Non-Munich Beers In Munich (Bars, Biergartens, etc)

I've never been here but I've heard good thing about the Tap House on Rosenheimer Str:
http://www.tap-house.de/

Sounds right up your alley.

DJ

I guess I'll add that if you are looking for specifically "small breweries that cater to the small towns and villages in Bavaria" then just hitting up a few Getränkemarkt will give you a nice selection from a wider area than just Munich.

Something like this: Getränke Oase, or this: Orterer Getränkemärkte. You will find shops like this all over town, just ask at your hotel or just a person on the street.

DJ

Thanks DJ. We were hoping for more of a drink on premises place, although if bottles are where we wind up, so be it.

As for the place you suggested DJ, they’re already on our list. In fact, we’ve been tasked with delivering a metal sign to them because one of our other local brewery’s signs is already prominently placed and we’ve been asked to see that it’s countered. 😂

To name just a few:

In the center:
Schneider Weißbräuhaus, Im Tal (from Kelheim near Regensburg).
Nearby: Tegernsee Bräuhaus, has, of course, Tegernseer
Ayingers Am Platzl (Hotel Platzl) has, well, Ayinger
Andechers am Dom (Andechser)

Near the Munich east station: Brünnstein (classical Bavarian inn), has Maierbräu from Altomünster near Dachau
Near Hospital Großhadern: Erdinger Weißbräu Restaurant and Beer Garden
In Giesing: Giesinger Bräu (Marthin Luther Str. 2)
Perlach: Forschungsbrauerei Perlach, Bräustübl, Unterhachinger Str. 78

Thanks. The locals are easy. I’ve been drinking Schneider Weiß, Erdinger, and Ayinger for 30 years, so if I miss them on this trip, that’s fine. Our real goal, as beer tourists, is to find the stuff that’s never ever gonna make the trip across the Atlantic.

Giesinger was already on the list. Brünnstein Is now on there too. Keep in mind that, according to my notes, I’ve had close to 20,000 different beers from many hundreds of different breweries over more than 30 years of drinking beer and both my friend and I are cicerones, so I know we’re looking for something a little different than the usual Oktoberfest tourists. 😉

We really are appreciating the responses!

Unfortunately I think you will have a hard time finding a pub or restaurant with the selection for which you are looking. Most carry beer from a single brewery or brewing conglomerate. Most craft beer bars will be focusing on things that are atypical in Germany and will not likely carry 10 different Helles Lagers from local breweries (which compared to the craft beer selection these are all basically the same).

I'd suggest sending the Tap Room an email and see if they have suggestions and plan on hitting up the various drink markets. Also spending a day making trips to different nearby towns to sample the beer is not a bad way to spend the day.

DJ

Kloster Andechs is a fantastic, Benedictine monk started brewery, if you find that Paulaner, Spaten, Augustiner & Hacker-Pschorr are getting too familiar, and you find yourself seeking more interesting biers. They have a great Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel, as well as Andechser Weißbier Hell. Andechs is located 40km SW of Munich and the nearby town of Herrsching is easily reached by S-bahn 8, a 40 minute journey. Besides beer, there is also traditional Bavarian food in hearty portions at reasonable prices. Especially considering how popular it is with tourists. Its hilltop location which provides a pleasant view overlooking the town of Andechs and the Bavarian countryside

Good luck. Two years ago we were in Berlin during their brewery fair —2K long. We were given a little mug and a very long map. There were hundreds of regional breweries lining the closed off street but you could count the craft microbreweries on one hand, literally they were all in the same stall, all 8 of them.

We did make some inroads with a couple of other brewers at some traditional breweries. One of the brewmeisters from Tettnang has now brewed his first commercial IPA. Also Urban Chestnut has set up shop in the Hallertau area just outside of Munich.

Have fun on your search.

I will be honest, in Germany you will have a hard time.

There are limited craft brewers who break out of the bounds of traditional German beer styles, but mostly you will find beers you have not had, but they will be a Helles from this small town brewery or a Marzen from that brewery, then another Helles, maybe a Dunkel...repeat.

