I am officially going to Germany !! Beer Suggestions please!

[wulfsburg]

So I will be going to Germany for 2 weeks at the tail end of April. I have never been off of the continent, and am super duper excited!!!!!!!!!


Now, I am just starting to do my research, and I need some help and suggestions.

2 weeks is a long time so there is a lot of things to do and see. We will be flying into Frankfurt. ( Flight hasn't been reserved yet , so I do not know at this point where we will be laying over to get there )

We will be staying in Heidelberg. My girlfriends sister lives there, and we have a free place to stay (as well as a translator if needed).

I plan on seeing a few sights in Heidelberg, we also may be going to France to see the Eiffel Tower (although I don't really want to) .

I am not a big Lager / Pilsner guy, but I am ready to explore and discovery the wonders that German beer has to offer. (Hooray for Hefe!)

I have looked this website up...

German-Breweries

And it is a good place to start, but somewhat overwhelming, and converting all those German websites to English is a tedious task. Can anyone shed some light or share where they have been ?

I also am unsure of how much money to bring. Since lodging is going to be free for most of the trip, I need an idea of how much a beer costs.
Do they primarily use the euro? Or the Mark?

I would love to go to Berlin, and stop in Wolfsburg along the way to see the castle there. I do not want to rent a car, and heard that you can take a train many places in the country.

I also want to visit Cologne (of course).

Thoughts?

 

[kh54s10]

I'd just try anything that caught my fancy at the moment. Maybe some of the places will have tasters instead of those huge steins. I so not know any of the beers so for me it would be a huge beer tasting adventure.

Sorry I am not a world traveler so I cannot give any other advise.

I am jealous though!

 

[viking73]

I was there in '08, lots to see in heidelberg. I never had a bad beer the entire time. Try them all.

 

[dienster]

Just went in September. Beer prices range from 2-4 euro for a half liter usually.

If you get to a biergarten, a pfand is a deposit for your glass, usually a euro. Halbe is a half and masse is a whole liter of beer. Get that with a pretzel and the cheese dip.

Don't order a radler unless you like soda in your beer.

They have a much lower alcohol limit when driving so be careful.

In heidelberg, there's a bar in the main square next to the church that sells a bananaweizen. My wife had it and loved it. Give it a try. Also get a crepe from the little shop on the backside of the church.

That's about all you need to know.
Have fun.

 

[passedpawn]

If you go to Cologne, you really should go to Dusseldorf too. It's close. Home of the altbier (I recommend Eurige or Im Fuchschen, both in the Altstadt (old town). I put a little trip thread here. If you go to Munich, make sure you go to the Hofbrauhaus for a beer. It's super-touristy, but you should go at least once.

 

[dienster]

Our trip we did a loop of Southern Germany,

Frankfurt, rothenberg ob der tauber, Heidelberg, black forest, pinswang Austria and crazy Ludwigs castles, munich, Nuremberg, Frankfurt

We rented a car from Heidelberg-Munich and took a train for the rest. The drive from Heidelberg through the black forest to Austria was awesome, definitely recommend that.

Just some ideas to look into. We considered Paris but it would kill a whole day traveling each way. Our route was set up so we only spent 3-4hours traveling between locations so we could check out , travel and still have half a day. There is plenty to see in Germany.

 

[iaefebs]

I recommend this website for good info on styles, locations, pronunciations etc.

German Beer Styles

 

[Weizenwerks]

A German pils on German soil will change your opinion about pilsner beer 90% of the time.

 

[wulfsburg]

We considered Paris but it would kill a whole day traveling each way. Our route was set up so we only spent 3-4hours traveling between locations so we could check out , travel and still have half a day. There is plenty to see in Germany.

This is why I don't want to go to France. Maybe she can go with her sister and I can stay behind and tour breweries.

Edit : Or just taste

 

[BeerEagle]

This is why I don't want to go to France. Maybe she can go with her sister and I can stay behind and tour breweries.

Edit : Or just taste

I think you've hit on a winning plan there.

 

[viking73]

Check into multiple day passes on the deutsch bohn. Probably the easiest way to move about.

 

[WGBrauerei]

If in Köln, Fruh am Dom is right across from the gigantic ass church, and a very palatable Kölsch. I really love sitting down drinking 0,3L glasses of beer. Very refreshing, but Kölsch is a very light and clean ale, closer to the lager/pils style.

Altbier can be found next door in Düsseldorf and sounds to be more your style. If in Köln it's a 30 min train ride from city center to city center. Head to the Altstadt and drink up.

 

[drainbamage]

Sounds like a great trip, Heidelberg is a really cool city. I was there with SWMBO and some friends about 5 years ago. I remember there were a lot of good weizens available, and SWMBO was a big fan of the radler (as long as you don't mind lemon soda in your beer). I wish I could be of more help of specific brands to try, but I have several lost hours from the night we went drinking there.

We had bought Eurail passes as part of a larger trip around Europe, and just relied on public transportation and walking to get around within each city. Eurail passes are expensive, but it was nice to just hop on nearly any train between with no hassles. Germany is strictly on the Euro, which is worth around $1.30 right now.