Whenever a gastronomic baby is successfully born in Munich and has learned to walk, siblings are quickly created – see for example the Türkitch kebab shops or Gans am Wasser/Gans Woanders. The list could be extended indefinitely. The trio of Andreas Dünkel, Lucas Jochem and Luis Seubert, who have been running True Brew in the Dreimühlenviertel for four years, a restaurant that primarily offers craft beers, have also been thinking about a branch for a long time. “We didn’t just want to do True Brew 2.0, so it was clear from the start: we needed a completely different concept,” says Dünkel.
More classic beers, drinkable, with a lot of hops, they have now implemented this concept in the warehouse on Humboldtstrasse, on the border between Au and Untergiesing. A good location with a lot of walk-in customers. The rooms used to house the Wuid, which was decorated entirely in black, but now dark green tiles on the walls and rectangular wooden bar tables characterize the picture.
“We built everything here ourselves,” says Dünkel, pointing to the counter and furniture. The do-it-yourself approach runs through. The beer is home-brewed anyway, a matter of honor. The food is “Bavarian-hearty, but with its own twist,” as Dünkel calls it. Sometimes it also veers into Franconian, for example when bratwursts are served, or a homemade vegan liverwurst comes to the table. As further evidence of good craftsmanship, there are ten huge jars in the transition between the bar and kitchen in which the warehouse team has pickled cucumbers and other vegetables themselves.
The three operators have known each other since childhood. Jochem is a trained chef, Seubert is the master brewer and Dünkel has a business background, “but actually we all do a little bit of everything,” says Dünkel. In the past two years he has traveled a lot to international beer festivals to promote his own craft beers, but then he realized that he had a lot of fun “being present in his own city and beer in the shortest possible way for sale”.
The idea behind the warehouse is a cozy bar where you can also eat something good. They opened at the end of July, so “half a summer,” as Dünkel puts it, is already behind them and has been quite successful. The second baby is standing on its feet and has taken its first steps. It’s not called a warehouse because it used to be used as a storage area, but because of the lager. This describes bottom-fermented beers in which fermentation takes place at low temperatures and which mature in the storage tank for at least six weeks.
Whether smoked beer, pilsner or light beer: the beer is the focus in the warehouse.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger)
Only high tables were intentionally installed in order to maintain the bar atmosphere.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger)
A half costs around five euros, and if you just want to try a new variety, the innkeeper will also give you a slice. A non-alcoholic alternative is also on offer, of course also spritzers, specials, a few wines and spritz. Only long drinks and cocktails are not on the menu.
There are six different draft beers to choose from in the warehouse, drawn from Czech taps, which require a bit of sensitivity but produce wonderfully fine-pored foam. Helles and Pils are always represented, otherwise it rotates through. A spicy smoked beer, a Franconian country beer and a fruity, hoppy beer are currently being served. All beers are served in matching glasses, the Pils in the Tulip, the Helle in the Willibecher, the Franconian in a vessel called Mannheim-Seidel and Czech types of Pils in the so-called Tübinger Kugel – and that’s what you have at the end of a cozy beer evening in the bar even learned something.
WarehouseHumboldtstraße 20, 81543 Munich, opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 5 p.m.