Food

Beer

Rainer Wallisser, owner of Bier Berlin in Moabit, is a German fed up with German beer. He says that beer here is based on consistency, which makes it simply boring. So Wallisser started tastings for Berliners thirsting for more playful imports.

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Bier Berlin. Photo by David Ghione

Rainer Wallisser, owner of Bier Berlin in Moabit, is a German fed up with German beer, particularly the purity law that limits the brewing of beer to a mere four ingredients. He says that beer here is based on consistency, which vastly limits its possibilities and makes it quite simply boring. So Wallisser started monthly tastings – for Berliners thirsting for more playful foreign imports – in his cosy two-room shop, suitably decorated with a myriad of crates and wooden barrels.

The tasting proceeds like most: Wallisser introduces the beer, explains what brewery and country it comes from and adds special details, often accompanied by a personal story. Ten beers from Belgium, England, Scotland and Czech Republic are sampled over a three-hour period, which includes a hearty dinner such as a stew or ragout, with a vegetarian option available.

Around 30 people attend the tastings, which begin with beers that are crisp and refreshing, like a Samuel Smith Organic Raspberry or an Orval from Belgium. The tasting later moves to darker and oakier beers – the Boon L’Ancienne Oude Geuze and the Rodenbach Grand Cru. Most are from microbrewers and some are even brewed by Trappist monks, like the heftily titled De Molen Hemel & Aarde Smoked Imperial Stout.

Their alcohol content ranges from five percent to a staggering 18.2 percent, the prices from €1.90 to €15 (the most expensive in the store is the €25 Brew Dog). For beer drinkers on a budget, Rainer says that if he had to buy at the Späti, he’d go for Reissdorf Kölsch. Well then, bottoms up!

Bier Berlin, Kirchstr. 23, Moabit, SBhf Bellevue, Tasting with dinner €30. Monthly tastings are announced two weeks prior via their blog, www.berlinbiershop.com and email. Many are conducted in English.