Well, it's still brutally hot in Phoenix, so my mind has begun to wander back to the Old World, and specifically Bavaria and Austria......
Seriously, the 2019 trip to Munich and Salzburg changed my perspective on the world. There is a true beer culture in Bavaria that seems to take on a level of national pride. It's something I've never experienced before. Everyone was welcome to enjoy the beer gardens and Fest tents and there was a so-called Gemütlichkeit or "coziness" that was evident. Americans were welcome and I felt very comfortable there walking the streets looking for more brewpubs and beer gardens, heaven!
During Oktoberfest for example, one of the many tents we visited was the Augustiner Festzelt Tradition tent where they only play traditional Bavarian music all day and night during the Oktoberfest. The tables are all open seating and a local family welcomed us to sit with their family during the dinner hours. We had such a wonderful time watching the traditional Bavarian music and marching groups while enjoying traditional Bavarian cuisine and litres of beer...
Also, found it interesting that the Oktoberfest fairgrounds tear down the tents and rebuild them year after year, since 1810!! They are something to see for sure..
The beer, to me at least, was some of the absolute highest quality lagers I have ever tasted in my life, bar none. Perhaps the age-old methods of decoction and lagering for 6 months really do make a difference! Nothing in America is even close in my opinion.. Unless you want to talk about IPAs ;)
Finally, there seemed to be a real sense of tradition and quality here. Even the deli sandwiches at the train station were expertly made and fantastic, even if they were only a few euros each. AND - you can walk around town with a bottle of beer legally.. I didn't see a bunch of broken glass or discarded beer bottles everywhere, but instead the place seemed clean and orderly. Plus, there's entire department stores dedicated entirely to Trachten, or traditional Oktoberfest outfits for men, women and children. I didn't know this was a thing but it was pretty cool to see racks of $500+ traditional jackets and vests.
So if you haven't made the trip over to Munich, I highly recommend it. In fact, I don't think it would matter much if you went off-season, since the town and surrounding areas have plenty of beer culture on their own, whether or not the Oktoberfest is open...
On my next trip over I hope to take more day trips out of town to see the breweries nearby and do some hiking. My list includes visiting Weihenstephaner, Ayinger and Paulaner Nockherberg Hill. In Munich I still need to visit the English Gardens beer hall, Lowenbrau Keller and HofBrau Keller
My Must-Sees:
Augustiner Keller
HofBrau Haus
Steigl Keller Salzburg
Paualner Zum Spockmeier
Schneider-Weisse Pub
Prost! when are we going next??
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