Enforcement of drinking age in Munich?

I did find myself curious about why following US law was important and German law was not as important.....

I understand that beer is an avid interest for you and one you want to share with your children. I encourage you to be patient. They will grow up (faster than you can imagine), and will appreciate your interests and the fact that you raised them to obey the laws of the land as well as beer.

I was in Munich in November, but can't relate directly to your issue.

I can only suggest extreme caution in public, with respect to the law. But use your own judgment in private, saying this as one who was introduced to beer and wine at a younger age than your 10 year old. For me, I learned to have a healthy respect for drink. For others, I'm not sure what it would do. And saying that, I realize my point of view might be downright scandalous for some. That's fine.

Sorry, not all that helpful I know.....

2,

i can see where you cant let your underaged kids "drink" beer, but what about "tasting".

I was underage when my parents let me "taste" wine. and note the "taste" wasnt "drinking" as some may assume. As far as i was concerned, pop was way better. As far a beer goes, to me, i lost any "taste" for it when i found out how bad it smelled, There was a hops (storage/brewer?? facility) near where my dad worked and every time we went to pick him up, we had to pass by the hops place. Finally found out what that (bad) smell was. But to each his own.

happy trails.

You're asking folks to make moral judgment calls. I would publically respect and abide by local laws and teach your boys to do the same. You're getting into some tricky areas when you flirt with boundaries and make judgment calls with the law and encourage your children to do the same (even with good intent)- in any country. Is a drink/sip/taste/glass of beer worth a fine or jail or being separated from your kids? You're talking semantics as to what amount is "acceptable". If the law says "no" then the answer should be "no" and be respected. The boys have years ahead of them to learn to appreciate what you do. What you allow in private is your own business, but just keep in mind what else you're teaching along with a knowledge of good brewing. Personally I think many of the age laws for drinking are silly, especially in the States, but they're there and as a citizen I have the choice to obey them, break them and accept the consequences or try to change them. But until they're changed, my thinking is they should be obeyed. That's my opinion.

From a European perspective, I would not take such a moralistic attitude as the other posters. But whether you are likely to have any problems is another matter.
But, sorry, I dont have the recent personal experience you ask for.

In the privacy of your hotel room letting him have a taste from a bottle you are drinking is no problem. According to Wikipedia "Underage drinking in private is not regulated by a specific legal restriction. However, protection from physical and mental harm is part of parents' general obligation to care for a child."

The Hofbrauhaus and the other Biergartens are eating and drinking establishments, in a raucous and noisy way. Your boys should find them fun.

On a more sombre note, I would recomend a trip to Dachau. This is easy to reach, it is on the edge of Munich.

tc,

My suggestion would be much the same as the one Chris posted. Although your son is "extremely mature in both looks and manner", that will be of little value if he's asked for I.D. In public establishments such as the Hofbrauhaus, as they have to be vigilant against serving minors as their liquor license could be affected.

If your son was 14, he is "allowed to consume and possess undistilled (fermented) alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine, as long as they are in the company by a Custodial Person." If he's 13 during your visit and you want to avoid potential problems with the authorities, it would be safer for him to order a soft drink.

Hi all - Thanks for the wonderful feedback. I think I may have mislead a bit - my intention was to confirm what the laws are in Munich, not to bypass them. I want to a) find out if it's correct that 14 is the minimum age, when purchased by a parent, and b) find out if that's really how it works, culturally.

By analogy, where I live the "law of the land" is that everyone speeds on the freeway, by about 10 miles/hr over the posted limit. There is no enforcement of it at all, because that's the flow of traffic here. I was trying to understand how things are in Munich, how any recent changes to laws are being enforced, and was hoping to find someone that could verify what the practices are there. Does anyone know for sure (not just from Wikipedia) what the laws are? Has anyone observed what they practice there, meaning has anyone seen younger drinkers and/or enforcement of any age? I want my children to respect the law, even in private (so no drinking there either, if it's illegal), but I want to understand what the laws are. I don't want to "push it" - I only described my son because many places in Europe used to base the drinking age on how a person looked (old enough to reach the bar, was the phrase).

It's okay if the answer is: "14 is the hard limit" - we'll also be traveling to France, Belgium, and Holland, where they don't have any legal restrictions, as long as the parent purchases it. Thanks again, everyone!

