Regional Guide · Germany
Munich is where you start. Franconia, the monastery breweries, and the valleys of the Alps are where you disappear.
The word Bavaria conjures Munich — the Hofbräuhaus, the beer halls, Oktoberfest. And Munich is worth every hour you give it. But the serious beer traveller knows that Munich is the introduction, not the story. The story is out there in the countryside, in small towns that have been brewing since before Munich was a capital city, in monastery hillsides above alpine lakes, in the smoking taverns of Franconia where the beer has barely changed in four hundred years.
Franconia — the northern region of Bavaria encompassing Bamberg, Nuremberg, and the countryside between them — has over 300 active breweries in an area roughly the size of Connecticut. Bamberg alone has ten breweries serving a city of 70,000 people. The surrounding villages add hundreds more, many operating out of farmhouses and centuries-old cellars, serving beer within a 15-kilometre radius. This is not a craft beer renaissance. It never stopped.
"There are about 250 breweries surrounding Bamberg. You may not have time to reach them all. But the attempt is very much worth making."
Beyond Franconia, Bavaria's monastery breweries offer something different again — beer made by active religious orders on hillsides and riverbanks of extraordinary beauty. Kloster Andechs above the Ammersee. Kloster Weltenburg in a dramatic Danube gorge. Weihenstephan on a hill in Freising that has been brewing since 1040 AD. These are pilgrimages in the fullest sense of the word, and the beer rewards the journey.
This page is your guide to Bavaria outside Munich — the six regions and destinations worth building a trip around, each with its own character, its own brewery culture, and its own reason to go out of your way.
Franconia · UNESCO World Heritage
The beer capital of the world that nobody talks about
Bamberg is, by any reasonable measure, the most important beer city in the world that most beer drinkers have never visited. Ten breweries serving 70,000 people. A brewing tradition older than the Reinheitsgebot. A purity law that predates Munich's by over twenty years. And surrounding it, some 250 small breweries within reach by bus or bike. The city itself — a UNESCO World Heritage site spared Allied bombing — is spectacularly preserved Romanesque and Baroque architecture. The Old Town Hall sits in the middle of the river. The Cathedral dominates the skyline. The brewing culture is embedded in the streets. This is not a detour from Bavaria. It is the point of Bavaria.
The defining beer of Bamberg is Rauchbier — smoked beer, brewed with malt dried over open beechwood fire. The taste is polarising on first encounter: smoky, savoury, almost like liquid bacon. Then it becomes one of the most addictive things you will ever drink. Schlenkerla is its cathedral.
Schlenkerla (Brauerei Heller-Trum) — Est. 1678
The home of Rauchbier. Located in a former Dominican monastery chapel opposite the Cathedral. The only brewery still using 100% smoked malt. Six smoked beers including the legendary Märzen dark smoked lager.
Must try: Märzen Rauchbier on draught — smokiest at the source. Also seek out the seasonal Urbock.
Brauerei Mahrs — Est. 1602
A Bamberg institution for over 400 years, beloved by locals and serious beer travellers alike. Their "U" — Ungespundetes Lagerbier, an unfiltered, naturally carbonated lager served from wooden barrel — is one of the great beer experiences in Germany.
Must try: "U" ungespundetes Lagerbier from the barrel. Order it and say nothing else.
Brauerei Spezial — Est. 1536
Brewing smoked beer since 1536. Unlike Schlenkerla's full smoke character, Spezial uses smoked malt more subtly — the smoke is present but the beer remains approachable and food-friendly. They export only within 15km to keep it fresh. Beautifully preserved interior.
Must try: Märzen — dark smoked lager. Pair with the Schäufele (roast pork shoulder with crackling).
Klosterbräu — Est. 1333
Bamberg's oldest brewery, founded by the Prince Bishops in 1333. Five beers including two seasonals — the pale Bockbier and Maibock are exceptional. Vaulted rooms charged with centuries of history.
