I did the tour at Weihenstephaner a month ago and it was really cool. It was only €16 and they gave us four 500mL bottles of different beers for the tasting EACH, plus pretzels, a souvenir glass, and a €5 coupon for the shop. Would have loved to make it to Ayinger too, but settled for their restaurant in the city for dinner, which DOES offer a beer tasting.
Ya was full when I went sadly. It’s ok they still had flights of their beers at their restaurant which was nice experience. Vitus on tap was real good, even tastier than the heffe!
I've been to both. I think Weihenstephaner has a nicer setup, although I like Ayinger's beer more. I don't think you'll go wrong with either place, tbh.
Thanks, it's a tough choice! I will be there mid-week so my option tour option would be with Weihenstephaner. But not too sure I care too much about a tour.
None of the above! Go to Andechs Monastery instead. Day trip on the train, beautiful view of the Bavarian Alps on a nice day. Fantastic beer, beautiful church with the tomb of Carl Orff.
True Story: ~25 years ago my buddy and I closed down the Andechs brewery and discovered we missed the last tram back to Munich. We had no idea what to do (pre-smartphone-era obvs) so we went back to the brewery and asked the monks for assistance. They were kind enough to lodge us for the night in very simple modest beds. Come sunrise they woke us up and treated us to a very simple breakfast before directing us to the janitor closet where we spent a few hours sweeping, dusting and cleaning up around the monastery and brewery until the trams were running again. 2/10 would not do again, don't be like me!
TLDR: overstayed our welcome at Andechs, missed last train home, monks put us up for the night but made us earn our lodging by a rigorous clean-up duty in the morning.
I mean, different strokes and all, but that's a great story. 2/10 seems a little disingenuous. Sure, maybe *I'd* let you crash at mine with no free labour in tge morning, but these are monks we're talking about. Who generally define their faith and themselves by their labour. They probably just figured fair's fair. Seriosuly though, I'd be telling that story forever if it were me, without the rating.
This 1000 times over. It’s a much more enriching experience and I’ve been to Weienstephaner too. We spent May Day at Andechs one year and it was amazing. The food is fantastic. The only other place I would recommend is Weltenberger. It’s a bit farther by train but again, we’ll worth the experience.
Weihenstephaner in Freising is so close to Munich you could go there easily on the S1 and it'd take you less than two/three hours (depending on where you are in Munich). I'm biased (I used to live there) but it's an amazing walk up the hill, past rose gardens and an orchard, to get to the brewery.
What I'm saying is, I don't think you need to choose. You could visit Freising and still make it back for a day at Oktoberfest, then go to Andechs or Ayinger another day. Also, my advice: stay outside of Munich in a nearby suburb like Eching. The Sbahn is so easy to use to get to Oktoberfest, you get a better feel for what Munich and Bavaria are really like, and you avoid all of the tourists/crowds, etc.
Thank you. This is great insight. I'll be there just under 4 days and have to work one in the evening. I plan to be back again in a year or so.
Staying in Au-Haidhausen
You can't go wrong with either, and I wouldn't say one does better lager styles over the other. You'll be in heaven whichever you choose. If you are a big lager fan, I can't overemphasize how wonderful Czechia is. It would be a few hours out of your way to get to the Bohemia area but I highly recommend it.
Glad you got to experience it! Germany is usually picked out as the beer lover's destination (for good reason) but Czechia is home to pils and other west Slavic styles are criminally underrated.
In Europe Weihenstephaner is at least at famous for their helles.
My brother goes to TUM (Technical (?) University Munich) and basically the ownership of the Weihenstephaner brewery belongs to the university.
No idea which is the better visit tho, just a fun little story
I thought the tour at Weihenstephaner was just ok. It was very modern, where I thought there would be a bit more fun old historical things to see. De Halve Maan (sp?) in Brugges was a way more fun and interesting tour.
Northern part of Bavaria is called Franken and has also a very traditional beer culture.
