Weihenstephaner vs Ayinger tours

Neither of these fit what you are looking for. Both are modern facilities. Ayinger is of course much smaller and you'll probably like it better but Weihenstephan is nice with a little bit of old architecture (although it doesn't look like much) and a nicer beer garden although in the town of Aying there is Liebhards which also has a nice garden. Personally I'd advise hitting Andechs before either of these from a architecture standpoint and the fact that it is harder to get their delicious beer, even if you dont visit the brewery the church at Andechs is spectacular as is the bier hall.

 

Having been to none of the 3 above, I can't quibble with anything you said. However, I'm not sure what you mean by Andechs being harder to come by. You can buy it in almost every department store in the country. Both Galleria Kaufhof and Karstadt carry it in their beer section. Or are you speaking from a USA-centric perspective, of which I couldn't tell you anything?

Finally, I think Andechs is also simply a better beer, too.

 

Yep, that's it. As far as I know, Andechs isn't available (yet?) in the US, whereas Weihenstephaner and Ayinger are plentiful. Oddly enough, here in HD I can get just about any Andechs beer but Ayinger is nowhere to be found and Weihenstephaner is limited to just the helles hefeweissbier. I don't think OP will have any problem finding any of the three in Munich, though.

Apologies to OP, I am of no use on the original topic.

 

Yes, was speaking from a US distribution perspective. There has been talk about getting Andechs distributed around the US but I personally haven't seen it yet. The beers are all so different that it is a matter of personal preference which is better. But from the scenery side of thing Andechs wins hands down. Weihenstephan wins on brewing history and Aying wins on a pastoral farmhouse village feeling.

 

I have been to Weihenstephan, but not for their tour. Their restaurant and biergarten are top-shelf.... I have done the Aying tour, and the facility is uber-modern, having been built around 10 years ago... Don't much care for the Aying hotel/restaurant itself, but Liebhards, next door, is super... Also, Andechs location, stuben and church all kick ass! When are you going, btw? Prosit!

 

Based upon memory - the common Andechs items were in normal stores, but not all of their beers were. The only place I've seen the Bergbock Hell was in bottles in their weird little wagon-shop on top of the hill.

Both Weihenstephaner and Ayinger serve beers you won't find over here in the US. Ayinger has a dark maerzen-type item (I can't recall the name) and a helles that aren't exported. Weihenstephan has a dunkel and a pils that are apparently exported to some places, but not everywhere. The *might* also still have their version of Infinium around? They did a few years ago, although you had to ask for it. At 10+% ABV, it should still be okay if they did keep any.

 

The Andechs Bergbock Hell is always in steady supply at the local place next to me here in HD. When someone figures out Germany's beer distribution logic, please let me know.

Is the Ayinger beer called the Kirta Halbe? Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's their seasonal Oktoberfest beer, which they say is "somewhere between a Märzen and an Export Dunkel". I'm looking to order that online when it is released, I haven't had it yet.

Re Infinium: I know the Weihenstephaner restaurant in Berlin has it on their menu (or was it their chalkboard?), I'd be surprised if you can't get it at their place in Munich also.

 

Liebhards is an excellent traditional place with a pleasant biergarten. The Ayinger Hotel is a high end place (look up the Room Rates on line) and when we walked in there, they suggested we go to Liebhards. Might help to wear your best suit and tie.

 

Why no just get a WOCHENKARTE, a weekly pass for the München area? You can buy them at any tkt machine or at the Hauptbahnhof. Saves lots of money & time.

 

I might be wrong about this, but they might not serve the Andechser Doppelbock on Sunday? I wish I had the BDGTM handy, but I think they mentioned a day where it isn't served.

With Aying, it definitely had a suburban feel to it. While walking to Leibhard's, we were passed by 3 different American muscle cars like classic Corvettes and Camaros. I thought that was a little unusual.

 

I found the Bergbock Hell (and the Doppelbock) at the Drinks of the World shop in the Basel Hauptbahnhof.

 

It might also be worthwhile to talk to someone at a TI and tell them your plans. My guess is that buses will be less reliable late and on weekends than an S-Bahn, but the TI rep should be able to walk you through all that and help you pick out a card that works best. You definitely don't want to miss the last bus back into town.

 

Your schedule is fine. Not that it matters much but Andechs closes at 10PM, Weihenstephan at midnight so you will have a little extra time plus I think you will find more frequent S-bahns from Freising than Herrsching later at night due to the proximity to the airport. I might suggest that you add Ayinger am Platzl to your Munich list, it is across from the Hofbrauhaus, they have a horseradish soup to die for and tap a barrel of unfiltered Helles every night at 5:00 and the Andecher am Dom for a dopplebock nightcap. Monday you may want to check out the English Gardens during the day as well as the viktualienmarkt. Also don't dismiss Lowenbrau Keller or Paulaner am Nockherberg as good dinner spots.

 

I almost forgot - the DO still have the Weihenstephaner version of Infinium in Freising. I saw a few bottles in their gift shop just a few days ago.

 

BDGTM stands for the Beer drinkers guide to Munich. It's a good book but given your limited amount of time and your schedule already planned not necessary to buy.