Hi All, I don't normally post much here but I do a fair share of poking around. I will be taking my first trip to Berlin in a few weeks which will also be my first time in Germany. I know it's not the most beer centered city in Germany but I was fortunate enough to have a friend invite me out while they're there for work. I have read most, if not all, of the recommended Berlin threads but still have a few questions. I'm personally blown away by certain American breweries that focus on lagers like Suarez, Fox Farm, and Hill Farmstead so I'm excited to finally try the real deal in Germany. I'm aware of the usual suspects (Weihenstephaner, Schultheiss etc) and I'm not so much interested in the modern "craft" side of things while visiting, more so the traditional German styles like Altbiers, Kellerbiers, Kolsch, and of course Pilsners. I was curious as to if these popular and ubitquitous brands are all I should expect. Or, are there are lesser known but well crafted German lagers outside of these brands available in Berlin? I'm not all too familiar with much German beers outside of what I can find in the States. What should I keep an eye out for, and where can expect to find them? Also, I was planning to head down to Prague but decided it wasn't practical for my less than a week trip. I am planning on seeking out tank Urquell in Berlin but are there any bars that I can find other quality Czech beers like Uneticky 12? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Tooting my own horn here, but check out www.BeerGuideBER.com for places I like to visit in Berlin. There is a slight bias towards "crafty" places but lots with more traditional styles. Lots of PU Tankovna but I didn't come across any Únětický or Hostomice or similar on my visit last year but it wouldn't surprise me for one of them to pop up from time to time. Muted Horn is known for modern stuff but they do often have interesting traditional styles and Foesters has the occasional gravity barrel of something interesting from Düsseldorf or Franconia as well as lots of bottles. And there is a Gaffel Haus if you much drink Kölsch and all the big Munich breweries have venues. And when you do head to Prague I have a similar list at www.BeerGuidePRG.com
The best general advice I can give you is to stay away from the ubiquitious fernsehbier brands found at supermarkets and to look out for some of the smaller southern breweries which you may be able to find at Getränkemarkts and specialized bottle shops. Even craft beer bottle shops tend to carry some Franconian brews as well from time to time. If you have to shop at supermarkets, be aware that the standard German best-by date is 12 months. Good luck finding anything that is less than 6 months old.
Hey there! If you are going to Berlin, you for sure should try Berliner Weiße, the traditional Berlin style of beer, which is kind of similiar to Leipziger Gose. Nowadays you should find several different Berlin and elsewhere based breweries making this kind of beer. I personally would recommend the brewery BRLO. They also have a brewhouse in Berlin, just google it. You might also try out Berliner Kindl Weiße, which is the more "famous" type of this beer. It normally comes with a mixture of either raspberry or woodruff, but sometimes you might get it also without any added extra flavor. You already mentioned Schultheiss, which is a rather widely known beer. Another very well known and, in my perception, well liked beer is Berliner Kindl Pils, which is still coming from a Berlin based brewery. To be honest, Berliner Schultheiss and Berlin Kindl nowadays belong to the same company, but still, there are both traditional Berliner beers. I would say that normally, in a "typically Berlin" bar, you would have a hard time find any kind of beer but Pilsner or Berliner Weiße, but there are of course some brew pubs, where you find different kinds of beer. Try for example the "Biererei" in Kreuzberg. They have all kind of different beers, also Franconians. If you are more into Kölsch, try the "Ständige Vertretung". I might also recommend "Brauhaus Lemke" or "Foersters Feine Biere". I might add, just in case, that Brewdog opened a pub in Berlin just some months ago. If you would like to try a beer coming from the surroundings of Berlin, try to find "Neuzeller Klosterbier". They offer a great variety of beer and it is normally easy to find this beer around Berlin. Instead of going to Prague (which is of course a great place to visit and offers some amazing beer, but it might take some time to go there), you might check out Leipzig, which is just one hour by train south of Berlin: It has a special type of beer, Leipziger Gose, and there are some more good more or less local beers to try: Ur-Krostitzer (a Pilsener), Krostitzer (a dark beer) or, as already mentioned, Leipziger Gose. Enjoy it!
