Augsburg

Neil and Valerie ramble around Augsburg the third largest city in Bavaria and home to six breweries. Its only 45 minutes, by train, from Munich. 

It is a university town (German:Universitätsstadt') and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a population exceeding 264,000 citizens. After Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germany's third oldest city. Other sights worth seeing are the Rathaus, Church of St. Anna, Maximilianstrasse & the Fuggerei (Europe's oldest social housing project.) It was founded by Emperor Augustus in 15BC and is still economically & culturally important in the 21st century.

Augsburg is the only German city with its own legal holiday, the Hohes Friedensfest, celebrated on August 8 of every year. This gives Augsburg more legal holidays than any other region or city in Germany.

Getting about we bought an All-Day Bavaria train ticket (for 2 to 5 people) from one of the machines in the HBF for €29. The ticket holder must sign the ticket on the day of travel.

The day which we travelled to Augsburg was the wettest day of our holiday. We didn't have much luck as 5 of the places on our list were either closed or had changed names!

Privat Hotel Riegele. Viktoria Str 4, 86150 Augsburg. Mon-Sat 11:30-22:00, Sun 11:30-14:00

Riegele Augsburger Herren Pils, Commerzienrat (Helles)

Almost opposite the rail station, look straight ahead and slightly to your left. Quite an up market hotel with posh table cloths. We explained that we just wanted a drink, so they showed us to a table at the back & took away the crockery & cutlery. The breakfast serving area was at the side of us, clean and tidy ready for tomorrow. At the back was a small beer garden. We sat and watched hoping the rain would soon stop. A coach party arrived and they were taken through to one of the side rooms. The Commerzienrat was quite nice & not too fizzy. The pils was fairly standard.

König von Flandern, Karolinenstr. 12, 86150 Augsburg.  Open from 11:00.

Konig von Flandern Hell 4.9%, Dunkel 5.0%, Weisse 5.1% Alligator 7.2%

Located underneath a bookshop. Entrance is via the arch 2 from the end and down the stairs. The brewery is in front of you in the middle as you go in. The brewer was busy cleaning it as we entered. There are two rooms, one each side of the entrance. There is brewery memorabilia dotted around the place, just enough to make it interesting. We tried the Hell which tasted a little homebrew-ish and the Alligator which was very dark.

Bayerisches Haus am Dom, Johannisgasse 4, 86152 Augsburg. Mon - Sun 11:00 - 24:00 .

König Ludwig Dunkel, Weissbier Hell, Weissbier Dunkel, Kaltenberg Spezial Hell, Ritterbock, Warsteiner Pilsener.

Formally known as König von Bayern. New owners took over in 2008 and decided on a name change. The beers served, however, have not changed. This was a very tidy sort of pub, with large wooden tables seating up to 8 everywhere. The benches were quite posh and were covered in leatherette. There was a further seating area outside at the front, but not in use today due to the inclement weather. Formerly owned by the hypothetical heir to the Bavarian throne. Hence the "King of Bavaria" name.

Bauerntanz, Bauerntanzgäßchen 1, 86150 Augsburg. Daily 11:00- 23:30. Food until 22:00.

Draught Hasen-Brau Urhell, Pilsner.

We found the "Peasants Dance" at the back of the town Hall, down a flight of steps and opposite one of the 2 canals which run through that side of town. Dating back to 1572, it's one of the city's oldest pubs. It used to have it's own brewery, but that has long been closed. Inside there were pine panelled walls, almost to the ceiling. Lace and small cushions adorned the plate rack at the top of the panelling. The bar is in the middle with a room on each side. The wooden ceiling beams were fake along with most of the interior. There are a few tables outside in the quiet street for when the weather is better.

Brauereigasthof Drei Königinnen, Meister-Veits-Gäßchen 32, Open 18:00 onwards, closed Mon.

Augusta Helles, Dunkel, Kellerbier, Weizen & Weizen-dunkel.

This is the tap of the former Augusta Brewery and is located at the eastern side of town at the end of a residential street. The front door wasn't open & we had to go in through the beer garden at the back. We decided to remain outside & took a table under the lean-to roof. Three oak trees shaded the rest of the garden. The garden was self-service. We spend some time talking to the bar-tender who wanted to practice his English. I believe  the bottle-conditioned Schwarzbier is particularly good, but we didn't try it on this occasion.

Bräustüberl zum Thorbräu , Wertachbrucker-Tor-Str. 9, 86152 Augsburg.

Thorbrau Kellerbier, Schwarzbier, Weissbier.  Bottled Weisse light, Old Town Weisse, Augsbuger Gold, Pils, Celtic Bio Bier, Portator Doppelbock 7.2%

Located about a mile north of town. The brewery tap is located on the corner next to the brewery. The old kettles were full of dust & can be seen at the back through a window or from outside through larger windows. The Schwarzbier was served in a pot mug and was slightly bitter. The bar was quite modern. The wooden panelled walls were dark stained plywood. Who could afford the real thing these days? The windowsills contained old brewerania. There was also a bear skin in the middle of the floor with a wooden barrel on top of it.

Article by Valerie Hollows 

GERMANY

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