Löwenbräu

Löwenbräu — "lion's brew" — is one of Munich's six Oktoberfest breweries and was once among Germany's largest and most widely exported beer makers, its lion logo recognized on taps around the world. Today it is a Munich heritage brand within AB InBev, still brewed for the city that made it.

The brand has long dated itself to 1383, but the year rests on shaky ground: a researcher inferred it from old tax books in 1922, and in 1982 Munich's city archive concluded that the first brewer at the Löwengrube site, one Jörg Schnaitter, appears in the records only in 1524. Treat 1383 as tradition rather than documentation — either way, the lion has centuries of Munich brewing behind it.

Löwenbräu grew rapidly in the nineteenth century into one of Germany's biggest breweries and a pioneering exporter. In 1997 it merged with its neighbour and old rival Spaten, and in 2003 the group was sold to Interbrew, now AB InBev. The beer still pours at Oktoberfest and at the Löwenbräukeller on Stiglmaierplatz.

Löwenbräu Original is an easy-going Munich helles: lightly sweet grain malt, a whisper of herbal hops, smooth carbonation and a clean, dry close.