Must try: Schwärzla dark lager, or the seasonal Bockbier (available October and April).
Ammersee · Upper Bavaria
Beer, Benedictines, and the best Schweinshaxe in Bavaria
Kloster Andechs sits atop the Holy Hill above Lake Ammersee — a Baroque church, an active Benedictine monastery, a brewery that has been serving pilgrims since 1455, and a beer garden with panoramic views across the Alps on a clear day. It is one of the only remaining monastery breweries in Bavaria independently operated by an active religious order, entirely free of corporate ownership.
The Andechs Doppelbock Dunkel is consistently rated among the finest strong dark beers in the world. The Schweinshaxe served in the monastery restaurant is widely considered the best pork knuckle in Bavaria — high praise in a state that takes this very seriously. The hike up through the forest from Herrsching takes about 45 minutes and earns the beer considerably.
Kloster Andechs Brewery — Est. 1455
One of the last genuine monastery breweries managed by an active religious order. Brewing tradition extends to 1128 when monks first served pilgrims. The brewery uses the traditional multiple mashing process exclusively.
Must try: Andechs Doppelbock Dunkel — rich, warming, world-class. The Weissbier Hell is also outstanding. Seasonal winter beer on draught from the Bräustuberl only.
Danube Gorge · Lower Bavaria
The world's oldest monastic brewery, in the most dramatic setting imaginable
Kloster Weltenburg is, by most reckonings, the oldest monastic brewery in the world — brewing since 1050 AD, founded centuries earlier by Irish and Scottish monks in a Benedictine monastery that sits in a dramatic loop of the Danube, enclosed by limestone cliffs rising straight from the river. The approach by boat from Kelheim through the Danube Gorge — the Weltenburg Narrows — is one of the great travel experiences in Germany.
The Asam brothers built the monastery's Baroque church in the early 18th century, creating one of the finest examples of late Baroque architecture in Bavaria. The Weltenburger Kloster Barock Dunkel won the World Beer Cup award in 2004, 2008, and 2012 as the best Dunkel beer in the world. An underground pipeline connects the brewery directly to the monastery tavern, maintaining freshness in a way that no bottled version can replicate. The beer and the setting together create something that is genuinely without comparison.
Weltenburger Klosterbrauerei — Est. 1050 AD
World's oldest monastic brewery, operated by Benedictine monks on a peninsula in the Danube Gorge. Beer served directly from the brewery via underground pipeline to the monastery tavern and beer garden. Brewery tours Saturday only, April–October.
Must try: Barock Dunkel — three-time World Beer Cup winner. Asam Bock — the doppelbock named for the architects of the monastery church. Both best experienced on-site from the tap.
Freising · Upper Bavaria
The world's oldest continuously operating brewery — and a world-class brewing university
Weihenstephan, on a hill above the town of Freising, claims to be the world's oldest continuously operating brewery with records dating to 1040 AD — though historians note some periods of disruption that complicate the "continuously" qualifier. What is undisputed is that this has been a site of brewing for nearly a thousand years, and that it remains today not just a working brewery but the home of the Technical University of Munich's Faculty of Life Sciences — the most respected brewing education institution in the world. The brewers behind some of the world's finest lagers trained here.
Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan — Est. 1040 AD
State brewery of Bavaria, operated on the historic monastery site. Produces a range of classic Bavarian styles alongside the brewing university. Tours available. The Bräustüberl restaurant and beer garden on the hill offers the freshest possible pour with views across Freising to Munich.
Must try: Hefeweissbier — widely considered the benchmark Bavarian wheat beer. Vitus Weizenbock if you want something stronger and complex.
Alpine Foothills · Upper Bavaria
Lake views, Alpine peaks, and a monastery brewery that knows exactly what it's doing
Tegernsee is one of Bavaria's most beautiful lakes — clear Alpine water, mountains rising steeply from the shoreline, and a series of small towns around the edge that have been weekend retreats for Munich's well-heeled residents for generations. It is also home to one of Bavaria's finest brewery experiences. The Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus Tegernsee — the ducal Bavarian brewery — occupies the town's former monastery and produces beer that draws serious enthusiasts from across Germany.
