The Beer Barrel
“Alles zu seiner Zeit,” meaning all in good time or idiomatically “patience is a virtue.“Sharon and Andreas Schmidt most definitely were patient and virtuous when they opened their pub and restaurant “Das Bierfass” meaning “The Beer Barrel.”
It was Andreas’ dream to one day run his own pub. Andreas, born and raised in Grossostheim, Germany, made it through high school and college by working at his uncle’s restaurant as a dishwasher, cook’s assistant, bartender and waiter. After graduating in logistics, he moved to Hong Kong in 1991, were he met his wife Sharon, born in Bacolod City. Since 1991, Sharon and Andreas have lived, apart from Hong Kong, in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia and Germany before they decided to move to Cebu in 2015. Eventually, in July last year, Andreas’ dream came true when they opened Das Bierfass in lifestyle arcade Banilad Town Centre, Banilad, Cebu City.
Das Bierfass serves authentic German food “like mom used to cook it” ranging from home-made soups, salads, fried and boiled sausages, Schnitzels (breaded pork tenderloin or chicken breast) to house-specialties like “Kaese Spaetzle” (Swabian style cheese pasta), smoked pork-loin with sour cabbage, oven-baked pork knuckles or stuffed beef rolls. The food can be washed down with some 30 different imported lagers, pilsen and wheatbeers, primarily from Germany, or some German wines. For digestion, a wide selection of German liquors is offered, most notably the famous fruit brandies from the Black Forest area. These white colored brandies are made from cherries, plums, pears, raspberries or yellow plums.
Das Bierfass offers dining in beer barrel shaped booths, a bar area for casual dining or some drinks with friends while watching some sports on the TV or listening to a German radio station (playing songs from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s). One can also dine or drink in its al-fresco area with traditional wooden benches and tables. The entire place is decorated with various pictures of famous German landmarks. Behind the bar, beer mugs, which Andreas and his father used to collect at various beer festivals in Germany, are on display.
Sharon and Andreas are very proud that their pub and restaurant has not only Western expats as regulars, but also many Koreans, Japanese as well as Cebuanos who all enjoy a unique dining experience—Das Bierfass is the only true German pub and restaurant in Cebu City.
To cater for the football fans among their guests, all games of the FIFA World Cup in Russia will be shown live. To match that biggest sports event, Das Bierfass will be the first pub in Cebu that offers the worldrenowned Paulaner Weissbier (wheatbeer) and Muenchner Helles (lager) on tap.