Food & Beer Culture

Fischbrötchen with matjes or Bismarck herring are as much a part of Hamburg as the harbor itself. The salty, fatty fish pairs well with a sharp Pils, since the bitterness refreshes the palate and resets the taste.

Labskaus and eel soup belong to the harbor's culinary tradition. Labskaus, a sailor's dish made from corned beef, potatoes, and beetroot, is often topped with a fried egg and matjes herring. Eel soup is a sweet-and-sour dish with vegetables and dried fruit. A dry, cool Pils suits both, balancing the sweetness of the soup and the acidity of the beetroot. A slice of dark rye bread rounds out a harborside meal.

On St. Pauli, the Kiez, Astra is the beer of the corner pub. At the end of 2019, the Astra St. Pauli Brauerei opened right on the Reeperbahn, not far from the old brewery demolished in 2003. There, the harbor hangs in the window, and the picture isn't complete without a Pils alongside a Labskaus, or an Alsterwasser at the bar.

Two festivals frame the beer calendar each year: the Hafengeburtstag in May commemorates a charter from 1189 later revealed to be a forgery, and the Hamburger DOM on the Heiligengeistfeld takes place three times a year. There's also the Hamburg Beer Week, run by the craft beer scene.

In Hamburg, it's customary to order Pils in a 0.3-liter glass, with Alsterwasser served in a larger one. Serving sizes in Hamburg tend to be kept small: a freshly poured second Pils is preferred over a large one that goes warm. It's not about frugality, but about freshness.