Richelbräu: Munich’s basement microbrewery

One of the first things you learn living in Munich is that the city has six big important breweries (Hofbräu, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, and Spaten). These breweries own most of the beer gardens and beer halls, their beer is served in most local restaurants, and they are the only breweries allowed to sell beer at Oktoberfest. All this local beer pride seems a little silly once you realize that most of the six breweries were sold to large multinational drink conglomerates long ago, although they still continue to to brew their beer within the city limits of Munich (one of the conditions for being allowed to sell at Oktoberfest).

We recently learned that Munich also has a single microbrewery. Richelbräu is run out of a basement in the neighborhood of Neuhausen. They brew several different varieties of their CasaNova beer, ranging from the local traditional Bavarian types to American-style pale ales and the like. We got to try a helles and a dunkles; both were mighty tasty and easy to drink.

The cozy tasting room and (in good weather) small backyard biergarten are open to the public on weekend evenings for most of the year (check their website for details – you can also make appointments for small groups to visit).  If you go, don’t miss the erotic art exhibition that’s (ahem) hung in the rooms next to the brewery. The stübe is also a popular gathering place for fans of the local card game Schafkopf (we’d never heard of it before, but then again neither had most of the Germans who were there). The guys from Richelbräu also teach homebrewing courses at the Volkshochschule, and host a stammtisch for homebrewers in Munich.