-weitzmann.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 09:00 - 01:00
Number of draught beers: 3
Number of bottled beers: 7
Regular draught beers: Radeberger Pilsner Märkischer Landmann Schwarzbier Erdinger Hefeweissbier
Food: Snacks €3-8, meals €9-15. Beer €3.20 for 0.5 l.
A pub restaurant handily placed opposite Restauration 1900. Supposedly in the Bauhaus style, but I don't really see it myself. What I can't argue about, is that it's light and airy inside. Amongst the bottled beers is Berliner Kindl Weisse.
Rating:	Public transport: U-Bahn Senefelder Platz

Ratskeller Köpenick:
Alt-Köpenick 21, 12555 Berlin. Tel.: 030 - 655 5178 Fax: 030 - 6547 2749 Email: info@ratskellerkoepenick.de http://www.ratskellerkoepenick.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 11:00 - 23:00
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers: 5
Regular draught beers: Wernesgrüner Pils Erdinger Hefeweizen Guinness Stout Köstritzer Schwarzbier
Food: Snacks €4-8, meals €9-15. Beer around €3 for 0.5 l.
A personal inclusion here. I first drank Tokay in this cellar restaurant beneath Köpenick town hall. You could try recreating that momentous event, but I doubt that a bottle still costs 3 M. (One of the most romantic and memorable meals of my life cost little more than the price of a pint in Hampstead. It sums up the DDR - good value.) You have to hand it to the Germans when it comes to being practical. Who else uses the empty space under a public building as a boozer? Köpenick is a rather pleasant small lakeside town that has been swallowed up by Berlin. Frederick the Great had a pad here. Perhaps he was equally bored by the pretentious brutalism of Berlin city centre.
Rating:	Public transport: Tram 26, 60, 62, 63, 67 and 68 to Rathaus Köpenick:

Bräustübl der Berliner Bürgerbräu
Müggelseedamm 164, 12587 Berlin Tel: 030 - 64 55 716 Fax: 030 - 645 16 58 Email: info@braeustuebl.de http://www.braeustuebl.de
Opening hours: Tue - Sat 12:00 - 24:00, Sun 11:00 - 24:00, Monday closed.
Number of draught beers:3
Number of bottled beers:2
Regular draught beers: Bürgerbräu Rotkelchen Export Bürgerbräu Premium Pils Bernauer Schwarzbier
Food:Snacks, meals.
The brewery tap of Berlin´s last industrial-strength independent brewery. It has several rooms (of varying degrees of grandness) and a beer garden. In the Köpenick district.
Rating:	Public transport:S-Bahnhof S3 to Friedrichshagen Tram 60 & 61 to stop Müggelseedamm/Bölschestraße

Berlin Pub Guide

West Berlin Pubs

Bräuhaus Rixdorf
Glasowerstraße 27, 12051 Berlin. Tel.: (030) 626 88 80 Fax: (030) 6284 0073 http://www.brauhaus-in-rixdorf.de/
Opening hours: Mon closed Tue - Sat: 12:00-01:00 Sun 10:00-23:00
Number of draught beers: 3
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Rix-Dunkel Rix-Hell
Food: Snacks, meals.
Pub brewery which, after an unhappy time with its original management, was taken over by Joh. Albrecht in 1994. It now appears to be independent again and has reverted to its original name. It is housed on the site of a former iron foundry in the art-nouveau owner's house. In addition to the two regular beers (pale and dark lagers) there is usually also a sesonal beer on tap. It also has a beer garden.
Rating:	Public transport: U-bahn U7 Grenzallee

Aschinger
Kurfürstendamm 26 10719 Berlin (Charlottenburg) Tel.: (030) 882 55 58 Fax: (030) 881 69 67
Opening hours:
Number of draught beers: 1
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Pils
Food: Snacks, meals.
Pub brewing its own unfiltered pils since 1990. Note: I have been informed that this pub is currently a building site and not open.
Rating:	Public transport: U-bahn U9, U15 Kurfürstendamm

