The first stop was Giesinger brewery in Munich, named after the local area it's in.
At first I thought it was a brewpub but it's expanded past that stage.
We were made very welcome and the CPD flowed freely.
Though the brewery was started in a garage at their current site they are now working to capacity of 12,000hl and are planning a new 60,000hl brewery with its own packaging on site. Production is carried out by two shift of workers.
At Giesinger they think that Munich is ready for "classical beer but with more power" (more malt, more hops, more strength). "In Munich you can't just start up and make IPAs, you need to do classical styles. We do both, the best of both worlds."
They use 30 types of malt, 20 types of hop and 10 types of yeast.
Some of the beer is made in open fermenters:
Bocks getting up to 14 days in them before having four weeks in the Conditioning Tank. Craft ales will ferment faster but spend up to eight weeks in CT.
