Visit Date: April 2015
BREWPUBS VISITED: Brauhaus Georbraeu, Circus Hostel Brew Co. and Pfefferbräu
WEBSITE: http://www.brewersberlintours.com/craft-beer-n-breweries
DATES: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday
COST: £25.00 including tasting and tour, per person
DURATION: 3 Hours (starts at 7pm)
FURTHER INFORMATION: An AB travel ticket is needed for the tour (not included).
Berlin has a long brewing history, but many traditional breweries and bars disappeared following World War II and the city’s division during the Cold War. Now, new breweries and brewpubs are reinventing traditional beer styles, and resestablishing Berlin as a brewing city once more.
Our host Jonathon was a great engaging and knowledgable guide not only to Berlin itself, but also the beer culture and knowledge of the city. We started off with a traditional pretezl before embarking on a short U Bahn ride to Alexanderplatz, where Jonathon highlighted the architecture and history of the old East Berlin. Our first calling point was Brauhaus Georbraeu. Apparently one of the oldest Berlin brew houses, it dates back to the early 1990's! The surrounding buildings reflected the 1980's style of architecture as it was an area built by the GDR to increase tourism from the west and in turn make some money. The brew house is located in Nikolai Quarter, in the Mitte area and right on the banks of the River Spree near museum island - idyllic. Each year almost 1,500 litres of Saint George pilsner are brewed, which is exclusively available in the Georgbraeu. Georgbraeu is a typical large brewery bar which serves traditional German food. The place itself is very nice with a lovely wooden interior, and lots of small alcoves and side rooms. There is a large outdoor area too but it was early March, so no way we could use that! As for the beer, well the dunkel was heavenly, and the food being served looked pretty good as well.
Our next calling point was certaintly in stark contrast the Katz and Maus Tap Room serving the flavoursome pilsner brewed by the newly formed microbrewery - Circus Hostel Brewing Company, located in the Rosenthaler Platz. The microbrewery has only been in existence since January 2014 thus making it one of the most recent addition to the craft beer scene, Heiko the brewmaster only uses the finest hops and barley and adheres to the German Purity Laws of 1516. The bar has a very relaxed and friendly feel with a libaray of books to sit and read, while the walls are decorated with a variety of illustrations demonstrating the brewing process, and if you wish to know anything about David Hasselhoff, then the shrine to him in one of the back rooms is a sight to behold...once again the Pilsner is brewed on site.
Unfortunately we had to move on to our final location. However we were not disappointed as we landed on the doorstep of the Pfefferbräu Restaurant and Brewery Mountain, which has received a lot of press attention and deservedly so being one of the first micro breweries to bring back brewing to the traditional heartland of the Berlin brewing region Pankow
We just had to try the Alt (dark brown colored with a small off-white head, and hoppy finish), the Helles (hazy amber colored with a small white head) and not forgetting the Dunkel, we took great delight in discussing them, and generally had a fun time.
In conclusion the tour is lighthearted with a few set discussion topics, which is what I enjoyed about it the most. Additionally, I would distinguish this from the more-common pub crawls. This was a quieter time that focused more on good beer, good company, and good conversation. So, I would recommend getting on a Brewer's Brewery tour if you ever find yourself in Berlin. It is a great way to see some of the less tourist areas of the city and to learn about the rich brewing, political and economic history of one of the most unusual european cities.
