What Is the Drinking Culture in Munich?
Wondering what is the drinking culture in Munich? A very normal question, we’ve all been there.
So, beer is a synonym of local identity. Munich is for beer as Mexico is for tequila. If you hadn’t heard before, the mass is the German name for a one-liter glass of beer. And it is not something that came up after the hype of the Oktoberfest. It is the other way around. Mass have existed here since forever, and the typical beer to drink in is Weissbier, which is an oat beer.
But there is more to say into the beer drinking culture. Let’s find out!
Sharing Tables in Munich Beer Gardens
The beer garden charm is of course, community. You will share a table with strangers, and then at the end of the night, you’ll compete against other groups of friends that you have just met. And that’s something unique in Germany and in the world. You can ask for a Helles, which is the blonde, typical lager beer, and they will understand it immediately.
Another long German word that is important to remember is “ Stammtisch”, which means to share the table, the long tables.
Biergarten vs Wirtsgaten
There’s a difference between Biergarten and Wirtsgaten, which is the beer garden where you take care of your own table. You have to ask the beer and then bring it to the table. And that’s different, so have that in mind. Some Germans prefer service to the table, others don’t. Sometimes you can ask at the bar and sometimes they come to your table, so you have to look around and see how it works in every place.
What Is the Drinking Culture in Munich? Food, Timing and more food
In some of the beer gardens, you can bring your food. But in most of them you can only buy what they serve. Either way, it’s a great way to experience the German culinary options because it is so good: the pretzels, the schnitzels, anything that goes with beer.
The typical opening hours of the beer gardens are from 6 p.m. till 11 p.m. Although it is a very letting yourself go festivity, it has some rules because it’s in Germany, and that’s actually great for all the safety sensations.
Some tips
You can carry backpacks, but small ones. You can dance in the stools, but not on the tables. That’s forbidden.
You can bring some snacks, little snacks, that’s allowed, but not your drink. So don’t bring any. If you want water, just ask for water.
Normally, you can drink in public spaces in Germany, but not 100% everywhere. For example, around the Hauptbahnhof, which are the train stations or the metro stations, it is forbidden to consume or to bring alcohol with you. And that also applies to cannabis or other drugs. Other drugs are completely forbidden.
Reinheitsgebot
Something you will hear from day one in Germany is the Reinheitsgebot, which is the rules that apply to the making of a beer, which is the idea of a clean beer that has to have just water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. And it’s part of the Bavarian pride and also the local marketing.
final advice on What Is the Drinking Culture in Munich
A social trick is to be nice with the bartender or the waiter. It makes everything more fluid and it’s kind of part of the game. And if you were wondering about tipping, it is around 10%, but it’s not an official thing as in the US.
People here drink a lot but don’t get to the very limit of conscience. Don’t try to match the German limits several people allready try it in our Munich Pub crawl with no sucess. Try a little bit of everything, but don’t drink till blackout the first time on a beer garden. With two masses you might be more than tipsy. Have a wonderful time drinking with safety in München. In our Munich nightlife Blog you can discover more tips.