Just Visiting: Munich & Amsterdam

Discussion in 'Netherlands' started by Jeffreyabr, Jun 7, 2017.

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  1. Jeffreyabr

    Jeffreyabr Initiate (0) Apr 19, 2015 New York

    I'm going on the trip of a lifetime in July, spending a week in Italy for my father's birthday before heading off to Munich for a few days and then to Amsterdam. I'll bring some plastic zip-lock bags just in case, but I doubt I'm going to go through the trouble of trying to mule something back home.

    While my prospects of finding anything other than amazing wine while we're in Italy don't seem to be too high, I was hoping to get some better direction and strategy on Munich and Amsterdam.

    In addition, I wanted to see if there was any consensus on "strategy" for how we should view beer on this trip. The last few years of our craft beer enjoyment has been focused on the evolution of the American scene, with its IPAs, sours, saisons, and pales. I know Europe is a totally different scene, especially Germany with Reinheitsgebot. Should we be seeking out things and valuing what we can find for its purity and the longevity of its purveyor? What stands out over there?

    Munich

    So far, I've coordinated the basics by lining up a tour of Weihenstephan, planned a hike to Andechs, and flagged Tegernseer Bräustuben for the day we hike from Lake Schliersee over to Lake Tegernsee. We're staying at an AirBnB right next to Viktualienmarkt, so we'll be very close to Der Pschorr, Schneider Bräuhaus, and Hackerhaus.

    In no particular order, I've also made note of:

    Hirschgarten, Englischer Garden, Tap House by Ostbahnhof, Forschungsbrauerei, Augustiner Bräustuben/Zum Augustiner, Wirtshaus am Bavariapark, Löwenbräukeller, Sankt Emmerams Mühle, and Chinesischer Turm.

    Is there anything that I am missing? Are there any places I should prioritize over others? Any places I should avoid altogether?

    Amsterdam

    Not really as thought out as Munich for our trip, but I know there are some nice and scenic places to grab a beer. We're staying in the Frederik Hendrikbuurt here, so fairly centrally located.

    Again, in no particular order:

    Arendsnest Proeflokaal, Brouwerij 't IJ, Cafe Gollem, Bierproeflokaal in de Wildeman, Brouwerij de Prael, Beer Temple, Café Belgique, Café ‘t Smalle,

    Anything I should seek out while I'm in either place? Any food recommendations? Any things you'd recommend doing between visiting any and all of the establishments I've listed above?

    Thank you for any insight and advice. I'm more excited than you can imagine to make this trip happen.
     
  2. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    It sounds like you have a plan for Munich, and I'm not experienced enough to comment on it, but I will say that you should pick up the book The Beer Drinkers Guide to Munich to get your info from a reliable, organized source. https://www.amazon.com/Beer-Drinker...sr=1-1&keywords=beer+drinkers+guide+to+munich My wife and I spent 3 days in Munich just a month ago and the book was very helpful. I'll pat you on the back for scheduling a visit to Weihenstephan. We put our visit there as the best brewery visit on our entire 17-day trip thru Belgium and Germany, although we did not do a tour.
     
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  3. Jeffreyabr

    Jeffreyabr Initiate (0) Apr 19, 2015 New York

    I've got a lot of unfiltered ideas and research. Hopefully between here, Reddit, and TripAdvisor, I'll get a more defined approach to what we should seek out versus just running around. I'm a planner.

    I also came across this book. I didn't get it, but I took a brief look through the preview from its listing on Amazon, and I used the notes to bolster my info on my spreadsheet/MyMap I'm building. I Googled everything I couldn't get a preview of on Amazon, so I feel like I read it. I guess I'm just missing the coupons, but I'm not not sure how much I'm missing out of that.

    Good to hear this was a good decision. Weihenstephan was the first beer that let me know there was more out there than Bud Lite/Coors. I have a full tour with tasting scheduled for 10am on July 10. And then I plan on having us go back to Munich and just enjoy the city. But I am very excited for Weihenstephan, so it's good to hear some reinforcing encouragement.
     
