Vienna, Austria & Bratislava, Slovakia

Although Vienna, is in Western Europe and Bratislava is in Eastern Europe, they are paired together on this Web page as they are geographically very close. They are both cities on the River Danube, and one is quickly reached from the other by Hydrofoil, see below. Therefore, these notes on the two cities appear together, first those on Vienna and then those on Bratislava, below.

Vienna

These notes on Vienna will be expanded to include some tourist information, restaurants with a beer interest, and more of Vienna's excellent wine establishments: Heurigen. In these one can drink wines of all ages, but it is common practice to drink a cloudy, very young wine which is still fermenting, and which throws a large yeast sediment: Real Wine. It is called Sturm, which is the normal German word for Storm. All the guidebooks state that it gives one a massive hangover, but this was not the case on the recce. It is a drink that most beer lovers should like. See below for a report on a truly excellent Heurige that was visited.

There is one large traditional brewery in Vienna, Ottakringer (www.ottakringer.at), in the Ottakring district of the city. However, the most famous "Viennese" brewery is in Schwechat (where Vienna's airport is also to be found). Schwechat is just outside the Vienna boundary, in the State of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria). This state surrounds the City of Vienna, which is a separate State in its own right, ten states in total making up Austria (Österreich). The Schwechater Brewery (www.schwechater.at) was home to the famous brewer Anton Dreher in the 19th Century. In around 1841, he created the famous Vienna Red style of beer, and set up breweries in other parts of the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire, including: Michelob, in Bohemia, in The Czech Republic (Česká republika); Köbányai (Now Dreher) in Budapest (click on the city's name just past for information on a White Beer Travels recce visit to this brewery); and one in Trieste, the latter still having the Dreher name, although it is now owned by Heineken. Schwechater is well worth a visit: full of shining copper, etc. It is housed within former imperial hunting grounds, where a hunting lodge still stands, which is said to have been used for extramarital activities by Maria-Theresa, mother of French revolution guillotine victim Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793), and fifteen other children, all officially by her husband Francis II, (1708-1765), the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor. The hunting lodge is today included in brewery visits.

Beers from Schwechater, Ottakringer and Gösser (www.goesser.at) are very common in Vienna; there is even a bar called the Gösser Bierklinik (Beer Clinic) (Zum Güldenen Drachen), Steindlgasse 4, 1010 Wien, www.goesser-bierklinik.at, which features the full range of their beers and others. Gösser is a very large brewery in the village of Leoben-Göss, which is thirty miles from Graz, the capital of the State of Steiermark (Styria). None of their beers will really excite the seasoned beer hunter, even the unfiltered Zwickl Bier from both Ottakringer and Schwechater. Dark beers from these breweries tend to be far too sweet. Note that there are a number of pubs in Vienna with house beers. These are generally brewed by Ottakringer.

There are some pubs which, although their principal beers are from the three breweries listed above, often have a decent wheat beer from another brewer, and a range of interesting bottled beers from other Austrian brewers and ones from further afield such as Germany and Belgium.

The best beers found on the recce were those available on draught in brew-pubs. At least three of these had beers to suit the most discerning beer drinker. Three of the four brew-pubs visited had essentially the same equipment: "S.A.L.M. Kleinbrauerei" (Salm Small (Micro-) Brewery) (www.salm-austria.com). SALM is engraved on the brew house vessels, the words quoted on the illuminated control panel. The brew house vessels initially appear to be all shiny copper, but in fact are the best of both worlds: copper clad vessels for appearance, with stainless steel interiors, this being healthier than copper, which is taken up by beer, too much of it not being good for you. The owner of the Salm company lives in Vienna. Salm micro-breweries are sold all around the world, at least three being installed in Vienna, the first one in 1986, see entry later. Each one visited produced some excellent beers, all different from each other. It thus appears that each purchaser does his own thing once the plant has been installed.

It is emphasised that the beers were excellent, because, all too often, beers produced in English brew-pubs, have a lot to be desired: samey, metallic taste, inconsistent, etc, etc. The one thing that the Viennese brew-pubs visited had in common was that all claimed that their beers were brewed in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot, the famous Bavarian purity law of 1516, which only allows malted grains (mainly barley, wheat, occasionally rye), water, hops and yeast to be used in the manufacture of beer. Michael Jackson states that the large Austrian brewers use adjuncts such as rice in their beers. All the Viennese brew-pubs' beers were unpasteurised, most, if not all, unfiltered.

