🍺 Bier Reisen 2019

12–21 December 2019 · Munich and its surroundings, entirely by rail
Munich Airport → Munich (nine nights) → Andechs → Aying → Bamberg → Munich → Munich Airport
10 days · 9 nights · 1 base · 730 km by train · no car
🗺️ Route poster (PNG) 📄 Route data (JSON)

Ten days, day by day

One hotel and a timetable: nine nights in Munich, with Andechs, Aying and Bamberg as day returns, and an airport brewery at both ends of the trip.

DAY 1 12.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Munich Airport → city

🚆 Munich Airport → Munich · 38 km · 0 h 41 · S1 / S8
📍 Google Maps
DAY 2 13.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Andechs

🚆 Munich → Andechs · 45 km · 1 h 10 · S8 + bus 951
📍 Google Maps
DAY 3 14.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Aying

🚆 Munich → Aying · 32 km · 0 h 45 · S5
📍 Google Maps
DAY 4 15.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Munich — the big three

📍 In place · no driving
📍 Google Maps
DAY 5 16.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Bamberg day trip

🚆 Munich → Bamberg · 250 km · 3 h 20 · ICE via Nürnberg
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DAY 6 17.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Tap House Munich

📍 In place · no driving
📍 Google Maps
DAY 7 18.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Wine at Odeonsplatz

📍 In place · no driving
📍 Google Maps
DAY 8 19.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Giesinger Bräustüberl

📍 In place · no driving
📍 Google Maps
DAY 9 20.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Munich — free day

📍 In place · no driving
📍 Google Maps
DAY 10 21.12.2019 🇩🇪 Munich · 9 nights

Munich → Airport → home

🚆 Munich → Munich Airport · 38 km · 0 h 41 · S1 / S8
📍 Google Maps

One base, four destinations

Five points, one base: Munich in the middle, the airport to the north, Andechs and Aying to the south, and Bamberg three hours away by ICE.

Franconia Bohemia Alps & Salzburg Munich

🏆 Per-City Brewery & Bar Rankings

15 venues across 4 stops, ranked 1..n per city, with what to order at each one — the beer worth the detour, not just the closest bar.

🇩🇪 Munich 9 nights · the only base

One hotel for the whole trip; everything below is a U-Bahn ride or a walk.

🍻 Famous for: Helles, Weißbier and the big beer halls
1
🇩🇪 Munich · #1 of 8

Airbräu

The brewery inside Munich Airport — a copper brewhouse in the terminal, with a beer garden under the roof. The first and last stop of the trip.

🍺 Order this: Airbräu Helles, brewed in the copper kettles inside the terminal — the trip opens and closes here
📍 Google Maps
2
🇩🇪 Munich · #2 of 8

Augustiner

Augustiner beer at Marienplatz, in the middle of the historic centre.

🍺 Order this: Edelstoff from the wooden barrel; the Helles if the barrel is off
📍 Google Maps
3
🇩🇪 Munich · #3 of 8

Schneider Bräuhaus

Wheat-beer house on Tal: Aventinus and the original Tap 7.

🍺 Order this: Aventinus Weizenbock, then Tap 7 for the second round
📍 Google Maps
4
🇩🇪 Munich · #4 of 8

Hofbräuhaus

The room everyone has heard of — go early, stay for the brass band.

🍺 Order this: Hofbräu Original by the Maß; the room is the point
📍 Google Maps
5
🇩🇪 Munich · #5 of 8

Schiller Bräu

Brewpub near the station: house beers brewed on site, a modern room and a young crowd.

🍺 Order this: Schiller Bräu Helles, and the dark if it is on — brewed in the room
📍 Google Maps
6
🇩🇪 Munich · #6 of 8

Tap House Munich

Craft beer bar with a deep tap list — the antidote to a week of Helles.

🍺 Order this: Whatever is hoppiest on the board — a palate reset after a week of lagers
📍 Google Maps
7
🇩🇪 Munich · #7 of 8

Pfälzer Weinstube

Wine tavern at Odeonsplatz serving Palatinate wines — the one evening without beer.

🍺 Order this: A Pfälzer Riesling. No beer tonight, and that is the plan
📍 Google Maps
8
🇩🇪 Munich · #8 of 8

Giesinger Bräustüberl

The Giesing brewery's taproom: unfiltered Helles and a neighbourhood crowd.

