Of all the activities on my beer bucket list, drinking Berliner Weisse in Berlin has been among the most fun and interesting. I’ve always been a fan of this easy-going beer style, so I couldn’t wait to get to Berlin to see what it’s really all about (and how many weird flavors I could find).
Drinking beer styles in their places of origin is a pastime of mine that I take very seriously–like kölsch in Cologne, pilsner in Pilsen, and rauchbier in Bamberg. This is always the best way to enjoy the true, original versions of whatever you’re drinking. So, to help you with your beer bucket list, I bring you this guide to some of the best places to drink Berliner Weisse in Berlin, Germany.
What is Berliner Weisse?
Simply put, Berliner Weisse is a tart wheat beer. It’s made with a hefty helping of wheat (which provides the cloudiness) and the naturally-occurring bacteria Lactobacillus (which provides the pucker).
As far as flavor goes, you could compare it to something like a sour ale or a gose, or even just think of it as a “sparkling wheat beer.” In fact, Napoleon himself referred to Berliner Weisse as the “Champagne of the North.” (And that was 100 years before Miller High Life would snag the nickname “Champagne of Beers.”)
Berliner Weisse typically have a lower ABV (alcohol content)–somewhere in the 3-5% range–and a hazy gold color. Though indeed tart, they tend to be more refreshing than sour. They’re traditionally served in a goblet.
Two ways to drink Berliner Weisse
The most important thing you need to know about drinking Berliner Weisse in Berlin is that there are essentially two ways that Berliner Weisse can be served–the modern way and the traditional way.
Drinking modern Berliner Weisse
The modern way of serving Berliner Weisse is what you typically find in places outside Berlin, like here in the United States. This is where the flavoring has been brewed into the beer and is served as-is–straight out of the can, bottle, or tap. (This is sometimes referred to as a neo-Berliner Weisse.) Some examples of this include:
- Festina Pêche from Dogfish Head (DE) – A peach-flavored sour ale (4.5%)
- Ever Weisse from Night Shift Brewing (MA) – Flavored with kiwi, strawberry, and hibiscus (4.5% ABV)
- Berliner Weisse from Aslin Beer Company (VA) – Flavored with passion fruit and mango (3.5% ABV)
- Berliner Weisse from North Coast Brewing Co. (CA) – Flavored with tart cherry (4.1% ABV)
Drinking traditional Berliner Weisse
The traditional way of serving Berliner Weisse involves pouring an unflavored wheat beer into a goblet and mixing it with flavored syrups. Traditionally, this was either raspberry syrup or a flavor of syrup called Woodruff. You may also see these expressed as “Red” (raspberry) or “Green” (woodruff).
In Berlin, you can still drink Berliner Weisse the “traditional” way, but the selection of flavored syrups has moved well beyond just the two. You can also opt to drink the unflavored Berliner Weisse without mixing it with any extra flavoring at all. And let me tell ya, all options are winners.
What is woodruff?
So now you’re wondering what on earth “woodruff” is, and to that I will say… I still have no idea. The internet tells me it’s a kind of flower, but I’ve never heard of it in any other context.
Adding woodruff syrup to your Berliner Weisse will turn it a very bright green color. As for the flavor, it’s hard to describe but absolutely delicious! If I had to put words to it, what comes to mind is marshmallow, vanilla, maybe almond? Basically, when I drink it, I picture unicorns, if that helps at all.
Learn some German
Chances are, if you’re drinking Berliner Weisse the traditional way, you’re probably drinking it in Berlin. So, here are a few German terms you might see:
- Waldmeister – Literally “forest master” but is just the German term for “Woodruff”
- Himbeere – “Raspberry”
- Rot oder Grün – “Red or green”
- Sirop – “Syrup”
Getting to Berlin
Berlin is located in northeast Germany, not too far from the border with Poland. It’s located in the federal state of Berlin, which itself is surrounded by Brandenburg.
How to get to Berlin
Berlin is the capital of Germany and thus an extremely popular tourist destination. As such, you can easily get to Berlin from other European cities several ways:
Flying into Berlin
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) is a major destination so finding flights here shouldn’t be a problem. Once here, you can get from the airport to the city via the Airport Express (FEX) or other regional trains as well as the S-bahn. And of course there are always taxis and rideshare services like Uber and Bolt.
