I recently spent 72 hours in Berlin and had a beer-y good time visiting 3 breweries – making friends, absorbing local culture, learning a little world history, and experiencing history in the making. Did you ever expect that visiting 3 breweries and drinking beer could have so many benefits?!
Hausbrauerei Eschenbräu
Located in the Wedding district is one of the oldest craft breweries in Berlin – Hausbrauerei Eschenbräu. Tucked away in back of a commercial building and surrounded by apartments and a small park, this microbrewery challenges new visitors to find it but rewards those that make the effort.
Hard to find but worth the effort.
Eschenbräu opened in 2001 under the direction of brewmaster Martin Eschenbrenner. Eschenbräu brews more in the German-style. The line-up includes three regular beers — pils, dark, and wheat — and a variety of rotated seasonal beers like Märzen. Sometimes Eschenbräu even brews American-influenced styles like O.P.A., an American-style Pale Ale. They also produce a variety of spirits including a house whiskey.
One of the beers I tried was the Weizen (wheat beer) – 4.8% ABV and 19 IBU. This beer was pale, straw gold in color with a little haziness and a beautifully thick, white foam. Aromas of banana, apple, and vanilla prevailed with some clove. The body was medium. Flavors included ripe banana, clove, bread, and caramel. The beer was easy to drink and refreshing, although not as crisp and dry as I’d prefer.
Beer-y Good Time has officially started!
Eschenbräu has both indoor seating and an inviting outdoor beer garden. Located below ground level, the indoor seating holds about 100 people. Weather permitting, the beer garden is definitely the place to be enjoying these brews. You’re unlikely to find tourists at Eschenbräu. This place is primarily a young locals hang out – including students from nearby Beuth University of Applied Sciences. However, I found that the locals are very friendly to and talkative with anyone who appreciates beer and cultural immersion – even an old guy like me.
Indoor seating is below ground but feels spacious.
A large oak tree protects the beer garden patrons from the elements.
In the evening, string lights highlight the outdoor garden beautifully. A large, glass wall in the brewery allows you to peer at the copper kettles and working brewers.
An outdoor serving bar at night creates a portrait displaying the power of light and dark.
A voyeuristic-like view of a brewer at work.
Overall, Hausbrauerei Eschenbräu is a great place to leave the tourist invaded areas of Berlin behind. You’ll experience cultural immersion in one of Berlin’s local, youthful communities for a beer-y good time. Like lots of places in Berlin, they don’t take credit cards so be certain to bring cash.
Braumanufaktur Potsdam – Forsthaus Templin
If you have a car, take a 45 minute morning drive to Potsdam and visit the Cecilienhof Palace. The palace is famous for having been the location of the Potsdam Conference in 1945. Here, the leaders of the Soviet Union, United Kingdom and United States established important decisions affecting the shape of post World War II Europe and Asia. Cecilienhof has been part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. It is open for tourist visits.
The Potsdam Agreement was signed in this room at Cecilienhof Palace.
Once done, you definitely should make the very short drive to Braumanufaktur Potsdam craft brewery and restaurant housed in Forsthaus Templin (the Forester’s House at Lake Templin) for lunch and beer. Since 1834, Forsthaus Templin has been used as a restaurant and beer garden – one of the oldest in the area. The restaurant’s heyday was in the 1930s and 40s when up to 4000 (yes, four thousand) patrons could be visiting. The property supported 3 steamboat jetties and 9 other boat jetties. Additionally, at that time there was a beachfront restaurant and more than 3300 feet of waterfront shore/beach for sunbathing and swimming. A diminished property went idle in 1997. The current owners bought the property in 2002. They converted it into a brewpub that opened on 6 December 2003.
Easy to find from the adjacent country road – Braumanufaktur Potsdam provides another opportunity for a beer-y good time.
The main room of the restaurant seats about 100 people with 2 separate rooms on the second floor for private events. A spacious outdoor beer garden is perfect for summer and fair weather seating. Though not visible from the beer garden, Lake Templin is just a short stroll away. Once again, you will find locals almost exclusively at Forsthaus Templin.
The main room seats about 100 people…
…and definitely offers a German country-side vibe.
The outdoor beer garden was beautiful and comfortable.
A short stroll gets you to Lake Templin. The lake is very large even though you can’t tell from this photograph.
Braumanufaktur Potsdam has conducted certified organic brewery operations since 2006. All of their beers use 100% organic ingredients and are unfiltered (hence, naturally cloudy). The barley and wheat for Braumanufactur’s beers are grown in nearby Brandenburg, Germany. All of their beer bottles are labeled to allow customers to trace the raw ingredients used in the beers all the way back to the original producers.
Braumanufaktur Potsdam microbrewery in operation.
