Munich’s Best: Small Breweries

There are six huge breweries in Munich, a city famed for its beer production and consumption. But besides the Augustiner, Paulaner, Hofbräu, etc. breweries, there are a few further smaller breweries that produce excellent beers.

Crew Republic
Crew has expanded its beer selection considerably since they started just a couple of years ago. My favourite is still the classic Munich Easy, their summer beer, but their IPA is also pretty special. And their Sour Black sounds intense.

Giesinger
Giesinger has grown considerably since its early days. I visited them at their old location in Birkenau, Untergiesing just last summer. Since then, they’ve moved to a much bigger location on Martin-Luther-Straße, but they’re still the small, independent, experimental brewery they’ve always been. Their strong, hoppy Märzen is a firm favourite of mine.

Richelbräu
A tiny hobby brewery in Neuhausen, Richelbräu has been going since 2008. They aren’t open often – every third Saturday in the month from 10am-6pm, and you can pop by to watch the team brew their beer. There’s no fee to pop by and peek, but they do ask that you donate something toward their brewery. They also have beehives in their courtyard – if you’re lucky, you can pick up some local honey.

Forschungsbrauerei
Located in Perlach, the Forschungsbrauerei is a family-run brewery (and distillery) that does everything by hand – they don’t use any automation equipment whatsoever. If Perlach’s a bit out of the way for you, you can sample their beers at the Marktschänke at Viktualienmarkt (Frauenstraße 10).

Brauerei im Eiswerk
This is kind of cheating, as it belongs to Paulaner, but it’s still a microbrewery in the city, if not wholly independent. They offer seven types of beer, ranging from a fruity Weizen to a chocolate-coloured ale. You can pick up the beer from the brewery directly (every second Wednesday of the month), or you can get to know the brewery better at a beer tasting/brewing course.

Airbräu
Munich Airport has its own brewery, and it’s rather good. I once took the S-Bahn out to the airport with friends with the sole intention of trying all of Airbräu’s beers, and it was a very enjoyable evening. Besides the traditional helles and Weißbier, they also offer home-brewed pilsener and seasonal beers, including a delicious dark amber beer they call Krampus, served in winter. It’s also possible to take a tour of Airbräu for 8.50 € (3-10 people).

Weihenstephaner
It’s by no means small – the brewery transports its beer across the world, but the Freising brewery has a cosy, family-run feel. It’s also the world’s oldest brewery, with Saint Corbinian founding the brewery (inofficially) back in 725AD. Tasting tours are available at the brewery, and cost just 9 € including a pretzel (to soak up that beer) and a small Weihenstephan glass.

Fliegerbräu
Located just outside of Munich in Feldkirchen, the Fliegerbräu has been open for just over twenty years. Their ingredients are entirely local – with hops from the Hallertau and malt and barley from Swabia. On Saturdays, their in-house brewery butcher prepares delicacies for visiting punters – Leberkäse and various types of sausage are all made fresh.

Do you have any Munich microbreweries to add to this list? Have you sampled the beers from the above breweries? Prost!