Conrad Seidl (www.bierpapst.cc, www.bierguide.blogspot.com), the Bierpapst (The High Priest of Beer), is the number one name when it comes to promoting beer in Austria; Conrad is a journalist for Der Standard (derstandard.at) a major quality newspaper. Conrad has a number of excellent books covering Austrian beer, including Unser Bier (ISBN 3216302520). This German-language book gives detailed information on the history of the country's breweries, including brew-pubs, along with lists of recommended bars. One was listed as having over a hundred different beers, see below. Other beer book by Conrad include: Conrad Seidls Bier-Katechismus (ISBN: 3-216-30489-2); and Hopfen & Malz (ISBN  3216301281); Noch ein Bier (ISBN 3216300420); and Conrad Seidls Bier-Guide (the 2005 edition (ISBN 3-9501849-7-X) covers 1,111 places to drink 5,000 beers).

Conrad's books are usually available in an excellent book shop, Frick, Graben 27, in the Inner City (Underground Stephansplatz). Graben is one of the principal shopping streets of Vienna. It is also home to the flagship of the Julius Meinl (www.meinl.at) delicatessen chain, at Graben 19. This has a good selection of beers from Austria and elsewhere, along with a massive choice of the excellent Austrian wines. Appropriate websites found include: www.netbeer.org, this having English pages giving a lot of information on Austrian breweries and bars and further hyperlinks. Also useful, is the following site, which has a good list of bars in Vienna, a number of which from their descriptions appear to be worth checking out: www.brg22.ac.at/liste/lokale.html. Even the KGB can provide one with useful information on the Austrian Beer Scene, Conrad Seidl's Kampagne für Gutes Bier (Campaign for Good Beer) that is: www.kgbier.at. The Austrian equivalent of the UK's beer consumers' organisation, CAMRA (www.camra.org.uk), and thus a member of the EBCU, the European Beer Consumers' Union (www.ebcu.org), is BierIG Österreich, www.bierig.org. Note that there is a KGB site covering Germany, www.kgbier.de.

In most bars draught beers are available in measures of 30cl (0.3 litre (l) (ask for a Seidl)), 50cl (a Krügel or a Krügerl) or a litre (a Mass). Most of the brew-pubs with a good selection of draught beers also have a glass size suitable for sampling, a Pfiff, which is usually 0.125 l.

All prices quoted are from a recce done in late August/early September, 1998, except where stated. Unless indicated otherwise, the prices are for 50cl measures of draught bier (Bier vom Fass) and for 33cl bottles (Bier in der Flasche). 50cl is just under an Imperial pint, which is 57cl (a US pint is 47cl). All of the prices that were originally in Austrian Schillings (öS, ATS) have been converted into Euro (€) at the exchange rate of €1=13.7603.-. This has resulted in many prices that in reality would be rounded up or down once the Euro came into circulation on the 1st of January, 2002.

Vienna is divided into 23 postal districts or Bezirke, which spiral out from the first one, within the inner ring, the Innere Stadt (Inner City, the old medieval city), "1. Bezirk". Districts 1 to 9 constitute the centre of Vienna. A place within the inner ring has a post code of 1010, a place in the third district, 1030, as per the first pub listed, a place in the nineteenth district, 1190, etc. The districts also have names, for example the fourth district is called Wieden, which gives its name to an excellent brew-pub listed later. Subdivisions of the postal districts are possible, for example, 1013 is a particular part of the Inner City. Somewhat confusingly until one gets used to it, the district name precedes street signs, for example, for the first entry, 3. Rennweg
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If there is an underground railway station (U-bahn) close to the pubs visited, it is detailed in the pub's write-up (they are prominently signed with a large U on a blue circle). As appropriate, tram (Strassenbahn) information is provided, particularly when there is not an underground nearby. Tram stops have a large oval sign, with lettering declaring them to be a tram stop (Strassenbahn Haltestelle and the name of the stop). The name of the approaching stop is announced on the underground and trams, along with detailed information on changing to other lines. Tram and bus stops are often named after the intersecting street nearest to the stop. There are also local trains, but these are not generally of interest, since they run less frequently than other forms of transport. Using buses is also possible (they have half oval signs), numbers 1A, 2A and 3A being useful for travel within the Inner Ring. Particularly useful trams are numbered 1 and 2, which respectively go clockwise and anticlockwise around the ring (a great way to get a feel for the location of a number of the major tourist attractions). Along the ring there are many possibilities for changing onto other trams and other forms of transport.