Driving to Berlin
You can drive to Berlin as well (though definitely know your limitations as this is a pretty big and potentially chaotic city). However, it’s pretty far from Germany’s other major cities and surrounding areas. Regardless, to get to Berlin it’s about a:
You can rent a car here if you need one.
Taking the train to Berlin
I love driving around Germany, but taking the train is my preferred method when visiting Berlin. This is going to be the fastest, easiest, and most cost effective way to get here for sure. Check out the schedules on Bahn.com (Germany’s main rail company) for details, but generally:
Taking the bus to Berlin
You can also take the bus to Berlin from cities all over Europe. Some routes may take longer but you can’t deny the money you’ll save traveling this way. I always recommend taking the Flixbus around Europe and I’ve used them several times myself. See all Flixbus routes to and from Berlin here.
Where to drink Berliner Weisse in Berlin
Now that we’ve covered how to get here and how to drink Berliner Weisse, let me share where you can find it. The following are some of the best places to drink Berliner Weisse in Berlin, both the traditional and modern versions of it. Prost!
Map of where to drink Berliner Weisse in Berlin
This map contains all the places to drink Berliner Weisse in Berlin that I mention in this post (plus hotel recommendations, parking, and more). To save this map: Click on the star ⭑ next to the map’s title to save in your Google Maps. To use this map: When you get here, open Google Maps on your phone, click “Saved” at the bottom, then click “Maps.”
1. Schneeeule Berlin
Opened in 2016, Schneeeule (German for snowy owl) quickly became the driver of the city’s Berliner Weisse revival. This is the place to go for interesting traditional-style Berliner Weisse.*
While most places offer the usual raspberry or woodruff options, this place offers so much more. During my visit in September 2025, I was offered flavors like orange and ginger, jasmine blossom, habanero, elderflower, and cucumber dill. They all have meaningful names too, like the “Irmgard” (the ginger/orange one) which was named after Irmgard Keun, a writer whose works were banned by the Nazis and who courageously protested against it.
During my visit, I started with their flagship–a classic, unflavored Berliner Weisse called “Marlene.” (Named after Marlene Dietrich, a German actress also known for her humanitarian work during World War II.) Immediately, this was the best Berliner Weisse I’d had.
After ordering, I overheard the bartender telling another customer that “the Americans love the pickle beer,” referring to their cucumber dill Berliner Weisse. As an American who does, in fact, love a pickle beer, I chose that for my next one. I told the bartender how right he was because the cucumber dill Berliner Weisse is the best one I’ve ever had, hands down.
*Or I should say “was.” Just two weeks after my visit Schneeeule closed for good touting a decline in the interest of Berliner Weisse as the reason. I had no idea I would be among its last customers when I visited and I’m terribly sorry you won’t be able to enjoy this awesome brewery!
2. BRLO Brwhouse
My next favorite place to drink Berliner Weisse in Berlin is the BRLO Brwhouse. This local craft brewery doesn’t specialize in Berliner Weisse, but they do kick ass at it. Like the others, I started with a simple unflavored Berliner Weisse.
From there, I asked about their homemade syrups, expecting the basic red or green options. Instead, their next recommendation was rhubarb which I happily tried out and loved. From there, they offered me a few more options like: mixed berry, orange + ginger, and–I kid you not–black garlic.
“Black garlic? Are you serious?” Both bartenders I talked to about this just threw their hands up and laughed. Neither of them had been adventurous enough to try it themselves, so obviously I had to. It sounded too weird not to. And you know what? After cucumber dill, the black garlic Berliner Weisse was my second favorite. I liked it better than any of the fruit flavors I tried by far.
This is another that’s hard to describe, but the spiciness of the garlic is actually the perfect balance to the sourness of the beer, almost like it neutralizes it. The result is a super smooth, easily drinkable Berliner Weisse. Highly recommend!