Lindenbräu am Potsdamer Platz
Bellevuestraße 3-5, 10785 Berlin (in Sony-Center). Tel.: (030) 2575 1280 Fax: (030) 2572 1299 E-Mail: info@lindenbraeu-berlin.de Homepage: http://www.lindenbraeu-berlin.de/
Opening hours:
Number of draught beers: 2
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Hopfinger Edelhelles (unfiltered) Weissbier (unfiltered)
Food: Snacks, meals. Beer costs 3.10 euros for a half litre.
One of the more recent additions to Berlin's brewpubs. Here at Potsdamer Platz they have tried to build a new city centre for Berlin. And here was me thinking that the two they already have is one too many. I know that Potsdammer Platz is a prestige project, but silver plating the brewing vessels is just a little too flash for me. I believe them 100% when they claim their kit is the only one of its kind in the world. No-one else would be so pointlessly extravagant. It doesn't look any different to me from stainless steel. Somewhere between kitsch and contemporary must have been the designer's brief. The food is a Bavarian and Austrian in style, which will do me just fine. The prices (10-15 euros for a a main course) can't be moaned about, either. The brewpub is owned and run by Hofbräuhaus Traunstein (it's amazing how many Hofbräus they have in Bavaria), who just happen to brew one of my favourite beers in the Spezial style.
Rating:	Public transport:

Brauhaus J.Albrecht Zum Alten Fritz
Karolinenstraße 12, 13507 Berlin. Tel. 433 5010
Opening hours: Sun - Thu: 11:00-01:00 Fri - Sat 11:00-03:00
Number of draught beers: 2
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Messing Kupfer
Food: Snacks, meals.
Pub brewery in the north Berlin suburb of Tegel opened in 1992. The pub itself is called Zum Alten Fritz (after Frederick the Great). The Messing is a pale beer and the Kupfer a dark beer. The company has another pub brewery in Neukölln. It has a large restaurant which seats 250 people. In the Summer, there is a beergarden which holds 450.
Rating:	Public transport: S-bahn S1, Bus 101, 117.

Berliner Gasthausbrauerei "Luisen Bräu"
Luisenplatz 1, 10585 Berlin (by Schloß Charlottenburg) Tel.: (030) 341 93 88 Fax: (030) 342 50 66 E-Mail: luisenbraeu@t-online.de Homepage: http://www.cfchertha06.de/sponsor/luisenbraeu/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 09:00-24:00
Number of draught beers: 3
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Luisen-Bräu Hell Luisen-Bräu Dunkel Luisen-Bräu Weizen
Food: Snacks, meals.
Pub brewing its own unfiltered beers since 1987. Occasional seasonal beers. Its early opening time allows it to have special offers for breakfast. I know that I always find a pint or two goes down a treat with my bacon and eggs.
Rating:	Public transport: U-bahn U7 Richard-Wagner-Platz

Marcus-Bräu
Münzstr.1-3, 10178 Berlin Tel. 030 - 2476985 Email: marcus-braeu@gmx.de Homepage: http://www.marcus-braeu.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 16:00 - open end Sat - Sun - 10:00 - open end
Number of draught beers: 3
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers: Marcus-Bräu Pils Hell Marcus-Bräu Dunkel Seasonal beers: Honey-Sun (Honigbier) Kriek (Kirschbier) Merrens-Bock 7%
Food:
Brewpub, reputedly the smallest brewery in Berlin. Very bravely, its brewer has ditched the Reinheitsgebot and as a consequence can brew a whole range of beer styles that are normally impossible in Germany.
Rating:	Public transport:

