Best beer towns in Germany

Beer is a major part of German culture and there’s no better place to experience it firsthand than in one of these five cities.

Thanks to its annual Oktoberfest celebrations, the city of Munich has become one of the country’s top beer towns. During the 16- to 18-day festival, over seven million litres of locally-brewed beer is served to visitors from around the world. But Munich’s appeal as a beer town doesn’t end when the festival comes to a close. The city is home to numerous beer halls and gardens including the famous Hofbräuhaus am Platzl and the Chinesischer Turm in the Englischer Garten.

Hotel Isarblu is just 400 metres from Theresienwiese, the open-air venue of Oktoberfest. Guests have access to an on-site bar as well as a rooftop terrace where they can get a bird’s-eye view of the festivities.

Dating back to the 16th century, the Berliner Weisse is a cloudy, sour beer. In its prime, you could find more than 50 producers within the city limits of Berlin but today there is only one: Berliner Kindl Weisse. What makes the Berliner Weisse different from many other beers is that it’s often flavoured with syrups or mixed with other beers to balance the sourness. While the number of brewers of this classic beer has tapered, the market has been filled with a number of craft breweries, bringing new twists to classic beers.

Hotel Oderberger is a 2-minute walk from the Prater Biergarten Berlin; a seasonal, self-serve beer garden focusing on locally-brewed beers.

Altbier – German for ‘old beer’ – is the type of beer brewed only around the city of Düsseldorf. The name comes from the way the beer is brewed, using the much older method of top-fermentation. Beers that are made using this process see the yeast rise to the surface during fermentation, giving the flavour a slight fruitiness. The best way to sample Altbier is by hopping between the Düsseldorf’s eight breweries, many of which are conveniently-located around the Altstadt (old town). If you happen to find yourself in the city during the Christmas season, each brewery produces a seasonal ‘Sticke’ variant of their Altbier.

Perfectly-situated between the Rhine promenade and the lively Old Town district, Derag Livinghotel De Medici is walking distance from the city’s top Altbier breweries.

Kölsch is another old-style beer that can only be found in the city of Cologne. Brewed since 1906, Kölsch is a top-fermented beer similar to a Pilsner. Kölsch has been awarded a geographical indication status meaning that it possesses qualities or a reputation distinct to where it was created. As a result, it is only allowed to be brewed in this region, so make sure to spend some time at one of the 13 Brauhäuser (breweries) in and around Cologne. Here, you can enjoy the unique experience of being served by a Köbes, the name for the waiter who serves the Altbier.

The Excelsior Hotel Ernst am Dom is steps away from the Cologne Cathedral and a number of the city’s best breweries.

Nuremberg’s history as a beer town dates as far back as 1303, when the city passed a Reinheitsgebot (beer purity requirement) requiring that only barley malt may be used in brewing beer. With the passing of this law, the city grew and developed around the brewing industry. See the centuries-old, rock-cut beer cellars that citizens used for beer storage and – amazingly – protection during WWII, and that are still in use today.

Dürer-Hotel is just a 2-minute walk from the Historische Felsengänge Nürnberg where guided tours of the famous underground cellars start.