Berlin is a cocktail city today, but it was a beer city first. Here is where to drink one, and what to order.
A half litre under chestnut trees, a craft pint in a brewery built from shipping containers or a bottle from the Späti on the corner: beer is part of every Berlin summer and many Berlin winters. These are the places worth knowing.
Beer gardens
- Prater Garten, Prenzlauer Berg: Berlin's oldest beer garden, founded in 1837, on Kastanienallee. Hundreds of seats under chestnut trees, open from spring into early autumn when the weather is good.
- Café am Neuen See, Tiergarten: tables under tall trees right by a lake in the middle of the park. The place for a long summer afternoon.
- Schleusenkrug, Tiergarten: next to a lock on the Landwehrkanal, a short walk from Zoo station, and a seasonal favourite from spring to autumn.
- Golgatha, Kreuzberg: in Viktoriapark, with the hill and its waterfall right next door.
Craft beer
Berlin's craft scene is younger than its beer gardens but just as lively. BRLO Brwhouse at Gleisdreieck Park brews in a building made from repurposed shipping containers and runs a beer garden that takes walk-ins. Many neighbourhood bars in Neukölln and Kreuzberg have rotating taps with beers from Berlin and Brandenburg, so ask what is local.
What to order
Try a Berliner Weisse, the city's own light, sour wheat beer, traditionally served "mit Schuss": with a dash of red raspberry or green woodruff syrup. Otherwise Berlin drinks Pils and Helles, and in summer a Radler. In a beer garden a half litre typically costs somewhere around four to six euros.
The Späti and the rooftop
Drinking a beer outside the Späti, Berlin's late-night corner shop, is a perfectly respectable evening here. For a view, take your beer up to Klunkerkranich on the roof of a Neukölln car park at sunset.
When the beer garden closes
Beer gardens wind down in the late evening, so plan a second stop. Berlin's bars stay open long after the gardens have stacked their chairs: Green Door in Schöneberg for classics, 100 GRAMM Bar near Rosenthaler Platz for creative drinks until late. Read what time bars close in Berlin before you plan the night.
Try it
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Where is the best place to drink beer in Berlin?
In summer the beer gardens: Prater Garten in Prenzlauer Berg (the oldest, from 1837), Café am Neuen See and Schleusenkrug in Tiergarten. For craft beer, BRLO Brwhouse at Gleisdreieck Park.
What beer is Berlin known for?
Berliner Weisse, a light, sour wheat beer that is traditionally served with raspberry or woodruff syrup.
How much does a beer cost in Berlin?
In beer gardens a half litre typically costs around four to six euros; Spätis are cheaper, hotel bars more expensive.
