Here in Düsseldorf’s historic Altstadt, a district known as “the longest bar in the world” (because of the hundreds of bars, crammed so close together that there is hardly any space between them), the streets are packed with British football fans, sinking large quantities of Altbier, the local beer.
England fans toast Sunday’s narrow win over Serbia; Scotland fans are drowning their sorrows after Friday’s drubbing by Germany, hosts of this summer’s UEFA European Football Championship, aka Euro 2024. England fans are optimistic, Scotland fans are pessimistic, but there’s one thing this old rivals agree: the unparalleled excellence of German beer.
Germany probably won’t triumph at the European Championship (France is the big favourite), but if there were an equivalent brewing competition, they would certainly win hands down. Okay, so the Czechs and Belgians could get them pretty close, but no one can match the Germans for strength in depth. Never mind the mass-produced brands you see in British supermarkets. To taste the best German beers, you must travel here. Almost every city in the Federal Republic has its own brewery, and Germans are fiercely loyal to their local brew.
This drunken parochialism is one of the reasons so many smaller breweries have survived here, but the main reason is quality. What makes German beer so tasty? It all dates back to 1516, and a tongue-twisting ordinance called the Purity law (Purity Act) which stipulated that only four ingredients were allowed for brewing beer: water, barley, hops and yeast. More than 500 years later, that medieval edict still applies.
What also makes German beer so special are the places where Germans drink it. From cavernous beer cellars and leafy beer gardens to cozy pinch And stuben (pubs and bars), in any part of Germany you will definitely find a nice place to drink.
People of all ages meet in these cheerful places. The service is gruff but friendly and the corporate identity is refreshingly informal. Sharing a trestle table with strangers is a great way to make new friends. Germans certainly like to get drunk, but you rarely see them dead drunk, partly because most bars serve good food. The dishes are hearty – sausages, sauerkraut, herring, dumplings, all the usual Teutonic staples – and the portions are enormous.
But surely German beer is all the same: pilsner, pilsner and more pilsner? Not at all. Most of that stuff is made for export. If you fancy a change from lager, order one weizen (a fruity wheat beer) or a dunkel (a dark, aromatic beer). If you like Guinness, order a Schwarzbier – it looks and tastes a lot like stout.
Each region has its own specialties, and if you’re here for the Euro, like me, you’ll come across a lot of things you’ve never tasted before. To humor you, here are a few of my old favorites, and some of the best places to sample them. Cheers! Or, as the Germans say: Prost!
Altbier, Dusseldorf
Düsseldorf’s signature beer is top-fermented, rather than bottom-fermented like most modern industrial beers. This gives it a fresher, more complex taste. It has a rich, malty flavour, a bit like Newcastle Brown Ale – look for Sticke, a stronger variety brewed only once or twice a year. There used to be dozens of Altbier breweries in Düsseldorf’s lively Altstadt (Old Town). Only a handful have survived, but they are all still very popular. My favorites are Zum Schlüssel and Uerige, which were featured in the classic Anglo-German sitcom, Auf Wiedersehen Pet. Both places are just a stone’s throw from Düsseldorf’s picturesque Rhine promenade.
Kölsch, Cologne
Both on the River Rhine, just 40 kilometers apart, Cologne and Düsseldorf are fierce but friendly enemies, a local rivalry encapsulated in their signature local beers. Unlike Altbier, Dusseldorf’s favorite brew, Kölsch is light and bright, but while locals like to emphasize the differences, the way they are served is very similar. Altbier is served in small glasses of 0.25 liters, while Kölsch is served in even smaller glasses of 0.2 liters. This keeps the beer cool and fresh, instead of becoming warm and flat. Waiters bring more and more until you put a beer mat on your glass, and they keep count by marking your beer mat – a clever system, no queues at the bar. Gaffel and Früh are my favorite breweries, both close to Cologne’s beautiful Gothic cathedral.
Weissbier, Munich
Wheat beer means “wheat beer”, but that is a bit of a misnomer. Most wheat beer has a light orange hue, and dunkelweizen, a darker variety, is almost black, like stout. In fact, the name is derived from ‘wheat beer’, as it contains more wheat than barley. This gives it a sticky texture and a syrupy taste – not to everyone’s taste (I can’t get enough of it, but I know a lot of people who can’t stand it). It is available everywhere in Germany, but its natural home is Bavaria. If you are in Munich, you see it everywhere, served in tall half-liter glasses. The big brands – Erdinger, Paulaner and Franziskaner – are all fine, but it’s fun to look for something unusual. From Munich, take the S-Bahn to Herrsching, on the shores of the Ammersee, one of Bavaria’s most beautiful lakes, and hike uphill to Andechs Kloster, a picturesque medieval monastery where the monks brew their own Andechser beer.
Gose, Leipzig
This full, salty beer originates in Goslar, in the Harz Mountains (it is named after the River Gose, which runs through this old mining town). Its popularity soon spread and the place where it took root was Leipzig. Before the war there were many Gose breweries in the city, but then Leipzig ended up behind the Iron Curtain and most of them were closed. Fortunately, after German reunification, the oldest brand, Ritterguts, was revived – and this year this unpasteurized open-fermented beer is celebrating its 200th anniversary. There are several bars in Leipzig where you can enjoy Ritterguts Gose on tap, such as Zill’s Tunnel.
Störtebeker, Hamburg and Stralsund
Northern Germany is known for its refreshing pale pilsners and lagers, and one of the best breweries is Störtebeker, in Stralsund’s pretty Hanseatic harbour. Founded in 1827, it survived the vicissitudes of the last century (including 45 years behind the Iron Curtain) and is now one of the leading brands in Northern Germany. You can visit the brewery in Stralsund, or, if you are in Hamburg for football, eat out at the Störtebeker restaurant in the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg’s spectacular concert hall. Designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron (the brains behind Tate Modern), it has quickly become an icon and a meeting place, with stunning views over the Elbe, one of Germany’s largest waterways.
