00:00Are you looking for a place to kick back and enjoy life the German way?
00:06How about a tall, cold beer in the shade of chestnut trees, together with locals and people from all over the world?
00:13You can even bring your own food, or order some from the menu.
00:17Introducing the Bavarian Beer Garden.
00:20I'm Silja Steinberg, I run the Hofbräukeller, and we've had the pleasure of doing so since 1995.
00:31Today I'll show you how a beer garden works.
00:34The Hofbräukeller Beer Garden is in the heart of Bavaria's capital Munich.
00:39It's over 100 years old.
00:41Typical are the wooden benches and tables under huge chestnut trees, the standard beer garden tree.
00:47In good weather up to 2,500 people gather here.
00:52What are they looking for?
00:54It's just the feeling you get.
00:56A feeling of life in Munich.
00:58It's a nice atmosphere.
01:00And German beer is the best beer.
01:02Exactly.
01:03Don't be surprised if the beer gardens generally serve beer from only one brewery, albeit different types.
01:09Pale Ale, Wheat Beer, and Shandies.
01:14Beer mixed with a soft drink.
01:16Pale Ale is a great drink.
01:19It has everything you could wish for.
01:21And some patrons love a Shandy.
01:23That's half lemon soda and half beer.
01:26Or a sour Shandy.
01:27That's become trendy the past few years.
01:29It's mineral water with beer.
01:33You can choose between a quarter litre, half litre, and the classic Bavarian mass, a full litre.
01:39But at some point the full mass seems to be the best choice.
01:42Why is that?
01:44So it gets really full after 4pm.
01:47And if the guests have a full mass, they don't need as many refills, so the bar is less crowded.
01:52A whole litre of beer at once?
01:56How do the guests handle that?
01:58And how many of those can they put away?
02:01I don't think it matters if you like beer.
02:04Because you're probably going to get two halves anyway, so you might as well get a mass.
02:08When visitors come, everybody wants to have a picture with their mass.
02:14That was the second one, and I'll probably have a third.
02:17Not many.
02:18Two, three, maybe four.
02:21It depends how good the company is.
02:25Whether it's one or more litres, it's definitely a good idea to eat something.
02:29For instance, sausage salad, Obatzda, a mix of camembert, cream cheese and butter, or…
02:36The classic is the grilled chicken.
02:38So Obatzda, pretzels and chicken are the main items on our menu.
02:42The ones that sell best.
02:45In the self-service area, you're even allowed to bring your own food.
02:49That sets the Bavarian beer gardens apart.
02:52So what do people most often bring?
02:54You bring radii, those big white radishes, or small red radishes.
03:01We brought them along.
03:04And then we've got a Regensburger, this sausage.
03:09It's also a very typical beer garden food.
03:13Obligatory is, of course, a pretzel to go with it.
03:18Ursula Seebuck-Forster is the president of a society dedicated to preserving beer gardens.
03:24She says they're indispensable to life in Munich.
03:28It's actually about the social aspect, and you can bring your own food, and it doesn't cost nearly as much as going to some restaurant with the whole family.
03:39In a big city like Munich, you can hardly afford that anymore.
03:44But nobody can stay in a beer garden forever, even if they'd like to.
03:49We stay open till 11 pm. By then, the beer garden is usually empty.
03:56So that means we call for the last round at a quarter after 10, so people will have enough time to finish their drinks.
04:02Incidentally, in the mid-1990s, a Bavarian court decreed that beer gardens had to close by 9.30 pm.
04:09But the Bavarians protested so loud and long that the ruling was taken back.
04:14What do you think about Bavarians beer garden culture? Have you been to one? Would you like to?
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