Discover the authentic Munich beer scene that thrives year-round, from traditional beer gardens to historic beer halls where locals gather to celebrate Bavaria’s legendary brewing heritage.
Experience authentic Munich beer gardens
If you’ve come in search of German beer stereotypes, the Munich Hofbräukeller beer garden on a Saturday afternoon is the motherlode. Inside this cavernous Bavarian beer hall’s outdoor space are hundreds of people, sat around long wooden benches, chugging beer from one litre steins.
Some Hofbräukeller revellers are tucking into the sort of food that would only get eaten with beer: Dubious sausages, salty pretzels, slices of ham and mildly terrifying concoctions that might be cheese but it’s probably wise not to ask.
And, in the middle of it all, is an traditional Bavarian oompah band, merrily parping away. The reason the garden is here is the chestnut trees that are dotted around it.
Munich’s sacred beer culture
Their big leaves offered handy cover for the ground, keeping it cool. This meant that the beer cellared beneath would last longer.
This scene isn’t a one off, however. Munich may be famous for Oktoberfest, the largest beer festival on earth, but beer is almost a sacred part of the culture in the Bavarian capital.
Massive Munich beer gardens such as the Hofbräukeller’s are sprinkled around the city, and they do a roaring trade. Some of these great high temples of drinking are more old-fashioned than others, but the old rules still apply.
The Bavarian Beer Purity Law legacy
You’re allowed to bring in whatever food you like. Rules are important here, and the most important of all is the Reinheitsgebot.
The Bavarian Beer Purity Law was first adopted in Munich back in 1487. The Reinheitsgebot decreed that the only ingredients in beer could be hops, barley and water.
This is covered at the Bier und Oktoberfest Museum, the first stop on Radius Tours’ Munich beer and food tour. This beer history museum is, ironically, a little dry inside — but there are a few fascinating snippets.
Oktoberfest origins and beer history
Key historical facts about Munich’s beer heritage:
- The Oktoberfest started as a re-run of a royal wedding celebration
- Refrigeration was invented by a man who conjured up an ice-making machine to keep beer cool
- Beer used to be drunk as a safe alternative to the iffy water supply
But the good stuff at the Bier und Oktoberfest Museum is downstairs, and beer tour guide Keith takes his eager charges down for a tasting session. Out come the light, dark and wheat beers, all produced by the Augustiner brewery.
Traditional Bavarian beer philosophy
These Augustiner beers all surprisingly potent, but easily drinkable. Keith says this is by design.
Bavarian beers aren’t trying to push the boat out with wild and challenging flavours. They’re made for drinking over a decent spell with friends.
There’s also no obsession with serving them ice cold. Traditional Munich beers are not trying to hide anything by numbing the tongue.
The famous Hofbräuhaus experience
After the Hofbräukeller, the tour moves on to the most visited place in Munich: the Hofbräuhaus. Founded in 1589, and with over 50,000 people dropping in some days, the drinking in this absolute behemoth of a place takes place over several floors.
“This,” says Keith in the Hofbräuhaus main hall, “is the most democratic room anywhere in the world. All differences are supposed to be left outside.”
We shuffle on to the end of a long table, and order those mammoth steins. We’ve no idea if the people next to us are kings, teachers, bank managers or bin men.
Munich’s inclusive beer wonderland
But in Munich’s beer wonderland, there’s no reason to assume why they can’t be all four.
- To book a Munich beer and food tour, head this way.
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