Not sure what your itinerary or full beer list is, there are iconic beers in Bavaria, but mainly traditional. If you have slack in your trip and need to fill, maybe head into Czech Republic, the craft beer industry has just exploded with hundreds of options, Prague being a good mixing pot to be able to get much of it.

Although only the six in-town breweries (Löwenbräu, Hofbräu, Hacke-Pschorr, Paulaner, Augustiner, and Spaten) are allowed to serve beer in the Oktoberfest grounds, there are a number of Breweries right outside of Munich that are accessible by public transportation. Those that come to my mind are Weihenstephan, in Freising, at one of the ends of the end of the S1 route, Erdinger, in Erding, at one end of the S2 route, and Andecher, near Herrsching, at one end of the S8 route. And if you are going to Salzburg, try Wieniger Bräu. It's brewed in Teisendorf, about 25 minutes from Salzburg, but there is a restaurant outlet in Freilassing, across the railroad tracks from the station.

Great responses!

I want to be clear, I’m NOT looking for “craft beer” in Germany. I’ve had German craft beers from folks like Crew Republic and, much as I love what those guys are doing, it’d be a busman’s holiday to drink the same styles my town here is chockablock with (we have 11 breweries here in town).

What we’re really looking forward to is trying traditional styles from traditional brewers that haven’t sold out to multinationals and whose beers aren’t distributed outside of Bavaria.

I’m sensing we’re gonna have to just get out into the countryside to get the beers we’re looking for.

With a Bayern ticket you can both travel throughout Bavaria all day on regional trains, after 9 am weekdays, any time week days. Bamberg is known for its "smoked" beer, Rauch Bier.

You might also think about doing the "Funf Seidla Steig" from Graefenberg. It is a hike in the Franconian Switzerland region north of Nuremberg that goes by 5 small local breweries. Might be best to do on a weekend to get an early start, Graefenberg requires a train from Nuremberg Nordost station which is not connected to the rest of the German railway network, but is connected to Nuremberg Hbf by the city U-Bahn. Bayern ticket is valid on that.
https://www.vgn.de/en/activities/hiking/five-seidla-trail/

it is hilarious how much the respondents aren't reading your actual question and subsequent responses, OP.

I understand what you're looking for and don't think it really exists all that much. the good beers in Bavaria are internationally famous, you already know them. the decent beers from smaller towns that have their own breweries are fine, but the ones of those that are especially good, like Andeschs are...already famous. And then you have the American-and-UK-influenced new craft beers, which you aren't interested in.

Since you're already going to Bamberg and already know Andechs, there's nothing that really stands out to me. Alpirsbach is probably the best beer from southwestern Germany, and it's a sweet location, and I don't think it's in the US, but it's probably too far to be day-trippable from Munich. Wish I could be more help!

Edit: Actually I bought a guide written by a Brit about Franconia's best beers in Bamberg. It covers areas beyond Bamberg and this area is considered Germany's most serious beer area by beer nerds. Let me know if you'd like relevant info from it.

Sarah, when you say "Alpirbach", aren't you referring to Klosterbräu, which is brewed in Alpirsbach?

To be fair Sarah, the OP really helped clarify what he was and especially wasn’t looking for in his fourth response. Very helpful information which I hope everyone reads, I know getting people to read all responses isn’t always done and that’s something that is good to practice.

These are all super useful responses and we appreciate them all. Sometimes the answer to a question is as simple as “Nope. You’ve found all the answers there are to find.”

We’re definitely going to have a great time. Anybody that wants to meet us at Crew Republic in the afternoon of 28 Sep, we’d love to see ya there.

Oh gosh, mallthus, I'd love to be meeting you all there. However, I may or may not be hanging out at Crystal Springs in greater downtown Louisville. Have a wonderful trip; I know you will enjoy your beer sampling.

Andi, be sure to say “Hi” to Tom for me and, for the record, their new NEIPA is pretty tasty. 😉

I'll do that! And his wife, too; they are wonderful people and I do love their "story". Thank you for the recommendation of which beer to try next.

