Munich's Starkbierfests 2026

Salvatorausschank am Nockherberg: the original Starkbierfest

The Starkbierfest at Nockherberg is the only strong beer festival known beyond the region. However, most Germans only know Nockherberg from the Salvatorprobe, the TV event two days before the start of the Salvatorausschank. Salvatorprobe, which essentially consists of a Lenten speech and a musical comedy, is a political satire event organized by the Paulaner group and broadcast by Bayerischer Rundfunk, which is regularly one of the most-watched television programs in Bavaria.

The only thing it has in common with the subsequent fest, which most people only know as the strong beer festival, is the unattractive venue. With its beer tent seating for around 3,000 people and another 3,000 in the beer garden, the original strong beer festival is the most similar to an Oktoberfest tent among the Munich starkbierfests. Until now, there has at least been some brass music, but that could come to an end in 2026, as the party band Südherz, known from the Schottenhamel Festhalle, is performing for the first time.

Unfortunately, every single seat in the festival hall itself can be reserved, and even for the beer garden, you have to pay the entrance fee. Due to the increased crowds in recent years, a visit without a reservation is hardly recommended, except on Sunday to Tuesday. On Monday and Tuesday, the hall will be open in a smaller form.

It's nice that Salvator is served in traditional stone mugs. However, this is unfortunately used to hide the well-known underpouring, for which Nockherberg has been famous for decades.

All in all, anyone curious about strong beer should check out the Salvatorausschank at least once. Despite its long and significant history, however, the event unfortunately has surprisingly little character of its own. The fact that it is held in a contemporary multi-purpose hall and that the rear part of the tables is on a grandstand does the rest.

Starkbierfest at Löwenbräukeller

Many moons ago, when Löwenbräu still lived up to its name and actually functioned as a real brewery, Stiglmaierplatz was once a serious competitor to Nockherberg. Munich's largest brewery at the time refused to accept that Paulaner alone was receiving generous media attention with its broadcast Salvatorprobe.

So the brewery began inviting celebrities, business partners, and politicians to its Triumphatorprobe on a much larger scale. At its zenith in 1981, with the prime minister in the audience and comedian Gerhard Polt, celebrated for his performance as a beer coachman, on stage, the press even perceived it as more prestigious than the Salvatorprobe. But the following year, Polt and the CSU fell out, and brewery heir August von Finck turned off the money tap, heralding the decline of the brewery.

There was another strong beer tapping as a cabaret event later on, most recently with Christian Springer as the speaker, but it was cancelled after the change of Löwenbräukeller's ownership from Schottenhamel to Reinbold in 2019 and was not revived later. What remains is the strong beer festival, which the author of these lines actually described at the time as the best in Munich, thanks to the atmospheric sound provided by Walter Bankhammer's Niederalmer, who played significantly more brass music there than what you were used to from Schützenzelt, as well as the use of chairs instead of beer benches.

After another change of the fest's management, chars were replaced with beer benches in the otherwise actually beautiful ballroom, and the proper brass band has been replaced with a party band. Curiously, there is no strong beer at all when the hall opens at 6 p.m., but only after the daily ceremonial tapping at 7 p.m.

As at Nockherberg, all seats are theoretically reserved at the Löwenbräukeller. Due to the lower demand and the outrageous reservation conditions, which require the purchase of an impractical menu, seats usually remain free, making a spontaneous visit more worthwhile than at its big brother in the Au. There is also a bar integrated in the hall.

Starkbierfest at Augustinerkeller

The fact that Augustiner only introduced the Maximator brand during the economic miracle years should not obscure the fact that the brewery actually wanted to get involved in the strong beer market very early on. In 1835, just six years after taking over the brewery, Anton Wagner sold the first “Augustiner-Doppelbier” (Augustiner double beer), thereby antagonizing both the authorities and Salvator brewer Zacherl, who insisted on his strong beer monopoly.

However, a strong beer festival at Augustinerkeller has only actually existed since the 1950s. Contrary to the brewery's profile, it is unfortunately not held in a particularly traditional manner, even though the venue would provide the perfect atmosphere. The Augustinerkeller's house band, Harthauser Musi, plays in the lager cellar on all days of the event. On the weekends, various party bands play additionally in the ballroom, which is, as usual, extremely tightly seated. Most of them are well known, but there have also been some downward deviations in quality in the past.

In general, it is to be expected that the strong beer festival will be “sold out” for all evenings. A ticket must be purchased per person. Tables are only assigned on site. However, experience has shown that there are still seats available later in the evening, which can also be occupied by spontaneous visitors. The relatively expensive admission price is offset by the fact that the menu for the strong beer festival evenings remains unchanged, and therefore normal beer and food prices apply.

