Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you do decide to order food, you'll find very similar menus at all beer gardens. Typical
dishes include roast chicken, spare ribs,
Schweinebraten
(roast pork) and schnitzel.
Radi
is a huge, mild radish that's eaten with beer; you can buy prepared radish or buy a radish
at the market and a
Radimesser
at any department store; stick it down in the centre and twist the
handle round and round, creating a radish spiral. If you do it yourself, smother the cut end of the
radish with salt until it weeps to reduce the bitterness (and increase your thirst!).
Obatzda
(oh-batsdah) is Bavarian for 'mixed up'. This cream cheese-like speciality is made of
butter, ripe Camembert, onion and caraway. Spread it on
Brezn
(a pretzel) or bread.
BEER GLOSSARY
»
Alkoholfreies Bier
- nonalcoholic beer
»
Bockbier/Doppelbock
- strong beer (
dop-
pel
meaning even more so), either pale, amber
or dark in colour with a bittersweet flavour
»
Dampfbier (steam beer)
- originating from
Bayreuth, it's top-fermented (this means the
yeast rises to the top during the fermentation process) and has a fruity flavour
»
Dunkles (dark lager)
- a reddish-brown, full-bodied lager, malty and lightly hopped
»
Helles (pale lager)
- a lightly hopped lager with strong malt aromas and a slightly
sweet taste
»
Hofbräu
- type of brewery belonging to a royal court
»
Klosterbräu
- type of brewery belonging to a monastery
»
Malzbier
- sweet, aromatic, full-bodied malt beer
»
Märzen
- full bodied with strong malt aromas and traditionally brewed in March
»
Pils (pilsener)
- a bottom-fermented lager with strong hop flavour
»
Rauchbier (smoke beer)
- dark beer with a fresh, spicy or 'smoky' flavour
»
Weissbier/Weizen (wheat beer)
- around 5.4% alcohol. A cloudy
Hefeweizen
has a
layer of still-fermenting yeast on the bottom of the bottle, whereas
Kristallweizen
is clear-
er with more fizz. These wheat beers are fruity and spicy, often recalling bananas and
cloves. Decline offers of a slice of lemon as it ruins the head and - beer purists say - the
flavour.
For more information about German grape variet-
ies, growing regions, wine festivals and courses,
check out the pages of the German Wine Institute at