Brauhaus zu Spandau
Neuendorferstraße 1, 13585 Berlin. Tel.: (030) 353 9070 Fax: (030) 353 90711 Homepage: http://www.brauhaus-spandau.de/
Opening hours:
Number of draught beers: 1
Number of bottled beers: 6
Regular draught beers: Spandauer Havelbräu 5.2%
Food: Snacks, meals.
Brewery opened in February 1995 in the former laundry of the Spandau barracks. The large building has the look of an old brewery an even includes a small hotel with 6 rooms. The beer is unfiltered and darker than standard lagers. As is usual with brewpubs, there is at least one seasonal beer on draught at any given time.
Rating:	Public transport:

Bergmann 103
Bergmannstr. 103, 10961 Berlin Kreuzberg. Tel.: 030 694 8323 Email: info@bergmann103.de http://www.bergmann103.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 09:30 - 01:00
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers: 5
Regular draught beers: Beck's Pils Bitburger Pilsner Budweiser Budvar Köstritzer Schwarzbier
Food: Snacks €3-8, meals €8-14. Beer €3.50 for 0.5 l.
A large, modernish pub restaurant in Kreuzberg. Perhaps they should try thinking up a name. Bergmann 103 is just the address.
Rating:	Public transport: U-Bahn: U7, U6 Mehringdamm

Alt-Cöllner Schankstuben
Friedrichsgracht 50, 10178 Berlin. Tel. 242 5972
Opening hours: Mon - Sat: 11:00-01:00 Sun: 10:00-24:00
Number of draught beers: ?
Number of bottled beers: ?
Regular draught beers:
Food: Snacks, meals.
Old-fashioned pub in a plaster fronted house close to the Spree in Berlin-Mitte. Has wooden furniture and decoration depicting the history of Berlin. Note: I have been informed that this pub is currently a building site and not open.
Rating:	Public transport: U-bahn U2 Spittelmarkt.

Brauerei Eschenbräu
Triftstraße 67, 13353 Berlin-Wedding. Tel: 0162 - 493 1915 or 030 - 462 6837 Fax: Email: info@eschenbraeu.de http://www.eschenbraeu.de
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 17:00 - open end
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers:
Regular draught beers: Eschenbräu Pils Eschenbräu Dunkel Eschenbräu Weizen
Food:
Brewpub hidden away in a housing estate. Has a beer garden. This what Gazza has to say about it: "As has been said to me a few times, this is an unusual place. A sort of „alternative“ type venue in the inner courtyard of a large block of Stalinist flats with the brewery visible through large windows above. A small cellar-bar serves as the brewert tap and has the usual 3 regular beers on sale – Pils, Dunkel and Weiss – plus specials if you’re lucky; the next one will be Alter Schwede on 02 December! All beers were rather average, unfortunately. From Leopoldplatz U-Bahn (U6 and U9 interchange) walk down Luxemburgerstrasse for 50 metres and turn left into Genterstrasse. Continue down here until the end where the aforementioned block of flats is located; head round the right-hand side, through a kind of garden, then turn left into the courtyard following the signs and you’ll come see the brewery on your right at eye-level. Pub is down the steps below. It’s easier to find than it sounds."
Rating:	Public transport: U-Bahn U6 or U9 to Leopoldplatz

Brewbaker
Flensburger Str. /im S-Bahnbogen 415, 10557 Berlin. Tel: 030 -3990 5156 Fax: Email: info@brewbaker.de http://www.brewbaker.de/
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 10:00 - 23:00, Sat - Sun 16:00 - 23:00
Number of draught beers:
Number of bottled beers:
Regular draught beers:
Food: Snacks, meals.
Brewpub and bakery. Here´s what Gazza has to say: "The newest brewpub in Berlin, so new that the production beers won’t be on until 28th November! Similar to Lemkes (it’s in a railway arch) situated just west of Bellevue station. The tiny brewplant in the window will brew specials all year round apparently, and the food sounds good too. We had to make do with a beer from Eschenbräu as the owner wouldn’t let me blag any of his beer! Take the S-Bahn to Bellevue. Exit station and walk beside the north of the arches along Flensburger Strasse – you’ll see the brewplant in the 6th arch along after crossing Bartningallee."
Rating:	Public transport: S-Bahn to Bellevue

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