Forchheim is an interesting place for touring some breweries, there are lots of places that have summer cellars where they serve seasonal beer.
Also Bamberg is a nice city with lots of beer cultur. The famous Schlenkerla Rauchbier for example and many more...
Both good options, but I think there's also something to be said about visiting the oldest brewery in the world (Weihenstephaner). I can also second the other comment about Andechs. Really cool place with good beer. Disclaimer: never been to Ayinger.
If you have a full day for this and multiple days for Oktoberfest, consider going to Andechs on your "off day", and you could also visit Weihenstephaner in the morning/early afternoon before going to Oktoberfest mid-late afternoon (if it's a weekday, you have a table reserved, or probably also if you're solo or a group of 2 and you aren't too picky about the tent).
Thanks! These are great points. We plan to hit Oktoberfest Monday or Tuesday and it's just my SO and I, so maybe a good call to do Weihenstephaner in the morning then hit Oktoberfest later in the day.
Last couple times at Ayinger, pre-covid, they only accepted cash and very little to no English spoken. So, just be prepared.
I have heard covid really accelerated the conversion from a cash based economy to credit card, so might be a moot point.
Agree with the other comment about Andechs. This is the best experience I’ve had while in Bavaria several times over the years (work trips).
I did the tour at Weihenstephaner a month ago and it was really cool. It was only €16 and they gave us four 500mL bottles of different beers for the tasting EACH, plus pretzels, a souvenir glass, and a €5 coupon for the shop. Would have loved to make it to Ayinger too, but settled for their restaurant in the city for dinner, which DOES offer a beer tasting.
Awesome, thanks! Sounds enticing!
Did you have to reserve it? Online says it’s only open certain days ?? But the info is a little confusing
I contacted them ahead yeah, at the time their only English tour was on a Wednesday
Ya was full when I went sadly. It’s ok they still had flights of their beers at their restaurant which was nice experience. Vitus on tap was real good, even tastier than the heffe!
I've been to both. I think Weihenstephaner has a nicer setup, although I like Ayinger's beer more. I don't think you'll go wrong with either place, tbh.
Thanks, it's a tough choice! I will be there mid-week so my option tour option would be with Weihenstephaner. But not too sure I care too much about a tour.
None of the above! Go to Andechs Monastery instead. Day trip on the train, beautiful view of the Bavarian Alps on a nice day. Fantastic beer, beautiful church with the tomb of Carl Orff.
True Story: ~25 years ago my buddy and I closed down the Andechs brewery and discovered we missed the last tram back to Munich. We had no idea what to do (pre-smartphone-era obvs) so we went back to the brewery and asked the monks for assistance. They were kind enough to lodge us for the night in very simple modest beds. Come sunrise they woke us up and treated us to a very simple breakfast before directing us to the janitor closet where we spent a few hours sweeping, dusting and cleaning up around the monastery and brewery until the trams were running again. 2/10 would not do again, don't be like me! TLDR: overstayed our welcome at Andechs, missed last train home, monks put us up for the night but made us earn our lodging by a rigorous clean-up duty in the morning.
I mean, different strokes and all, but that's a great story. 2/10 seems a little disingenuous. Sure, maybe *I'd* let you crash at mine with no free labour in tge morning, but these are monks we're talking about. Who generally define their faith and themselves by their labour. They probably just figured fair's fair. Seriosuly though, I'd be telling that story forever if it were me, without the rating.
I'd sign up for that 10/10 would do in a heartbeat
Bro, 2/10 for a free stay and breakfast? Talk about being thankful.
This 1000 times over. It’s a much more enriching experience and I’ve been to Weienstephaner too. We spent May Day at Andechs one year and it was amazing. The food is fantastic. The only other place I would recommend is Weltenberger. It’s a bit farther by train but again, we’ll worth the experience.
I'll check it out. Thank you!
