Munich beer is justly famous well beyond both the city's and Germany's borders. Many of the technological innovations which gave rise to modern industrial lager brewing took place here.
That might be a statement to deter rather than attract beer lovers, but don't be put off. The large Munich breweries produce drinkable beer, especially when compared to industrial lager from elsewhere. Add the more idiosynchratic beers produced on a small scale in and around the city and you're left with a pretty good selection, ranging in quality from OK to downright excellent.
Pub Map
City Centre Pub Listings
Munich Suburbs Pub Listings
Freising Pub Listings
Munich breweries
Munich
BeerThe most popular beer style in Munich is Helles, a very pale, malty lager, that you could liken to a light mild (though of a greater strength). Pils is around, but does not dominate as it does in most of Germany.
The traditional Munich beer style, Dunkles, is losing ground, but remains widely available.
Some Munich breweries brew a confusingly large number of pale lagers of slightly varying strengths.
You'll find about a dozen different beers in the product range of the large Munich breweries. Though, given the falling demand for beer in Germany, it's quite likely that some will be discontinued in the near future. Paulaner has already announced its intention to dramatically pare down its range.
Munich Pubs, Beerhalls and Beer Gardens
There's no lack of places to drink - some of them magnificent. Massive, shady (in the no direct sunlight sense of the word) beer gardens for the summer months, huge vaulted beerhalls for the rest of the year. There are even some normal-sized pubs (most things connected with beer are on a very grand scale in Munich) and, of course, trendy bars for the many students and yuppies. Munich has pubs for every conceivable taste.
If you can choose the time of your trip, I would definitely recommend visiting in the Summer. Munich's beer gardens are not to be missed. It can seem that half of the city centre is occupied by one Biergarten or another. The only slight downside is their insistence on serving draught beer in nothing smaller than a full litre measure.
For real beer enthusiasts, the fame of Munich beer has its disadvantages. It's one of the few locations where the paths of mainstream mass tourism and serious beer-drinking cross. Fortunately, a few of the more obvious beerhalls (the Hofbräuhaus in particular) attract the bulk of the coach parties. With a little care, it's not difficult to drink your beer in a genuine Bavarian atmosphere, even in the city centre.
In this guide I've limited myself deliberately to pubs and bars in the city centre. Munich is a large, sprawling city and, though it possesses an excellent network of trams and local trains, I expect the casual visitor will have neither the time nor the inclination to stray too far. Most pubs described below are within a 20 minute walk of the main station. That's my walking pace which, as my wife frequently points out, quickens considerably as my planned source of refreshment nears.
Europe for Visitors: Munich fooed and drimk.
that sits right at the back of the building. In the corridor itself, there
is simple seating, in the rooms to the right, proper tables and chairs.
The
hard times of the 1920's, when many Munich breweries closed their doors
forever, also saw 
It's
a big, bustling cheery sort of place, without any pretensions. Bare wooden
floors, long tables and benches (no sitting in a corner by yourself staring
at your pint here) and not much in the way of decoration other than some
lovely coloured leaded glass windows. Their motifs - foaming glasses of
Aventinus and sheaves of wheat - are very much to the point. 
