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By N. A. Ross
For years, I’ve wanted to go to Munich for the Oktoberfest; the annual bacchanal where uninhibited tourists and staid Bavarian locals alike throw caution to the winds and partake to excess of the local nectar i.e. beer. Unfortunately, I somehow manage to miss this event; every time I try to plan to be in Munich for the Oktoberfest, something comes-up stopping  me from the beer-guzzling trip. Therefore, even though it is not Oktoberfest-time, I decided that since I was going to be in Munich on business, I would try to spend a few days taking-in some of the traditional beer gardens, and play tourist in general.
"Gemütlichkeit" is central to the Bavarian mentality and translates best as "relaxed and friendly socializing". The “Biergärten” is the perfect place to experience Gemütlichkeit, even if you are a non-German-speaking stranger - many, especially the younger generation, speak English. In earlier times, prior to the advent of commercial refrigeration, when brewers had to keep their beer cool during the summer, they stored the barrels in cellars and planted chestnut trees above the cellars because their wide branches and large leaves keep the space underneath the branches shady and cool. King Ludwig I granted the brewers the right to sell their beer in the garden - but not food. Since then, the people of Munich have flocked to these gardens to drink fresh beer straight from the barrel, bringing along their own food.
Nowadays, many beer gardens also sell food, and the better ones also have a restaurant. However, the B-Y-O tradition is still kept alive; thus beer gardens have both tables with tablecloths (where you are served by a waitress, you eat the restaurant’s food and are expected to leave a tip), and long tables and benches without tablecloths, where you sit with strangers and consume what food you've brought with you. You can also buy traditional Bavarian food such as cheese, grilled sausages, potato salad, and other comestibles from self-service shacks. But, real beer garden aficionados, never come without a basket stuffed with bread, pickled-cucumber salad, horseradish, grapes, ham, sausages or whatever else strikes their fancy. Plates and cutlery are also brought from home, sometimes even a tablecloth and candles for after dark dinning.
The beer garden season starts in May and ends with the Oktoberfest, however, on warm and sunny weekends, many of them open their doors outside of those dates.
 Some of the more popular, genuine beer gardens are:
Hofbräuhaus am Platzl
Platzl 9
6:30pm – 11:30pm
HB Bier
The most famous bear garden of them all. Traditional but very touristy. Brass bands, waitresses in traditional costumes (dirndls) and a lot of good brown beer make the Hofbräuhaus a must. 2 Original Munich HB-Weisswürste (veal sausages) with a giant mustard-covered pretzel, will set you back € 4,20
Augustiner Keller & Biergärten
Arnulfstraße 52
München-Neuhausen
daily 11.30am - 11.30pm
Augustiner Bier
Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Tower)
Englischer Garten
daily 10am - 10pm
Löwenbräu Bier
This place is large; seats 7000. Beers are big and thirst quenching and the people are friendly. The music sets the mood; the Oompah band that plays in the pagoda is rumored to be the drunkest band in Bavaria!
Aumeister
Sondermeierstraße 1 (northern part of Englischer Garten)
Tuesday - Sunday 9am - 11pm
Hofbräu München
Dating back to 1810 when today's restaurant served as the local duke's regional hunting lodge. Eventually the hunters outnumbered the game (according to a local’s comment) and the lodge turned to dispensing good food and excellent beer.
Taxisgärten
Taxisstraße 12
daily open until 11pm
Spaten Bier and Franziskaner Bier
Paulaner am Nockherberg
Hochstraße 77
daily open until 11:30
Paulaner Bier
This last establishment has a very good restaurant, in addition to the self-service beer garden. It offers authentic Bavarian dishes in the historic heart of the city. Bavarian cooking means strong flavors and substantial food, like liver dumplings and spaetzle, schweinebraten mit knödel (roast pork with dumpling), or assorted wurst (sausages). Nevertheless, the food complements nicely Paulaner’s beer (or vice versa) and you are in a beer garden after all.
In the beer gardens, the beer is served in one- or sometimes two- liter mugs, and do not be surprised at seeing locals consume several of these on a single evening; beer is regarded as a basic part of nutrition in Bavaria. Beer falls into two categories, wheat beer (Weissbier) and lager (Helles Bier). You can get different versions of the basic style, i.e. dark wheat beer, yeasty wheat beer etc. A nice Weissbeer makes a perfect accompaniment to a Weisswurst (Veal sausage), pretzel, and mustard. Bavaria has a vast number of breweries, large and small, and it is worth trying as many different beers as possible.
Having knobby knees, I will not wear lederhosen, though some of the locals still do; it is not Oktoberfest after all.
© March 2006 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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