Austrian Beer can be ordered on-line from the English-language "Austrian Beer" website, www.austrianbeer.co.uk, which is part of The Austrian Shop website, www.austrianshop.com, which, of course, has other products from Austria on offer.

Salm Bräu, Rennweg 8, 1030 Wien, tel 799 59 92, www.salmbraeu.com

This brew-pub/restaurant is to found next to the Rennweg entrance to the Belvedere, one of the major tourist attractions of Vienna, the Upper Belvedere in particular having a number of paintings by famous Austrian artists such as Klimt and Schiele, housed in an outstanding building. The nearest underground station is Südtiroler Platz, on line 1. Tram 71 goes along Rennweg, the most convenient stop probably being named Marokkanergasse. The terminus for the 71 tram is on the ring at the Southern end of Schubertring.

This was an excellent place for the general visitor, being most pleasant inside and out, and the food was truly excellent and filling. However, it is the first entry in the list simply because it had the best beer found on the recce! The full title is the Salm Bräu Klosterbrauerei und Gaststätte (Salmon Cloister Brewery and Pub). Note that the normal German word for Salmon is Lachs, the variation quoted is used in certain parts of Austria and Germany. When looking onto the Lower Belvedere from the Upper Belvedere (means nice view, which there is) the prominent green dome next to the Lower Belvedere is part of the Salesianerkirche, the pub being within the cloisters of the former Salesian Monastery associated with the church (Kirche) alongside it.

Although this is run by the owner of the Salm company, this is not the first brew-pub in Vienna with Salm equipment, see a later entry. Brewing commenced in the Salm Bräu brew-pub itself in 1994. It is clearly now the main practical advertisement for the company's equipment, which is no doubt a contributory factor in the outstanding quality of the beer. In the Salm website (www.salm-austria.com), it is described as the training centre for Salm customers, i.e. those who have purchased a Salm brew-pub.

One first enters a most pleasant, sheltered small garden, where one can sit and view the brew house (Sudhaus) through glass. There are also trendy chairs and tables within the brew house itself, surrounding the copper vessels, see above. Inside, on the ground floor there are a number of contrasting smart rooms with wooden tables, and a stone floor. Below ground level, there is a lovely vaulted Bierkeller (Beer Cellar).

There were five draught beers available on the recce: They were all €2.54 for a half litre. In the 12.5cl sample size (Pfiff) they were €1.31. Therefore, if say, two of you wished to sample all the beers, it would be more economic to get a Seidl (30cl) of each beer and share them, these being €2.11. The beers were in the original gravity range of 12^o to 12.5^o, which would put them in the 4.5% to 5.5% Alcohol By Volume range. All were very drinkable. There was a Pils, a Helles, a Märzen, a Weizen, and a special seasonal beer (Specialbier nach Saison). The Märzen, and the Weizen would surely both come into Michael Jackson (www.beerhunter.com)'s World Classic, four star category, if he had been to this place and tasted them by the time of the White Beer Travels recce visit; he does mention the place in the 2000 edition of his Pocket Book, stating that he has not visited it. His highest rated Austrian beers get three stars, "Worth Seeking Out", see later. The Märzen is a lovely, soft darkish beer, beautifully balanced between sweetness and hop character. The Weizen has the classic phenolic (clove) taste of a wheat beer produced using the special yeast that marks out classic Bavarian wheat beers. Although a high carbonation level is meant to be a characteristic of Bavarian Wheat Beers, this one had a relatively low level, which suited the recce party, and gave it more potential as a session beer. Conrad Seidl's book, cited above, states that recipe is from the Stein Brewery (see below), in Bratislava, which, although only thirty-five miles from Vienna, is in the Slovak Republic. It is readily reached from Vienna by Danube Hydrofoil (see below), Train, or, from Vienna Airport, by bus.

