The most famous beer snacks in the world are nuts, chips, burgers or grilled meat. But the Germans strongly disagree with such a limited choice of food.
National dishes are traditionally served here with foam : tasty, juicy and filling. Therefore, when going on a culinary journey around the country, it is worth finding out how they drink beer in Germany and what is customary to order with it.
Bretzel/ Brezn/ Breze/ Brezel
A pretzel, or pretzel, is a delicious combination of soft, savory baked goods and coarse grains of salt. Drinking cold light beer with such a snack is a pleasure.
Observing what Germans drink beer with, one cannot help but notice that preference is given to pretzels with ham and cheese. Another popular addition is obatsda, a Bavarian paste made from camembert, butter and spices .
Pretzels for beer are sold everywhere in Germany: in street markets and in cafes. The establishment with the characteristic name BrezelBar in Berlin serves more than 50 types of pretzels at prices ranging from 0.65 € to 2.5 €.
Sauerkraut
Almost all beer snacks in Germany are additionally served with sauerkraut. As a rule, it is added as a side dish to meat dishes and is included in their price.
Sauerkraut has a characteristic pungent odor and taste. And although it has been mentioned in German cookbooks since 1600, the “innovation” does not belong to Germany. The vegetable was first fermented in China 2 thousand years ago.
At one of the Berlin restaurants , Sauerkraut, sauerkraut is added to soups and salads, and is also offered with sausages, sausages, ribs and pork knuckle. You can wash down a hearty lunch with light draft beer.
Weisswurst
The famous German white beer sausages are prepared from minced veal and bacon with the addition of parsley, lemon, onion, ginger and cardamom and boiled in a natural casing. Surprisingly, even after heat treatment they remain perfectly white.
Weisswurst in Germany is usually eaten without a fork or knife. You just need to bite the tip of the sausage and use your teeth to pull the filling out of the casing.
German dishes such as pretzel and sauerkraut are traditionally served with beer along with sausages. Instead of ketchup, sweet mustard is usually offered. But in Bavaria, known for its love of beer, Germans even eat white sausages for breakfast .
Weisswurst is an indispensable attribute of the world famous autumn festival Oktoberfest. Outside of the holiday, you can try sausages, for example, in the oldest restaurant in Munich , Bratwurstherzl. The cost of weisswurst is 2-3 €.
Bratwurst
These German beer sausages are made from coarsely ground pork, seasoned with marjoram, salt, pepper, ginger, cardamom and lemon powder. The length of bratwurst does not exceed 7-9 cm, and the thickness is 3 cm. They are cooked over coals.
A half-liter glass of German beer is usually served with at least four sausages. Traditionally, the package also includes such well-known German beer snacks as sauerkraut and pretzel without additives.
It is believed that Bratwurst originated from Nuremberg. Local institution Bratwurst Röeslein has been serving its namesake sausages since 1431! The owners are proud that the establishment is considered the largest sausage restaurant in the world. About 600 guests can be in the room at the same time. A plate with two bratwurst, potato salad, horseradish and hot bread from the oven will cost 14 €.
In restaurants, 6 sausages with a side dish can be ordered for about 7-8 €. And in markets and street stalls their cost is even lower.
Flammkuchen
This popular German beer dish is also a fairly common street fast food in the country. Essentially, the food is a variation on Italian pizza. The thin dough is generously sprinkled with pieces of bacon and onion, and then baked with a creamy sauce. The appetizer is also prepared with many other fillings: hard cheeses , salmon and even fruits.
Germans especially love to drink beer with Flammkuchen at Oktoberfest. This popular snack is also available in many beer halls in Berlin and other cities. Its cost is between 8-14 €.
Ribs (Rippchen)
When listing everything that is eaten in Germany with beer, one cannot fail to mention the famous ribs. For a long time, the sternum was considered one of the most “useless” parts of the carcass, and was used only for making broths. But in the 50s of the last century, one of the German butchers found an old recipe for cooking ribs over “slow” heat. Since then, not only Germans, but also beer fans in other countries have been drinking beer with this simple dish.
In Germany, there is an unspoken tradition of ordering ribs not by the portion, but by the “meter.”
The Berlin restaurant Ribs and more serves ribs with three types of sauce: honey mustard, spicy and classic. Depending on the serving size, the cost of the dish will be 16-21 €. There is also a special offer: for 25 € the client will be brought as many ribs as he can eat without leaving the table !
Schweinshaxen (Schweinshaxn/ Schweinehaxe)
Pork knuckle can be classified as a complete meat dish. It takes 5-6 hours to prepare it. However, at Oktoberfest in 2017, they managed to prepare and sell almost 70 thousand portions in 16 days!
Schweinschachse definitely excludes the possibility of drinking beer on the go. The top of the pork leg is served on a wooden board with plenty of sauerkraut. Usually Germans eat knuckle with a knife and fork, but at large festivals where beer flows like a river, they forget about the rules of etiquette. After most of the meat has been “defeated,” you can safely pick up the bone and eat the rest without hesitation.
The average price of Schweinschachse with a side dish in German restaurants is 13-18 €. For example, in the famous Munich beer hall Paulaner Nockherberg, pork knuckle with dumplings and sauce costs 15 €.