Berlin Brandenburg (BER) opened in October 2020, nine years late and €4 billion over budget. The drinking programme matches the airport's awkward debut — competent rather than ambitious, with most options being chain operators rather than the Berlin neighbourhood bars one might hope for. The Lufthansa Senator Lounge in Terminal 1 is the Star Alliance Gold play and the most polished public option; the Air Berlin/easyJet lounges are functional. Käfer (the Munich grand caterer) operates an outpost airside that serves a real Riesling programme.
The cheat code at BER is the Steigenberger Hotel directly attached to T1 by walkway — its bar pours Berlin craft spirits (Adler Berlin Dry Gin, Our/Berlin Vodka, the Spreewald gherkin-juice cocktails the city now insists on) at non-airport pricing. If you've got 90 minutes pre-airport, the Berlin S-Bahn S9 from BER to Friedrichstraße takes 36 minutes; Buck and Breck in Mitte is the cocktail-bar destination from there.
By terminal, ranked
Plays for Berlin Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
Better drinking in Berlin proper
Skip the airport entirely. These rooms are worth the cab, even with luggage.
The Friday Pour
Pre-flight drinks, hotel-bar reviews, and the openings we're watching across 200+ cities. Friday mornings, no filler.