Good places for beer in Berlin

August 24, 2006 1:25 PM

We're in Berlin at the end of next week, and wouldn't mind going to somewhere that has a range of German beers, rather than the typical bars which will serve you just Lowenbrau or, y'know, Bitburger. So, the equivalent of a decent beer hall, which serves more beer. And good 'pub' food, German-style. Any ideas where?
posted by jamescridland to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

Avoid any place with a Berliner Kindl sign like the plauge. That stuff's the worst.
posted by Ironmouth at 1:41 PM on August 24, 2006

I highly recommend Luisen-Brau at Luisenplatz 1 in the Charlottenburg district - fantastic micro-brewery with excellent beer and traditional-style German food. Great atmosphere too.
posted by londonboots at 1:52 PM on August 24, 2006

The traditional German beer hall is owned by one beer company and serves only that company's beers. If you were in Munich I'd tell you go to an Augustiner joint and drink Edelstoff. I'm not sure what the best you can do in Berlin is.
posted by Nelson at 2:38 PM on August 24, 2006

What Nelson said above is exactly right.

That said. A couple years ago I was in Germany with a group from the - get this - brewing department at Technische Universität Berlin, who selected the Lindebräu at the Sony Center as "where we should go for German food and oh YEAH the BEER."

The pictures on the Sony Center place are a little odd, because this restaurant is packed, busy, and boisterous. Very fun.

From what I recall, the favorite dishes (from a 15 person group) were the Ofenkäse and Braumeistersteak. There was a schnitzel that is not on the online menu, too. I don't remember what beers people had as favorites, but I'm confident they were all tried.
posted by whatzit at 3:19 PM on August 24, 2006

I'm backing LB on Luisen-Brau. I was there only once during my prolonged stay in Berlin, but was favorably impressed (and would have gone if it hadn't been on the other side of town).
posted by bluefrog at 4:10 PM on August 24, 2006

the problem is that Berlin is not Bavaria, where every village and every restaurant has it's own unique beer. The bigger Berlin-based brands like Berliner Kindl, Berliner Pilsener and Schultheiss are to avoid. You should try Berliner Weisse, which is white beer with different kinds of syrup. It is not really beer in my opinion, but it's said to be a Berliner speciality.

There are a few nice breweries if you know where to look.
Brauhaus Südstern, located between the districts of Kreuzberg and Neukölln offers a naturally cloudy, uncanned homebred, a bit sweet in taste. I like it a lot. You can get a hefty Brotzeit, and it also has a small terrace on the backside for good weather.

Brauhaus in Rixdorf, also located in Neukölln (well, that's where I live) has Rixdorfer Hell, which is said to be "full-bodied and has a balanced hop-note, as well as a caramel-malt taste". (from their homepage).

Brauerei Eschenbräu in Wedding has a monthly changing season beer.

Gasthaus Lemke is right at the very central (and touristic) Hackescher Markt, if you don't want to go all the way to Wedding for a beer. They have homebrewed too.
I got this from the Tourist Info Site of Berlin.

For shopping I would recommend Biere International, Carmerstr. 8, at the Savignyplatz. They sell the very special Schlenkerla Rauchbier (smoke beer) from Bamberg, Bavaria (where I come from), which is really hard to get in Berlin.

I wouldn't go to the Sony Center though, this place really lacks atmosphere.

Here is a searchable map to look up the addresses.

I hope that I could help you, and if you have more questions about Berlin I would be happy to answer them.
posted by kolophon at 5:45 PM on August 24, 2006 [2 favorites]