The four in the recce party ordered four different snacks, which proved to be excellent and much bigger than expected. There is an English version of the menu, which gives a fair translation of the dishes on offer. Since many of the dishes are available in other restaurants in Vienna, their German names are used here. The Schwarzbrot Spezialitäten (Black Bread Specialities) tried both consisted of a large piece of excellent black bread with a hot topping. The Waldviertler (€4.29) had dark smoked ham, tomatoes, herb butter and melted cheese on top. The Bieraufstrich (€3.71) had a special, secret spread (Aufstrich). Both looked superb on delivery, with taste to match. The secret one cannot be recommended highly enough. Paprika was in evidence in its preparation, both taste-wise and visually, but it was not too hot. The two salads tried - Rindfleischsalat (€6.18) and Gourmetsalat (€5.74) - were both much bigger than expected, and packed with wonderful ingredients, the Rindfleisch (beef) one was full of small strips of outstanding beef, spiced and herbed to perfection, and lubricated with a nut oil (Kernöl).

On the inevitable return visit, some of the main dishes will be sampled, such as a pork Wiener Schnitzel (€7.92), see next entry, and Zur'cher Geschnetzeltes mit Rösti (€9.08), the classic Swiss Veal in Cream Sauce dish, with wonderful fried potatoes, in the Swiss style.

Yes, an absolute don't-miss on a visit to Vienna. Salm Bräu is open daily from 11am until midnight. Note that for non-beer drinkers there are some excellent local wines, and schnapps for those who wish to chase their beers, including a bierschnapps, produced by distilling beer. Coffee, like in most places in Vienna, is excellent (A Schwarzer is black, a Melange is white; there are many other types).

Fischer Bräu, 1190 Wien, Billrothstrasse 17, tel 319 62 64, www.fischerbraeu.at

This is reached by taking a 38 tram in the direction of the somewhat over-touristy wine place, Grinzing. The terminus for this tram in the city centre is on the ring at Schottentor, below ground level, where there is an interchange with line 2 of the underground; the ring trams 1 and 2 are above. To take advantage of the gradient get off at the stop named Hardtgasse, beyond the pub, which is readily seen looking out of the left hand side of the tram. Going back to the city centre, walk down the hill to the stop named Glatzgasse, near the BP garage. Note that unlike city centre tram stops, there is no platform to get on and off the tram at these two stops; one has to step into the road, avoiding traffic. Therefore, make your intentions clear to the tram driver when getting on; he/she will wait for you. The pub is on the city end of the corner with Schegargasse. As can be seen from its post code, it is in the nineteenth district, which is called Döbling.

Fischer Bräu (Fish Brew, there is a salmon featured on the pub sign and beer mats) is a very large place, with a basic interior, a number of wooden-floored rooms, all having wooden tables. The large functional garden is partially covered. From the garden and certain of the rooms, the Salm Micro-Brewery can readily be seen, indeed, at night, it is floodlit. This was visited at 8pm on a Monday night, but there were no tables free inside, but it was warm enough to sit outside. Clearly if one visits at colder times, particularly if one wishes to eat, it is perhaps advisable to arrive earlier.

The place deserved to be packed. Almost to a man (person?) they were drinking the single beer brewed on the premises, Fischer Helles, which was €2.83 for a draught half litre. This proved to be a wonderful beer, just right for a session. It has an original gravity of 12.5^o. It is light in colour (Hell means light), cloudy in the glass. There were other interesting beers on draught for the same price, including: Mayr's Pils, from the Mayr Brewery, in Kirchdorf, in Oberösterreich (Upper Austria), and Hirter 1270 from the Hirt Brewery, in Hirt, in the State of Kärnten (Carinthia). There is a small, but largely interesting selection of bottled beers, the only one from the local Ottakringer brewery being Null Komma Josef, an alcohol-free beer.

To eat, we had an excellent starter of Biersuppe mit Käse (Beer Soup with melted cheese at the bottom), followed by, respectively, a well received Würziger Gemüsetoast (Spicy Vegetable Toast), (€3.56), and an enormous, excellent Wiener Schnitzel (Viennese Escalope) mit Erdäpfelsalat (Potato Salad) (a bargain €5.89). Classically, Wiener Schnitzel is fried, breaded veal (Kalb[fleisch]), but, as in many establishments, Fischer Bräu's is, as is declared on the menu, a pork (Schwein) one.

All the guidebooks, and the place's publicity placards seen on approaching it, tell you that the best and biggest Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna is to be found at Figlmüller, in the Inner City, in an alley at Wollzeile 5 (tel 512 61 77, www.figlmueller.at). They were duly outstanding, and, like Fischer Bräu's, overlapped the large plates on which they were served. They were thin veal ones costing €11.92. Note that it is quite in order to share one between two. Fischer Bräu's Schnitzels are bigger and thicker, albeit of the cheaper pork variety. Opposite Figlmüller is an excellent, stand up bar, in the same ownership, called Vis-à-Vis (Wollzeile 5 (Durchgang), tel 512 93 50). Like the restaurant it has some beers, but is more wine orientated, Figlmüller being wine producers in Grinzing, where they have an Heurige which puts on shows for tourists. Also highly recommended for Schnitzels is Der Schnitzelwirt, Neubaugasse 52, 1070 Wien.

