Dan and I love beer. And, wherever we go, I always research local breweries for us to visit. There are two in Heidelberg (that I could find): Brauhaus Vetter and Kulturbrauerei. We tried both on a Saturday afternoon.
Our first stop was Brahaus Vetter – home to the world’s once strongest beer, the Vetter 33. Vetter is on the right side (walking toward the bridge) of the main street connecting the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Alt Brücke. It was pretty easy to find. Vetter has an inside bar and seating area and outdoor tables along the street. There is no beer garden per se. We sat inside as all of the outdoor seats were full. Bummer! Vetter served about 4-5 beers on tap and our waitress explained each to us in detail in English. I ordered a half-liter of the Oktoberfest. It was very good, and tasted like an oktoberfest beer should. Dan ordered the Vetter 33, which is not nearly as strong as its made out to be. The Vetter 33 is served in a snifter type glass and is very dark. Dan liked it, but I did not!
We also ordered a round of snacks at Vetter. Dan ordered the “game” sausage and I ordered the fried cheese with cranberry sauce (so predictable). Both dishes were ok. However, the potato salad served with the sausages was execellent! Our waitress was really nice, and even let us take our water glass to go (they charged for all water) as long as we promised to return it, which we did. If you really want to purchase a glass, Vetter sells a variety of glasswear with their logo. I purchased a half-liter stein to take home. Great souvenir.
After Vetter, we walked about seven minutes toward the castle to Kulturbrauerei. Kulturbrauerei is a little more tucked away; it is located down a side street past the castle and the Red Ox Inn. We found it pretty easily, but were using the GPS on my phone…
Kulterbrauerei is attached to a hotel and has a large outdoor beer garden and a large indoor space. Kultur appeared to be having a wedding reception while we were there, so only a few of the outdoor tables were open to the public. I guess we got lucky that any were open! Like Vetter, Kultur had about 4 beers to choose from, but the waitress was not good at explaining them to us. I ended up trying their “seasonal,” which was simply descirbed as “seasonal” and nothing more. We asked. Several times. It ended up being a marzan. The beer was ok, but I really don’t like marzan style beers. I was hoping for another Oktoberfest!
In the end, we spent a fun afternoon at these two breweries. The beer at Vetter was more my style, but I preferred to drink in the beer garden at Kulturbrauerei. I guess you have to try them both!
In addition to these two breweries, the town if full of pubs and beer gardens serving generic beer, localish beer, cokctails and local wine.
Have you been to Heidelberg? What were your favorite beer spots??
LOGISTICS
Steingasse 9 – Im Schöneck
69117 Heidelberg
Tel: 06221/165850
Leyergasse 6
69117 Heidelberg
Tel.: +49 6221 502980
