There are supposed to be guests who come in and don’t even see her. Others walk past her as if they knew the sight from any inn. For real? This striking device with the many hand wheels, displays and the two thick, meter-high metal cylinders?
What maybe not everyone knows: If you want to drink a beer in the craft beer pub BrewsLi at Taubenstraße 2 in Giesing, you have to go through one of the smallest brewhouses in the brewing city of Munich. The silvery machine blocking an entire window next to the entrance is the brewing equipment. Together with the four shiny beer tanks next to the bar, it serves as an eye-catcher. It’s worth a visit to BrewsLi just for that, but of course also for what comes out of it: beer.
Benjamin Saller, owner of BrewsLi.
(Photo: Johannes Simon/Johannes Simon)
Because owner Benjamin Saller brews it himself on the spot. All the technology is stored in the basement, says the 36-year-old: “What looks good is on top.” A drawing on the wall explains how everything is connected. Laypeople understand one thing above all: the beer flows over short distances here. Saller keeps changing the varieties, changing the brewing style, trying things out. “I can decide freely.”
The only constant is the light, half a liter costs 4.80 euros. A reasonable price for a home-made, freshly tapped beer in Munich. But who would take a silly light beer when there is so much special on the menu? Bourbon-aged Black Pearl Barrel Aged Stout, tart Three Hole Galaxy pale ale, or fruity Juicy Idaho that’s said to be “hazy” and “slightly grassy.” You pay between five and eight euros for half a liter. If you can’t make up your mind, the best thing to do is try the “tasting deck”: up to six 0.1-liter glasses of your choice (9.50 euros, four glasses cost 7.50 euros and five glasses 8.50 euros).
Hipster tavern atmosphere: Next to the brewery, comfortable sofas and armchairs invite you to linger.
(Photo: Florian Peljak/Florian Peljak)
Inside there is a tavern atmosphere, dominated by lots of wood and high ceilings, next to benches, comfortable sofas and armchairs, a large bar, the walls clad in dark green. It still looks a bit hipster-like, but that’s what craft beer brings with it.
The guests tend to be young, in their early or mid-30s, but basically a mixed bag. Dates are flirting at the bar, two young women are laughing at the corner table, a group of guys – better: bros – are sportingly drinking their way through the menu, a gray-haired man is drinking his beer alone on the armchair. Four young men, blue hair, mustaches and black clothes, are sitting a few tables away, eating doner kebabs that they had brought with them. You see hoodies, t-shirts, plaid shirts, no suits or evening dresses. Music blares from small loudspeakers, but the noisy room almost swallows it all up. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of table talk, as is so often the case in pubs. But BrewsLi has an outdoor area for that.
It’s noisy inside, but BrewsLi guests can go outside for private conversations.
(Photo: Florian Peljak/Florian Peljak)
If you want to watch the beer being brewed, you can do so from outside on Mondays, that’s brewing day. Then everything goes crazy and the qualified master brewer Saller puts the beer wort on. A double brew like this takes twelve to 14 hours of work, he says. He offers brewing courses every Sunday: “Anyone who wants to participate, join in. Those who participate less drink more.”
Saller founded the “BrewsLi” brand back in 2018 and then mainly served it at beer fairs. You have to forgive him the play on words with the Chinese martial arts legend Bruce Lee in his name: his mother is from China. Just in time for the second Corona lockdown in November 2020, he opened the pub on Taubenstraße, where the Österia restaurant used to be. With a brewhouse that, according to Saller, is actually almost too small for commercial purposes. “It pays off if you want it and have to,” he says. Incidentally, he only supplies his unique beers to one comrade-in-arms: The Higgins Ale Works on Karlstrasse operates an even tinier brewhouse than he does.
BrewsLiTaubenstraße 2, 81541 Munich, email: [email protected], opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday 5 p.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Sunday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.