I'm heading to Germany for work in October. Going to check out the last weekend of Oktoberfest in Munich with a buddy. I'll be in Hamburg for a few days, Munich, and touring Bavaria. Any recommendation for Breweries and things I should look for that I won't find in the States. Thanks.
Do you have more specifics as to where you are staying, and how long? Plus, how are you travelling; car or train? Prosit!!
My itinerary is like this: Friday - Sunday: Munich - Staying in the City Center near the Hofgarten. No Car. Hitting up Oktoberest on Friday and Saturday Monday - Tuesday: Hamburg - staying in the city center at the Marriott. No car. Working most of the time but will have Sunday night and Monday Night Wednesday - Thursday: Munich again. No Car Friday - Sunday: Bavaria - staying in Fussen. Have Car. Driving from Munich. Thanks for the help.
Just a suggestion, but weekends are always super-crazy busy at Oktoberfest. If I were you I would only go on one of those days. If it's only you and a buddy, you shouldn't have too much problem finding seats, but it's still a zoo.
My bier-related faves: Weisses Brauhaus, Forschungsbrau, and the Augustiner Braustubn... Day-trip-able are Weihenstephan and/or Andechs via S-Bahn... Bamberg, Nurnberg, Salzburg are easy day-trips via the rails of DB, too.... History get you? Try Dachau or Berchtesgaden/Obersalzberg for WWII stuff... as well as many WWII tours in Munich itself.... There's a bier/Oktoberfest Museum (and pub) and the Deutsches Museum is one of the best science/technical museums in die Welt... As for Füssen, it is a lovely area, with Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles right nearby. You may be able to drive to Ettal and Oberammergau, but would have to go Northeast via Steingaden then Southeast to Ettal. At Ettal is Kloster Ettal, a gorgeous monastery which makes great bier - available at the restaurant/shops across the street. ( http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2432/ ) Message me for more tips or specifics if you like... Prosit!!
It's important to note that many stores in Germany close early on Saturday and are not open at all on Sundays. Plan your beer run accordingly. Sadly I never made it to Hamburg in my four years in Germany, so I'll focus on Munich: There's a store not far from where you are staying called Getränke Oase. It may be a bit more than walking distance - especially if you're carrying bottles around - so I'll leave it up to you to check on public transit (I think the bus line 100 might get you where you need to go, but you should double check that). What I'll say about Getränke Oase is this - you will find lots of unique German (and non-German) beers there, but it will be more expensive than "normal" beer stores, and some beers may be out of date. Definitely double-check your freshness dates there, it sucks to pay a premium for out-of-date beer. Things to look for include: Camba Bavaria's IPA, Hoppebräu's Vogel Wuid IPA, whatever Pax Bräu is in stock, and check for stuff in the fridge from Forshungsbrauerei (only if you can't make their restaurant to drink it fresh). It's not a bad idea to bring your own sturdy bag, by the way. If you're looking for more traditional German fare, the Chinese Tower in the English Garden has a nice biergarten, there's the Augustiner Keller by the Main Train Station, Der Pschorr in the Viktualienmarkt, Andechs am Dom, and pretty much anywhere with anything from Munich. Have a fresh Helles (or Dunkles, for that matter) Lagerbier vom Holzfass, if possible. Then have another. Good German beer has a way of getting better as you go. Footnote on this: While Augustiner Hell is not available in the US, it's also not always everywhere that has Augustiner. You should look for places that have it in the wooden barrel. It will likely be in any "normal" bottle shop in Munich, though, if you want to try it that way. Most of all, enjoy Germany and enjoy Oktoberfest. I'm a big fan of Spaten's Oktoberfest, but I've also enjoyed Löwenbräu's, Hacker-Pschorr's...well, they're pretty much all going to be good.
I definitely will. I get to go to Belgium and Germany for a week each this fall for work. I'll have some extensive reports. Dunkels are some of my favorite beers, so I'm very excited to try some brands we can't get in the States.
I don't think any of these are around Munich, but if you see them, my three favorite Dunkels in Germany were: Eck Bräu's Wilderer Dunkel (Böbrach) Kneitinger Dunkel (Regensburg) Faust Schwarzviertler Dunkel (Miltenberg) Forschungsbrauerei makes a Dunkel (although I haven't tried it) and Kloster Andech's Export Dunkel is both good and not available in the US as far as I remember.