🍺 Order this: Erhellung, the unfiltered Helles, straight from the tank
📍 Google Maps

🇩🇪 Bamberg day trip · ICE from Munich

250 km each way for Rauchbier: four breweries inside the old town walls.

🍻 Famous for: Smoked beer — Rauchbier since 1405
1
🇩🇪 Bamberg · #1 of 5

Schlenkerla

Rauchbier since 1405 — beechwood smoke, oak barrels, a vaulted cellar.

🍺 Order this: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen, from the oak barrel
📍 Google Maps
2
🇩🇪 Bamberg · #2 of 5

Spezial

The Bambergers' rauchbier, softer smoke than Schlenkerla.

🍺 Order this: Spezial Rauchbier Lager — the Bambergers' own, softer smoke
📍 Google Maps
3
🇩🇪 Bamberg · #3 of 5

Fässla

Zwergla dark lager, brewery tap opposite Spezial.

🍺 Order this: Zwergla by the half-litre, then the Lagerbier
📍 Google Maps
4
🇩🇪 Bamberg · #4 of 5

Mahr's Bräu

The 'aU' Ungespundetes — the reference Franconian lager.

🍺 Order this: The aU at the Schwemme window, standing up
📍 Google Maps
5
🇩🇪 Bamberg · #5 of 5

Klosterbräu

Bamberg's oldest brewery; the Schwärzla is the one to order.

🍺 Order this: Schwärzla, in the oldest brewery in town
📍 Google Maps

🇩🇪 Andechs day trip · S8 + bus 951

The monastery hill above the Ammersee, and the Bräustüberl at the top.

🍻 Famous for: Doppelbock and winter bier from the monks
1
🇩🇪 Andechs · #1 of 1

Klosterbräustüberl Andechs

The monastery's own restaurant and beer hall — Doppelbock Dunkel, and a winter beer on tap from November.

🍺 Order this: Doppelbock Dunkel — and the winter bier, which is why the visit is in December
📍 Google Maps

🇩🇪 Aying day trip · S5

A village brewery 32 km south-east, a kilometre on foot from the platform.

🍻 Famous for: Jahrhundertbier and the Ayinger range at source
1
🇩🇪 Aying · #1 of 1

Ayinger Bräustüberl

The brewery tap in the village: Jahrhundertbier, Altbairisch Dunkel, and the Ayinger range at source.

🍺 Order this: Jahrhundertbier, then the Celebrator Doppelbock if it is listed
📍 Google Maps

Beer guide

Three beer regions and one evening off: Munich's Helles and Weißbier, the monastery breweries of Upper Bavaria, Franconian Rauchbier in Bamberg — and a Pfälzer wine tavern at Odeonsplatz.

RegionStyles to look for
MunichHelles · Edelstoff · Weißbier · Doppelbock
Upper BavariaKlosterbier (Andechs, Aying) · Winterbier · Dunkel · Jahrhundertbier
FranconiaRauchbier · Ungespundetes · Pils · Zwergla
One evening offPfälzer Riesling · Spätburgunder · and no beer at all

What to order, stop by stop

StopStart hereWhy
MunichAirbräuThe brewery inside Munich Airport — a copper brewhouse in the terminal, with a beer garden under the roof. The first and
BambergSchlenkerlaRauchbier since 1405 — beechwood smoke, oak barrels, a vaulted cellar.
AndechsKlosterbräustüberl AndechsThe monastery's own restaurant and beer hall — Doppelbock Dunkel, and a winter beer on tap from November.
AyingAyinger BräustüberlJahrhundertbier, Altbairisch Dunkel, and the Ayinger range at source.

Rail times

No car this time: every leg below is a scheduled S-Bahn, bus or ICE service from the December 2019 timetable. The times are door to door, including the change at Nuremberg.

730 kmby rail
11 h 52on the train
1hotel, 9 nights
8legs
ModeFromTokmtime
🚆 railMunich AirportMunich380 h 41
🚆 railMunichAndechs451 h 10
🚆 railAndechsMunich451 h 10
🚆 railMunichAying320 h 45
🚆 railAyingMunich320 h 45
🚆 railMunichBamberg2503 h 20
🚆 railBambergMunich2503 h 20
🚆 railMunichMunich Airport380 h 41

Day trips that did not happen

Three more rail runs from Munich that would have fitted, had the week been longer — all of them under an hour by train.

FromDetourkmtime
MunichFreising (Weihenstephan)400 h 25
MunichDachau200 h 25
MunichAugsburg650 h 45

What this trip taught us