Pilsner
Biergarten, doner, currywurst, oh my! Beer in Berlin
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 | Beer | 7 Comments
I previously mentioned that I would be meeting up with Erik in Berlin during the last leg of his European vacation. While we didn’t make a point of visiting specific beer locations, since most of our party of seven wanted to make some wall a higher priority, we did do our fair share of beer related activities, mostly drinking. Berlin wasn’t super high on my list of cities to visit, but you can’t argue that the place isn’t chock full of recent history. First there were these Nazi people (bunch of jerks) that got the whole city destroyed, then these communists (also jerks) that didn’t take very good care of one half. The city is now made up of recently built modern buildings and bland eastern bloc leftovers with fragments of the past scattered amongst them, which doesn’t make for the most charming of settings. And since I’m not particularly interested in modern art and the new music scene (or erotic sex clubs), I wasn’t particularly taken with Berlin as a whole. What did strike me about Berlin was the local food and beer culture.
Currywurst in Berlin, bratwurst in ketchup and curry powder, with fries and mayo
We made a point of sampling Berlin’s two fast food staples, currywurst and doner kebab. Currywurst is fried bratwurst sliced up then covered in ketchup and curry powder, often served with fries and mayonnaise. It may sound like a disgusting heart attack on a paper plate, but it’s actually a tasty heart attack on a paper plate. You can’t argue with the price either, just 1.50 euros. Next up was doner kebabs, which are similar to a gyro, schawarma or donair. The added Berlin twist is the crispy toasted pita or flat bread, versus the usual soft variety. Doner kebab was also delicious and also affordable at 2 euros for a substantial portion. We didn’t just eat fast food, we also managed to track down some braised pork knuckle, a traditional Berlin dish that goes by the name of eisbein. While pork knuckle might sound a bit unappetizing, it’s actually just the foot end of a ham hock and I highly recommend it.
Erik and his Doner Kebab
Of course we had to drink some delicious German beer to go with our local gastronomic treats. We managed to drink many local Berlin beers, including the ubiquitous Berliner Pilsner and the wares of local Brauhaus Lemke. By far our favorite Berlin beer experiences were found in the biergartens, two of which we visited were located in leafy public parks. On a dreary Friday afternoon we visited Golgatha in West Kreuzberg and found ourselves the only people there. No bother, we brought our own party and thoroughly enjoyed our delicious maibock in the park. You could tell that Golgatha can get pretty crazy because of 0.50 euro deposit they demand per glass, which you get back when you return your vessel unshattered. They also list their closing ours as 6AM that, judging by the big screens being built for the world cup, might actually need to be enforced in the coming weeks.
Erik and friends in Golgatha Biergarten Berlin
Our second biergarten experience came on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the packed out Cafe am Neuen See in the Tiergarten. Nestled in the massive park and fronting a lovely pond, this treed in biergarten offered one of the most delightful beer drinking settings I’ve experienced. The cold, smooth, and delicious helles lager I was drinking went down so blissfully that I never wanted it to end. I wish Vancouver had something like this (London does, London is one big BYOB biergarten). It’s not like the place was full of smashed youth up to no good (like London is), but Cafe am Neuen See actually had multiple playgrounds for kids to play in. There were people of all ages and walks of life there just behaving themselves and enjoying a beer in a lovely setting. I’m jealous of Germany and their biergartens.
Cafe Am Neuen See Biergartin in Berlin Tiergarten
Us at Cafe Am Neuen See Biergartin in Berlin Tiergarten
The icing on Berlin cake came when, during the fleeing hours of our last day, we came across Das Boot in a touristy store. If you’ve seen the movie Beerfest then you’ll know all about Das Boot and how the toe holds an air bubble that causes beer to splash you in the face if you don’t turn it at the right time. If you haven’t seen Beerfest, know that it doesn’t have much to do with beer and is so ridiculously stupid that it becomes funny. I had to buy Das Boot and make good use of it. It holds one litre, or three standard bottles, of Berliner Pilsner and the toe is indeed as tricky as I was lead to believe. However, there’s no need to turn the boot at a critical moment if you just turn it from the start. Das Boot and I had the first of many more fun nights to come.
Chris finding Das Boot in Berlin
Chris drinking Berliner Pilsner from Das Boot
Erik drinking Berliner Pilsner from Das Boot
Cheers,
Chris
České Budějovice & Anheuser Busch: The other bohemian
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments
Chris touched on a really great topic in his previous post, Good beer is regional. I could not agree more – the best beer is usually local beer. This is not to say that we do not need diversity in our beer selection. I would not be very satisfied if I was limited to drinking only porters and pilsners for the rest of my life. I would miss my warming barely wines and Belgian dubbels. Most craft brewers regularly search for and sample new styles of beer that they can add to their expanding portfolio. For example, many craft brewers in the Pacific Northwest have begun brewing a wide variety of Belgian ales. I do not have to travel far to taste a world class Saison, Driftwood Brewery of Victoria BC brews a great Saison. It is true that a BC Saison may taste different than a Belgian Saison, but it is supposed to taste different. Brewing is a creative art form, and emulation is not very creative.
It is good to be inspired by other brewers, but to outright steal a regions style of beer and claim it as your own is crossing the line. This is how the Anheuser Busch Company created their popular, yet incredibly bland, Budweiser.
The American brewing industry got its start when German immigrants started to brew familiar Bavarian style lagers in their new homeland. Bavarian lager, with its clean taste, soon began to dominate the American beer market, but not for long. As American tastes began to change in preference of lighter food, Bavarian lagers, being malty and flavourful, began to fall out of favor. Anheuser Busch reacted to this change in what appeared to be a positive approach. Adolphus Busch, the then owner of Anheuser Busch, bought the rights to a light tasting bohemian style lager from fellow brewer Carl Conrad. This beer soon became the number one selling beer in America and was dubbed Budweiser, a trademark riddled with controversy to this day.
The Czech Republic (Bohemia) is known world wide for brewing the first Pilsner in a town called Pilsen – no surprise there. Most beer drinkers are familiar with a Pilsner style of beer, but are unaware that there is an equally tasty bohemian style lager brewed to the south of Pilsen in a city called České Budějovice or Budweis. Anheuser Busch’s bohemian lager was inspired by Bohemian budweiser and it is no surprise that this popular American brew was titled Budweiser. Anheuser Busch took things one step too far when they trademarked and defended their right to the Budweiser name, taking a style of beer, or at least a way of promoting that style, away from other brewers. From that point on no brewer other than Anheuser Busch was allowed to label their beer as a budweiser, even if it is a budweiser lager.
I can walk into almost any pub in Canada and ask for a porter, pale ale or hefeweizen and I will not be offered any particular brand of beer, but if I was to ask for a budweiser, a style of beer brewed since the 1400’s, I would be offered a boring old bottle of Bud. Thank you for killing a perfectly good style of beer Anheuser Busch. But not all hope is lost; Budweiser Budvar and Budějovický měšťanský, both located in České Budějovice (Budweis) are both still brewing a budweiser. Budweiser Budvar is available in Canada under the label Czechvar, but it is packaged in green bottles and is often exposed to the harsh lights found in BC liquor stores. As a result, the beer is skunked more often than not. Budějovický měšťanský, better known as Samson, is not easily tracked down in these parts, but I would love to try it. If anyone has a Samson budweiser on hand please let me know where you found it.
It would be great to see home brewers or local craft brewers recreate this lost style and take budweiser back from the grips of Anheuser Busch and put it into the hands of true beer lovers. It will be a good day when I can walk into a pub and order a budweiser only to be asked – which one?
Erik
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