The new Giesinger Bräu will open its doors next week, following months of planning and construction. Giesinger is now the second largest private brewery in Munich behind Augustiner, and production levels have dramatically increased with the move. Previously brewing in a garage in Birkenau, the brewery is now capable of producing 15,000 hectolitres of beer a year – compared with the 1,900 hectolitres they’ve been brewing until now.
They hosted a spontaneous Weißwurst party yesterday, and I gathered up the troops and headed down there for a traditional Bavarian breakfast. Despite moving to new premises, the brewery has lost none of its charm – we were welcomed into a cosy tent with live music, told we could have a wander round and explore, and were handed freshly baked pretzels, fresh Weißwurst and Giesinger’s own beer mustard.
After brunch, we met Leo, a trainee brewer at Giesinger, who gave us and a couple of people from Slow Food a tour of the brewery.
From the malt grinders to the twenty storage tanks in the cellars, Leo took us through the spacious rooms and talked us through the construction work. Apart from the tiles, everything in the brewery has been sourced locally – the wooden furniture in the restaurant, the tanks in the cellars, everything the kitchen dishes up.
The work has taken many months of toil and almost €4 million has been invested, but it looks as though Giesinger won’t have any problems ensuring the brewery’s success. In their old location in Birkenau, demand far exceeded production levels, and thankfully, the trend toward drinking regional, high-quality beers is picking up speed. Leo explained that the beer will continue to remain available only in the Munich area – exporting Giesinger is difficult as it’s unfiltered, and has a shelf life of just three months. In addition, the Giesinger experiments will continue, albeit on a slightly larger scale. They’re planning on brewing up stouts and ales over the coming months, which will be offered as a limited edition beer on the restaurant menu.
The brewery houses a Stüberl on the first floor, which has some lovely touches – wooden pepper mills in the shape of beer bottles, lamps made from bottles, and windows allowing you to peek into the production area. The menu offers Treberfladen – a kind of tarte flambee made from brewers grains, salads, beetroot soup, fish, duck and suckling. For dessert, they’ve created a beer tiramisu – a little less sweet compared with the original, but just as decadent.
I am really looking forward to enjoying a meal and plenty of home brewed beer at Giesinger, and I’ll be there as soon as it opens next week. It’s located on Martin-Luther-Straße 2 (tram or U-Bahn Silberhornstraße), and will be open from 11am-11pm from 26 November onwards. The beer will still be available to buy directly from the brewery (they have a store with beers and other Giesinger merchandise), but there are also a great many stores/bars now selling Giesinger in Munich.
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