Beer prices in Berlin. What's your opinion?

First it was Hopfenreich, serving a 0,5 cl of american imperial stouts for 7,20€. Then came Kaschk with is superexpensive scandinavian craft beers. Suddenly the Pier popped up with
it’s nice 21 euros/liter (or more). In the end it was The Castle, serving oxidated, flat, not-in-good-conditions beers for 5,80€ (0,4 cl format). Yesterday I went to The Castle again, but I saw an increase in prices which I cannot understand: 6.80 euros for a 0,4 cl of Fruitallica is a no-go for me.

What do you think of the craft beer situation in Berlin? Don’t you think that some places are raising the prices in an unacceptable way for regular, everyday, craft beer drinkers?

There are plenty of places where you can drink for fair prices but still, I find the situation far from being fair. Berlin is not Copenhagen.

No not Copenhagen, definetly not, but always mentioned as super hip and modern and alternative and so on. Lots of international guests and people from other countries living there which doesn’t make the price situation better.
Price of the IS compared to the franconian is really ridiculous.

Also Berlin is mentioned way too often as THE beer spot in Germany. Yes there are a lot of breweries in the city, no most of them aren’t good, yes other areas are more interesting, no Berlin beer scene is not crazy alternative.

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This is not confined to Berlin at all, it’s just the German craft beer scene. There are two relatively new craft beer bars in Cologne and Düsseldorf both of which charge between 4,50 and 9,50 Euros for a 0,3l glass of beer. It’s totally ridiculous, of course, but you have to remember that craft beer is still a relatively new phenomenon here. Since supply is still so low in many parts of Germany, these bars essentially have a craft beer monopoly and seem to think that they can easily get away with milking the early adopters. Hopefully, supply and demand will eventually take care of that problem as more places open up, creating more competition.

German craft beer is like champagne: sparkling, very often at the most mediocre and very often overpriced. The real “craft”-beer is available for example in Franconia: better, much cheaper and the result of centuries of good craftsmanship…

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i hope you are speaking of 0.5 l and not 0.5 cl.

As others have said, this is not confined to Berlin. The most ridiculous experience when it comes to pricing are the two new Meisterstücke in Munich, and if they are any example, then I guess the ones in Berlin are no different.

On their menu, there is:

Schneider Weisse Tap X Nelson Sauvin 0.375l: 23.50
Riegele Simco 3 Pale Ale 0.33l: 12.50
Gusswerk Dies Irae 0.5l: 59
Caractère Rouge 0.75l: 63
Palm Speciale Belge 0.75l: 20
Bevog Rudeen 0.3l: 7.80
Allagash Curieux 0.1l (!): 6.50
Hopfenhacker 0.5l bottles: 6.90
Rochefort: 7.90
Boon Geuze 0.75l: 23.50
Boon Kriek 0.75l: 26

Down here in Munich, most crafty places charge something between 4 and 9 Euros (depending on strength and rarity) for 0.3l on tap. And the weird thing is that it works, despite the fact that you can get half litres of excellent beer for 4.xx Euros everywhere in Munich.

A half litre of American Imperial Stout for 7.20 is actually quite alright if you ask me - it would probably be just as expensive in the US. That may not be what it’s worth in comparison with other options, but in terms of what the brewery charges and considering shipping, I think that’s reasonable.

Amen!

I very much object to compare such an evolved drink as Champagne with the literal Kindergarten that is German “craft” beer.

LOL

I can buy a 0,75l bottle of that at my local Getränkemarkt for like 10€ :roll_eyes:

One can only hope that all these rip-off places go out of business real fast.

Interestingly, Schneider Weisse themselves want 12 Euros for the 0.75l in their restaurant, and you can’t get it cheaper in Munich, also not at any Getränkemarkt.

No sign of that yet. But it seems like some of the good places down here will have to close. That’s a real pity.

Not sure what the term “evolved” means, but the “craft-beer” hype is pretty similar to the “Champagne” hype. What You get is a mediocre product (for example a Champagne from Aldi or Lidl or a “craft-beer” from -let’s say - Freigeist) at very high prices. No problem to find cheaper and better drinks: when You want a decent sparkling wine, look for a solid Crèmant, when You need a great beer, go to Franconia!

Well, I said “like” 10€, maybe it was 12 or 13 instead, I don’t remember exactly, that’s still a ridiculous difference. Also, my local Getränkemarkt has a large craft beer section, which is where they keep the Tap X beers from Schneider Weisse.

Point for you, I’ve never had any of these supermarket Champagnes. I have, however, yet to find a Crémant that I really like. On the contrary, my more or less local range of sparkling wines, Winzersekt from Austria, is more expensive than a solid bottle of Champagne bought directly at the winery in France.

I would not be surprised if it were 10 Euros. I’ve seen it in the “north” for less than in Bavaria. Heck, even Systembolaget had the 0.7l for less than 10 Euros.

[quote=“SinH4, post:5, topic:1230, full:true”]
i hope you are speaking of 0.5 l and not 0.5 cl. [/quote]

Yes, sorry!

[quote=“snowcrash000, post:3, topic:1230, full:true”]
This is not confined to Berlin at all, it’s just the German craft beer scene. There are two relatively new craft beer bars in Cologne and Düsseldorf both of which charge between 4,50 and 9,50 Euros for a 0,3l glass of beer. [/quote]

I have been visiting Düsseldorf a lot in the last months. Actually I never went elsewhere than the places around Bolkerstrasse. When I went sick of alt I just went to Mojo for a couple of ipas. It is still cheap compared to other places. But I read how crazy prices are in NRW as well.

I wish I had more holidays to go to Franconia more often. But in Berlin we are lucky we have Förster’s and Birra. There we can find a lot of fresh Franconian beers. Now also the Berlin Beer Academy is starting to serve beers from Franconia.

All your replies make me feel less alone. As @Koelschtrinker said there are some good breweries and good bar in Berlin, still I feel that a city like this deserves a better beer scene.

Es gibt noch Luft nach oben

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Försters is great, not only good franconian beers are served, but also a fine Fiege Pils…:beer:

A late addition to this thread, but you mentioned the Berlin Bier Academy (now called Beereau)… Most of the time lately they have lovely Keesmann Herren Pils at €2.50 for a half-liter.

That’s exceptional considering the going rate for even an ordinary industrial pils is usually around €3.50 in Berlin.

I agree with the OP that prices here have spiked upward in the past year or two, perhaps unnecessarily. I wonder if Stone is partly to blame. The prices on their guest drafts can be ridiculous and might have showed other bars what’s possible.

Prices were ridiculous way before Stone was on the scene. The German Craft Beer scene is often a joke, taking the worst of the American market and translating it to here and hoping to cash in. I am looking at you BrauKunst with your wooden blocks on a mediocre 33cl imperial stout for 15€, or extremely subpar ipas for 10€ for a 500ml bottle, or “craft” pilsners that are 12€ for a 750ml bottle.

I just drink the regular, and wonderful, pilsners, wheats etc that one can buy for 1€/bottle. :slight_smile:

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