Nearly every step you take in Munich, there’s a sign, an enticing smell and perhaps a gently stumbling visitor, something to remind you of the city’s beer-soaked heritage. From the brew beer halls echoing with centuries of toasts to snug wood-panelled Boazn (dive bars) where locals linger late at night over world-class lagers, the Bavarian capital offers a pint for every palate.
The brewing tradition here runs deep. Recipes date back thousands of years and breweries can be up to 1,000 years old. The country’s proud Reinheitsgebot (beer purity law), which limits beer to four ingredients — malt, hops, yeast and water — has ensured excellent quality since 1516. But that doesn’t stop locals from fighting over who has the best recipe. Beer is so deeply embedded in Munich society that you can’t have a cheese tasting without a beer pairing and the beverage enters high culture in the phenomenal, kitschy Bier and Oktoberfest Museum. Many of the city’s fine-dining establishments pledge allegiance to breweries. Even hotels are in on the obsession, including the luxurious Platzl Hotel, which is connected with the historic Ayinger Brewery and offers ‘beer-based body care’ with the amber nectar a featured ingredient in all its soaps, shampoos and lotions.
Yet, amid the oompah bands and frothy Maßkrug or Maß (one-litre tankards), Munich offers visitors a diverse beer scene that blends centuries-old tradition and boundary-pushing brewpubs. Below are some great spots to grab a glass and get merry.
1. Weisses Bräuhaus
Beer for breakfast is mandatory at the historic city-centre Weisses Bräuhaus. Customers line up well before 9am to grab a table for the brewery’s signature Weißwurst Frühstück (sausage breakfast) in which a boiled, strikingly pale veal and pork sausage is served with a house-made soft pretzel, sweet mustard and a cloudy, fruity Weissbier (wheat beer). There are seven on the menu, but ‘Tap 7’ has been the most famous since 1872. As tradition dictates, the iconic meal can only be eaten in the morning, meaning you won’t find it on the menu after noon. From €5.40 (£4.65) for 500mL, and €3.60 (£3.10) per sausage.
2. Higgins Ale Works
Sitting literally in the shadows of two of Munich’s biggest breweries (Spaten and Löwenbräu), you’ll find what’s perhaps the most creative brewers in the city: Higgins Ale Works. Helmed by the husband-and-wife duo Jen Canale and Paul Higgins, the small-batch brewery produces an ever-rotating menu of wildly adventurous craft beers (a surprising rarity in the city) that have become cult favourites among Munich’s beeristas. There are options aplenty. Jen reckons she’s named more than 300 beers, and Paul is always tinkering with new recipes. On tap are creative brews like a Rhubarb Hibiscus Sour, a potent Elderflower Saison (made using elderflower they forage in the Alps), as well as an addictive tea-like, non-alcoholic Hopler — carbonated water that’s been infused with hops, lemon, lime and a bit of grapefruit. From €3.90 (£3.37) for 300ml.
3. Hofbräuhaus
Is this perhaps the most famous bar in the world? The multistorey 16th-century beer hall in the city centre is certainly a major contender, where thousands gather each day to chug litres of beer, eat roast pork knuckle and sway along to booming oompah bands. Munich’s Hofbräuhaus is an exercise in the German tradition of Gemütlichkeit — something its spokesperson Tobias Ranzinger describes as a type of cosiness. Most people arrive here to drink from one of its Maß — and the selection is limited to Helles, Dunkel, wheat beer and seasonal options. But really, the hall’s charm lies in the communal setting, where guests can easily strike up conversations with neighbouring tables and a few minutes quickly turn into a few hours (and even more beers). Every so often, the live band will command revelers to “Prost!” (cheers) with a rendition of the song Ein Prosit to continue the merriment. From €10.80 (£9.40) for a Maß.
4. Giesinger Bräu Stehausschank
If you’ve ever needed a quick beer on-the-go, Munich’s Giesinger Brewery has this well and truly covered. The franchise has a host of tiny, cupboard-sized ‘standing up bars’ across the city where drinkers can crowd in for a quick one — or more — beers before heading on their way. Giesinger Bräu founder Steffen Marx calls it “fast food but for beer”. Each Stehausschank features numerous Giesinger craft beers, including a funky and fresh Sternhagel, the earthy and malty Dunkel (dark beer) lager, and something called Moonique, a refreshingly citrusy sour beer. If you prefer to sit and eat while enjoying your beer, the brewery’s flagship Giesinger Bräustüberl in the city’s south will be more your speed. From €4.90 (£4.22) for 500ml.
