Leaving Berlin

The easiest way to get to Berlin's Schönefeld airport from the city centre is of course by taxi. It is a long and expensive ride, so I preferred using public transportation. And it is also very affordable. A day ticket costs less than 7 EUR, and you can use it on buses, trams, trains and the metro system in the German capital.

The main railwaystation in Berlin, Berlin Hauptbahnhof, is an impressive sight. This modern piece of architecture is more than worth a visit. For myself, the railway station was the first step towards the flight back home. First you must take a train to Berlin Südkreuz station, where you catch a direct train to the Schönefeld airport. There is a brewpub on the Hauptbahnhof, but I did not know where to find it. Sure, I could have asked someone, but as I saw a train with the Czech ČD logo going to Berlin Südkreuz, I decided to board the train and sat down in the restaurant car.

A Czech restaurant car meant that it might be possible to find Czech draught beer. And so it was. I ordered a glass and was served Pilsner Urquell from tap. The golden lager had that beautiful aroma of grass and Saaz hops, and the excellent combination of malt, hints of fruits and tasty, bitter Saaz hops was once again a treat. Pilsner Urquell is a wonderful beer.

It was barely time to finish my Urquell before the train arrived at Berlin Südkreuz. I left the Czech restaurant car and had a walk through the station. I had some time before the train to the airport left, so I visited the little supermarket downstairs to get a water bottle and some snacks. Then it was back to the platform to get on the next train.

It was dark when I arrived at Berlin Schönefeld airport. It is probably the last time I am there, as the airport is to close later this year. Then some of the area will become part of the new Berlin Brandenburg airport. Check-in was fast and easy, and suddenly I was through security.

The departures area of the airport was very crowded. Many Brits were waiting for their Easyjet flight home, and they had turned that part of the building into a party zone. All benches and chairs were taken, so most people were sitting on the floor. The crowdiest part of departures was the little Irish pub. After a long wait, the friendly bartender gave me a Berliner Kindl Jubiläums Pilsener. It is a nice pale lager, but it pales compared to Pilsner Urquell.

There were also some kiosks in the departures area. I bought some beer to take home, and as I was given information that my flight home would be late I opened one of them. Flensburger Pilsener is an old acquaintance. I have been drinking it several times during visits to Germany. It is sold in nostalgic swing top bottles, and I am very fond of the label with the cog.

I drank the beer straight from the bottle. The nose was malty, and a combination of malts, hops and grass had a dance in the mouth before a partly bitter finish. Another fine pale lager that I felt was better than Berliner Kindl, but still average compared to Pilsner Urquell.

My visit to Berlin had come to an end, and I entered the airplane. I will be back in Berlin some day. I liked the city, and I would like to see more of Berlin's taprooms as well. In the meantime I can recommend Ronald Pattinson's Berlin Pub Guide. Fellow Norwegian beer blogger Knut Albert also has some interesting posts about the German capital. Here you can find his posts that are tagged with Berlin. Cheers!

Nearly no room at Zum Nußbaum

There are some interesting restaurants and bierstubes in Berlin's Nikolaiviertel quarter. One of them is Zum Nußbaum, which is one of the oldest pubs in Berlin. It used to be somewhere else in the German capital, but the house was moved to the current location next to the Nikolaikirche church by the East German authorities in the 1980s.

Zum Nußbaum seems to be a popular place. The afternoon I visited the bierstube, there were no available tables. I therefore found a place at the bar and had an excellent view to the beer taps. Four draught beers were available, and I could choose between two pale lagers, a schwarzbier and a wheat beer. I had already tried the Berliner Kindl Jubiläums Pilsener, and the two other beers sounded more interesting than Rex Pilsener. My first choice was therefore the schwarzbier.

Märkischer Landmann from the Berliner Kindl brewery was as expected black in colour. It had a small head and nearly no carbonation. There was barely any aromas, but I felt some coffee. The coffee took the lead with a touch of nuts before a semi bitter finish. Fortunately there was not any of the sweetness that in my opinion ruins some Czech dark lagers. This schwarzbier was refreshing and a nice treat.