Other food at Fischer Bräu includes toast and bread varieties of Waldviertler (€3.56 and €2.83).

On the outside, the place is prominently declared to be the First Viennese Brew-Pub (1. Wr (Erste Wiener) Gasthof Brauerei). Michael Jackson (www.beerhunter.com) states that it opened in 1986. Whether it really is the city's first brew-pub, is not certain, see next entry. The first or not, it is a second Vienna don't-miss. It is open from Monday to Saturday from 4pm to 1am, and on Sunday from 11am to 1am. On Sunday at 11am there is live jazz.

Brauhaus Nussdorf, 1190 Wien, Heiligenstädterstrasse 205b, tel 37 21 07

This has quite an interesting history, which will be included in an upgrade to these notes (it is given in the menu card, in German). It is owned by Baron Henrik Bachofen von Echt. It is not possible to comment on the food, since our order had not arrived after waiting for over an hour, so we cancelled! Apparently a member of staff had suddenly left. The brew plant had to be sought out. It was typical of what you get in England: not pretty, purely functional, which probably accounts for it being hidden away. On leaving, we spoke to the Baron, who told us that the brew plant was from Ramsbottom, "near Manchester". Four draught beers were available, two of which were sampled; we could not wait any longer for another! Nussdorfer Doppel Hopfen Hell (Nussdorf Double Hopped Pale (3.8%), despite its name had little hop character. Nussdorfer Sir Henry's [English] Stout (3.8%) was a good beer, although not a typical stout. It states on the menu that Michael Jackson's has declared it to be Austria's best beer. All his books have been scoured to try to confirm this, to no avail. Presumably it is the Baron observing that it gets the highest star rating (three, see the first entry) of any Austrian beer in Michael's Pocket Book, but so do a couple of others!

Although the place is close to Nussdorf railway station, it is easier to get to from the city centre by tram, i.e. get the number D tram, getting off at the terminus, Nussdorf, or the stop earlier, which is by the railway station. The D tram starts from the city's Südbahnhof (South railway station), running for a time along the Southern section of the ring. From the tram terminus in Nussdorf, the railway station is easily spotted. Heiligenstädterstrasse runs alongside the railway lines. Taking this road in the direction away from the city centre, one soon comes across the Brauhaus Nussdorf, which is a multi-roomed pub, with rooms that were former wine cellars. Note that it is described in some beer books as being in the cellars of a Schloss (Castle). There is not an evident castle in the vicinity of the place; on the recce, we very nearly made the mistake of going to the top of the hill above the town, on which is perched an obvious castle, above Nussdorf's famous vineyards! The Brauhaus Nussdorf is open each day from 4pm.

Wieden Bräu, 1040 Wien, Waaggasse 5, tel 58 60 300, www.wieden-braeu.at

This is another Salm brew-pub, with the brew house inside, to the left hand side of the long bar. On the Wednesday night recce it was packed, both inside and out. There is a most pleasant inner courtyard with mature trees. As will be evident from looking at the scale models of Vienna in the History Museum, such courtyards are a very common feature of the city's buildings. This is declared to be Wieden's first brew pub, the fourth district indeed being called Wieden.

Five draught beers produced on the premises were available, the only one sampled being the Helles, which was a nice enough beer at €2.69 for half a litre. Not being that way inclined, we did not try the Hanfbier (Hemp (Cannabis?) Beer), which on publicity material was declared to be neu (new), and in English there was the slogan "Don't smoke it. Drink it!" This was €2.76 for half a litre, or should it be drunk by the Pfiff for €1.38? Note that although the menu stated that the beers were brewed in conformance with the Reinheitsgebot, the use of hemp to flavour this beer violates it.

There were various presentation packs and beer in bulk to takeaway.

This is another place in Vienna that is well worth a visit. There was no time to recce the food, but the general standard is very high in the city, so it should be fine here; many were having it.

