Germany, Stuttgart: 4 beer hotspots

Good beer bars and a beer shop with a wide range of craft beers

Cologne, Düsseldorf, Munich. All beautiful German cities that have their own unique beer culture. Stuttgart? Well, not really anything comes to mind when you think of Stuttgart and beer. If anything Stuttgart is known for the local football team and cars, it being the headquarters of both Mercedes and Porsche. 

Yet it still is a German city so the chances of it having decent beer spots is big. On my way to Salzburg I visited some friends and decided to spend the day visiting some of these beer spots. You can still have a fine day drinking some excellent beers accompanied by great food in Stuttgart. So here are four enjoyable beer places I visited in September.

Sophie’s Brauhaus

It takes some searching but just outside of downtown and up some stairs you will find Sophie’s Brauhaus. I was here around lunchtime but only a few people were sitting inside. Some elderly people in one corner, some businessmen in another enjoying a lunch with small glasses of beer. The room was otherwise quite empty. After sitting down, the first thing you get is a bowl of soup on the house. A good tasty asparagus soup in my case.

The beers are the regular German ones, with a Pale Ale thrown in. All fine and available in small 20cl glasses so you can taste more than just one. I went for the Schwarz and Weizen and both were decent. The food was good. Your regular German restaurant fair of breaded pieces of meat and salad but at a very reasonable price. A lunch plate and two small beers set me back just 15 euros.

The breweryset is in the room and someone was hard at work polishing the copper kettles. It seemed a job that took all day. There is nothing better than a copper brewing installation in wooden surroundings. At least you know the beer you drink is made on the premises. 

Carl’s Brauhaus

After walking around the parks and looking at the castles in Stuttgart I went for some afternoon beers to a local joint on the central square in front of the Neues Schloss (New Castle) called Carl’s Brauhaus. 

All the beers on tap here are brewed by a large local brewery named Dinkelacker. A family brewery that has been brewing beer since 1888. This large and nice restaurant has only been here since 2014 but it seems the locals are enjoying it. The beers are what you expect, good German style beers like a Keller and a Pilsner. Not earthshattering but always decent.

A while ago Dinkelacker bought a local weizen brewery called Sanwald. This is a good addition to the lineup. I didn’t have any food here but glancing at the other tables that all looked fine. The staff was also very attentive, best I have experienced this day and most spoke English.

Brauhaus Schönbuch

Dinner with friends was at Brauhaus Schönbuch. It is a modern looking place with a huge inside that looks like the famous German beer halls you know and love. The entire building is located on a sort of courtyard along a road not a lot of cars travel on, so you have the feeling you are all sharing the space with the other people visiting Schönbuch. Even though a big copper kettle is at the entrance, beers are not brewed here but somewhere outside of the city.

There is a lot of food you can get here, including the Stuttgarter specialties of cheese noodles (Käsespätzle) and Schwabian ravioli called Maultaschen. There really is something for everyone.

The beer from this brewery is fine too and there are many different kinds too. They also experiment a little as I had a hoppy lager that was clearly brewed with Citra for example. Is there a downside to this place? I moved from inside to outside and that threw a spanner in the works for them. My meal also came after my tablemates were already done with theirs. But when you are having fun and drinking good beer who really cares? Definitely worth another visit, but I hope it will be less chaotic. 

Bierothek Beer Shop

The next day I woke up refreshed. A benefit of German beer is that it doesn’t hit you as hard as stouts or tripels. Before taking the train to Salzburg I went to a small beer shop in a mall, also on the castle square. The shop is called Bierothek and is part of a chain of above average beer stores all over Germany. I was happy to see beers from Dutch breweries De Molen and Frontaal there, plus a lot more great ones. I had to look at the local ones.

I can't say Stuttgart is a real beer city. A Dutch city like Utrecht for example is half the size but has more breweries within its borders. But I could find a decent number of German style beers from local breweries like Kraftpäule and Rossknecht. The staff knows exactly what they are selling and can explain it to you in English. For locals a great source of other beer styles like IPA’s and sours, for me a good source of beers from local breweries and German styles. The only real beer store in Stuttgart but one I would be happy to visit often if I lived here.

So in conclusion. Is Stuttgart worth a visit for the beer alone? Probably not. But it is an interesting historic city well worth two days of your life to visit. It is nicely located between the hills and offers interesting places to go to. And if you are here, the beer places I mentioned are fine places to spend a few hours.

Author: Martijn Buisman | Picture credits: Martijn Buisman, except banner picture by Christian Gebhardt (CC BY-SA 4.0.)