Chilling portraits from the last days of the DDR

When I try to be pretentious, I say that beer blogging at its best is also a lens through which we can view history, politics, travel, gastronomy or other aspects of human lives or society.

My beer photos tend to be of the optimistic kind, capturing places I am happy to visit, here or abroad.

There are other kinds of beer photos, with fog instead of sunlight, with poverty and despair instead of hope.

Der Spiegel presents a series of photos from a book by Harald Hauswald. The book, Ferner Osten or The Far East, is a portrait of the last years of the DDR. Grim and powerful images by one of the few photographers in East Germany with access to Kodak film.

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Berlin XXXV – Let’s pretend we’re in Munich

Cold and dry weather had been replaced by sleet and snow, and we didn’t really have much on the agenda before returning to the hotel to pick up our baggage. We had some time to spare, but the climatic conditions did not invite to find another cozy old inn at the end of an alley in the Nicolaivirtel.

The nearest option was a large establishment decorated in blue and white. The Berlin outpost of the famous Munich Hofbräuhaus, a stone’s throw from the Alexanderplatz at Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse.

This is a huge place, very quiet in mid-afternoon. A huge menu, not surprisingly with a pork bias. Eight beers on tap, plus a seasonal if you’re lucky.

Staff dressed up in Bavarian costumes, wooden benches and tables. Taped yodel and polkas when I was there, but there is live music every night.

This is probably crammed with stag parties and buses of tourists during hight season. Wikipedia tells me there are dozens of Hofbräu franchises around the globe, the one in Berlin one of the newest. Think McDonalds for adults.  And I suppose you are supposed to sing along, at least after midnight.

But the beer is good. Better than the standard Berlin beers. And there is outside seating when the weather allows.

Don’t miss the souvenir shop. I’m sure many have bought stuff there they have regretted when sobering up. But the rubber ducks in dirndl are awesome.

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Berlin XXXIV – Broken German in the Berlin Bier Shop

In addition to the Berlin U-bahn, which is an underground network, there is also the S-bahn, which in the central areas of the city is elevated above street level, giving splendid views . Well, there is not much time to enjoy the view from Hauptbahnhof to Bellevue, it’s the next stop. Cross the bridge and walk up a short street, and you find the Berlin Bier Shop.

Bier jenseits des Mainstreams is the motto on their web page. Sure, you can stock up on all the bocks, helles, pils etc.  you’d want. But the reason to go here is for the more sophisticated stuff.

They cater for two types of customers: Germans who want interesting imports and tourists who want interesting German beers.  The imports include the big names from Denmark and the US.  Mikkeller sells well, the customers have often visited Copenhagen and know the price level. Slightly lower alcohol taxes and VAT equals more or less the cost of distribution, meaning you pay more or less the same for a bottle of Mikkeller as you would in Denmark. Students from the brewing college are eager to get new stuff coming in, particularly on-offs like the new yeast series.

For foreign visitors you are able to get some real treats. New beers from Berlin gypsy brewer Schoppe Bräu. Craft beers from the Czech Republic. I had some serious problems making up my mind. My suitcase was already bulging, and I knew I was in for a scolding from the Lufthansa check-in staff.

But I could not resist a barrel aged dark Gose. And a Berliner Weisse brewed with smoked malt. How is that for innovation?

Friendly and polite service. Once again my apologies for my German. The vocabulary is coming along fine, thank you. But the nuances of grammar and the use of the polite Sie instead of du leaves a lot to be desired. Other visitors don’t need to worry. They even use English on their web pages.

This is a must stop on a Berlin beer tour. A serious beer shop. Like Johnny’s Off Licence in Rome or Ølbutikken in Copenhagen.

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Berlin XXXIII – An evening meal in Zur Gerichtslaube

If you set up a scale of nostalgia for the DDR, I would not be far from the origo. But approximating zero is not equal to zero. The Nikolaiviertel in Berlin Mitte is something the regime should be credited for. This quarter was, as most of the city, reduced to rubble in 1945, and it took quite some time before they got around to restoring it.  The restoration did not just set up some big slabs of concrete, this was an attempt to recreate the oldest part of the medieval city for Berlin’s 750th anniversary in 1987.

What we find today is a charming collection of restored and replicated houses with lots of outside seating at the riverside cafes in sunny weather. During the winter, you find cozy old-fashioned restaurants and Kneipen, most of them more on the rustic than on the high dining side.