I hope you find the answers you're looking for and have a lovely time in Europe!
Lisa

The youth law in Germany (Jugendschutzgesetz) states that you can drink beer or wine at a restaurant at 16, or at 14 if accompanied by a parent. That said, seeing a young teenager drinking a beer would not be unusual.

As an alternative, when out at a restaurant maybe order a Vitamalz, a non-alcoholic beer for children.

Thank you Christian, that was a big help - I googled "Jugendschutzgesetz" and was able to finally get some definitive information. Plus your answer to the cultural side of it was very useful as well - I had never heard of Vitamalz!

For anyone that comes across this post later, here is the definitive info: there is no age limit for consumption in private. But public consumption has a hard minimum of 14 with a parent, 16 without. Culturally nobody would probably care, but I would prefer to stay within the law, even if they probably wouldn't enforce it.

I guess I could just buy a beer and bring it to the hotel if I really wanted them to try it, but that's not really what I was after. Thanks for everyone's help!

I'm German. I grew up in Germany and I'm a father in Germany. Legal drinking age for beer is 16.

The legal drinking age in public is 14 with a responsible adult present, 16 if the minor is on her own. This pertains to beer and wine, hard liquor is not allowed till age 18. This legislation is for ALL of Germany, including Munich.

I just edited a number of posts here. This includes many posts that can be summarized as "you can probably get away with it if..."

This is a reminder that per our Community Guidelines, it is not permitted to suggest or share how someone can go about circumventing laws. Rick Steves Europe does not support such comments and furthermore absolutely can not be seen to be party to such comments by allowing them on our forums. While we maintain that we are not liable for any advice given on these forums, please be more careful with the potential liability you open us up to in our overly litigious society when you make comments that share how one can circumvent a law. This post should not serve as an acceptance of any information shared in this topic lest someone edits a post and/or we missed seeing a post that violates our guidelines.

I fully understand that tcanty2 was not looking for answers that violate our guidelines and that respondents did not intend any harm here. Please just be more careful in the future.

Thank you,
RS Webmaster

Excuse me Mr Webmaster if I call you sanctimonious. The US attitude to alcohol is different to that in many European countries. There is a legal age limit for purchasing alcohol, but what a parent can give to a child is governed by the laws that a parent must take reasonable care of a child. To let a child take a sip from a glass on a special occasion (Christmas, on holiday) is acceptable behaviour.

It is (AFAIK) the philosophy of this site to understand different cultures, not to ban discussion when it disagrees with your the cultural norms. In Europe there is a laid back attitude to alcohol, on the other hand I would find it totally unacceptable that an adult would be allowed to give a child a gun without incurring a long prison sentence.

I don't know if I am risking a ban with these comments, but I object to being subject to censorship by the laws foreign government, as no doubt you would be.

Sorry all, definitely meant no offense, nor was I trying to circumvent anything. Was just trying to understand how things are in another country, since the rules & customs were murky. I have no problem with the webmaster's response, they need to cover themselves from liability, and I sincerely appreciated all of the discussion points - in fact, I thought it was fascinating to hear perspectives from both sides, and regarding multiple issues (yes, we appear to view guns the way Germany views alcohol - it's up to the parents).

I think this thread can be closed & saved at this point - I was able to receive the information I needed, and I don't want to inflame things any more than they already have been. Thanks!

Wow! I think there were some "swings and misses" from both sides of "the pond" on this one. My opinion perhaps. :)

tcanty2, no worries - you were absolutely fine with your question, per forum guidelines. You were asking about how to legally go about doing something. We posters have to be careful with how we 'advise' you to do otherwise ;-)

But I have a (legally OK) question - most states in the USA (barring local ordinances) allow underage drinking on private property (non-alcohol selling premises, aka private home, etc. - even some without parental approval) and many allow you to purchase it for them on alcohol-selling premises (as you want to do in Europe). Why not start here? Europe would be a bad place to discover that alcohol + son = something very ugly. Alcohol just may not sit well with him, or be may not like the way he feels afterwards. I'm sure he's helped with your brewing, and if not then get him involved! Knowing all about the beer-brewing process, understanding how and why different beers taste the way they do, and you helping to take The Mystique away from over-indulging could serve him well. After sampling 'good' brews, it'll be waaay less exciting for him to imbibe with his friends who've managed to get their hands on some old Bud Light.

Have a great trip with your boys! And you're gonna love Belgium! If you're going to Bruges, send me a PM... ;-)