Beer at the Viktualienmarkt.

The beer garden at the Viktualienmarkt has a special feature. Normally, only one brewery’s beer is served in a beer garden. Not so in the beer garden at Viktualienmarkt.

The beer is changed every 6 weeks

Every five to six weeks, a new contingent of Munich’s major breweries is served in the beer garden. The six breweries are: Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, Hofbräu, Paulaner and Spaten, which are also represented at the Munich Oktoberfest.

Augustiner-Bräu

Augustiner beer is not only appreciated by Munich locals, and the brewery is the oldest brewery still in existence in Munich, having been founded in 1328. In contrast to the other breweries, Augustiner-Bräu largely dispenses with advertising and fills most of its beers in the bulbous bottle, while the other breweries have switched to the narrow NRW bottle. The Augustiner brewery is located south of the railway tracks in Landsberger Straße at Hackerbrücke, easily recognizable by the long brick wall.

Hacker-Pschorr

The brewery was founded in Sendlinger Straße on the site where the Altes Hackerhaus pub is still located today. Named after the married couple Joseph Pschorr and Maria Theresia Hacker, Hacker-Pschorr became the leading brewery in Munich. The former brewery site was located south of the Hackerbrücke bridge. Today, it houses the offices of the European Patent Office. Hacker-Pschorr belongs to the Paulaner Brewery Group. The 13 Hacker-Pschorr beers, some of which are only brewed seasonally, are bottled exclusively in swing-top bottles.

Löwenbräu Brewery

The Löwenbräu was founded behind the Frauenkirche in Löwengrube. It later moved to Nymphenburger Straße, where the Löwenbräukeller on Stiglmaierplatz is still located today. Since 1997, the brewery has belonged to the Spaten-Löwenbräu Group, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewery group.

Hofbräu München

The brewery Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in Munich is probably the best-known beer brand and was founded in the Alter Hof. The famous Hofbräuhaus on Platzl, not far from the Viktualienmarkt, is now one of the most important sights for many tourists. It is now brewed just outside the city, near the exhibition centre.

Paulaner Brewery

The Paulaner brewery was founded by monks in the Au district of Munich. The first beer was served there in the Neudeck monastery and the brewery was located there until 2016 before moving to Langwied. The brewery is still based in the Au district in Ohmüllerstraße and the Paulaner am Nockherberg is located above it, a popular beer garden and venue for the annual strong beer festival with festive speeches and carol singing. The Paulaner brewery is one of the sponsors of FC Bayern Munich.

Spatenbräu

Spatenbräu was founded in 1397 and, like Löwenbräu and Franziskaner, belongs to the international beer group AB InBev. Spaten was the first brewery to brew Munich Hell in 1894. Today there is a visitor museum on the former brewery site and the beer is brewed in the former brewhouse of Löwenbräu AG.