Maisach and München

Day three in Munich and I opted to set out on the S-Bahn to find a nearby brewery in the town of Maisach.

Located 16-miles northwest of Munich this sleepy place has increased in population size by over 40% since the late-80's.  What's bringing them all here?
Could it be because they have a UNESCO cultural heritage listed shooting club? The folk festival? The fact that pagan metal band Equilibrium were founded here? The town's own brewery?
Or perhaps because it's peaceful and less than 30-minutes on the train from central Munich.

As there really isn't much to see, especially on a chill grey morning with the raindrops beginning to fall, I headed straight to the brewery...

Bräustüberl Maisach (Hauptstraße 24, 82216 Maisach)
It's unmissable as you walk down the main street, the chimney and brewery logo on a white wall visible from some distance.  Their wirsthaus/restaurant takes up the left-hand side of the building.

Maisach Brauerei dates back to 1556 according to the beer mat...

It has been in the hands of the Sedlmayr family since 1907.  Somewhere within the brewing building are historic steam engines, early 20th century coppers, and a grist mill from 1925, the latter two still being in use today.

Beer-wise, four regular drinks are on offer: 'Perle' (a hoppy Helles), Keller Bier, the dark beer - Räuber Kneißl, and an unfiltered Weißbier.

I started with the marvellous Dunkel, then followed it with the unpasteurised Keller Bier, served in earthenware mug.

It's a lovely place, all tables filled on a weekday lunchtime with a mixture of locals, business-folk, and couples.  I felt a bit guilty that I was sat at a table for four and wasn't eating (too good a breakfast buffet that included pancakes and cheesecake).  Plus, I wanted to get back to Munich with a reasonable amount of time to keep exploring, so I paid the bill after two beers and moved on.

Here's a picture of me stumbling out the pub...

I made it back to the train station and hopped aboard the next S-Bahn service to Munich, alighting at Marienplatz and returning to theViktualienmarkt for a bite to eat.
Close to the outdoor market is this little bar...

Giesinger Bräu - Stehausschank Viktualienmarkt (Prälat-Zistl-Straße 4, 80331 München)
A stehausshank is literally a stand-up bar - somewhere to call into, get served at the counter, perch on a ledge and quaff your beer elbow-to-elbow with your fellow patrons. I thoroughly approve.

There really wasn't much room in here: just four perching tables in front of the counter with no stools, although pavement seating allows you to take the weight off provided the weather behaves.

Giesinger started out in a garage in 2006 in the suburb of Giesing and have since grown into the second largest private brewery in the city, with a capacity of 1.2 million litres per annum.  I've read that they've been trying to get a tent at the Oktoberfest for a number of years, but keep finding new hurdles put in front of them.
Perhaps there's a suspicious eyebrow raised at the modern beers which Giesinger concoct alongside the traditional ones.

I'm afraid that I only tried the one on this occasion.  I vow that Giesinger will be high on my list next time I'm in this neck of the woods.

The Dunkles was served in a clay mug for €4.70 a half litre and was a fine example of the style.

I didn't move on far, my decision dictated by worsening weather.  The smart modern Hacker Pschorr pub is pretty much straight across the road.

Der Pschorr (Viktualienmarkt 15, 80331 München)

This is a modern smart bar/restaurant which I can't say was my favourite in the city.  Very much a 'please wait to be seated' place - quite the opposite to where I'd been beforehand.
The main draw was the chance to drink the Hacker-Pschorr 'Edelhell' from the wooden barrel...

So, how was the ambitiously-billed "Pschorr Experience"?
Hmmm...pricey with that €6.70 charge for a half litre.
Perhaps a little too chilled for my liking and nothing special in my opinion, wooden barrel or not.

But - wow! - the psychological effect of the bell ringing when a new barrel is tapped is something to behold.  The number of people draining their glasses and putting in orders as soon as the bell rang was incredible, despite the fact that I don't imagine any one barrel stays in place for long enough for the beer to get tired.

My next point-of-call was to the Munich tap of a brewery 50-miles to the south.

Tegernseer Tal - Bräuhaus (Tal 8, 80331 München)
The brewery traces its roots back to 1050 (take that, Britain's oldest pubs!) and is connected to an ancient Benedictine abbey in the lakeside town of Tegernsee.  They've grown a bit over the years and now have a second production site and the official name Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus (The Bavarian Duke's Brew House).

The building this pub is housed in dates back to 1897 and previously housed Brauerei Schlicker who ceased brewing in the 50's.  It has remained a pub ever since and was taken over an refurbished by Tegernseer in 2013, providing another alternative to the dominant Munich brewers. 

I was really comfy sat in here, helped by the fact that I was sheltered from a heavy rain shower outside, refreshed by a light, hoppy, grassy half litre of helles, and earwigging a beery conversation between Americans and Aussies sat at the bar.

Tegernseer had WC signage worthy of a covert bit of photography...

 

Then I was off into the gloomy late afternoon, examining football stickers on lamp-posts (must come back and get to an 1860 game), and searching for more modern beer.

My evening diversion for 'craft' beer (Maisach may have a thing or two to say about that descriptor and will vehemently tell you they've crafted their beer for hundreds of years).  

I caught the underground to Poccistraße, then made a short walk to Fisches Bier.

Frisches Bier (Thalkirchner Str. 53, 80337 München)
This modern moodily-lit bar, in a part of town that really deserved a bit more exploration, offered up 14 tap lines of trad lagers, Dutch pastry stout, bocks, and IPAs.
I picked the 5% dunkle from Tilman's, who I assume the bar is associated with based on the number of their beers listed in pride of place at the top of the menu.
Tilman's is a Munich nano-brewery set up in 2014 by a fella called Tillman Ludwig.  The enjoyable 'Die Dunkle' was like a very light English stout with caramel and blackberry notes. I just wish I'd have given myself longer to stick around and try more.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a decent interior photo of Frishes bar.
But I do have a picture of donuts at the train station...

Which I think is a fine alternative.

Those sticky sweet treats bring my 2026 exploration of Munich to a close.
My evening ended up at the back of an aircraft hangar of a venue watching Biffy Clyro...gosh, they have an awful lot of ballads.

Bear with me - if you will - for further posts on Nuremberg, Bamberg, and Augsburg, before I return to these shores and Banks's bitter in backstreet boozers.