Wieden Bräu is on the corner of Rienössgasse. To get there, one can take the underground to Karlplatz, which is on lines 1, 2 and 4. (The stop named Kettenbrückengasse on line 4 is a little closer.) From Karlplatz one can walk via the Secession Building (Golden Cabbage on top) to the famous produce market, Naschmarkt (Sturm by the large bottle), and take a left off Rechte Wienzel, which is on the South side of the market, onto Heumühlgasse. This is a somewhat seedy area; one passes sex clubs and shops selling cannabis, although the former are to be found on the smartest streets of Vienna. On reaching the first junction, cross the road diagonally, and carry on essentially straight, checking that one has entered the required Waaggasse. The pub is soon reached on the second corner on the right. It is open from Monday to Saturday from 4pm to 1am.

Siebenstern Bräu, 1070 Wien, Siebensterngasse 19, tel 52 38 697, www.7stern.at

7 Stern Bräu was not visited; It was found in the Lonely Planet guide after the visit and it has subsequently been highly recommended to me by Conrad Seidl, see above. It is a brew-pub, probably a Salm one. Beers produced by brewer Vlado Sedmek, who originates from The Czech Republic, include: Wiener Helles (4.8%); Prager Dunkles (4.4%); a Hanf (Cannabis) Beer; and a Rauchbier (Smoke Beer, but sometimes incorrectly seen as Smoked Beer), Rauchmärzen. Malts are sourced from Weyermann Malz (Malt)(www.weyermannmalt.com (English pages), www.weyermann.de (German pages, with links to pages in many other languages), White Beer Travels Web page), in Bamberg, Germany, the home of Smoke Beer (click here for more details). Note that this Rauchbier was produced before the Freistädter Bier (www.freistaedter-bier.at), although this Freistadt brewery claims that its Rauchbier (www.rauchbier.at), which is less smoky than Bamberg examples, is Austria's first. 7 Stern Bräu is open each day from 10am until Midnight (1am on Thursday to Saturday). The 49 tram runs along its street. The terminus for this is at the Volkstheater, which is on underground lines 2 and 3.

1516 Brewing Company, 1010 Wien, Schwarzenbergerstrasse 2/Krugerstrasse 18, tel 961 15 16, www.1516brewingcompany.com (website stopped working in December, 2006)

This brew-pub was noticed while Internet surfing for the hyperlinks added to the original recce entries. Its name clearly relates to the year in which the Reinheitsgebot, the famous Bavarian purity law, was drawn up. Therefore, it should be of interest, well, in fact, it is bound to be of interest, as it is another strong recommendation from Conrad Seidl, see above. Its beers are listed as: 1516 Lager, Copper, Stout, Altbayrisches-Bier (Old Bavarian Beer) and Ginger Porter. It is said to have International and Vegetarian food. It offers Trebernbrot, which is bread made from the spent grains from the mash. The 1516 Brewing company is open daily from 11am until 2am.

The Highlander, 1090 Wien, Sobieskiplatz 4, tel 315 27 94, www.the-highlander.at (website stopped working in April, 2007)

This is a brew-pub that Conrad Seidl, see above. informed me of. He describes it as having an excellent brewer and thus excellent beers; these include a Märzen and a Lagerbier. The Highlander is open daily from 5pm until 1am (2am on Friday and Saturday).

Stiegl's Ambulanz, 1090 Wien, Im Hof des alten AKH (UNI-Campus, Hof 1), Alserstrasse 4, tel 402 11 50,
www.stiegl-ambulanz.at

This is another Conrad Seidl recommendation, with the same initial description as the previous entry: excellent brewer, thus excellent beers, these including: Paracelsus Hausbier (5.2%); and five seasonal beers, Altbier (5.4%), Sommerbier (4.8%), Frühlingsbier (4.8%), Weihnachtsbier (5.2%) and Herbstbier (4.9%). Stiegl's Ambulanz is within a University Campus. It is owned by the Stieglbrauerei (www.stiegl.at), in Salzburg. Stiegl's Ambulanz is open daily from 10am until Midnight (2am on Wednesday to Saturday).

Bierteufl, Haus der 100 Biere, 1030 Wien, Ungargasse 5, tel 712 61 03, www.bierteufl.at

This was not known about until after the recce, but because of its name (Beer Devil, House of a 100 Beers), it has been added to these notes, and will certainly be checked out on the next White Beer Travels visit to the city. Over sixty of the beers are from Austria. Food is described in one report as excellent, the Biersuppe (Beer Soup) being singled out. It has a black-beamed ceiling. It is one of a number of places in the city that Beethoven lived in.

