cider in Munich?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think you are confusing beer halls with beer gardens. You can take food into a beer garden, but I don't think you can take food into a beer hall. In my opinion, a beer hall is just basically a restaurant. That isn't the best way to describe one, but it will work for the purpose of this post. I know that doesn't answer your question at all. I looked up my favorite beer halls and haven't found one that serves cider. I also looked up the Hofbrauhaus with no luck. To get it into a beer garden, you would probably have to sneak it in since their primary function is to serve beer to the thirsty masses. So I think bringing in your own beverage would be frowned upon. Hopefully another cider drinker can shed some real light on your dilemma. Good luck!

Yes, just so there's no misunderstanding, you can bring food into (at least some, anyway...) biergartens. Pick a table with no tablecloth on it. You're expected to buy their drinks, though. Now...I've brought my own water bottle into many a biergarten/bier hall, and felt perfectly fine. Of course, they may have appreciated my staying hydrated/less drunk ;-) You could always pour cider into an opaque bottle, or wait until your husband or daughter finished their first beer and commandeer their glass; be sure they get a weissbier first = slightly smaller glass, and looks more like your 'counterfeit' bier ;-) Also, carry a note that states you're allergic to their bier and its gluten just in case they challenge you to a dual... 8^0

Okay so I may be mixing up the terms! Any suggestions would be appreciated. Where can I get cider? Can I get in a beer garden or beer hall? I'd love to be able to drink something bubbly in Munich!! Uh... not sprite! LoL

You should have planned on going to Frankfurt instead, where applewine/ cider is the national drink and we have applewine gardens instead of beer gardens. :-) While out with your family, you could order an apfelsaft schörle. This is apple juice with bubble water added to it. This is extremely popular in Germany, and they even sell it bottled. Look for a brand named Lift. You can order all fruit juices served like this. You could try a Kiba, which is cherry juice with a swirl of banana juice in it. They may have ice tea, but if they offer you lemonade or you see limonade on the menu, this is most often sprite. Occasionally restaurants will be making their own lemonade, but it may also have things like mint or ginger in it. Yes, beer gardens are going to frown on you bringing your own drinks. There are other things to drink on the menu besides beer, so using the fact that you can't drink beer isn't going to stand up very well. Germany has its' own share of population that must eat and drink gluten free, so this won't be a good argument in the restaurant.

When I was in Munich last July, the beer garden by the Chinese pagoda in the Englischer Garten was serving cider (Apfelwein).

We will be on a RS MyWay tour, so Frankfort v Munich wasn't a choice! I read about the apple wine in that region, though, and would love to try that! Thanks for all the info. At least I have some options.

That's good news from Philip! Frank(furt)ly, I think Jo should meet you at the Munich train station with some drinks ;-) Just sayin'...Spritzy apple juice isn't the same as cider :-( but still (or 'spritzerly' LOL!) yummy! Celeste, do you know martial arts? That could come in handy should anyone dare confront you on your contraband... Actually, the biergartens I've been to were large enough that no one - with the occasional exception of a staff person clearing tables - ever came near us. They wouldn't know if we were cooking meth...and the fact that we now know you'll (possibly?) be with some other tour members makes it less likely you'll get busted ( probably) - Safety/Chaos in Numbers. In all things - discretion. The worst thing that could happen? You'll be dragged out by your earlobes. OK - there are 18,347 (or so) other biergartens in Munich ;-)

Many places in Germany make Apfelwein, although it also goes by different names. Here in Swabia it's referred to as "Most" or Apfelmost. Not every biergarten or restaurant has it, but many do. Just look for it on the menu. But no one mentioned wine. Every place that serves beer in Munich will also have wine. If straight wine is too strong for you, you can order a "weinschorle" which is wine mixed with fizzy water. It's very refreshing. Just be aware that if you order it at the Chinischerturm biergarten in the Englischer garden, it comes in a full liter size! That's STILL a ton of wine!

Although it's more southwest than southeast, you might look for Federweißer, also known as Neuer Süßer. I ran across it in Freiburg a few September/Octobers ago. It's hard to be sure (by taste) whether it's made from grapes or apples, but it's grapes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federweisser Since it's not robust enough to be bottled and shipped, it's worth hunting up.

In Bavaria and Austria, Apfelwein is "Most". It's in season in fall, when the harvest offers a great variety of this refreshing beverage. In my experience, it's much lighter flavored and less harsh than the English-style ciders you may have encountered. You can get it also 'gespritzt' with soda water added.