Genius of ein STEIN
GERMANS call beer “liquid bread” and they even serve it there in Mcdonald’s. A big frothing stein is a joy to behold – and although Oktoberfest 2020 has been cancelled, there are plenty of fun ways to get the full experience. “Ein bier,” is all you need to know.
Monky business Bavaria
Europe’s monks have long been good publicans. St Benedict believed monasteries should provide both food and accommodation to the faithful. During long Catholic fasting, the monks brewed a high-malt content beer as a bread replacement for pilgrims and the poor. They still do, notably at two key Benedictine monasteries in Bavaria.
Andechs is on its own hill between the lakes of Starnberg and Ammersee south of Munich, while Weltenburg lies on the Danube.
At Weltenburg, where the brewing habit dates back to 1050 and the tree-shaded courtyard seats a couple of hundred people, the monastery sits on a shingle bank just upriver from the city of Regensburg.
At Andechs on summer weekends the view from its hilltop location brings large cheerful crowds to the Braustuberl, the monastery’s main biergarten. See klosterschenkeweltenburg.de and andechs.de.
Beer bath Bavaria and Thuringia Bathroom tap Cologne
GIVING THANKS: Weltenberg Abbey
The Eisvogel Hotel in the spa town of Bad Gogging is a great place for good glugging, thanks to its hop-inspired spa therapies.
Top of the list is a hop bath, said to improve your complexion and sleep. The treatment comes complete with a half-litre of pils. See en.hotel-eisvogel.de.
Or bathe in actual beer, 150 miles east of Frankfurt, in the Ankerbrau brewery in the town of Steinach in the Thuringian Forest. Here the new brewhouse will prepare you a special beer bath of naturally cloudy, unfiltered dark beer, rich in hops, malt and yeast. See ankerla.de.
Homebrew heaven Bavaria
A handful of villages in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria offer a different kind of pub crawl. At certain times of year designated households here are officially allowed to make what is called Zoigl beer, using village brewhouses.
Having made his brew, the householder hoists a Zoigl star outside his house and throws his doors open to all. It is a fun experience, with very good, and very cheap, beer, as well as cheap and basic food.
The key villages are Windischeschenbach and Neuhaus, and a Zoigl calendar gives details of which Zoiglstube – Zoigl bar – will be open for business. See zoiglinfo.de.
Stay in the Hotel Zum Waldnaabtal, with doubles from £54. See waldnaabtal-hotel.de.
Locals in Cologne drink their beer not in traditional heavy jugs with handles but in delicate tall tumblers called a stange. That is to match the beer itself – a pale yellow, lightly hopped, refreshing kölsch.
This beer is protected by EU law and can only be brewed by 24 breweries in and around Cologne. But do not be fooled by the delicacy of the presentation, it is potent and waiters will keep topping you up until you indicate “no” by
KÖLSCH: Beer from Cologne
CHEERS: Traditional Munich beer festival covering co your stange with a beer mat. To try it, head he for Frueh am Dom, right by the cathedral. See Se frueh-am-dom.de.
For 24 hour access, stay in the Hotel zur M Malzmuhle, in Cologne’s Old Town, where su superior rooms have a beer tap in the bathroom. D Doubles from £103, see hotelzurmalzmuehle.de.
Hop along Bavaria
The Th Hallertau, a rolling landscape 50 miles north of Munich, is Germany’s hoppy homeland. This 110 1 square mile region remains the largest contiguous co hop growing area in the world.
If you are passing this way, take a Hallertau to tour with Elizabeth Stiglmaier, self-proclaimed ho hop ambassador. Her guided tours set out from th the typical village of Attenhofen and reveal how th the vines are tended and harvested. One
hectare of these fluffy green cones is sufficient hoppiness for a mind-boggling nine million pints.
English tours are available, see hopfenfuehrung.de.
Bitter quest Dusseldorf
HOPPY HOLIDAYS: Tours of Hallertau
The trendy designer city of Dusseldorf has a vibrant nightlife, particularly in the pedestrianised old town between the Konigsallee and the river, where streets like Bolkerstrasse are nothing but restaurants and bars.
This is the home of the darker German beer which is most like British bitter, known here as
OLD GEM: Bamberg altbier, al and made on the premises in five old town breweries. br Some of the beer halls here are more than th 200 years old, with stand-up tables if you want to be sociable with others.
For the full experience, get an English-language al altbier safari which will take you round, sampling th the brews and learning the etiquette.
At Zum Schlussel the menu features flons im bi bierteig, local black pudding in batter, and waiters w will come around with trays of fresh frikaddelle – m meat patties – with lashing of mustard, to keep you thirsty.
See altbier-safari.de.
One for all Bamberg
The Unesco World Heritage Site of Bamberg is notable, among other things, for its
OLD WAYS: Dusseldorf
SMOKY: Beer in Bamberg numerous breweries, of which there are still nine within the city walls.
Between them they produce 60 different beers, with locals consuming a staggering average of 288 litres per head every year.
This unspoiled city is in the part of northern Bavaria called Franconia, and also within those walls are some 2,500 protected medieval buildings. No doubt why it was chosen as a location for The Three Musketeers, starring Orlando B Bloom.
For b beer buffs, however, the star will be the local rauchbier – smoky beer – a rich brew that t tastes like a cross between Guinness and s smoky bacon, which is best consumed in the traditional brewery Schlenkerla in Domi Dominikanerstrasse. See schlenkerla.de.
Bre Brewery Fassla offers accommodation, too, s so not far to stagger to bed. Doubles cost f from £63, see faessla.de.