Lee, the brewery's official name is Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu and everyone, even the brewery on their own website, refers more casually to the beers they brew as Alpirsbacher, as is the general custom in Germany (there are exceptions...Stuttgarter Hofbräu is generally referred to by the latter word, not Stuttgarter. An exception that proves the rule.

OP have a fabulous time!

mallthus,

I took a look at the beer guide I have for Bamberg & Franconia and it lists a couple places near but not in Bamberg that you may not be aware of. (I assume you've already done your research and know the breweries in Bamberg.) Apparently there are a lot of small breweries easily reached by train or bus (or in some cases, foot) from the center of Bamberg. If you have extra time in the Bamberg area and would like some info, PM me. If you want to try to get a copy of the book yourself, it's "Bamberg & Franconia: A Guide to Beers, Breweries, and Pubs" by John Conen, published in England although I obviously purchased it in Bamberg (at the TI). It's small but contains a lot of great information. You might be interested!

I did the Bierschmecker Tour in Bamberg back in 2004 and it was great. They still have it but are less generous with the vouchers these days: https://en.bamberg.info/pauschalen/on_the_brewery_trail-the_biers-1370/

As for München, the best weissbier in the world is brewed by Schneider. (near Marienplatz) Weihenstephaner (oldest brewery) is brewed in Freising not far from the airport. Each little town in Germany used to serve their own local beer. You would go to the bar and find one tap and that was all you were getting but it was always delicious. You'll have to venture out into the boonies a bit to find some of that, I think. It still exists but maybe not as much as when I started going back in the 90's. The hardest working bartender I've ever met was in the Rheinland serving little .2l glasses of Kölsch. He never quit pouring but the beer stayed cold.

Germany has the tendency to copy the worst from America (McD's, bad pop music, graffiti). I'm sure I'll upchuck in my mouth a little when I see the first IPA on tap in Deutschland. We'll be at Oktoberfest next month ourselves. Viel spaß! I hope you bought lederhosen.

Thanks KäferPaul.

I've been drinking Schneider Weisse for 30 years and a friend's set us up for a behind the scenes tasting with the brewmaster at Weihenstephan, so we're good on the wheat front. And despite my trepidation, one the brewers at Crew Repuiblic was at VLB with a friend of mine, so we're swinging by there too to have a Bavarian IPA (!!!) or two as well.

I think that, at this point, we have a solid plan and I'll update this thread as we hit the ground and start drinking beer.

PROST!

Hi - on the off chance you have notifications for this thread on . . . can you provide a follow-up from your trip? While I'm not in the beer industry, I do like craft beer and would be interested in anything you'd recommend. Note that our trip won't be beer-centric but I hope to find . . . exactly what you were looking for. I can NEIPA all day here in the US. I hope to visit Tap house/Biervana and Giesingerbrau - anything else you found?

We're going to be in Munich for Starkbierfest in early April.

We did wind up hitting some interesting options, but my favorite “off the beaten path” place was a beer bar in Nuremberg called “Mr Kennedy”. Tried a significant number of German craft beers and many of them were delicious. Plus the owner was a hoot.

Truth is, my biggest takeaway was to approach beer in a different way (that I hate that I’d forgotten). I enjoyed the moment, lubricated by good beer, as opposed to being super focused on the nuances of a particular beer. Drinking versus tasting, as it were.

And in Munich, DO NOT MISS the Forschungsbrauerei. It’s really special and the trek out to the burbs is totally worth it.

Very interesting thread. The monolith of "German bier" appears to be breaking up. While I like German beer, it's rather boring the drink the same stuff over and over. I go to a local beer bar, Monk's in Sioux Falls. It has 40 different beers, in 30 different styles. It seems like if you go to Munich, you go all over and get one style.

We haven't been to Nuremburg, but will be sure to hit "Mr. Kennedy" when we do.

Just as an info for beer lovers. The ultimate beer event in Germany is celebrated every year in Berlin on the first weekend of August and is called Internationales Berliner Bierfestival. For 2019 over 350 breweries from 90 countries already committed their participation.

Prost.