Berlin 2018 - Sunday 5 August

By bus and S-bahn to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, which opened in 2006. The S-bahn platforms are on the upper level and trains also depart from an underground level.

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

A walk via the footbridge over the river Spree and then east along the river banks, busy with passenger boats, to the riverside courtyard of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW). The theme for this year's summer music concert series 'Wassermusik' is 'Goodbye UK - And thanks for the Music' a #Brexit reference. Acts booked for the festival include Matthew Herbert's Brexit Big Band, The Zombies and Mexrrissey.

Inside a colourful Britlin's exhibition includes satirical urban plans based on 1970's holiday camps.Britlin's is a project by artist and graphic designer Scott King.

 

BRLO Brwhouse

Bus 100 from John-Foster-Dulles-Allee across Tiergarten and then U-bahn U1 from Nollendorfplatz to Gleisdreieck brought me to an overground platform with a view of BRLO brwhouse.

An A-board just inside the brewhouse entrance illustrates the brewing process.

Arriving before Mark and the main group, I ordered a large wheat beer (Weizen My Ass hefeweizen 50cl 5 euros) and found a table in the beer garden. Hops are trained up wooden poles that support the mesh covering which provided some shade from the bright sun.

The tables and benches have been crafted from solid planks of wood and painted mainly in black with some white details. Some additional seating has been constructed from wooden pallets. A container has been converted into an ice cream sales point and there is a play space for children.

When Mark and the group arrived I was surprised that they preferred to stay inside where I joined them on one of the long tables in a raised area. The black painted walls draw attention to the shiny stainless steel brewing vessels visible through a window behind the bar.

The Brlo tasting board with cheese (5 x 15cl glasses) for 14.50 euros looked tempting.
Mark's group had ordered meals and when these were served the quantities were too large for some. This was economical for me and minimised waste as I could finish off half a delicious Chef's sandwich for half the full 7 euros price.

Before leaving we had a chat with Grace who agreed to pose with a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine.Originally from Ottawa, Grace explained that BRLO takes its name from the old Czech name for Berlin which means swamp land. Grace was impressed with Mark's choice of places to visit during our group visit to Berlin.

A visit to the upstairs toilets before leaving revealed an amusing neon motto.

With its range of quality beer and food and its convenient location, just a few paces from Gleisdreieck U-bahn station, BRLO Brwhouse should be on the itinerary of any beer loving visitor to Berlin.

 

Hops & Barley

We took the U1 line to the eastern terminus at Warschauer Strasse and then tram enthusiasts took the M13 tram to Wühlischstr./Gärtnerstr, the stop opposite Hops & Barley, Wühlischstrasse 22/23, while others walked the short distance to the Friedrichshain brewpub.

The pavement tables, on the sunny side of the street, were occupied so we would find a table inside.

A blackboard behind the bar listed the beers available.

My first beer was Mandarina Hell from the Spezial section of the board - 0.3l for 3.20 euro.

Our round table in the back of the pub was cooled by a breeze from an open window.

Lighting was provided by 8 bulbs from a chandelier style fitting that may date back to DDR days?

The main brewery vessels can be viewed through a rectangular window from the room to the left of the bar.

A further small brewplant is also sited to the right of the bar. The ceramic tiles are a clue that the premises was formerly a butcher's shop. Hops & Barley was established here in 2008.
My favourite beer at Hops & Barley was a Berlin Beer Week special - India Pale Lager (0.3l / 3.50 euros).

 

Berlin Biermeile

On the third and final day of the 22nd International Berlin Beer Festival, only five of us wanted to revisit the Berlin Biermeile on Karl-Marx-Allee.

I enjoyed a draught Edelstoff by Augustiner-Bräu München, from a stand where the barmaids wore Bavarian costumes.

There are plenty of places to find street food at the festival and we got grilled sausages from a stand. There were fewer people around than on previous evenings and no queues or lack of seating.

Mark (L) poised to decant his beer from a Spandau glass.
David (R) ready to get a refund on his Spandau glass!

At the Brauhaus in Spandau stand, which offered cheaper beers than at most stands, we each saved 0.50 euro on the standard price of 2.50 euro by not presenting our 0.2 litre festival glasses. Instead we ordered a 0.2 litre glass and paid the 2 euro deposit, only to decant the beer into our festival glasses and return the branded glass for a quick refund of the deposit!

Another beer sampled was draught Pit Bull IPA by Zloty Pies from Wroclaw, Poland.

At 9pm the sky in the west towards the Fernsehturm Berlin looked pretty! We would soon be heading in that direction for my final beers of the day.

We caught the U-bahn (U5) from Weberwiese to Alexanderplatz then U2 to Klosterstraße, a mniutes walk from Zur Letzten Instanz.

 

Zur Letzten Instanz

Arriving late on a Sunday evening, the door was open but the historic bar was empty inside except for Greg behind the bar.

Stammtisch, Zur Letzten Instanz - L to R: Dave, Mark, Bod & Graham

Greg kindly showed us into a far room and invited us to sit at the Stammtisch.with its elaborate brass sign in the centre of the table.

My final beer of the day was a draught Berline Kindl Zwickel by Berliner-Kindl-Schultheiss-Brauerei.

The decor inside the bar includes some old drinking vessels and enamel signs.

The signs for the toilet doors at Zur Letzten Instanz were also decorative!
It was now after 11pm and time for me to head back to my hostel in Grunewald and say goodbye to Mark and the group. They would travel by train to Bamberg on Monday while I stayed on in Berlin.