Beer themed trip to Germany etc. Recommendations?

[CanAusBrewer]

Hi guys,

I am meeting a group of friends in Europe to celebrate one of them getting married. It is largely a bucks trip but really a whole lot more than the standard. We plan to stay in Amsterdam for three nights, spend a night on the way to Munich somewhere else and then of course a few days at Oktoberfest!

I have booked a flight to Frankfurt five days before I have to meet people in Amsterdam. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for beer destinations to visit in the region and beers to try, while keeping in mind that I AM going to friggin' Oktoberfest at the end. Belgian monasteries, medieval bier halls etc. Other recommendations for places to visit will be highly appreciated. I am pretty unfamiliar with European beer so this is all a new experience for me.

 

[unionrdr]

Maybe check this link out for some ideas? http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/index.html Take a look at "beer travels".

 

[masskrug]

I would try go to Belgium if time permits.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, the monks that brew the trappist ales might be cool.

 

[patthebrewer]

Oktoberfest in Munchen is truly a bucket list kind of thing. Do have your reservations yet? I highly recommend the hacker-pschorr tent If you are in the Bamberg Area, I highly recommend you visit, Heller-Brau Trum, otherwise known as Schlenkerla. It's on Dominikaner strasse. Once you hear the sweet siren song of Rauch Bier from Schlenkerla, it will change your life

Viel Spass! Mein Freund.



I really need to get back to europe........

 

[Teromous]

The Heineken Experience in Amsterdam is really cool. It is set up like a modern museum inside their first brewery. There's a lot of history and little activities inside to teach people how beer is made and packaged and how the brewery has changed over the years.

 

[Yooper]

Hi guys,

I am meeting a group of friends in Europe to celebrate one of them getting married. It is largely a bucks trip but really a whole lot more than the standard. We plan to stay in Amsterdam for three nights, spend a night on the way to Munich somewhere else and then of course a few days at Oktoberfest!

I have booked a flight to Frankfurt five days before I have to meet people in Amsterdam. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for beer destinations to visit in the region and beers to try, while keeping in mind that I AM going to friggin' Oktoberfest at the end. Belgian monasteries, medieval bier halls etc. Other recommendations for places to visit will be highly appreciated. I am pretty unfamiliar with European beer so this is all a new experience for me.

Well, the Belgian monasteries are in Belgium and not in Frankfurt. If you don't have Belgium on your list, I'd definitely change my list! You could spend 4-5 days in Belgium, easy, and have a great time.

I used to live in Frankfurt, and there were many small breweries scattered all over, and every gasthaus had the local brew on tap. There are biergartens all over the place, and it's nice. But there really isn't any thing special to explore, except for some old churches, Goethe's place of birth, etc. There are awesome historical things, but not so much beer-related. If you want a fun time with lots of pubs, Sachsenhausen is a sort cab or bus ride. There are narrow cobblestone streets, and it's great for wandering and eating and drinking. http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=317578&_ffmpar[_id_inhalt]=5021012

 

[Spartan1979]

Bamberg!

This is my beer trip last year: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/heading-to-germany.113333/page-3

Start with post 100

Dusseldorf would be another option.

 

[906_brewer]

I lived in Hanau for a few years and traveled around Germany a bit. My advise is to seek out local beers, the beers that never get exported, I found many great beers that way. Enjoy the trip!

 

[CanAusBrewer]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I want really planning on spending much time in Frankfurt but just flying round trip from there since it it's so central. Just from looking at maps and train routes I was originally planning on going Frankfurt to Cologne (to check out the cathedral) via the Rhine Valley. Although I get the impression that the Rhine caters to retired couples on river cruises so not sure if it's better to give it a miss.

Then I could go Cologne to Brussels and spend two nights there before taking a train over to Amsterdam. I have read about The Cantillon brewery in Brussels being pretty cool for a tour.

Man I can't wait for this trip!

 

[CanAusBrewer]

Oktoberfest in Munchen is truly a bucket list kind of thing. Do have your reservations yet? I highly recommend the hacker-pschorr tent If you are in the Bamberg Area, I highly recommend you visit, Heller-Brau Trum, otherwise known as Schlenkerla. It's on Dominikaner strasse. Once you hear the sweet siren song of Rauch Bier from Schlenkerla, it will change your life

Viel Spass! Mein Freund.



I really need to get back to europe........

Thanks for the tips. I assume all of these spots you suggested are in Munchen? We reserved a whole house via Air B&B back in Feb so that is sorted. But are you saying you need beer hall reservations too?

 

[jdm61]

Yeah, the monks that brew the trappist ales might be cool.

Rochefort and Chimay supposedly both have nice tours. Rochefort is easier to get to from Germany. You cross over at Saarbrucken and head for Luxembourg. Rochefort is halfway between Luxembourg and Brussels right off the motorway.

 

[Dirty25]

Germany isn't a huge beer meca around the Frankfurt area (where I live). It's about wine. Munich, BAmburg, and Dusseldorf are musts. Belgium is amazing, Prague is worth checking out if you have time.

 

[Dirty25]

Also O fest is a tourist trap. It's fun and all but more foreigners go then locals. Check out Stuggarts volkfest or Bad durkheim wine fest. There is more locals at them and the party gets wild

 

[beekeeperman]

i went to the Octoberfest in Munich one year but don't remember
much more about it......hmmmm.

 

[unionrdr]

Would like to have seen Volkerball at volksfest!