On a cold and dark evening in January, Zur Gerichtslaube offers a range of local and regional dishes. This restaurant is located in was used to be an old courthouse. I have a feeling that the present building is pretty new. Their web site informs us that all in all the Gerichtslaube was reconstructed three times and relocated twice, but it is rather vague about dates after 1482 or so.  But the illusion works well, you have the feeling of entering a place with roots going back to the middle ages here.

The food leans heavily towards the Sauerkrauft school of cuisine, but there are vegetarian options, too. With just a few days in town, I wanted to try something beyond sausages, and the Grosse Abendplatte, the large evening board seemed to be the thing. Meatballs, smoked venison, cured deer sausage, cheese, pickles … there was even a herb Schnapps included. Very pleasant, but the cheese selection was not particularly inspired.

The beer list is not particularly long, but there are two beers brewed especially for them. The Schöffenbier is an unfiltered pilsener or Helles, light bodied with some flowery hops, soft and pleasant to drink. There is also A Schwartzbier, which has the same problem that most of these dark lagers have in the region, it is all about caramel,

Polite and friendly service, mixed crowd. I have a feeling this is packed with tourists in the summer, so it is probably best to book a table. 

I certainly recommend a visit. You can have a snack and a beer if you’re not up to a big meal. Expensive? More so than the place off Alexanderplatz where you get a huge pig’s knuckle and a beer for 10 Euros. But then you get quite another experience.

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Berlin XXXI – Max und Moritz

I’m not too fond of crowded bars late at night. With a bunch of friends it can, of course, be great fun. But when I travel, it’s a quiet glass or two in the afternoon that often pleases me the most. Many pubs and bars stay closed at this time, waiting for the evening trade. That might be sensible, it does not make much sense to pay salaries to idle staff.

In Berlin, there are places open all day, some only in the evening. On a chilly February day, I found one that opened at five in the afternoon.

Max und Moritz is a classic Berliner Wirtshaus, dating back to 1902 with lots of the details intact. A bar area as you enter, dining tables at the back. When I look at their website, I see that there is a ballroom in the building, seating 100 diners and available for cultural events. Tango lessons on Sundays, if I remember correctly.

Two ladies behind the bar, one of the regulars conversing with them. Polite and friendly service.

Traditional cooking, not surprisingly heavy on the pork, but even some salads and other vegetarian options. Too early for supper, but certainly worth considering another day.

Two  beers stand out in their drinks list, one unfiltered, one clean and crisp pilsener. The Zwickl  is specially brewed for them, and is called Kreuzberger Molle, which I believe is brewed at the Südstern micro, not far away. Chewy cereals, honey, flowery hops. Pleasant drinking, but not really exciting. I prefer the Barre Brau, a German pilsener at its best. Clean and crisp. Herbs and grass, dry finish. Unpretentious and refreshing.

And, if you need one more for the road, there is a Kneipe next door that boasts of a Duckstein Dunkel on tap. Hm.

Located in Kreuzberg, just a few minutes from the Moritzplatz U-bahn stop, so it’s just ten minutes from the Alexanderplatz. And I must mention that I would never have found my way to this one if it wasn’t for the Around Berlin in 80 Beers book. Btw Max and Moritz are two characters from a series of books for children dating back to the mid-nineteenth century.

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Berlin XXX – nobody home

So, out into the cold dusk to try out a few brewpubs. Google maps showed that there was a direct line from Alexanderplatz to the U-bahn stop near the Rollberg micro. This brewery is actually located inside the old Berliner Kindl brewery. Very hard to find, the only sign of activity in the area was a go cart center. We finally spotted a sign that, due to a broken pipe, it was closed that weekend. Next time, perhaps you could update the fancy web site with some info?

Half an hours walk from Rollberg there is a brewpub I have visited some years ago, Südstern. Time to rest weary feet, have a beer and a Flammeküche. Not so. A sign on the door here, too. Today we close at 18.00.

The subway brought us back to the center of town, at least public transport is speedy and easy to use in Berlin.

The  banners of Brauhaus Lemke invited us in, and we were warmly welcomed and half a liter of their Zwickl soon appeared at the table. The Eisbein and the Schnitzel were also well worth the wait. Lemke is in the railway arches, a stone’s throw from Alexanderplatz. Their beers are not particularly inventive, but they are among the best in town. The photo below is from an earlier visit – on a warmer day.

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Berlin XXIX- a box of beers from BierPost

Time to burn off some bonus miles before Scandinavian Airlines disappear in a puff of smoke meant an opportunity to revisit Berlin, where there have been interesting developments. A hotel right off the Alexanderplatz was reasonably priced as well. And, as has become a habit, a mail order box of beers.

