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Who hasn't found and fallen in love with Austrian beer gardens with their shady chestnut trees, crunching gravel and rustic tables, where a nice, cool draft beer is served in a glass or stone mug? Whether young or old - summer is the season that Salzburg residents and their guests enjoy the beverage with a tradition that is over 3000 years old. Salzburg's beer gardens are almost as well-known as its churches and are a very popular retreat on warm summer evenings. During the Middle Ages the majority of the beer produced had to be turned over free of charge to the ruling Roman Catholic prince and his court. The beer that did not land on the archiepiscopal table was sold to the public for a high price.
Salzburg's beer gardens are distinguished by conviviality and enjoyment in a unique ambiance. Probably the most famous beer garden is not far from the city's landmark, Hohensalzburg Fortress: the StieglKeller, serving its own Stiegl beer produced by of Austria's biggest private breweries, is only open during the summer and offers a wonderful view over the rooftops of the city. Those looking for more information on hopped beer can learn everything there is to know about beer at Europe's largest beer exhibition, "Stiegl-Brauwelt".
A popular meeting place and an absolute must for Salzburg visitors is the garden run by the Augustiner Bräu monastery in Mülln, fondly called the "Bräustübl" by the locals. A tour of the brewery reveals many interesting facts about the proverbs and paintings on the walls at the Augustiner Bräu, which still brews beer in the traditional way.
In addition to these two breweries on the left bank of the Salzach River, Salzburg also offers another special tip for beer connoisseurs: if you walk to the end of the pedestrian zone on the right bank of the Salzach, you will find the White Beer Brewery ("Weissbierbrauerei"). After spending four days in a fermenting vat, the "Hefeweissbier" is filled into bottles, where the yeast lets it age for two weeks. Brewed according to an old Bavarian recipe, the "white" beer tastes best on a warm summer evening soaking up the "Gemütlichkeit" in the brewery garden.
Sternbräu, Raschhofer's Rossbräu, Eder's Bierheuriger and the Steinlechner are only a few of the countless beer gardens that let you kick back and enjoy the summer in Salzburg.
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