Even though named after the Munich district in the southeast, the Giesinger Starkbierfest takes place in the middle of nowhere in an industrial park in Milbertshofen, in the North of Munich. This is where the brewery moved Plant 2, its main production facility, in 2020. Despite the less-than-ideal location, which the brewery even has to solve with a special bus from Frankfurter Ring, Munich's newest strong beer festival was an instant hit at its premiere in 2025 and will return in 2026 with even more dates.

The barn, which is set up in the brewery courtyard, can accommodate 1,200 people and is furnished with beer benches and solid wooden benches in the side aisles. Although party bands dominate the scene in Milbertshofen, other organizers may want to take note that there will also be brass band music on Sundays in 2026. However, the tent is only open until 4 p.m. on Sundays. On Saturdays, Wex'l Partie plays until 2 p.m. before the party band takes over.

In general, the brewery advises against visiting without a reservation – simply because there is no alternative in the area if you can't find a seat. However, the new Sunday afternoons are now also being explicitly advertised for spontaneous visitors. Otherwise, reservations in the central nave are straightforward: in addition to the fees, only a €15 voucher per person must be purchased. The situation is much less appealing in the side aisles, where an impractical menu must be pre-ordered instead of being able to order à la carte.

Starkbierfest at Hofbräukeller

The fact that Lent beer plays only a minor role at Hofbräu is due to the fact that the brewery would not exist without strong beer – but this refers to Maibock, which had long been established in Munich when Schmedererbräu, which is now Paulaner, began to push its Salvator to the forefront and gradually relegate Maibock to the background in the 19th century.

Although the state brewery continues to hold a prestigious Maibock tapping ceremony at the Hofbräuhaus, which, under the patronage of the Minister of Finance and in the presence of key members of the Bavarian political elite, is the only political cabaret event that can hold a candle to the Salvator tasting, unfortunately, the once popular Maibock fest has now fallen into oblivion for the general public.

When strong beer was in greater demand than ever during the economic miracle years, the brewery also introduced competition within its own ranks with the Delicator. However, the beer disappeared again in the 1990s – but only from Munich menus. The beer continued to be brewed and exported. Fortunately, the particularly strong dark Doppelbock returned to its homeland in 2024. However, there is still no big strong beer festival. Celebrations are limited to two evenings in the rather modest ballroom of the Hofbäukeller, with the usual party band providing the music.

A real strong beer sale in the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is still on our wish list. But this is not even suitable for tasting the Maibock, let alone the Delicator. Both are usually only available on the seasonal menu for a short time. In general, the brewery's actual flagship product presents a sorry picture these days. For strong beer tasting, we therefore recommend the Hofbräukeller, even outside the two festival days.

Starkbierfestl at Hirschgarten

Hirschgarten landlord Thomas Fesenmair has actually managed to improve an already well-known beer garden and further enhance its profile as a traditional, perhaps the most traditional Munich beer garden. The familiar practice of fetching your own beer mug and bringing it to the barkeeper, which is otherwise unknown in Munich, has now been supplemented by significantly more musical entertainment, not least in the form of events. Of course, a strong beer festival is a must.

Unlike the beer garden, which is considered the largest in the world, the tavern suffers from a lack of a large banquet hall. While the tavern music plays most of the time in the rather small Schwemm, two rooms, the Stadl and the Herzogstubn, are combined to form a hall for about 300 visitors for paid events. A unique feature of the Hirschgarten is that it mainly plays Bavarian music. We would also like to praise the Maximator beer served from wooden barrels.

The relatively high admission price, which is understandable given the lack of space, is offset somewhat by the reasonably priced menu and beer.

Other Strong Beer Events

Haderner Bräu is hosting a bock beer tapping on March 13. You can only attend with a ticket costing €54.50. In return for this unusual concept, you get live music, a half-litre of bock beer, a buffet, and a tour of the brewery.

Although not actually in Munich, the Reutberger Josefifest is still worth mentioning. After all, even in Munich there is only one festival that offers more consecutive opening days. In 2026, the traditional festival of the Reutberg Cooperative Brewery will take place from March 13 to 22 in Sachenkam between Holzkirchen and Bad Tölz. The program has yet to be published. However, it is certain that Monday will be a day of rest and Wednesday will be reserved for cooperative members.

The Perlach Research Brewery, which has been home to Hopfenhäcker since 2021, has in recent years enriched a few evenings during Lent with a little tavern music, somewhat pompously advertised as a strong beer festival. Due to the change of landlord, this has to be cancelled this year. We would like to mention that, despite its name, the Valentinator served there is not a typical Munich Lenten beer, but an imperial stout.

We also have no information about Donisl. In the past, some evenings were referred to as strong beer festivals and an entrance fee was charged, which did not cause much enthusiasm among us. So far, there has been no public announcement, and our inquiry has remained unanswered.