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Our founder Oli Lemke had already dropped out of business studies and completed a degree in brewing when he decided to set up his own brewery. More importantly, he has gained experience around the globe, working in large Venezuelan companies and building complete breweries in Japan. With this wealth of experience under his belt, he welded together his first own brewing system in a friend’s garage in 1998.

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Infected by Oli’s euphoria, all of his friends turn into craftsmen and convert a run-down railroad viaduct at Hackescher Markt into a brewery.

On November 21, 1999, the dream comes true: the Lemke brewery opens its doors. In the first few months, we overwhelm our guests with 50 different beers and get up to a lot of nonsense, but we learn something new every day. And survive.

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The “Tiergartenquelle” has been a student institution for over 80 years when it closes unexpectedly in 2003. We decide to continue the institution and sell our Lemke beer there.

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At this point, production in our railroad viaduct is running at full speed, so we can hardly keep up with the brewing. Fortunately for us, the opportunity arose in 2004 to take over Leopold’s Brauhaus close to Alexanderplatz. We open the Brauhaus Mitte.

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In 2007, another Berlin institution joins us: the Luisenbräu in Charlottenburg. The oldest pub brewery in Berlin is also the place where our founder gained his first brewing experience as a trainee. In the same year, we double the size of our premises at Hackescher Markt.

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We, the Lemke team, are a well-coordinated team. This allows our restless founder to take time out from day-to-day operations and pursue his second passion: building breweries.

Needless to say, the German soil is not enough for his hunger for experience – after all, good beer also needs to be brewed in Tenerife and Mongolia.

The biggest challenge for his colleagues is always when he returns home, as he always comes back with new “suggestions”.

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In 2010, the Tiergartenquelle undergoes its final expansion: a beautiful beer garden is added, which is very popular from day one.

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We decide to start bottling our beers. One tiny step for mankind, one giant leap for a small brewer.

In order to be equipped for this, we are setting up a laboratory including our own yeast bank. The original brewery on Hackescher Markt is converted into a pilot brewery. From now on, up to 200 brews a year are produced here, which are used exclusively for product development. This is how the most extraordinary beers are created. But they are still waiting to be bottled.

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After years of planning and months of renovation, the time has finally come: our own bottling plant has been installed at the same time as our revised brand image.

From now on, our most popular beers are also available in bottles. But even if the logo is new – our beer is what it always has been and always will be: natural and handmade in Berlin.

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After two years of extensive renovation, the former Brauhaus Mitte is reopened as Lemke am Alex. On several levels with a total of 600 seats, our guests can discover and experience different beer worlds.

The interior – whether in the fireplace room by the warm fire, in the hunting room, in the large guest room or in our cozy barrel lounge – creates an individual atmosphere, as varied as the constantly growing number of our craft-brewed beers.

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No sooner had the Haus am Alex reopened than the next major construction project began. Because production capacities were already running low again! The extensive work on our new brewhouse began in mid-2017.

At the beginning of 2018, after seven months of construction, we were finally able to run the first brew. The new brewhouse is located between Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt in the historic railroad viaducts. While the trains rumble above, it bubbles and steams in the boilers below. The new plant has a total filling volume of 35 hectoliters. In comparison, the old brewhouse, located in the building on Alexanderplatz, only had a capacity of 15 hectoliters.

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There’s always something to do in a brewery. If you build a new brewhouse and brew more hectoliters, you also need more space in the storage cellar. Logical! The beer matures there until it is filled into kegs or bottles. In fall 2018, the time had come: several new tanks moved in. Now the basement (or railroad viaduct) is full.

A total of 20 tanks in various sizes with a combined capacity of 1236 hectoliters (123,600 liters): That’s enough space for the time being to allow our beers to mature in peace. And you can taste it!

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We see the coronavirus lockdown as an opportunity and are tackling projects: We are expanding our online presence for beer sales, optimizing logistics processes and launching new products. The new label “Beer Machine” is launched – our first beers in a can – and “Luise Königliche Weisse” enchants the Berliner Weisse fan community.

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Our restaurants are breaking new ground: Our flagship store Das Lemke is opening with a completely revamped menu featuring classics of German and Berlin cuisine. Our establishment on Alexanderplatz is finally throwing the brewery concept overboard. In the summer of 2021, our Biermeisterei by Lemke reopened with handmade BBQ and grill cuisine and has already made a name for itself with the best short ribs in town. The Lemke am Schloss with its historic ambience serves delicious pub classics for the neighborhood and castle visitors.