 

[beekeeperman]

Saw the Rolling Stones live in Stuttgart !!

 

[CanAusBrewer]

That would have been amazing!

Ok so based on recommendations I think the plan will be to travel the day of arrival to somewhere along the Rhine Gorge, then Cologne for one night. Next night in Brussels, then Bruges and Antwerp before getting to Amsterdam. After Munich I will spend one night in Salzberg and one night in Bamberg before my return flight from Frankfurt. How does this sound? I just figured it would be easier to experience these places from cities since I have limited time.

I suppose I could also substitute Bruges for Dusseldorf. Any recommendations on which place would be better to visit?

 

[pabuck]

We really enjoyed the Weihenstephaner brewery and didn't even take the tour. The grounds are beautiful, and the beer was amazing. It's about 15 minutes from the Munich airport.

 

[beekeeperman]

Ok so based on recommendations I think the plan will be to travel the day of arrival to somewhere along the Rhine Gorge, then Cologne for one night. Next night in Brussels, then Bruges and Antwerp before getting to Amsterdam. After Munich I will spend one night in Salzberg and one night in Bamberg before my return flight from Frankfurt. How does this sound? I just figured it would be easier to experience these places from cities since I have limited time.

I suppose I could also substitute Bruges for Dusseldorf. Any recommendations on which place would be better to visit?

Sounds like a whirlwind tour of Germany !
I went over to Salzburg by train while in the south . Really liked the Alps region.
There are no shortages of places to drink in Germany and its all pretty good.
Just about every town has a gasthaus .
My time was spent mostly northeast of Frankfurt a couple hrs ride by train around what once was the east-west german border.
Take a train ride !

 

[podz]

There are so many brewpubs in Germany, it's hard to stay even in a small village and not find one. If you take a trip to Linderhof, there's a monestary brewery right across the street. Go to Garmisch and have a beer on top of the Zugspitz (the largest mountain in Germany) - that's unforgettable.

The beer scene is much nicer in southern Germany, IMO (Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, and on down into Bavaria). And remember that Köln is in the middle of one of the largest metropolitan areas on the entire planet... the Rhine-Ruhrgebiet. Think LA style traffic jams. It's not really a beautiful area, and one that I largely avoid unless a business trip calls me there. But then again, Kölsch and Alt are not special beers to me. I asked for a weissbier in Duesseldorf and they started cursing at me!

Where are you staying in Amsterdam? Their hotel star rating system bears no actual resemblance to the truth. Even the 5-star hotels have rats, loud pipes, often lack of hot water, rude staff and breakfast is outrageously expensive. 100% worth it to rent an apartment for a few days instead; go to a little food store and stock the fridge for your own breakfast. I've used this site a few times and have gotten very nice apartments for decent prices:

http://www.amsterdamcityapartments.com

 

[hausofstrauss]

I agree with earlier posters:

Oktoberfest is more of a bucket list thing. I spent one evening there and it was enough. I'm not a big party, hug crowd type person. The reservation thing is for a table. You can't buy beer there if you don't have a seat. And you also can't take beer out of the tents. I got lucky in that I was pacing the outdoor area at Spaten and a spot opened up and I was able to throw back a Mass or two and enjoy the Scheweinshaxen (my absolute favorite).

I was also fortunate enough that while close by on business, a colleague recommended the Schlenkerla. I'm still not a fan of the smoke beer, but it sure was a treat to have visited such a world renowned place.

There is a German phrase "The closer to Munich, the better the beer". I found that to be absolutely true in my opinion and tastes.

In Munich, I would recommend visiting any of the beer halls of a particular brewery. They might also be called a Bier Keller. Hofbrauhaus of course is the most famous. It will be mostly tourists, but it's neat to at least see for it's cultural and historical significance.

My most recommended DO NOT MISS spot would be the beer garden at the Chinese Tower in the English Gardens. There you can get great beer, Schweinshaxen, Hendel, Weisswurst and giant pretzels. It is also just a beautiful park.

http://www.munichbeergardens.com/Chinesischer_Turm

 

[CanAusBrewer]

Hi guys,

Back from Europe and I just wanted to say thanks for all your help. It was a great beer themed trip after all, and the wine was pretty damn good too! I love the regional beers in Europe. Spent a couple days on the Rhine drinking Riesling and Federweisser, one night drinking Kolsch in Cologne, several days getting surprisingly hammered on Belgian beers. Gotta be careful wit those ones! Picked up a few sixers of Westvleteren and brought some home with me. Toured St. Bernardus, Rodenbach and Cantillon in Belgium and drank in a brewpub built inside a windmill in Amsterdam.

Enjoyed many mas biers at Oktoberfest, including Spaten, Lowenbrau and my favourite, Hacker-Pschorr. And had a few Franziskaners after climbing the Alpspitz in Garmisch. Finally got to try apfelwein in Frankfurt before flying home!

 

[podz]

And had a few Franziskaners after climbing the Alpspitz in Garmisch.

Did you rent climbing gear or bring your own with you from the US?

 

[CanAusBrewer]

Did you rent climbing gear or bring your own with you from the US?

Neither. I did a very stupid thing and did the via ferrata route on the Alpspitze without gear. There were a few locals doing the same. I have a fair bit of experience in mountains so never felt too exposed or in danger but it was a bit awkward at times going hand over hand on steel cables with a several hundred metre drop below me. I would recommend hiring gear in Garmisch especially because not having gear meant there was no way I was going to be able to traverse the ridge between Alpspitze and Zugspitze!