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  4. barrybeerdog

    barrybeerdog Pundit (941) Aug 17, 2012 South Dakota

    While in A-Dam, jump on the train & head to De Molen in Bodegraven for lunch. It's a short train ride & a very easy walk from the station to the brewery (look for the windmill) in this very nice small town. Very good food & always a decent number of great beers on draft.
    Enjoy your trip, cheers!
     
  5. NeroFiddled

    NeroFiddled Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,276) Jul 8, 2002 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm not sure where you're going in Italy but I think you'll be surprised at the quality of beer you'll find. Just in the past 3 or 4 years Italy has made massive strides forward with their own beers, and their appreciation of beers from around the world has increased considerably.
     
  6. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,252) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah

    Your Munich plans appear sound. The one thing I'd suggest is not to sleep on the Hofbrauhaus. It might sound like a horrible tourist trap, but it isn't. I'd put it up there with Andechs and the Englischer Garden on my list of places I'll never miss.

    Unrelated to beer, the Munich Zoo is really nice, too. http://www.hellabrunn.de/en/
     
  7. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,174) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Society Pooh-Bah

    A good alternative to the Hofbräuhaus is the Hofbräukeller.* Not quite as touristy and a little more out of the way -- quite nice.

    *Check out the Biergarten Webcam -- place is packed at 8:30pm on a Thursday. Love that culture.
     
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  8. Jeffreyabr

    Jeffreyabr Initiate (0) Apr 19, 2015 New York

    Very cool. Adding that to my list. With how tightly I've scheduled Munich (Day 1: Dachau to Andechs; Day 2: Hiking Schliersee to Tegnersee: Day 3: Weihenstephan and actually see Munich), all I'd dreamed up was going from bar to museum to bar to museum as we desired, so other ideas are very welcomed. Thank you!


    We're going to be in Conca dei Marini, in a little villa outside of the major towns. We'll hit the surrounding cities, Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, Salerno, etc. over the course of the week, but from that thread that I linked to, I don't have high hopes of coming across any brewery in these locations. I don't have a problem with that, I'm sure I'm about to have my share of limoncello and wine. But I would still love to have some insight into Italian beer, if there is any to look out for.

    Haha, that's actually one of the notes I have for Hofbrauhaus, so that's good to know. That doesn't turn me off, and I totally expect to hit the majority of those places. But coming from Manhattan, if it was anything like the Hofbrauhaus in midtown, I think we'd probably allocate just enough time for a single drink before we go do something we really wanted to do. I'll make sure to give that more of a consideration when we're there.

    And thanks for the museum tip. I definitely need more than alcohol on my list of options.

    Thanks for that tip on Hofbräukeller! That flew under my radar. Our AirBnB is not far from that at all, just about 1km, so that could be an easy walk one night.
     
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  9. Seacoastbrewer

    Seacoastbrewer Initiate (0) Jun 5, 2012 New Hampshire

    Re: Munich - For a relatively unique drinking experience I would prioritize finding beer served via gravity barrel (holzfass). You can find most of the big Munich breweries' beer here in the states. What you wont find in the states is Augustiner Export from the wood. My spot is the Augustiner Klosterwirt under the Frauenkirche.

    In fairness I'd just skip Munich and spend my time in Bamberg, but to each their own.
     
  10. Jeffreyabr

    Jeffreyabr Initiate (0) Apr 19, 2015 New York

    I definitely will be on the looking for gravity barrels, thanks man!
    Anything in particualr you found unique about Augustiner Klosterwirt?
    I liked the idea of Munich as a launching pad for some good day trips. Never having done Europe, I wanted to try and do a lot in this short span, but in the future, I'm going to be a little more calculating as to where I go. I'm hopign we get a nice day for the hike from Schliersee to Tegnersee because having lunch and a beer at Obere Firstalm is essentially the experience I've been seeking since I found out I like hefeweizen. If I was fortunate enough to go back to Europe, I might try some eastern countries first to experience a different culture.
     