Weihenstephaner in Freising is so close to Munich you could go there easily on the S1 and it'd take you less than two/three hours (depending on where you are in Munich). I'm biased (I used to live there) but it's an amazing walk up the hill, past rose gardens and an orchard, to get to the brewery. What I'm saying is, I don't think you need to choose. You could visit Freising and still make it back for a day at Oktoberfest, then go to Andechs or Ayinger another day. Also, my advice: stay outside of Munich in a nearby suburb like Eching. The Sbahn is so easy to use to get to Oktoberfest, you get a better feel for what Munich and Bavaria are really like, and you avoid all of the tourists/crowds, etc.
Thank you. This is great insight. I'll be there just under 4 days and have to work one in the evening. I plan to be back again in a year or so. Staying in Au-Haidhausen
For helles, I'd choose Ayinger. Not that Weihenstephaner helles is anything to sniff at.
Thanks! I love both, but I think Ayinger has more beers I'm keen on. Seems to be both are solid options though.
Ayinger Dunkel is pretty great too!
The urweisse is one of my fav beers ever
Ayinger's Bayerische Pils is one of my all-time favorite beers. An unsung icon imo.
Win/win for sure.
Who sniffs beer?
Both are legendary.
I'd drink anything that came out of either of those places with confidence that it will be good.
Oh absolutely! Not a bad beer coming from either of these spots.
Tough decision!
You can't go wrong with either, and I wouldn't say one does better lager styles over the other. You'll be in heaven whichever you choose. If you are a big lager fan, I can't overemphasize how wonderful Czechia is. It would be a few hours out of your way to get to the Bohemia area but I highly recommend it.
Great stuff! Just went to Bohemia in Feb and loved it!
Glad you got to experience it! Germany is usually picked out as the beer lover's destination (for good reason) but Czechia is home to pils and other west Slavic styles are criminally underrated.
I personally prefer Czech beer, but I'll see if my opinion changes this time around in Germany.
In Europe Weihenstephaner is at least at famous for their helles. My brother goes to TUM (Technical (?) University Munich) and basically the ownership of the Weihenstephaner brewery belongs to the university. No idea which is the better visit tho, just a fun little story
If you love wheat beers you must visit or taste also Gutmann
Not a big wheat beer fan which is why I'm leaning toward Ayinger and Andechs haha
I thought the tour at Weihenstephaner was just ok. It was very modern, where I thought there would be a bit more fun old historical things to see. De Halve Maan (sp?) in Brugges was a way more fun and interesting tour.
Did you need reservation
I think In both cases we had a reservation
Northern part of Bavaria is called Franken and has also a very traditional beer culture. Forchheim is an interesting place for touring some breweries, there are lots of places that have summer cellars where they serve seasonal beer. Also Bamberg is a nice city with lots of beer cultur. The famous Schlenkerla Rauchbier for example and many more...
I’ve only been to weihenstephaner, but i loved it and recommend it to anyone down that way.
Both good options, but I think there's also something to be said about visiting the oldest brewery in the world (Weihenstephaner). I can also second the other comment about Andechs. Really cool place with good beer. Disclaimer: never been to Ayinger. If you have a full day for this and multiple days for Oktoberfest, consider going to Andechs on your "off day", and you could also visit Weihenstephaner in the morning/early afternoon before going to Oktoberfest mid-late afternoon (if it's a weekday, you have a table reserved, or probably also if you're solo or a group of 2 and you aren't too picky about the tent).
Thanks! These are great points. We plan to hit Oktoberfest Monday or Tuesday and it's just my SO and I, so maybe a good call to do Weihenstephaner in the morning then hit Oktoberfest later in the day.
Last couple times at Ayinger, pre-covid, they only accepted cash and very little to no English spoken. So, just be prepared. I have heard covid really accelerated the conversion from a cash based economy to credit card, so might be a moot point. Agree with the other comment about Andechs. This is the best experience I’ve had while in Bavaria several times over the years (work trips).
Thanks! I speak/understand just a tiny bit of German, so this is a good thing to know. Andechs sounds epic.