Like I said, going to Austria in October for my honeymoon (specifically Vienna and Salzburg), and was wondering if there was any great beer bars or beer related places that I shouldn't miss. Thanks!
It's been 5 years since I was in Salzburg, but I'll be (hopefully) going back in October as well. The above, plus Die Weisse if you like wheat beer. I also had good beer at S'Kloane Brauhaus. We always make a trip out to Bergheim to isi-Bräu -- a tiny brewery in what was once a house and now a pub. The brewery is in the corner of the kitchen. Another interesting stop if you want to get out of the city is Landgasthof Allerberger -- Restaurant, Hotel, Brewery and Indoor Tennis Center
Isn't Salzburg the home of "Brauerei Gusswerk"? You might want to have a look at that! As for Vienna (been there last weekend) you should pay "1516 brewing company" a visit (1. Bezirk), they focus on "american style craft beer", they had a pale ale, oatmeal stout, the hopdevil clone, a helles, a Weizen and an Imperial IPA that was in a Whiskey Barrel. The Pale Ale was alright, the Weizen had a tremendous yeast character, very fruity! The Oatmeal stout was pretty darn strong, must have been 7 to 8% abv, lots of chocolate and coffee in the aroma. The Imperial IPA was interesting - not much character from the barrel - but definitely a tad different from most IIPAs. "Universitäts Bräuhaus" (on campus) had decent beer, but pretty basic helles, dunkles etc, and an Alt Bier - pretty good if you ask me. Cheers!
Lichtenthaler Bräu has a newer brewmaster and is streets ahead of 1516 these days, but 1516 is closer to the tourist part of the city. Universitäts Bräuhaus is also close to the tourist part of Vienna and they serve an Altbier and a Zwickel. Stiegl has a biergarten right next to it. The Schweizerhaus is a popular traditional biergarten. http://www.schweizerhaus.at/#!/page_home. It is at the famous Prater park. The Prater is something like the Coney Island of Austria. Conrad Seidl seems to love it. I've never been a huge fan of Gusswerk. The Horny Betty is... interesting, but that's the best I can say. I suppose it's worth a try.
Oh and of course 7Stern. That is in a touristy part of Vienna and they brew a large selection of German/Czech/Austrian beers. This is where I take visitors. It has a nice biergarten and the inside is very cozy. I'm glad I'm not the only one who took the wife to beer destinations on the honeymoon. We got married in Denmark and went to Mikeller etc. If you need any more tips on what to do in Austria, feel free to ask.
Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I've actually got family in Austria right now. Are there any beers I should recommend they try and bring home (doesn't have to be necessarily from Austria, just something available there)? Thanks.
Anything other than Warsteiner, Bitburger, or other Fernsehbier... Do you like any particuar style? Pils, Helles, Dunkeles, Bock, Weizen, Märzen etc? That might be a way to approach telling your family what to pick up.
Not necessarily. I just like trying new things. Overall, i doubt that they are going to take a long time looking for things, but I figured I'd give them a small list if there were a few specific stand outs or can't misses. Thanks.
A friend of mine (Matthias Schnaitl) owns Schnaitl, maybe you can find his stuff where you are going http://www.schnaitl.at/ It's been a while since I've had the beers, so I can't really "rate" them for you. They are a local, family-owned brewery which should be supported whenever possible? Ja?
I think for Austria you can safely say that anything NOT brewed by Brauunion is at least worth a shot.
If we'd know where exactly in Austria they were I could possibly give you some names what specifically to look out for.
I stayed in a hotel right down the street from this place in Alpbach: http://www.kristallbrauerei.com/. Lovely Zwickl that the brewmaster let me sample straight from the lagering tanks. Yum.
Thanks guys. My biggest issue is they are traveling around (so i never know exactly where they're at) and my only way to reach them is through email (which they only check about every other day). I'll pass on the recommendations though.
Tell them to do their best and you'll be happy with whatever they can schlepp back. Or tell them to take pics of the display case in a Getränkemarkt or Supermarket, email it to you, and you tell them what you'd like. Or just chill and enjoy. Good luck, and tell us later what they brought back, and… if you liked it.
I just want to reiterate here that the keyword is Zwickl. No matter where they are in Austria, they should be able to find one for you and bring it back. They should be able to pick one up at a train station grocery store or at the grocery store at the airport. If they are flying from Vienna, you could ask them to stop at the Spar grocery store at the airport before they check their bags. There is a Billa grocery store there too, but they tend to have lower quality products.
