The Place and The Beer 8: Ratsherrn Brauerei, Hamburg, Germany

Brewery Tour at Ratsherrn Brewery Hamburg.

This is a post of shame.

Because, I have made the Tour at the end of 2016 and never had a chance to write this post.

Still, this was bugging me, therefore here we go.

I was always jealous about Rattshern. Living for 16 years in Germany, I have spent my life in the areas on middle/middle south Germany who didn’t give a damn about the craft revolution. Trust me, even in 2015 the area north of Frankfurt was craft beer desert. Still today, Frankfurt am Main, the financial center and one of the biggest cities in Germany hosts the amazing number of 2 crafts breweries (all local craft beer lovers, please accept my condolences).

And then, all the time, I have heard about the Ratsherrn brewery from Hamburg. They produce Pale Ales, Porters and everything. God, I was so jealous. Especially, because they were no accessible in the area.

It is a paradox, that I have first managed to get to Hamburg when in living Belgium. Still a brewery visit was a must. I have booked a tour containing brewery and tasting at the end.

Here some facts:

Brewery is in Sternschanze district of Hamburg. Close enough to get there from city center. Close to the S-bahn station.

Rattshern use to be a traditional local Pils that went down. Current brewery kept the name but represents rather modern style brewing.  In its current form, Rattshern runs since 2012. Head brewer is Thomas Kunst and Ian Pyle is responsible for special brews.

They brew craft beer for broader publicity. At the moment of my tour their “hardest” beer was about 80 IBU (West Coast IPA?).

Tour itself is great, the guide not only shows the brewery, but he will also show all steps of beer brewing. Bonus for me: a chance to briefly talk with Ian who was just working in the brewery at the same time

The girl running the brewery tour was amazing. Very talkative, interactive and professional. I rarely have seen so enthusiastic tour guide in my life.

Beer tasting great addition. We have got a movie presenting history of the brewery and then were guided through several beers from various styles. There was enough time for trying, making up your mind and talking to other people. 

After so long time, it is difficult to write about beer. One thing is clear – I wasn’t disappointed. Still, I have decided to present two allrounders from Ratsherrn – worth drinking if you have a chance.

BALTIC PORTER

Simple, drinkable example of the style. Dark brown, tan head. Aromas of roasted malt and tiny leftovers of yeast. Flavor of coffee and malts. Clean, tasty and worth giving anybody. Especially dedicated to people who want to start tasting beers, but don’t want to be scared by a double-barrel-aged-triple-hoppled-imperial-porter (or so).

PALE ALE

Classical beer from Ratsherrn follows the same rule. Aromatic, fruity, hoppy. More bitter than your regular Pils, but not bitter enough to scare the masses. Perfect entry beer, but good enough to satisfy most of the geeks.

Summarizing - great tour with good beer. Worth attending if you make it to Hamburg.

At the end even more beer.