Augustinerbräu

Augustinerbräu Review

One of the largest beer cellars in Europe, the celebrated Augustinerbräu is at the north end of the Mönchsberg. You can even bring your own food—a relic of the old tradition that forbade breweries from serving meals in order to protect the status of restaurants. Pick up a stone jug of strong, frothy beer and sit in the gardens or at a dark-wood table in one of the large refectory halls. Shops in the huge monastery complex sell a vast array of salads, breads, and pastries, as well as sausage and spit-roasted chicken. If you don't feel up to cold beer, there's an old copper beer warmer in the main hall. During Advent and Lent a special beer is offered, with the blessing of past popes, one of whom commented, "drinking does not interrupt fasting."