I need to kick up my game here these last couple weeks here in Berlin, because 2-star places like…read moreBrauhaus Südstern are NOT where I want to be spending my time/precious dollar-converted-to-euro money. Uh uh. A group of friends and I came in here today to seek a little refuge from the Karnival (crazy, but awesome, btw) here in Berlin. We ordered the Brauhaus' brews: the Weiß, Dunkel, and Helles. None of them were particularly good. Not the worst, but certainly not as enjoyable as other small-batch brews I've had here in Deutschland. For instance, I couldn't even finish half of my Weiß...and I'm usually the first to finish ANY weiß-style beer. Meh. I ordered food, and man, my plate was lackluster, too. The "Braumeisterschnitzel" was a breaded, flattened pork cutlet in a pepper sauce. The dish came with "bratkartoffeln" (which were really just huge, peeled, SCALDING potatoes) and I ordered a side of rotkohl (red cabbage, still not sure what the difference is from "blaukraut") because well, I love that stuff. The schnitzel was tougher than most I've had--maybe it was a bit overcooked? The potatoes were clandestinely steamy, which resulted in mouthburn. Okay, yeah, mybad. The rotkohl was okay--not anywhere NEAR as awesome as the red cabbage I could.have.eaten.all.day in Munich. Meh. Disappointing. Oh, and our group ordered another round of beers, which after nearly a half hour didn't come. At that point, we didn't want them anyway. At least they didn't charge us. You are SO seriously better off not coming here.

I came here to do a beer brewing course conducted by Thorsten Schoppe, a man who looks more at home…read morein a dojo than a brewery. However, looks can be deceiving as this gentleman really knows his stuff. The course was quite interesting and it was even more interesting to hear the (long detailed) questions asked by the other attendees (Germans take their beers very seriously). So I actually learnt quite a lot. Lunch was also provided and it was pretty ordinary - what one would expect from any kneipe in Berlin. The place is quite big, with a stage for live music, so it looks like a happening sort of place in the evenings and weekends. Well, I have now concocted my own beer recipe (thanks to Thorsten's expert guidance) and all I now need is an empty basement to make my brew... By the way, we were compelled to sample the beers here and the general verdict was that it's "nicht schlecht", which, as it came from German beer pros, translates roughly in English to "damn bloody good - gissus another!".