Hacker-Pschorr

Hacker-Pschorr is one of Munich's six Oktoberfest breweries, formed by the 1972 reunion of two houses — Hacker and Pschorr — that had spent more than a century apart. The Hacker side is ancient: it dates to 1417, a full century before Bavaria's beer purity law of 1516, and the brand still trades on that pedigree with its tagline promising "Bavarian heaven."

The Pschorr side begins with Joseph Pschorr (1770–1841), who married into the Hacker family, bought the brewery from his father-in-law Peter-Paul Hacker, and then founded a second brewery under his own name. After his death his sons took one house each, and Hacker and Pschorr ran as separate Munich breweries until the families' beers were brought back together in 1972.

Today Hacker-Pschorr belongs to the Paulaner Brewery Group and is brewed in Munich alongside its sister brand. It keeps a high profile at the Wiesn each autumn, and its beers hold to the old Munich profiles — malt-forward, rounded and unhurried rather than aggressively hopped.

Classic malt-forward Munich lager character: deep gold, rich bready sweetness with a light toast, soft floral hops and a full, smooth finish.