I'll be in Germany for 13 days in September. Would like to take my group on a brewery tour.<BR><BR>Any thoughts about breweries in the Rhine area or in the Berchtesgaden or Munich area. Would like to go to a brewery that is out of the way, not very tourisy and that will allow a few hours of drinking after the tour.<BR><BR>All suggestions greatly appreciated.<BR>

A few hours of drinking with or without paying for the beer?<BR><BR>If you're willing to pay, you could go to the Bitburger brewery (you get the first two or three beers for free). It's in Bitburg (surprise!) which is pretty much out of the way. The brewery is very modern and a few years ago one had to endure a rather boring multi-media presentation before visiting the brewery but it was interesting. From the Rhineland, you should be by train in about 2 hours in Bitburg.

Mark,<BR>One of the world's finest beers is that brewed in the monastery in Andechs, Bavaria, a town about 30 miles southwest of Munich. The closest S-bahn stop is Herrsching on the Ammersee.<BR><BR>The monastery's church is one of J. B. Zimmerman's Baroque masterpieces. It sits high on the Holy Mountain. About a hundred yards from the church you'll find the Braustuberl. Sit on its terrace for a view of the Alps while enjoying a stein of Andechs coupled with the equally fine Andechs Kloster cheese. It's a serve yourself operation. To my knowledge the monastery's brewhouse is not open for tours. Nevertheless, for one of the world's premier beers, Andechs is well worth a visit.

Althoguh it may be too far off your path, we very much enjoyed the Dinkelacker brewery in Stuttgart. It was a few years ago, so may have changed, but we got free beers to drink and sat on a very pleasant patio after the tour. Were way more Germans there than other tourists...

hi there,<BR>for shure Andechs is the most touristic brewerie in Germany, and Bitburger is not far away. My recomand is (in the Munich area) Weihenstephan. A little in the north, You can reach by d-train. If I remember right it is the oldest place to brew beer and the only where You can study this kind of thing. Very origin place. <BR>have fun <BR>Gar

there is a lot of information about beer and brewery tours in German, but this is the only one I found in English: http://www.bierstrasse.de/english/index.html<BR>Have fun!

Although barely known to the international tourists, the most famous area for beer/breweries is the Fr&auml;nkische Schweiz (franconian switzerland), a rural, pittoresque area in the north of Nuremberg (between Nuremberg, Bamberg and Bayreuth). Many old and small breweries have managed to survive there, you`ll find small villages of say 500 people that boast 2 or more breweries. All in all, there are more than 72 breweries in the Fr&auml;nkische Schweiz, making it the place with the highest brewery density in the world. check www.fraenkische-schweiz.de

You used to be able to go on a tour of the Lowenbrau and Hofbrauhaus breweries in Munich. Can you still? Then, there's companies that will take you on a European brewery tour (in other words -- that's all you do!). See, for example, www.brewing.co.nz/tour2002.htm.<BR><BR>