Top Breweries in Germany

BRLO Brwhouse ★ 4.8

BRLO Brwhouse sits in 38 upcycled shipping containers in the Park am Gleisdreieck, brewing a full range of craft lagers, IPAs and seasonal sours.

Brauerei Paeffgen ★ 4.8

Brauerei Paeffgen on Friesenstrasse in Cologne is the last independent house brewery in the city, founded by Hermann Päffgen in 1883; still hand-brewing.

Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei ★ 4.8

Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei on Hammerbrookstrasse in Hamburg has brewed American-style IPAs, saisons and seasonals since 2013, with a small taproom.

TipClosed Mon to Thu; the taproom takes walk-ins. Beer to-go in cans and bottles.

Augustiner-Bräu München ★ 4.8

Augustiner-Bräu München on Landsberger Strasse, founded 1328 as a monastery brewery, is Munich's oldest house; the Edelstoff Helles is what every locals.

Brauerei zur Malzmuhle ★ 4.7

Brauerei zur Malzmühle at Heumarkt 6 in Cologne has brewed Mühlen Kölsch since 1858; the second-oldest brewery pub and one of the most consistent Altstadt.

Eschenbraeu ★ 4.6

Eschenbraeu in Berlin Wedding is the city's oldest micro-brewery, founded in 2001 by Martin Eschenbrenner. The hidden courtyard taproom seats 150.

Fruh am Dom ★ 4.6

Früh am Dom at Am Hof 12-18 near Cologne's Cathedral is the second-largest brewery pub in Germany, seating 1,500 and pouring Früh Kölsch from early morning.

Ratsherrn Brauerei ★ 4.6

Ratsherrn Brauerei on Lagerstrasse in Hamburg's Schanzenviertel is one of the pioneers of the city's craft beer movement, with the brewery and the Craft Beer.

TipBrewery tours run Thursday, Friday and Saturday; book ahead via ratsherrn.de. Closed Mondays.

Vagabund Brauerei ★ 4.5

Vagabund Brauerei in a Wedding Kesselhaus (boiler house) brews American-influenced ales alongside a proper Berliner Weisse; the taproom pours ten handles.

Braustelle ★ 4.5

Braustelle on Christianstrasse in Cologne's Ehrenfeld is the neighbourhood craft brewery producing Helios Kölsch and seasonal specials; tap room Tue-Sat.

Zur Buchscheer ★ 4.5

Frankfurt ferments apples where other cities brew barley: Zur Buchscheer has pressed its sharp house apfelwein on site every year since 1876.

TipAutumn brings Süßer and Rauscher, the young part-fermented pressings, straight from the yard; ask what stage the vat is at.

Staatliches Hofbräuhaus München ★ 4.5

Hofbräu München, Bavaria's state-owned brewery since 1589, brews Hofbräu Original Helles, the Brauerei sits on Hofbräuallee in Munich-Riem since 1988.

Hacker-Pschorr (Der Pschorr) ★ 4.5

Hacker-Pschorr traces back to 1417 and remains one of the six Munich Oktoberfest breweries, Der Pschorr on the Viktualienmarkt is the flagship tap.

Peters Brauhaus ★ 4.4

Peters Brauhaus on Mühlengasse in Cologne's Altstadt serves Peters Kölsch alongside Rhenish classics 350 metres from the Cathedral in a wood-panelled room.

Brauhaus Sion ★ 4.4

Brauhaus Sion at Unter Taschenmacher in Cologne's Altstadt has operated since 1318; renovated in 2012, one of Germany's most moody Brauhäuser.

naïv ★ 4.4

naïv is Frankfurt's craft beer headquarters on Fahrgasse, pouring its Glaabsbräu collaboration lager beside rotating German and world taps from everywhere.

TipThe bottle shop at Fahrgasse 8 sells the take-home versions; walk-ins only in the evening, with the pizzeria next door at number 6.

Apfelwein Solzer ★ 4.4

Apfelwein Solzer's pressing house off Berger Straße has fermented Frankfurt's other beer, self-pressed Ebbelwoi, in family hands since 1893.

TipSit in the Kelterhaus, the old pressing room, and drink the estate Schoppen where it was made; the garden holds 300 in summer.

Zum Rad ★ 4.4

Zum Rad presses its entire apfelwein production in-house in Seckbach, a village cider works on Frankfurt's edge running since 1806 and still family-run.

TipThis is the closest Frankfurt gets to visiting a working village Kelterei; the courtyard pours what the press behind it made.

Bar Oorlam ★ 4.4

Bar Oorlam on Kohlhoefen in Hamburg's Karolinenviertel is the official taproom for Hamburg's Buddelship brewery and Amsterdam's Filosoof jenever distillery.

TipClosed Mondays. Monthly whisky club and reading club nights. Snacks alongside the beer; the room books out on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Giesinger Bräu ★ 4.4

Giesinger Bräu in Munich's Giesing district moved into a former electrical substation on Martin-Luther-Strasse in 2012, one of the youngest Munich breweries.

Brauerei Heidenpeters ★ 4.3

Heidenpeters brews inside Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg and pours through a taproom window in the same hall. At Eisenbahnstrasse 42-43. Booking recommended.

Hellers Brauhaus ★ 4.3

Hellers Brauhaus on Roonstrasse in Cologne's Kwartier Latäng is an organic Kölsch brewery; Heller Kölsch brewed without additives in a student neighbourhood.

the station (BrauStil) ★ 4.3

the station brews behind the counter of a converted Oeder Weg petrol station, Frankfurt's Nordend taproom with six guest lines beside its own.

TipThe forecourt is the beer garden; Saturday from 15:00 is the long session, and the guest taps rotate German craft rarities.

Löwenbräu ★ 4.3

Löwenbräu has brewed at Nymphenburger Strasse 2 in Munich's Neuhausen since 1851. The Löwenbräukeller is the front-of-house, with the brewing operations.

Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu ★ 4.3

Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu on Munich's Marsstrasse traces back to 1397; Spaten Münchner Hell and Franziskaner Weissbier are the houses' two main.

Brauhaus Lemke am Hackeschen Markt ★ 4.2

Brauhaus Lemke under two combined S-Bahn arches between Berlin's Hackescher Markt and Alexanderplatz brews German craft lager, wheat and IPA since 1999.

Brauhaus Putz ★ 4.2

Brauhaus Putz on Engelbertstrasse in Cologne's Südstadt is a neighbourhood Brauhaus serving Kölsch, Halve Hahn and Rhenish classics in a traditional interior.

Wildwuchs Brauwerk ★ 4.2

Wildwuchs Brauwerk on Jaffestrasse in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg has brewed craft beer since 2014 and is the only Hamburg brewery to brew exclusively organic.

TipClosed Mon to Thu; the taproom and summer terrace take walk-ins from 16:00 Fri. Bottles for to-go.

CraftBeer Corner Coeln ★ 4.1

CraftBeer Corner Coeln on Engelbertstrasse in Cologne is a specialist craft beer bar with 20 taps pouring German and international craft beers; full.

Berliner Berg Brauerei ★ 4.0

Berliner Berg Brauerei in Neukoelln brews a Berliner Weisse and a pale ale from a landmark 1920s building; the courtyard beer garden opens April to September.