HB Tegernsee: Lakeside Brewery with an Alpine View
~A Day Trip from Munich~
One of the (many) things I love about beer travel in Bavaria is this: I had just spent the morning hiking around Benediktbeuren and quenching my thirst in the shadow of its magnificent monastery when it occurred to me that I could spend the afternoon in Tegernsee and be back in Munich in time for a nightcap.
Snow-capped mountains rose up in the distance as the train topped the ridge leading out of Schaftlach on the Munich line, framing the pristine lake of Tegernsee ringed by hills and towns. After a quick stop in Gmund, a picturesque village with a panoramic view of the villages dotting the lake, the train continued to its terminus in Tegernsee-Ort. An afternoon beer was near at hand.
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HB Tegernsee
Founded in 746 at the foot of a Benedictine monastery, the town of Tegernsee with its Alpine chalets and lakeside promenade is a popular weekend retreat for the citizens of Munich. It’s also home to the Herzoglich Bayrisches Brauhaus Tegernsee (HB Tegernsee for short), housed in a wing of the town’s monastery that fell into Wittelsbach hands in the wake of the Napoleonic era. The ducal brewery is one of a handful of breweries in Bavaria still owned by Bavarian nobility. (The current owner, Maria Anna, is Duchess in, not of, Bavaria.)
*Historical footnote: It was a group of Benedictine monks from Tegernsee who brought their skill and expertise to Kloster Andechs in 1455.
If the size of the imposing chateau that houses the brewery isn’t enough to tip you off that you’ve found good beer, the lively umbrella-shaded terrace fronting HB Tegernsee’s Bräustüberl will. The terrace affords superb views of the lake and mountains, and the Bräustüberl with its white walls and vaulted ceilings is a classic Bavarian beer hall.
HB Tegernsee: Beer and Food
Then there’s the beer. The highly regarded Tegernseer Spezial is a richly textured and elegantly hopped export-strength beer that’d give Augustiner Edelstoff a run for its money. Freshly baked country bread mingles with meadows in bloom, providing the ballast for lightly herbal-citrus hops. Tegernsee’s Export Dunkel is of a piece with the dark beers of Munich and Upper Bavaria: satisfyingly malty with dark toast and chocolate roast notes, but not quite as lush as the dark beers of Franconia.
Food here is classic Bavarian with a local touch: the smoked trout with creamed horseradish comes from the chateau’s own smokehouse, and is a good option if you want a taste of Bavaria’s Alpine lakes and streams.
A Beer with a View
When you’re done exploring the lakeside around HB Tegernsee, take a short walk east out of town up a road that follows the cascading Alpbach creek to the Gasthaus Schiessstätte, a Wirtshaus perched high above Tegernsee with an exhilarating view of the lake from its terrace. (The road is also part of a regional hiking route to the Riederstein and Baumgartenschneid if you want to keep going).
The reward more than makes up for your effort: a magnificent tableau of mountains and the lake below glistening in the sun. Cap your efforts with a stellar Hopf Hefeweizen, a lemon-yellow glass of sunshine from the Weissbierbrauerei Hopf in nearby Miesbach. Cloves and allspice take center stage in this beer with the richness of cream of wheat, while banana custard and a twist of citrus lend depth and crispness.
So there you go: Another Bavarian bucket list idea for that beer trip to Germany you’ve been putting off these past few years. Prost, everyone!
Related Posts
Kloster Reutberg: Magnificent Alpine Views and Beers Worth the Hike
Traunstein: Beer in the Foothills of the Bavarian Alps
Kloster Andechs: And Blessed Be Thy Beer
The Art of the Beer Garden Food Feast
Munich’s Beer Gardens East and West of the Isar
Images by F.D. Hofer
© 2022 Franz D. Hofer and A Tempest in a Tankard. All rights reserved.
Hi Franz, I’ve really enjoyed this article about Tegernsee, but sadly it reminds me that it is now eight years since my last visit. There’s something special about that ride out from Munich, on the BOB train, and then walking down through the town, past all those attractive Alpine-stye houses, and then turning the corner at the bottom of the hill towards the brewery.
It’s even better when the sun is shining, which it wasn’t back in 2014, but despite the rain, my son and I sat out, under those large umbrellas, looking over the lake whilst enjoying a few Tegernsee beers.
I must get back there, and also to Munich itself, so thanks for stirring the memories!
Hi Paul,
Somehow your comment didn’t show up right away. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed reading my Tegernsee post! Your memories certainly evoke the spirit of the town and the journey to get there. Sounds like you need to get back soon. Prost!
A spur-of-the-moment decision took me there too. While drinking Tegernseer at the bar opposite the Schneider tap on Tal, and finding it badly poured and fizzy, it occurred to us that we could easily hop on a train and drink it on its home turf instead, a decision we did not regret. Personally I think Tegernseer is better than Augustiner.
I had a similarly unmemorable experience at the Tegernseer Tal. As for which of Tegernseer or Augustiner is better, for me it depends on the day of the week or the atmosphere. Sometimes a lakeside beer with a view of the Alps hits the spot, other times a Maß of Augustiner Edelstoff at the Augustiner-Keller is the perfect way to cool off on a sunny day.