I went on to try Schöfferhofer Weizen from the Binding brewery in the Hesse region. The wheat beer was cloudy in the glass, had a large head and not much carbonation. In the nose there was banana and cloves. I felt banana and tutti frutti bubble gum in the mouth before a finish with some peaches. Lovely! This is one of the best wheat beers I have ever tasted.

As I was drinking my two beers, I noticed that the female barkeeper received several phone calls. It looked as if these were table reservations for the evening and the day after. I liked Zum Nußbaum, and I feel that its atmosphere was excellent. But after my visit I have a tip for other tourists: Reserve a table in advance if you want to go there. There is not much space at the bar.

A visit to Brauhaus Mitte

Just across the street from the TV tower at Alexanderplatz, you can find one of Berlin's brewpubs. Brauhaus Mitte is based in a mall, but it has its own entrance on a street corner.

I walked the stairs into the large brewpub. I sat down at one of the tables and was given a menu by a friendly waitress. At that moment I was not hungry, so I scanned the beer menu. There were four beers available that were brewed on the premises. I ordered a taster glass of every beer and decided to buy a half liter afterwards of the beer I liked the most.

First out was the Pils. It was a pale lager with a small head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt grass, and the grass was joined by some malts in the mouth. The finish had some caramel and a pinch of bitterness. I liked it!

Then it was time for the Dunkel. The copper coloured beer also had a small head and barely any carbonation. This beer had an intense aroma of coffee. In the mouth there was a fine combination of coffee and some hoppy bitterness. This was an even better beer.

The Hefeweizen was a cloudy beer without carbonation. In the nose I felt banana and some sweetness. The banana was assertive in the mouth with some spices I could not pinpoint before a sweet finish. This was another good wheat beer.

Last out was the Zwickel. This was also a cloudy beer with a nearly brownish colour. There was no carbonation, and the beer had a small head. I felt caramel and yeast in the nose and was not surprised when the beer tasted the same. This was a nice beer that actually reminded me of Old Speckeled Hen from bottle.

The best of the four beers was the Dunkel, in my opinion. I ordered another glass of it and enjoyed the atmosphere. The brewpub was not exactly crowded, and the heimat music was a touch that gave the place an extra German feeling. It was also interesting watching the S-Bahn trains travelling on the railway bridge not far from the pub.

Refreshed, I went into the Berlin dusk. In the semi darkness the TV tower was suddenly even more impressive!

Time for Berliner Weisse

Berlin has its own traditional beer. Berliner Weisse is supposed to have been brewed since the 16th century, and was in the 19th century the most popular alcoholic drink in the Prussian capital. This wheat beer is a sour beer with a low alcohol content. Normally it has around 3% alcohol. The beer is often drunk with a flavoured syrup like raspberry or woodruff. The added syrup is called schuss, so make sure you order weisse "ohne schuss" to get the beer in its original form.

Being in Berlin, I had to try out some Berliner Weisse. As I was walking towards Alexanderplatz I found a natural place to do so. A restaurant called Alt-Berliner Weißbierstube in Rathausstraße promised both the right beer style and the right environment. I liked the restaurant, and from the moment I stepped inside until I left everything was great. Attentive and smiling waiters did their part, and the bierstube also had a fine atmosphere.

Sure, I went for the wheat beer first. I was given some Schultheiss Berliner Weisse in the traditional bowl-shaped glass. The beer was cloudy. It had a small head and barely any carbonation. I felt that the nose was refreshing with some citrus and yeast. In the mouth sourness took the lead with some lemon. The finish was watery, but it felt fitting for this beer. This is something I would really like to drink outdoors a warm and sunny Summer day.

There were more draught beers on the menu at Alt-Berliner Weißbierstube. I decided to try out Berliner Pilsener from Schultheiss. This is one of the palest lagers I have ever seen, and it was served with a medium sized head and nearly no carbonation. Berliner Pilsener had a malty aroma. In the mouth I felt malts, grass and some hops before a partly bitter finish. This was another fine pale lager that would probably be a nice session beer.

Alt-Berliner Weißbierstube was a great restaurant, and I recommend it to every visitor to Berlin. I know I will return.

Another macro beer

Berlin is a fantastic place to visit. As a tourist, the sights are many and interesting.

Like Checkpoint Charlie.


