GERMAN BREWERIES

Enjoy Oktoberfest all year round

AUGUSTINER BRAU

ORIGIN: Munich, Germany

1328. The year the Augustiner monks first began brewing beer at their monastery, near Munich. An occupation designed to keep their hands busy, their minds on prayer, and their thirst quenched. And to raise a few coins for the coffers at the same time.

It stayed that way for nearly 500 years, with the result of their efforts sold at the monastery tavern in the city - much to the delight of the locals, who developed quite a taste for the revered beer that flowed from Augustiner’s barrels.

During the 1800s, the brewery had passed into private hands, but that same number still marked each bottle. A reminder of Augustiner’s heritage and history. It’s a tradition that has seen the brewery well into the modern era too, with substantial investment, and an expanded, contemporary brewhouse that’s made Augustiner a bastion of Munich beer culture.

Whether it’s the Lager Hell, the classic Pils, or the celebratory Oktoberfest brew created for the festival each year, an Augustiner beer is an exercise in quality and tradition. So here’s to the next 500 years.

FOUNDED: 1328

Bavarian culture doesn’t just emphasise great beer, but celebrates ideals worth striving for. Produced in the picturesque Alpine town of Ayinger, their regional beer styles are the ‘cement’ that binds the community together, helping build deep roots and forge lasting connections. Something we could all do with a bit more of these days.

Traditional-style recipes such as Lager Hell, and unfiltered Kellerbier sit alongside celebrated cult classic Ayinger Celebrator, an award winning, hearty Doppelbock.

Only one in ten Ayinger beers make it out of Germany, making a dark brown bottle of Urweisse or Maibock found lurking behind the bar a prize worth coveting.

AYINGER BREWERY

FOUNDED BY: Johann

Liebhard

ORIGIN: Aying, Germany

FOUNDED: 1877

FLENSBURGER BRAUEREI

FOUNDED BY:

ORIGIN: Flensburg, Germany

Drive north until everyone starts speaking Danish. Then go back a bit.

These are the directions given for visitors looking to reach Flensburger Brauerei.

As Germany’s most northerly brewery, Flensburger are closer to Copenhagen’s innovative beer scene than they are to the beer halls of Munich and Germany’s brewing heartland. The brewery even draws water from a well that’s fed by an Ice Age spring flowing from Scandinavia. Their coastal-grown barley is buffeted by Baltic winds, not Bavarian breezes.

FOUNDED: 1888

But they still brew German classics, like the crisp, hoppy Flensburger Pilsner, or the elegant, floral Flensburger Gold, all sealed with a flip-top stopper which give the beers their famous ‘Plop!’.

A sound, an advertising slogan, and a local nickname for Flensburger themselves.

An outward-looking, maritime spirit infects everything Flensburger does. The brewery’s brand mark features a ship in full sail, setting out to discover the world. Well the world has already discovered Flensburger’s beers, and they can’t stop the ‘Plop!’

BTL Flensburger Gold 4.80% 24x330 Pilsner £36.80

BTL Flensburger Pilsner 4.80% 24x330ml Dortmunder Export £36.80

CAN Alkoholfrei Radler 0.00% 24x330ml Alc Free Lemon Radler £21.00

CAN Pilsner

KEG Lager

4.80% 24x500ml Pilsner £38.50

4.00% 50L A Type House Lager £142.00

In a city famed for the style, Früh are considered one of the key players, and their brewerrun bars are some of the most atmospheric places to soak up the region’s drinking culture.

Waiters weave their way through packed benches, carrying trays of beers with which they replace any empty glass they see, unprompted. A beermat on top of the glass is the sign of satisfaction that stops the flow. Even the glassware is unique.

Referred to as a ‘Stange’, it’s an elegant, straight-sided vessel which holds an unusual 200ml measure.

As for the beer itself? Kölsch has more subtlety and complexity than a pilsner, without some of the bitter notes and a softer carbonation, which makes for a refreshing, light golden ale.

Keep those beer mats firmly on the table, and keep the Früh Kölsch coming.

FRÜH KÖLSCH

FOUNDED BY:

Peter Joseph Früh

ORIGIN: Cologne, Germany

FOUNDED: 1904

HOFBRÄU

FOUNDED BY:

Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria

ORIGIN: Munich, Germany

Hofbräu began life as the brewery to the nearby royal residence, and Wilhelm’s son, Duke Maximilian I, gave Hofbräu a helping hand by granting them a monopoly on the production of wheat beer, a style he himself favoured over darker brews.

A couple of decades later, the invading army of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden were all set to burn the place down, but for the gift of some 600,000 barrels of Hofbräuhaus beer and a few hostages. And that only takes us to 1632.

Cut to the mid 20th century, when American GIs returning from service in Munich brought with them iconic mugs emblazoned with the brewery’s ‘HB’ initials, quickly making the Hofbräuhaus Munich’s top tourist attraction, and fuelling demand for beers, bars, and paraphernalia all over Europe.

These days, Hofbräu is part owned by the Bavarian government, making them one of only two breweries in Munich to escape global brewery ownership. A passionate declaration of loyalty by the enterprise most responsible for exporting Bavarian culture the world over.

FOUNDED: 1589

SCHNEIDER WEISSE

When it comes to wheat beer, there is no brewery more significant than Schneider Weisse. Still owned and managed by the Schneider family, they enjoy a rare combination of historical importance and progressive ‘craft’ credentials considered practically heretical by Bavarian traditionalists.

Georg Schneider I ORIGIN: Munich,

Germany

FOUNDED:

Old and new in one pint glass.

SCHÖFFERHOFER

Schöffer

ORIGIN: Mainz, Germany

It’s a world first, and thanks to those fruity flavours and a low ABV it’s become a favourite with everyone from cocktail mixologists to the kind of bars that keep hip rooftop parties well lubricated all summer long.

But don’t mistake Schöfferhofer for one hit wonders.

They’ve been singing the praises of wheat beer since 1978, when the original Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen was produced in its traditional, unfiltered form.

It’s all brewed in Mainz at Binding Brewery, started by Conrad Binding in 1870.

It’s unlikely old Conrad ever thought about blending 19th century wheat beer with grapefruit juice.

To be honest, it’s unlikely he ever saw one of the little pink treats. But regardless, Schöfferhofer Grapefruit is a beer he’d surely have been proud of.

Berliner

21st century Berliner is a crisp pilsner perfect for sipping anywhere from a drizzly British barbecue to a Brooklyn rooftop party.

Every can is adorned by the instantly recognisable Berlin Bear, one of the city’s famous visual markers. You can’t miss it.

Jever

The secret lies in the water which is taken from the same well used well over 100 years ago.

Schlenkerla

Bamberg brewery Schlenkerla are renowned for one particular style, the enigmatic Rauchbier, or ‘smoke beer’.

Tegernsee

Tegernsee Helles quickly rose to fame as the ‘thinking consumer’s’ Helles of choice after a handful of British brewers praised it online after a visit to Munich. This praise was not misplaced, as the quality of the beer is up there with the legends of Bavaria.

The water is unusually pure and soft allowing more hops to be used and a bitter taste that distinguishes Jever from other pilsners.

Schlenkerla are a thoroughly traditional operation, drying their own malt, which few breweries have done since the industrial revolution.