Skip the Stairs: Flaschenpost and the Other Ways to Get Drinks Delivered in Hamburg

Why This Is a Bigger Deal in Hamburg Than It Sounds

Hamburg has an unusually high share of prewar and early-20th-century Altbau buildings, in Eimsbüttel, Ottensen, Barmbek, Winterhude, and plenty of other neighborhoods, and a lot of them still have no elevator. Carrying several crates of water, beer, or sparkling wine up four flights of stairs is exactly the kind of chore that pushed beverage delivery from a novelty into a genuine household habit here, and Flaschenpost is the name almost everyone reaches for first.

Flaschenpost has been owned by the Oetker Group since a 1 billion euro acquisition that closed in November 2020, and it now delivers roughly 1,200 different drinks, water, beer, wine, spirits, and juice, in about 120 minutes on average, ordering Monday to Saturday between 8am and 10pm. A detail worth knowing if you’re new to the city: Flaschenpost tailors part of its assortment by region, and in Hamburg that means shelf space for the city’s own Astra and Holsten beers alongside the national brands. Delivery is free above a 25 euro order, and Flaschenpost doesn’t disclose the exact address of the logistics site that covers Hamburg, only that it sits in the surrounding area.

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Durstexpress Is Gone, It’s Just Flaschenpost Now

If you moved to Hamburg a few years ago, or you’re researching options and keep stumbling on the name Durstexpress, it’s worth clearing up: that was Oetker’s own beverage delivery brand, built to compete directly with Flaschenpost, before Oetker decided buying the market leader outright made more sense than continuing to run a rival. After the 1 billion euro Flaschenpost acquisition closed in November 2020, Oetker folded Durstexpress into Flaschenpost as a single brand, a process that was largely complete by around 2021. Try visiting durstexpress.de today, including its old Hamburg ordering pages, and it redirects straight to flaschenpost.de. There’s no separate Durstexpress delivery running in Hamburg anymore, just Flaschenpost under one name.

REWE, Getränke Hoffmann, and the One Genuinely Local Option

REWE’s own delivery service is the natural choice if you’d rather not manage a second delivery account just for drinks. It can add beverages to a full grocery order in one delivery, though Hamburg’s minimum order sits around 50 euros (the exact figure shifts a bit depending on which REWE branch supplies your address), the delivery fee runs up to 4.90 euros unless your total clears 120 euros, and delivery itself is scheduled for the next day in a one to two hour window rather than arriving same-day. Your driver will take back empty crates when they drop off the next order, the same principle as Flaschenpost’s Leergut pickup, just on a slower delivery cadence.

One assumption is worth correcting directly, because it trips people up: Getränke Hoffmann has real, physical stores scattered across Hamburg, including locations on Traute-Lafrenz-Straße and Dratelnstraße, and it’s genuinely one of Germany’s largest beverage retail chains. But its home delivery arm, HoffmannBringts, does not operate in Hamburg at all. As of 2026 that service covers only Berlin, Brandenburg, and Bielefeld. Passing a Getränke Hoffmann shop on your street doesn’t mean home delivery is available, for that you’d need to shop in person or pick a different provider entirely.

For something smaller and more local than either Flaschenpost or REWE, DurstQuelle GmbH runs a Hamburg-based beverage delivery operation that skips the app entirely, orders go by phone, and it waives its delivery fee once you order three or more crates rather than working off a euro threshold. Its stated coverage includes Altona, Eimsbüttel, and Wandsbek directly, with other parts of the city available “nach Vereinbarung” (by arrangement). It’s a smaller operation, with office hours limited to weekday mornings and early afternoons, but for households that would rather call and speak to someone than navigate an app, it’s a real, currently active alternative.

Step by Step

1. If your main problem is carrying heavy crates up stairs with no elevator, Flaschenpost’s Leergut pickup solves the full cycle, empties are collected at your next delivery and the deposit is credited automatically, no separate trip anywhere required.
2. Check each provider’s threshold before ordering, Flaschenpost waives its fee above 25 euros, REWE above 120 euros (with a smaller fee below that down to a roughly 50 euro minimum), and DurstQuelle waives it once you hit three crates rather than a euro amount.
3. Don’t assume a nearby Getränke Hoffmann shop means home delivery, HoffmannBringts only covers Berlin, Brandenburg, and Bielefeld, not Hamburg, so treat those stores as in-person only.
4. If you’d rather fold beverages into a full weekly shop instead of a separate account, REWE’s delivery service can do that, accepting a next-day one to two hour window instead of same-day speed.
5. For urgent, same-day restocking, Flaschenpost’s roughly 120-minute average delivery, Monday to Saturday 8am to 10pm, is the fastest dedicated option.
6. If you’d prefer to order by phone from a smaller, Hamburg-only operator, DurstQuelle covers Altona, Eimsbüttel, and Wandsbek directly, with other areas available on request.

Compliance Note

This page compares general delivery terms, minimums, and fees for Hamburg beverage delivery services, current as of mid-2026. It is not an endorsement of any specific provider. Delivery areas, fees, and minimum order values can change, and coverage can vary by exact postcode within Hamburg, confirm current terms directly with the provider before ordering.