HB Tegernsee (Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus) — Est. 1675
The ducal brewery occupying the former Tegernsee Monastery. The Bräustüberl — white walls, vaulted ceilings — is a classic Bavarian beer hall. The lakeside terrace in summer offers views across the water to the mountains. Smoked trout from the monastery's own smokehouse is the food highlight.
Must try: Tegernseer Hell — clean, fresh, locally beloved. Seasonal Dunkles when available. Smoked trout alongside it.
Upper Palatinate · UNESCO World Heritage
One of Germany's best-preserved medieval cities, with a brewery culture to match
Regensburg is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Germany — a UNESCO World Heritage site whose 12th century stone bridge over the Danube predates most of Europe's famous bridges. It sits at the point where Bavaria shades into the Upper Palatinate, with the Weltenburg Kloster accessible by a spectacular boat journey down the Danube Gorge. The city has its own brewery culture, with historic institutions and a lively craft scene coexisting alongside some remarkable riverside drinking spots.
Spital Brauerei — Est. 1530
Brewing since 1530 on the site of a medieval hospital. The proceeds still fund the Spital charitable foundation. Excellent traditional Bavarian lagers in a historic setting on the river. The beer garden overlooks the Danube.
Must try: Spital Dunkel — a well-made Munich-style dark lager at an honest price.
Kneitinger Brauerei — Est. 1530
A Regensburg institution alongside Spital. Known for their dark Bock and traditional Kellerbier. The Gaststätte is a proper Bavarian tavern unchanged for decades. Locals drink here.
Must try: Kneitinger Bock — a dark, malty seasonal strength beer.
Bamberg is the anchor, but Franconia is the universe. Stretching north from Bamberg through the countryside of Upper, Middle, and Lower Franconia are some 300 breweries — most of them small, family-run operations that have been serving their village for generations.
The Franconian Bierkeller tradition is central to this culture. These outdoor hillside cellars — carved into the rock beneath chestnut-tree-shaded slopes — are where locals gather in summer, often bringing their own food while purchasing beer directly from the keller. It is the original beer garden, unpolished and entirely authentic.
The dominant style is Franconian lager — unfiltered, naturally carbonated, served at cellar temperature. Not filtered, not pasteurised, not shipped further than necessary. The water, the barley, the local hops, and centuries of accumulated know-how produce beers that simply cannot be replicated elsewhere.
The Rauchbier tradition
Smoked malt beers have been brewed in Bamberg and surrounding Franconia since the 16th century. Before kilning technology allowed maltsters to dry grain without smoke, all beer had some smoked character. Bamberg preserved the tradition long after the rest of the world abandoned it.
The Bierkeller Equator
Franconians make a distinction between their hilltop Bierkellers and Munich's flat-ground Biergartens. North of an imaginary line — the Bierkeller Equator — they're Kellers. South, they're Gartens. Same beer, different geography, genuine regional pride.
Beer hiking trails
Franconia has codified what every serious beer traveller already knows: combining hiking and beer is a noble pursuit. The region has formal marked beer hiking trails (Bierwanderwege) that connect village breweries across the countryside. The book Beer Hiking Bavaria by Rich Carbonara covers 50 such routes.
Sandkerwa — Bamberg's street festival
Held every August, the Sandkerwa transforms Bamberg's riverside Sand district into a five-day street festival with live music, local food, and, of course, the full range of local beers. An intimate alternative to Oktoberfest that feels genuinely local.
Munich is the natural base for most of these destinations — all are reachable by train or S-Bahn. Visit the Munich city guide for the Big 6 beer halls, Oktoberfest planning, and the full urban brewery circuit before heading out into the region.