Craft Beer fom Berlin/Germany

Berlin is the Craft Beer capital of Germany - without ifs and buts! The city shines with a diverse range of breweries, bars, brewpubs and restaurants. Some of the bars are certainly among the hottest in Europe! In addition, Berlin also has a checkered beer history. Moreover, an iconic beer style comes from the city: Berliner Weisse. Berlin is definitely always worth a beer trip!

Berlin beer and brewing history

The German capital has a checkered and varied beer history. Looking back, a lot of it naturally focuses on the city's iconic style. Berliner Weisse is certainly by far the most famous beer style the city has produced.

Berliner Weisse was first mentioned in sources in the mid-17th century, but its origins probably date back even earlier. At the beginning of the 19th century, it is said that there were over 700 pubs in the city serving Berliner Weissbier. With the development of lager and rapid industrialization at the end of the century, the world of beer in Berlin also changed.

Although Berliner Weisse remained an important part of the range, this was supplemented primarily by lager styles such as Pilsner.

After the market was dominated by the two breweries Berliner Kindl and Schultheiss in the post-reunification years, an alternative beer scene slowly developed in the city at the beginning of the millennium. One of the first Craft Beer breweries was Brauhaus Lemke, which was founded back in 1999. Today, Lemke brews, among other things, a Berliner Weisse again according to the traditional model.

Popular Craft Beer from Berlin

BRLO is certainly one of the best-known Craft Beer breweries from Berlin. It was founded in 2014 and now has its own brewery with a really great restaurant at Gleisdreieck in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

Schneeeule brings the culture of Berliner Weisse back to the present. Using traditional brewing methods, bottle fermentation and yeast strains extracted from old Weisse bottles, Schneeeule has been stirring up the German Craft Beer scene since 2012. Today, the brewery even has its own bar in Wedding.

Motel Beer brews in Berlin-Reinickendorf. In addition to various beers in cans, Motel also brews cold brew and nitro coffee for various roasters from Berlin.

Berliner Berg has been brewing in Berlin-Neukölln since 2015. Meanwhile, also in its own large brewery, which opened in May 2021. By the way, there is also a taproom there, where you can enjoy the fresh Berliner Berg beer directly at the source.

Fuerst Wiacek brought the NEIPA hype to Germany back in the day. How crassly the first beer of the Berlin brewery hit in 2016! In 2021, they move into their own brewery in Berlin-Siemensstadt.

Besides these most famous Craft Beer breweries, there are of course more great beer producers in Berlin: Gorilla Cerveceria, Heidenpeters, Straßenbräu, Einbar, Bräugier, Schoppe Bräu, Vagabund, Hops & Barley - just to name a few. BrewDog also took over Stone's former brewery in southern Berlin and opened DogTap there. Brewery, taproom, restaurant and beer garden all in one!

The Best Craft Beer Bars in Berlin

In addition to the breweries mentioned above, Berlin also has an incredibly good Craft Beer bar scene. Here are our tips for some bars that you definitely shouldn't miss when visiting Berlin.

Mikkeller Berlin: The bars of Mikkeller are always worth a visit. No matter in which city you are. Best beer from all Mikkeller breweries, local guest breweries and great specials! And of course the design is unbeatable. Of course, this all applies to Berlin as well!

Muted Horn: Arguably one of the best beer bars in Europe. A super diverse range of hip hype brews, some exclusively imported beers from Canada, Franconian lagers and on top best lambic from Belgium.

Protokoll: The place for Russian Craft Beer. In Berlin. Actually, even in Europe. There's always a new brewery to discover at Protokoll. Plus awesome beer from hot Russian Craft Beer breweries like Zagovor, AF Brew, Stamm and others. Plus, of course, other international hype breweries on tap!

Biererei: The place for Hazy IPA fans. In addition, the Biererei has a large vintage cellar, in which there are exceptional beers to discover. Small tip: Ask for Franconian lager or Smoked Beer!

Herman: A Belgian beer bar, on the border between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. Best Craft Beer from Belgium, be it Trappist beer, Saison or Lambic & Geuze.

Also recommended: BrewDog, Lager Lager, Hopfenreich, Manifest, St. Bart, Vostok Craft Beer Bar.