German Beer...Which Brewery to Visit?

Hi there, We use to stop at a brewery after skiing in the Bavarian alps on our way home. I'm going to ask my German friends if Private Landbrauerei Schönram is the same one! As a college student, I just went along with my German friends and rarely paid much attention, except to the incredible hand made stein the family gifted me that I carried back to the US!

I actually saved a very long, involved thread about German beer a few years ago. Hopefully it adds some other thoughts about beer. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/help-i-m-going-to-germany-and-know-nothing-about-beer

Couple years ago, we visited the Weihenstephen Braueri in Freising, northwest of Munich. You take the UBahn S8 to Friesing, then a bus to the brewery. I paid in advance for a tour, and it was great, interesting tour through a few buildings, and then a lot of tasting. Then I walked to the Braustuberl (restaurant), where my wife was waiting. We had a great meal, bought some swag, and took the bus back to our hotel in Neufahrn. Weihenstephen is the worlds oldest brewery, from 1040 AD.

Out of all the world's great beers, Heifeweizen is my favorite. But as in the other thread, Belgium is the best country for a fantastic variety of great beers.

Gotta agree with Mark. There are so many these days - and so much variety too - that the best brewery is probably the nearest one.

The Eisgrub-Bräu in Mainz had a delightful red ale on offer when I wandered in there last week. Some good food too. I'm sure my favorite brew/brewery will be a new one on my next visit.

I'm in the heart of Zoigl Bier culture in the Oberpfalz. Commune Brewery used by several Brewers in several small cities, Windischeschenbach, Neuhaus, Falkenberg and others. The Zoigl Stuben are generally open only one weekend a month and they rotate, so different Stubin each week. One type of Bier Zoigl. They rotate at the Commune Brewery to brew their Bier. Local fare to eat, Schlachtschüssel, Sulz. Obatala, Geräuchertes, Bratwurst etc. People come here from all over Germany, Chechia, Italy, etc. as part of Zoigl tourism. Thick Oberpfalzer dialect. Germans from outside the region have problems understanding when they lay it on thick. Some of the Brewers are also butchers so really good stuff. They are family run and operated. https://www.oberpfaelzerwald.de/fileadmin/opfwald/Dateien/1_Zoiglkalender_25-2026_Internet.pdf

Anyplace with beer can be worth a visit. But a couple that are worth the effort:

Klosterbrauerei Andechs, outside of Munich, an easy walk from the station, beer in an old abbey with a view over the countryside, good beer and good food.

Klosterbrauerei Weltenburg, another abbey, good beer, but the bonus is you can take the riverboat out of Regensburg (if the limited schedule works for you) or from Kelheim (More frequent) and cruise through the Danube Gorge to the abbey.

And then there is that pesky Czech beer mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Czech beer.... Oh yeah. I love that Budvar! The REAL Budweiser! We found a place on Lake Lucerne with it. What a treat.

As to brewing with wastewater: Considering the manner in which water is used in the world, all water is waste water. The only issue is how many steps removed from the .... waste moment.

Thanks!

Mchpp: I'heard of Zoigl Bier culture in the Oberpfalz. I want to check this out on a future trip to Germany.

Travelerguy: Weihenstephen is excellent, though I have never been to their Braueri.

Paul: Both Klosterbrauerei Andechs and Klosterbrauerei Weltenburg are worth the effort to make a visit. I took the Danube Gorge route from Kelheim and try to visit Andechs whenever I am in Munich.

Russ: I've not tried the red beer at Eisgrub-Bräu in Mainz. I wonder if it is similar to Nurembergs red beer?

Near my hometown Siegen

Krombacher Erlebniswelt

Thanks uwe04. I've not been to Siegen nor had Krombacher. Looks like a day trip next time I visit Koln or Dusseldorf. I thought I did have Krombacher, but checked my beer coaster collection and realized that I had had Kulmbacher.

Kulmbacher is Franconian Beer Bavaria
Krombacher from Siegerland, North Rhine Westphalia
The first Settlers from Germanna Colony in Virginia came from the Siegerland

Btw there are several nice half timbered villages on the way from Cologne to Krombach
which is about 1 hr drive using Autobahn A4 from Cologne (80km)

20 km south of Krombach is Siegen 20 km north the Biggesee Reservoir

Enjoy your trip

In 2009, I was staying in Freilassing, German, before going on by bus from Salzburg HB to Mondsee and Hallstatt. That night I had dinner at a brewhouse restaurant just across the tracks from the Freilassing Bhf.

The restaurant was called "Weininger Bräu. Their brewery is in Teisendorf, about 12km west of Freilassing, on the rail line from Munich to Salzburg. I thought it was a great beer.

But what is your reason for visiting a German brewery? If you just want to see how beer is brewed, it probably doesn't matter what beer, but if the objective is to drink beer at the brewery, then it should be a brewery that brews a beer you like. On that basis, I would recommend Weininger.

In 2012, I spent the night in Freising, near MUC, before flying out in the morning. I had dinner at
Bräustüberl Weihenstephan. I didn't tour the brewery, but having dinner and drinking great beer in their outdoor Biergarten was an experience.

I've also been to Andechs. I didn't do the tour, but I did have dinner there with their freshly brewed beer.

My experience in Germany has been while there are many small breweries with an accompanying beer garden or restaurant (sometimes rooms), actual tours of the brewing area are not really a thing. You will certainly find them, but for the most part, people just go to drink the beer.

Myself, I have been on enough brewery tours, that unless it is an historical brewery using old equipment, I am mostly not interested.

Lee and Paul,
Thanks for your posts. Generally, I'm there to visit the brewery tap room or beer garden and drink the beer. I don't tour the brewing facilities themselves unless there is a very specific or nuanced reason. I will admit that I'm a bit of a snob in that I prefer to drink only from a keg and only at the brewery itself or a brewery owned/partner restaurant if that is possible.