We only had couple of days in Bremen so we were keen to experience the main sites and taste the local delicacy – the widely exported Beck’s beer. We were able to not only get it in every bar, but we got to go on a guided tour of the very brewery/factory where it is made.
I’ve been on a couple of brewery and distillery tours but the Brauerei Beck’s Experience seemed to be one the best value for money in terms of overall experience and amount of *free* tasting beers at the end of the tour.
Beck’s Brewery was opened in 1837 and located in the North of Germany in Bremen. The Beck’s beer brand is owned by the Ab InBev corporation (Anheuser-Busch InBev).
It was a hot bank holiday weekend so we walked along the banks of the river Weser to get to the brewery. As we strolled along the river side, we stopped to gander at the market stalls dotted across the Schlachte, picking up ice creams, popcorn and french fries drowned in that famous European mayo/curry sauce combo.
It didn’t take long to get to the brewery, maybe a 20 minute walk from the main square and the Schnoor. And if you stop at the stalls it feels even shorter.
The factory was smaller than I expected. Don’t get me wrong, it’s big but just not as big as I thought considering how big a name Beck’s beer is.
You’re asked to check-in early so when we arrived we were given hi-vis vests and asked to wait at reception for our tour to start. They have a giant map of the world spread across the floor so that kept me occupied during the wait. (Planning my next adventure?!)
Our tour guide picked us up at reception and ushered us along to a very modern comfortable cinema room to watch a short video on how the Beck’s beer brand was founded, got it’s name and how it has always valued quality by brewing in accordance with Reinheitsgebot – the German purity law of 1516. The guide was really keen on making it as interactive as possible, leaving some questions up to us, the audience, to answer.
The tour was also quite informative of the entire beer-making process. We were taught about the ingredients involved, the entire fermenting process and even given a walk around of the outside systems and different buildings used in beer-making.
I must admit one of the perks of the factory and museum tour was the tasting session at the end. The Beck’s beer crew were very generous sharing their bier with their guests. There were a few other tours winding down as we went into grab a seat in the tasting room but it didn’t seem overcrowded. It was also hosting two stag do’s (one of which was on my tour) but everyone was very civilised and respectful.
At the tasting, we were given nibbles as we started off with a competition to guess what beer we had based from what we had learned from our tour. (I got 100% wrong haha). The next round was tasting from bottles and for the third round of tasting, we got to choose a pint of our choice.
For 13 Euros, not a bad deal!
Overall, we had a brilliant day out learning and sampling the Beck’s beer. I’d highly recommend the tour if you’re looking for a fun, educational and tasty afternoon out within this beautiful maritime city.
You can find more information and availability times here.