  11. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    During your time in Italy you'll be spending time in Rome, don't write off beer in Italy. We have a family member living in Rome right now and he has brought me a couple of fairly nice beers from Italy and has some good things to say about the improving beer scene in Rome.

    Try a Google Search for "Beer in Rome" and expect to find a list come up that includes some quite nice places and that get high marks from the reviewers.
     
  12. Jeffreyabr

    Jeffreyabr Initiate (0) Apr 19, 2015 New York

    I was hoping to spend some time in Rome, especially since we'll be just waking up from an 8 hour flight when we arrive, but unfortunately, I think my parents and their friends wanted to hop a transfer car ASAP to being the four hour drive to Amalfi. I'll be lucky if I see any of Rome from inside the van.
     
  13. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Well family comes first in this type situation but see if you can someday get back to visit Rome itself. I've been there a couple of times for a week to 10 days each and still feel I've barely even scratched the surface of things to see and do there and in the surrounding area. The sense of history and continuity is almost something you can touch.
     
  14. Jeffreyabr

    Jeffreyabr Initiate (0) Apr 19, 2015 New York

    I mean, they do have ruins, right?

    Yeah, I'm fine with it. I'm surprised you say that though. A lot of people I talk to say you see the
    Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and Pantheon and you get it. I know that excludes the Vatican, but I'm just playing Rome on this round...

    I would love to go back though. After doing all of this research, what I've seen on my flight deal sites, I could definitely swing ~$400 roundtrip to Italy again some day. Next summer, my priority is going to be Ireland/UK. My friend works on GoT in Belfast and I want to see him, the set, and some beautiful Irish countrysides.
     
  15. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Well I'd say that those folks were on the "If this is Tuesday we must be in Rome" type tour. We had the advantage of visiting family members (one who was there for six months in a special school and the other who is living and working there) who had been exploring Rome on their own for a few years so we saw a lot that the average tourists wouldn't see. That included a few places to eat and see that few people on tours every visit or see on a tour.
     
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  16. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I meant to add to my post above that you should consider going to Wirthaus Ayinger. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/8036/?view=ratings It's right across the street from Hofbrauhaus. After I figure out the scores for my reviews from my trip, I'm guessing that this place will come in at #2 behind Wiehenstephaner.
     
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  17. Jeffreyabr

    Jeffreyabr Initiate (0) Apr 19, 2015 New York

    Nice. I did have them on my list, but for food (I only listed the places I flagged for beer). I'm more than happy to grab a pint there, but why do you score them so high? As far as food goes, I've got some amazing looking schnitzel places on my list (Andy's Krablergarten & Steinheil 16).
     
  18. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,252) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah

    Beyond the beer, Wirthaus Ayinger is a bit more upscale than the typical bierhalls in that area. It isn't quite "fine dining" but it's definitely closer to that than say, the Hof or the Augustiner halls down that way.
     
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  19. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,174) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Um, pint? Get ready for beer culture shock. :grinning:
     
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  20. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    You are right-on with the food being a reason to go there, but we also felt that the beers that we had were also justifiably a reason to go there. I was on a kick to find Maibocks, and I found one there which was the second best of the 9 that I found on our trip. We also had their Jahrhundertbier which at the time I tasted like an imperial helles but without the alcohol kick (although I couldn't figure out anything about its true style from the menu). My notes say that I also had a kellerbier, although I don't remember it. (However, I gave it a 4.0 score.)

    My wife and I each gave our dinner selections (Beef Roulade and Beef Goulash) a score of 4.5 (out of 5), and both beers were scored at 4.25. So, yes, the food is better than the beer, but when the scores are both that good........ @Domingo is correct about this place being a tiny bit more upscale (cloth napkins, slightly higher prices, etc.), but it still has a great vibe.
     
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