Food & Beer Culture

In spring, something appears in the Hallertau that's rare elsewhere: hop shoots. These are the young sprouts of the hop plant, harvested by farmers in spring before the vines grow tall. They're eaten much like asparagus, with butter, in soups or on slices of bread.

A Helles pairs well with hop shoots and a light snack. With its mild bitterness, it supports the delicate flavors instead of overpowering them. A Pils, with its bitterness cutting through the fat, suits a hearty pork roast with crackling and dumplings.

The classic Bavarian snack plate belongs here too: Obazda, radish, Leberkäse and pretzels. The radish tastes sharp, the Obazda creamy, and both pair well with a beer that has some bitterness. Ask around at harvest time, and you'll often hear about the hop picking in late summer.

Part of the beer culture are the beer gardens of the Hallertau, some of which are said to be among the most beautiful in Bavaria. People sit there in the shade, often bringing their own snacks, and drink Helles from a Halbe, the half-liter, or a Maß, the full liter.

In late summer, the villages revolve around the harvest. Farms invite visitors to help pick, there are festivals and tours, and the German Hop Museum in Wolnzach shows at this time how hop pickers once worked.

Anyone attending a festival should know: the Maß holds a full liter and carries real weight. Hop-based beer is still alcohol, and anyone out and about should order water in between. In many beer gardens, that's taken for granted.