Breweries or Brauerei

Germany, especially Bavaria, is known for Biergarten culture so as one of the last posts I want to share information on the ones we’ve tried and enjoyed.

Bier has been around as long as the Germans and it gained further popularity from the monks brewing at the monasteries. Germany = Bier. There is no shortage of ales and lagers. this explains thoroughly the beginning of German bier making and its history.

I’ve mentioned how great bier is around here and its great appreciation; this is more about the biergartens.

The food is typical and varies by the region. Around this area it’s schnitzel, breze (pretzel), dark rye bread with obatzda, sausages, Käsespätzle (homemade egg noodles with cheese and fried onions), and sauerbraten (slow cooked beef). Obatzda is a cheese spread, great on pretzels, dark bread or by itself (if you’re obsessed like me). It is made with cream cheese, camembert

Breweries, we are familiar with, in the area are Lederer, Schanzenbräu, and Altstadthof.

The points of note are they all offer tasty bier and enjoyable outdoor atmosphere. They offer wooden tables and benches for seating. At the larger ones there are two seating sections: self service and servers. The self service is for customers to order food at the window and take it to their tables.

Lederer is the largest of the breweries in the area. Amongst others it has unfiltered weizen and pils; both fresher in taste than their bottled counterparts. The food is average but plenty for an evening at the garten. Schanzenbräu brews rot (red), helles (light) and schwarz (black) bier. Our personal favorite is rotbier because its sweet and slightly hoppy and overall a smooth finish. Out of the three in the city, Schanzenbräu has the best food. There is a specials board for the day and everything is delicious.

Altstadthof is within the castle walls and also makes rotbier along with others. Since we’re fans of the amber rotbier, we only get that here. Food is okay and could be better; it tastes like it’s premade from the morning or previous day. Best bet for food is Nürnberger sausages. There are lengthy tours through the keller (basement) on weekends, call ahead for English tour. The garten is smaller than most but there’s always room for one more on the bench.

Meister is further away, 50 kilometers from Nürnberg. (In autobahn terms, that’s 45 minutes.) If given the option to go to Meister regularly, we would. The food and bier are both perfect. The brewmaster serves during weekends. The food is all freshly made, tastes homemade and filling. During the weekends they are always busy but especially for fish (Carp) season. Making reservations for lunch or dinner are highly recommended. Also their Schäufele is outstanding therefore when making reservations tell them to save a plate or two of Schäufele (it is only available at lunch). Their garten is the smallest so plan to arrive early for a table outside. There isn’t a lot to see or do around there but the food and bier are worth the outing.

Biergartens are around many blocks and in parks so we say if it’s crowded on a nice, sunny day, it’s a good sign the locals are enjoying their bier in the garden.