In additional to traditional German-style beers like pilsner, Braumanufaktur also produces old regional style beers such as Potsdamer Stange. Potsdamer Stange (or rod) beer is a regional specialty that dates back around 200 years and was named after the regional tall, rod-shaped glass in which the beer was served due to the high foaming this beer produces. Potsdamer Stange is a golden-yellow (with amber tones), unfiltered lager with a dry finish. A long cold fermentation (11 ° C for about 6 days) and a long maturation period (approximately 4 weeks) help give the beer a more rounded flavor with fewer fermentation by-products such as fusel alcohols. Kräusening is used to give the beer a more sparkling aspect. I enjoyed it!
Potsdamer Stange
Braumanufaktur Potsdam – Forsthaus Templin is the perfect place to visit if you want to combine world history and local culture while quaffing a unique regional brew for a beer-y good time . Once again, cash is essential.
Stone Brewing Berlin
All those German beers can make an American tourist long for a west coast IPA. Fortunately, Stone Brewing Berlin officially opened on August 29th, making Stone Brewing the first U.S. craft brewery to independently build, own and operate a brewery in Europe. As reported earlier, the team at FirkinBeer.com visited Stone Brewing Berlin on August 25th and 26th for a hosted tour of their new and historic location. You can read the details about Stone Brewing Berlin and our visit by clicking here. Now their destination restaurant and beer mecca offers 75 different beers on tap – the largest selection in the entire country of Germany! They also distribute their core line-up to 17 countries throughout Europe. You can watch a short video of Stone Brewing Berlin’s Grand Opening Celebration by clicking here.
Stone Brewing Berlin delivered the ultimate beer-y good time!
During our visit in August, nine different beers brewed by Stone Brewing Berlin were on tap. In two cases, the beers are under the name Arrogant Brewing which spun off as a separate enterprise.
- Stone IPA*
- Stone Cali-Belgique IPA*
- Stone Ruination Double IPA*
- Arrogant Bastard Ale*
- Stone Go To IPA
- Stone Vanilla Porter
- Stone Imperial Coconut Hazelnut Porter Prototype
- Lil’ Bastard Prototype
- Stone IPA Dry-hopped with Callista Hops – Unfiltered
The first four beers above were also available in cans as noted by an asterisk (*). Since our visit, Stone Go To IPA canned beers have been added although distribution is limited to select countries. Stone Brewing beer drinkers should be familiar with several of these names from the U.S.-based product line. However, our Stone Berlin tour guides told us that the Stone Brewing Berlin versions don’t always have the same composition and flavor profile as their American counterparts. The variations express regional influences while still maintaining integrity and craftsmanship in the ingredients and brewing techniques.
For example, if you look at the Stone IPA descriptions on the Stone Berlin website and the U.S. Stone Brewing website, some differences are present. Stone Berlin IPA features Magnum, Centennial, and Mosaic hops. Stone Brewing U.S. IPA features Magnum, Chinook, Centennial, Azacca, Calypso, Motueka, Ella, and Vic Secret hops.
My first beer at Stone Brewing Berlin was the Stone IPA. The beer’s aroma and taste seemed more floral and less bitter to me; however, I did not perform a side-by-side comparison of Berlin versus Escondido Stone IPAs. In any event, I thoroughly enjoyed the Stone Brewing Berlin IPA and it definitely satisfied my need for some hop-driven citrus and pine aromas and flavors after a few traditional German beers.
My first beer at Stone Brewing Berlin was this Stone IPA.
The Stone Imperial Coconut Hazelnut Porter Prototype was the least favorite of the nine Stone Berlin beers I tried. The coconut flavor was more subdued than I like.
My favorite of the nine was the Ruination Double IPA. This full-bodied ale celebrates all of the beautiful characteristics of hops. It features Magnum, Chinook, Simcoe, Citra, Azacca and Centennial hop varieties to create a burst of piney and citrusy aromas and flavors with a touch of tropical fruit.
Stone Brewing Berlin adds new beers constantly to their rotation so expect a different line-up of non-core beers when you visit. Like always, Stone Brewing continues to explore the delicious possibilities of craft brewing.
In addition to the Stone Brewing Berlin beers, there were a wide range of beers on tap from Stone Escondido and other renowned brewers throughout the world. During my visit, the Stone beer menu featured beers from Mikkeller, Mahr’s Brau, BrewDog, Evil Twin, and more.
Overall, I think Stone Brewing Berlin offers a tremendous selection of craft and artisanal beers that should satisfy any beer lover’s palate – including those seeking some American style, hop-driven IPAs and Double IPAs.
With only 72 hours in Berlin, I barely scratched the surface of local breweries and beer – but I did visit 3 breweries in or near Berlin that delivered a Beer-y Good Time.
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