Pub/Brewery Recommendations in Berlin

[JDC]

Anyone got any recommendations for pubs, breweries and/or beer to look out for in Berlin?  Heading there next week and have never been before.  I expect to find decent beer, but if there are any brewpubs or anything that I should check out, would be grateful for the heads up.  I'll be pretty much bang in the centre (Mitte district) of Berlin for a few days.  Cheers.

[Martin.k]

There is a Brauhaus in Mitte Alexanderplatz and another in Spandau. I was only ever in the spandau one but if its anything to go by its worth a visit. Beer is excellent, food is lovely & brewing equipment dotted around the building. 

[garciaBernal]

Check out this map. It has everything you need to know apart from Stone Berlin is not on it. http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/blueprint/servlet/image/berliner-zeitung/image/23934086/max/1692/1080/fdb2dfda2949dab1ae27f0f2adfe9f2d/Yx/berlin-craft-beer-maps.png

[irish_goat]

I've been in the Mitte Alexanderplatz brauhaus. The beer is decent but it's a bit of a strange place as it's in a shopping centre and you have to walk past some closed up shops if you're in there late to go to the toilet. Handy location if you're visiting the TV tower.

I'm heading over at the start of June for a Muse concert so this thread has come at a good time for me too.

[JDC]

Cheers All.  Will check out the the Mitte Alexanderplatz Brauhaus for sure - even with it's funky toilet arrangements.  Thanks garciaBernal for the map - have printed that out.  I see from it that BrewDog are Berlin bound also.

[irish_goat]

I see from it that BrewDog are Berlin bound also.

Not due to open til June though.

[garciaBernal]

Perfect for when I get there in July!

[JDC]

As much as I like BrewDog's brews, its the German stuff I'll be after on this trip. 

[JDC]

Well, I'm back and loved Berlin.  Wow, they do love their beer over there.

For those interested, I made it to Hops & Barley (www.hopsandbarley-berlin.de/) in the Friedrichshain district, relatively close to the East Side Gallery (about a 20 minute walk).  It is a nice pub in a former butchers and if you're in the area, worth a visit, but I wouldn't go out of your way to get there.  They only had a few beers (albeit very nice beers) on draught.

Somewhere I found which I would recommend making the trip to is the Rollberg Brewery (www.rollberger.de) in the Neukölln district.  It is a relatively small brewpub set up in a corner of a former large brewery (Kindl Brewery), but had a good range of beer (all German styles) on tap.  I also met the Brewmaster, Wilko, who was more than happy to talk me through all of his brews.  A word of warning though, this place is seriously hard to find, as you virtually walk through a derelict building site to get there, so if you're close to where you think it is, don't give up as I nearly did and keep going.

As a bit of fun, I also visited the Hofbräu München Berlin (www.hofbraeu-wirtshaus.de/en/home/), which I have since been told is the largest Beer Hall in the World (may or may not be true).  It's a Bavarian style beerhall, complete with all that you would expect (lederhosen, pork knuckle, terrible live music and litres of beer).  It's in the Alexanderplatz district, just near the Berliner Fernsehturm (or great big tower as I would call it).

One thing is for sure, you won't go thirsty in Berlin as everywhere sells beer - I saw fast food restaurants with a better selection of beer than most off-licenses here.  I reckon the dentists give you beer to rinse your mouth out with.

Also, for what it's worth, I think that the Brauhaus in Mitte Alexanderplatz is currently being renovated and will be open again in the summer.

[fobster]

I reckon the dentists give you beer to rinse your mouth out with.

And teething babies I imagine!

[ferg]

Me and Anil were in a absolutely class bar in Kreuzberg... Hopfenreich (Sorauer Str. 31, 10997 Berlin)

VERY recommended