Munich
Munich Airport is the only major airport on earth with its own working brewery. Airbräu, located between Terminals 1 and 2 in the public-side München Airport Center, brews three beers on-site to the German Reinheitsgebot purity law: Fliegerquell (the helles), Kumulus (the wheat beer), and Mayrbräu (the seasonal). The brewery includes a beer garden in summer (yes, an actual outdoor beer garden inside an airport) and serves proper Bavarian food including weisswurst and brezn. The drink is brewed by airport staff, on airport land, and consumed by airport travellers — a closed economic loop nobody else has replicated.
Altstadt · $$
Andechser am Dom draws a steady local crowd in Altstadt. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Altstadt · $$$$
Atelier Restaurant Bar draws a steady local crowd in Altstadt. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Altstadt · $$
Augustiner-Grossgaststatten draws a steady local crowd in Altstadt. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Maxvorstadt · $$
Augustiner-Keller draws a steady local crowd in Maxvorstadt. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
The cheat code at MUC is the Hilton Munich Airport, connected to Terminals 1 and 2 by a covered walkway with the brewery on the way through. The Hilton's Mövenpick restaurant runs a serious wine list at non-airport prices. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, the S-Bahn S8 to Munich Hauptbahnhof takes 38 minutes; the Tom's Bar at the Bayerischer Hof is fifteen minutes' walk from Hauptbahnhof and one of Germany's quietly excellent cocktail rooms.
Plays for Munich Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
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Looking beyond Munich? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.