Or Brandenburger Tor.

After a long walk through Berlin in rainy and windy weather, it was time to find a watering hole. Berlin Pavillon was the place I chose. Perhaps I should have gone to another bar or restaurant. Berlin Pavillon felt like a large school canteen with some available draught beers.

I ordered a half litre of Krombacher Pils. I should have taken some Paulaner wheat beer instead. That is a much better beer.

Krombacher was a pale lager with nearly no carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt malts and sweetness, The beer was sweet with some malts and a touch of hops. I felt this was another average pale lager. In a way mirroring Berlin Pavillon. Just another average canteen.

Schultheiss time

I like trying new beers when I travel, and for me it is also interesting tasting beers from macro breweries. After walking in the area near Stadtmitte U-Bahn station, I passed Hotel M68 by chance. The hotel had a cafe on the ground floor, and I thought that I would find wifi possibilities on the premises. I was right, and after ordering a local beer from Berlin I was given the wifi password by the friendly waitress/receptionist.

Schultheiss Pilsener was a typical pale lager with some carbonation and a medium sized head. For some reason, I was given a San Miguel glass to drink the Schultheiss beer from. Strange. I would have believed that a hotel at least had branded glasses from a local brewery. The beer's aromas were malty with some sweetness and grass. The sweetness led on in the mouth with some grass and flowers. The beer was nice, but average. Still, it was sweeter than I would prefer. Perhaps an extra touch of hops would have been a good way of enhancing the taste experience?

One half litre of Schultheiss Pilsener was enough at M68 this time around. I was ready for the tourist part of the day. Checkpoint Charlie, Unter den Linden and Brandenburger Tor were my next stops.

My first Berliner brewpub

There is no doubt that Georg Bräu has a wonderful location. Next to the river Spree in the famous Nikolaiviertel quarter in Berlin, I can imagine that this is a great place to sit outside in Summer enjoying the sun and some beers.

As it was Winter, there were no tables outside. Therefore I went inside to order one of the beers brewed on the premises. The choices were few and simple. At Georg Bräu there was a helles and a dunkles. I went for the pale beer.

A large glass of Georg Bräu helles was brought to my table by the cute, but very formal waitress. The cloudy and nearly orange coloured beer had no carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt grass and mints. In the mouth a combination of mints, yeast and caramel danced along with a strange taste I could not pinpoint. The finish had some caramel and a little touch of bitterness. I liked the beer, but it was not that interesting that I ordered another glass.

There were few people at Georg Bräu the day I visited. Most of them had food with their beer. On the table next to me some Russians had a duck dish that looked very tempting. I was not hungry. Otherwise I would have tried it out.

I left Georg Bräu in a good mood, but a few hours later I remembered that the brewpub had two beers. I forgot to taste the dunkles. Well, I guess I have more than the duck to try out if I ever revisit Georg Bräu.

A taste of Berlin

After a pleasant flight I was finally in Berlin. I had landed on the Schönefeld airport, and I felt a bit hungry as I left the main entrance. Next to the terminal I found a special building: An old train car had been redecorated into a hot dog stand. The place was called Die Ess-Bahn. This was a clever word play on the German verb for eating and the S-Bahn trains. I went inside and ordered a Currywurst and a lager beer to drink. Unfortunately there were no draught beers available, but a half litre of Berliner Kindl Jubiläums Pilsener felt appropriate.

The Currywurst is a standard dish in Germany. Everywhere in Germany you will find it on fast food menus. It is a take on sausage drowned in ketchup and a liberal dose of curry. I like to have a Currywurst now and then while in Germany, but the fatty sausage may not be to everybody's liking.

I had to drink the Berliner Kindl beer from a plastic cup. Unfortunately, no ordinary glass was available at Die Ess-Bahn. The Jubiläums Pilsener was a pale lager beer with a small head and barely any carbonation. I felt malts and sweetness in the nose. The beer felt balanced with some sweetness and a touch of hops before a finish with grains. I liked it. This was a nice pale lager.

I finished my beer and Currywurst and spent some time reading the complimentary Berliner Morgenpost on my table. Then it was time to find the Berlin-Schönefeld railway station just a short walk away. More than one bierstube in the city centre was waiting for me.