Do the beer tents really have all-year-round locations?

You may have heard that the Oktoberfest beer tents have permanent locations in Munich for the rest of the year – and in a way that’s true. That doesn’t mean that the tents are dismantled and pitched elsewhere though (the Bavarian winter would make that a rather uninviting prospect), but that the tents are actually temporary outposts of all-year-round restaurant and brewery locations.

Which is good news if you find yourself in Munich in one of the 50 weeks of the year in which the Oktoberfest beer tents are not gracing the Theresienweise, because that means that your favourite Wiesn beer and delicious Bavarian cuisine is never far away.

So which of the tents is linked to permanent location, and where are these to be found?

If you’ve become attached to the Hofbräu tent, then you’ve picked a winner, because the Hofbräu brew pub is one of the oldest and proudest of Munich manifold beer halls. Located smack-bang in the centre of town, it’s known simply as the Hofbräuhaus – the Hofbräu house – and offers everything that fans of Bavarian beer culture need: litre-tankards of amber nectar, hearty meat dishes, and plenty of Bavarian tradition in the form of costumed waiters and brass bands. It offers this Oktoberfest-style service (and we can’t stress this enough) all year round, without interruption – and especially in summer, the beer garden is a prototype of the genre that will bring a tear of joy to everyone who, like us, sees a cold beer in the balmy shade of chestnut trees as one of life’s most elementary pleasures. Simply put, it’s hallowed ground for beer drinkers.

Another sacred shrine for hop culture is the Augsutiner Bierhalle, the place which bore the name “beer hall”. It’s a Munich institution, just a few buildings down Neuhauser Straße from the Stachus square. Augustiner is especially worth visiting for those who like to eat adventurously while drinking their beer dressed in their lederhosen and dirndls: this is real nose-to-tail eating, with such delicious dishes as sour calves lungs (yes, as in the things young cows use to breathe) and slaughterhouse platters with blood and liver sausage. If you turn up here wearing traditional Bavarian costume and don’t order this kind of stuff, people might be surprised…!

If you liked the beer in the Winzerer Fähndl tent or Armbrustschützenzelt, then we’ve got really good news for you: the Paulaner brewery, which supplies these two tents, has one of the best brew-pub locations in Munich. Paulaner am Nockherberg is located in the quiet suburb of Giesing and offers a beautiful beer garden within walking distance of the Isar river meadows as well as a sumptuously decorated guesthouse; and, most importantly, Paulaner is the location for Munich’s spring counterpart to the Oktoberfest, the Starkbierfest. Starkbier means “strong beer”, so you can guess what’s in the glasses when Munich gets ready to party in March. And for those of us who like our Bavarian fashion as much as we like our beer, the Starkbierfest is a great opportunity to get a heads-up on the year’s trends ahead of time.

After all, in Munich, Bavarian costume is an important part of everyday life. Just like the all-year-round locations that gave birth to the Oktoberfest tents.