Paulaner Keller

Hoch Straße 77
81541 Munich
(089) 4599130; FAX (089) 459913200

Formerly Salvator Keller, Paulaner Keller is now completely rebuilt (photos) after a major fire several years ago and has assumed the name of its most well-known beer brewed at the Paulaner Brewery next door. Splendid in its new digs, it remains the primary meeting, greeting, and reveling place during the Starkbierzeit (the strong beer season) when the Salvator brand takes center stage. Although this annual festival was temporarily moved down the hill to Mariahilfplatz for a couple of years while rebuilding took place, the beer hall is back together again and the strong beer ready to flow. Salvator, the industrial strength double-bock brew, is the beer of choice to help celebrate one final fling before the beginning of Lent around mid-March. At Paulaner Keller the place is usually packed to the rafters, with more than a few hanging therefrom. Salvator has become so identified with stark or "strong" beers that any time you see the "-ator" suffix in the name of a German beer you can bet it's fortified with half again the usual percentage of alcohol. Paulaner Keller is a little more beer hall than beer garden -- even with its new look -- and one of Munich's oldest and most traditional beer-dispensing establishments. It gets 4 potent beers.

Briefly:

Beer: Paulanerbräu

Seating: 3000 Beer Garden; 2450 Restaurant/Ballrooms

Hours: 10 a.m. to 12 midnight

Web Presence: www.nockherberg.com

Rating: 4 Beers