5. Viktualienmarkt Biergarten
A dizzying array of food stalls selling fresh meats, cheeses, breads, spreads, pickles and truffles — and much more besides — lines Munich’s legendary Viktualienmarkt farmer’s market, but at its centre is this oft-crowded, romantic beer garden. Set beneath shady chestnut trees, its wooden benches entice passersby to sit down and enjoy delicacies from artisan vendors with a Maß in hand. Every few weeks, the beer garden swaps casks between classic local breweries such as Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, and Paulaner, so there’s often a new flavour to savour. From €10.80 (£9.32) for a Maß.
6. Haderner
Marta and Thomas Girg have been running Haderner, Munich’s first organic brewery, for about 10 years now, set in a historic farmhouse with a beer garden in the borough of Hadern. The indie outfit sources all its ingredients from Bavaria and eschews the ambitious flavours of most craft brew houses, preferring to perfect traditional Munich lagers like the Helles, Dunkel, Bock and Märzen. Thomas doesn’t filter the beers, in order to create a more full-bodied flavour than standard lagers. Helles is hoppier. The Dunkel has an almost chocolate-y malty aroma. But the real magic is in Haderner’s specialty beers including the dangerously strong Whiskybock, a beer that they’ve aged for 12 months in a Scotch whisky barrel and carries notes of vanilla, caramel with its whisky profile. From €8.95 (£7.73) for a tasting flight of three beers.
7. Biergarten am Chinesischen Turm
The Englischer Garten has been a verdant escape for Müncheners seeking peace, quiet and a bit of nature for centuries. But in the heart of the sprawling gardens is a most unexpected sight: a towering five-storey, 18th-century wooden pagoda and beneath it an enormous 7,000-seat beer garden. It’s self-service, so grab a Maß of their Hofbräu lagers and some hearty fare (all of which is sourced locally). Try a schnitzel or a pretzel with Obatzda (a spicy cheese dip) and then kick back with some lederhosen-clad locals while listening to the live oompah bands playing from the pagoda’s second floor. It’s a much-needed energiser before continuing your stroll through the gardens to see surfers riding the Eisbach River’s famous wave, or to catch the sunset at the nearby neoclassical Monopteros Greek temple. From €10.80 (£9.32) for a Maß.
8. Frisches Bier
For many years, the word Boazn has referred to dubious dive bars known for their rabble-rousing. Nowadays, the term is being reclaimed, and Frisches Bier might be the coolest iteration. The intimate den has the atmosphere of someone’s living room, thanks to its circular bar that circulates chatter across the room. But what makes the place truly special is that it’s also the outpost of punkish craft brewery Tilman’s Biere. Just over 10 years old, Tilman’s specialises in reinterpreting traditional Bavarian beer styles with louder, bolder flavours (typically hoppier, maltier, sourer, you name it). This boldness has also been known to get the brewery in a bit of trouble — notably when they intentionally violated Germany’s beloved beer purity law by brewing a range of controversial craft beers including a smoky bacon lager that they sold as ‘not beer’ — much to the delight of customers. From €9.50 (£8.20) for a tasting flight of five beers.
9. Augustiner Keller
It’s impossible to miss the restaurant signs on every street advertising Munich’s celebrated Augustiner beer — a strong lager dating back to 1328. But the best place to grab a pint is certainly the idyllic Augustiner Keller. Dating back to 1812, this sprawling 5,000-seat beer garden is packed day and night with revellers sipping the signature crisp and refreshing golden Helles and Edelstoff lagers from freshly tapped wooden barrels. Settle down beneath one of the 100-plus chestnut trees decorated with fairy lights or, on chillier days, head inside the beer hall and check out the vaulted red-brick beer cellar for the requisite Gemütlichkeit (cosiness). From €4.50 (£3.80) for 500ml.
10. Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan
Crowning Bavaria’s rolling hills about an hour outside Munich is the world’s oldest brewery, the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan. Tracing its roots back to 1040 as a Benedictine monastery, the government-owned Weihenstephan has been perfecting the art of beer-making for nearly a millennium and educating future brewmasters for just as long. On a visit, you can tour the historic cellars and learn about traditional Bavarian brewing techniques — particularly about the importance of the aromatic hops grown in the nearby Hallertau region — before sampling the signature lagers, wheat beers and award-winning bock Vitus in the sunny beer garden overlooking the town of Freising. From €4.70 (£4.56) for 500ml.