This time around from BierPost, a company located in Schwerin, where they also have a bricks and mortar shop.

Some exciting new German beers defying the conventions, some traditional Bocks and Doppelbocks, and even a beer from Liechtenstein – more to feed the ticker than anything else.

Sturdy packaging, the beers were  just as ordered. Highly recommended. Decent rates for beer and postage, too.

I particularly look forward to trying the beers from Schoppe Bräu and Crew Ale. There is even an ESB from Chile in there.

Now to find the roll of bubble wrap.

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South of the Border

I’ve mentioned before that I had a wish to freshen up my German. The last time I had any formal lesson in that language was some time in the late Seventies, and I have rarely used it apart from touristic purposes. A number of visits to Germany and Austria over the last five years or so have, however, wet my appetite to get a better grasp of the language.

So I enrolled in a course at the Goethe Insititut here in Oslo. Back to school every Wednesday from five to quarter past eight. Plus homework. Grammar, vocabulary, the lot.

It is challenging, but it’s great fun.

I ahve even started ordering books from the German amazon shop. Short stories to begin with, but I decided to have a look at more beer related titles in German, too. Lots of home brew books, some German translations of English language books, crime novels set in hop yards or Kneipen.

Some beer history, too, like this book about brewing in South Tyrol, a German-speaking region in Italy. There were 27 breweries in the area in 1880, a number that dwindled down to just one during a century of war, closed borders and taxation that favoured other beverages. But the book also covers the birth of small scale brewing in recent years, with portraits of the new brewpubs.

No plans of a visit to there area for now, but I think I’ll try to ask for a review copy.

But there is more.

Amazon.com and amazon.co.uk will not surprise you by giving unorthodox suggestions when you search for beer books. They will recommend pub guides and atlases, Brew like a monk and How to Start a Brewery Even if You’re not interested in Beer.

Amazon.de has a broader approach.

Sure, you have a guide to the most beautiful beer gardens of Bavaria, but they also have the Dirndl Sexy Romance series. 

But even if I was tempted, these Kindle tales of lust during the Oktoberfest are only available in Germany. Maybe it’s for the best.

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A young Alt in Dusseldorf

The direct flights to Barcelona were very expensive, so it was a matter if finding the most convenient stopover. Dusseldorf has a compact airport and a city centre just 20€ away by taxi.

This being a family outing, I did not have time to make a crawl of the traditional Altbier brewpubs I have visited before. They seemed to do a roaring trade on a sunnu Saturday afternoon. Instead I made a stop at the Kurtze brewery, tucked away on a quiet street in the Altstadt.
As the only customer, I was invited to a tour of the premises. They aim for a younger crowd than the traditional breweries. If the others have been around for centuries, you have to find your own niche.
The beer is a bit different, too, less bitter than the others. It is not aged in oak barrels, but distributed through pipelines to a clear glass tank at the bar.
Not an institution as yet, but well worth a stop if you are in town.

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The Central European beer heritage

There has been some discussion about beer innovation lately – today I’ll focus on the opposite, the celebration of beer heritage.

The border region including the Austrian Mühlviertel, the Czech South Bohemia and the German Lower Bavaria  wants to be a lighthouse for beer tourism, according to Genuss Bier. (You are about as far away from the sea as you are likely to get in Europe, so I assume lighthouses are few and far between there..)

The capital of South Bohemia is České Budějovice, better known as Budweis, which shows that their brewing credentials go way back.

The project has a budget of almost a million Euro, most of which come from EU funding (And Norway is most likely a proud sponsor).

There are four elements to be established by mid-2014:

• the establishment of a Beer Academy

• a quality offensive for hotels and restaurants 

• the establishment of a beer fair covering the whole region
• a common marketing of the BeerWorldRegion.

I applaud this for various reasons. There is, obviously, the beer part of it all. The promotion of beer tourism rooted in local traditions and linked with local culture is an end in itself.

On the other hand, have a look at the map. This is a region that today will look idyllic with its fields and forests, towns and castles. But it is also a region that has seen more than its share of war and conflict . The Iron Curtain ran right through this part of the continent, but that is just the culmination of a thousand years of strife.

There are many ways of stimulating the bonds between neighbours that have been separated by political forces. I can hardly think of a more pleasant way of doing this than by beer.

The reason that this struck a chord is probably that I am currently reading  the book Microcosm, a history of the Central European city today known as Wroclaw, recommended by Boak and Bailey in an earlier discussion.

Freshening up my German is rising towards the top of my to do list.

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