My favorite Salzburg Brewery

10/23/05 by Engelbert

It took me quite a long time to decide about what to write first on my hidden*salzburg page. I wasn’t quite sure if it is politically correct to start with an article about beer… But then last weekend on a lovely saturday afternoon I was sitting in one of this huge beer halls with a couple of friends celebrating a birthday. It was just that kind of cosy atmosphere that you are looking for when you come to Salzburg. There was no doubt for me that I have to guide you here. And yes, here at the Augustiner Brewery they brew the very best beer in town.

I’m very sure that the Augustiner Brewery or Müllner Bräu how it is called here, is mentioned in every travel guide about Austria you can buy out there. Always when I go there at least some of our american friends are hanging around with this unbelieving look in their eyes wondering about these huge mugs full of delicious Müllner beer.

It’s no wonder why this beer is so delicious: Unlike the industrial production of beer as is it usual today, brewing at the Augustiner Brewery, as at very few other breweries in Austria, is still regarded as a craft according to old traditional methods. The production of the Augustiner beer takes a total of just over 16 weeks! It’s a fresh and tasty beer, light yellow colored, not bitter or sweet – just inbetween.

My tip how to avoid a typical tourist behavior:

Don’t go there and wait for a waiter to guide you to one of the tables! Take your beer by yourself! That’s how we do it here:

First go to one of the beer counters (there is one inside the Brewery and one outside under the main stairway to the Brewery. If you want to sit in the beer garden choose this one). Take a mug / pitcher from the shelf and clean it with water from the fountain.

Then go to the cashier and pay your beer in advance ( 1/2 or 1 litre). 1/2 litre costs 2,80 EUR. You’ll get a receipt. With this you go to the counter where it is drawn fresh from wooden barrels.

Then, with a happy smile on your face and a delicious beer in your hand, go and find a table. Don’t hesitate to ask to sit on a table with Austrians. We are very happy here to see how much our very best beer is appreciated by strangers (-:

The Bräustübl Tavern is open every day – Monday to Friday, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 2.30 p.m. to 11 p.m.. They close at very 11 p.m.! They’ll switch off the light and close the doors no matter if you’ve already emptied your last mug or not!

Best time to go there: on a sunny afternoon to sit outside in Austria’s largest beer garden under old chestnut trees or on an early evening.

Yes, you can meet girls there but no, they’re not singles (-;

Link tips:
Augustiner Brewery official page
Augustiner Bräu Erfahrungsbericht auf Ciao.de (german)