The BRLO Brwhouse is a huge brewery space and restaurant with what looks like an incredible menu. They have a huge beer garden with tons of interesting elements to it, great music, and the staff is so friendly and welcoming. I love it here. Some Berliners I know also say this is one of their favorite spots.
BRLO flavor syrups
BRLO offers several different syrups to accompany their Berliner Weisse. All are homemade and the selection rotates so be sure to ask what’s available when you get here. Also, the beer garden bar and the bar inside the restaurant offer different flavors so check both.
3. Lemke Berlin
Lemke is another local craft brewery with three locations and experiences (all of which serve great food too). They offer four kinds of Berliner Weisse, all of which are served the modern way, meaning the flavors were introduced during the brewing process and don’t involve any syrups. Those options are:
- Budike Weisse – The classic unflavored option
- Kirsch Weisse – Cherry-flavored Berliner Weisse
- Waldmeister Weisse – Woodruff-flavored
- Luise Königliche Weisse – A wood-aged, imperial Berliner Weiss. There’s a cork involved and everything.
Das Lemke
Das Lemke is located under the railroad viaducts in Berlin’s Hackescher Markt neighborhood and is both a brewery and a restaurant that serves German cuisine. I knew I wanted to visit a Lemke while here, and my Berlin friend Matti says this is the best one (and I think he’s right). This is such a cool environment and the food is great (and this is where all the beer is made).
Matti also recommended I go with the standard unflavored version so that’s what I did, and it was fantastic. Plus, I’d already tried the Waldmeister somewhere else, I’m not a fan of cherry flavor in general, and I did not need nearly a full liter of 8% wood-age strong ale for lunch.
4. Lemke am Schloss
Clear on the other side of Berlin in the Charlottenburg district is Lemke am Schloss (because it’s located right next to the Charlottenburg Palace). This is Berlin’s oldest pub brewery and they also have a full menu of delicious cuisine.
5. Lemke Biermeisterei
Just a few minutes’ walk from Das Lemke is a much larger version in a busier part of town. Their Biermeisterei location is both a brewery and a BBQ and grill which specializes in “Berlin-style soul food.”
6. Berliner Kindl
Berliner Kindl is the city’s most recognizable brewery and you’ll see their beers everywhere. Their Berliner Pilsner is pretty much the baseline beer wherever you go here. They opened in 1872 and, prior to WWII, grew to be one of Germany’s largest breweries.
Beyond the flagship pilsner, Berliner Kindl also produces three kinds of Berliner Weisse:
- Original Weisse
- Raspberry
- Woodruff
These come bottled the modern way–with the flavors brewed into them. However, you can find places around Berlin that serve the original weisse with flavored syrups. This is how I first tried the green, woodruff, waldmeister version at Curry 61.
Berliner Kindl unfortunately doesn’t have a taproom of their own, and it’s impossible to know which bars/restaurants serve it. There’s a map on their website that shows which stores sell it, or you can just head over to Curry 61 over on Oranienburger Straße.
What I’ve found is that if you see a place offering generic “Berliner Weisse,” it’s usually the Berliner Kindl.
Alt Berliner Wirtshaus Henne
You can also head over to Alt Berliner Wirtshaus Henne to try the Berliner Kindl Berliner Weisse with either the classic red or green syrups, along with the crispy fried chicken they’re known for. (The word Henne literally means “cult”–so you know it’s good.)
7. Braumanufaktur Forsthaus (Potsdam)
If you have a car and will be over in the Potsdam area, stop by Braumanufaktur Forsthaus to sample their Berliner Weisse. They pride themselves on producing traditional beer styles from the area and have a big beautiful beer garden in which to drink them.
They brew a classic Berliner Weisse which you can mix with either raspberry, woodruff, or elderflower syrup.
Berlin beer tours
If you’d like to explore the city’s breweries with an expert guide instead of on your own, opt for one of these awesome Berlin beer tours:
Where to stay in Berlin
Berlin has no shortage of great hotels and neighborhoods to stay in, so start here with these brief Berlin hotel recommendations:
You can see all Berlin hotel options here.
More info for your trip to Germany
Like this post? Have questions about drinking Berliner Weisse in Berlin? Let me know in the comments below. Have fun in Germany!
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