Krah, Krah, 1010 Wien, Rabensteig 8, tel 533 81 93, www.krah-krah.at

This is another place that was not visited on the recce, but, like the previous entry, is thought to have a big selection of beers. It features live Jazz and Blues at certain times (see www.jazzpages.com/JazzinWien for Jazz schedules).

Schweizerhaus, 1020 Wien, Prater 116 (Strasse des 1. Mai), tel 728 01 52, www.schweizerhaus.at

This is Vienna's most famous Beer Garden. It is close to the Prater Fairgrounds, which are home to the famous Big Wheel that featured in the Orson Wells "Third Man" film. From its website, it is clear that it does hearty, traditional food: Pig's Trotters, etc. Draught beers include: the Czech, Budweiser Budvar (Budějovický Budvar) (www.budvar.cz) (click here for the White Beer Travels Web page covering Budweiser Budvar) at €3.30; Grieskirchner Dunkel at €3.30 from the Brauerei Grieskirchen (www.grieskirchner.at), in Oberösterreich; and the Bavarian, Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier (www.paulaner.de), a cloudy White/Wheat, at €3.50 for half a litre (April, 2006 prices from the place's website, which also lists the bottled beers available, such as Kapsreiter Landbier, from the Brauerei Kapsreiter (www.kapsreiter.at), in Schärding at €3.50 for half a litre). Note that the websites for the Grieskirchen and Kapsreiter Breweries, are subsets of the website www.harmer.at, which also covers Harmer's Bar, in Vienna, and another Austrian Brewery.

Mayer am Pfarrplatz, 1190 Wien, Pfarrplatz 2,
tel 1 3703361 (1 3701287 after 4pm), www.mayer.pfarrplatz.at

We visited one famous Heuriger or Wine Tavern, very luckily choosing this one, in the suburb of Heiligenstadt.

Heuriger sell a wine call Heurige, which is a very young wine that is opaque, but many sell other wine as well, as does this one, right up to the dizzy heights of luscious dessert wines in the Beerenauslese category, which are of a stratospheric price in Germany, but often affordable in Austria, as they are here. Many guidebooks warn against drinkinh Heurige, but I found it to be excelent and had no problem next morning after drinking quite a lot of it. Many Heuriger are tourist-infested, but not this one; most of the visitors were clearly locals. Beethoven once lived in the place, hence its alternative name of Beethovenhaus. We sat outside in a vine-covered garden and had some superb wines and some excellent buffet food. The wines we had included, all being Nussdorfer ones: various Heuriges at €1.89 (25cl); a 1997 Chardonnay at €14.53 (75cl); a 1997 Rheinriesling Ried Preussen at €15.26 (75cl); a Sauvignon Blanc at €15.99 (75cl); a Rheinriesling Spätlese at €10.90 (50cl); and a Traminer Beerenauslese at €15.99 (50cl). Up to date prices of the curent wines available are provided on the place's website, which has English pages. I cannot recommend the place highly enough: absolutely superb, a Vienna don't-miss.

Mayer am Pfarrplatz is open daily from 4pm and on Sundays and on National Holidays, it opens from 11am.

Alt Wiener Schnapsmuseum, 1120 Wien, Wilhelmstraase 19-21,
tel 1 8157300, www.schnapsmuseum.com

The Old Viennese Schnapps Museum is a working distillery, which is well worth a visit; these must be booked in advance.

Bratislava

On the 1998 recce trip, Bratislava, the Capital of Slovakia (The Slovak Republic) (Slovenská Republika), was easily reached from Vienna on the Hydrofoil that departs by the Reichsbrücke on the Danube. The nearest underground is Vorgartenstrasse or Donauinsel (Danube Island), the latter indeed being on an island in the Danube. The Hydrofoil is operated by DDSG (www.ddsg-blue-danube.at). The website gives departure times and other details. Note that tickets must be booked at least twenty-four hours in advance. The journey time is ninety minutes to Bratislava, and 105 minutes coming back against the current. A fair bit of the journey time is spent in a massive lock just outside Vienna. Note that DDSG also operate tours on the Danube from Vienna featuring the historic Austrian towns of Krems and Melk, these being outstanding places on a particularly attractive part of the Danube, upstream from Vienna, known as The Wachau (www.wachau.at). It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, see whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31 for the full list.

Stará sladovňa - Mamut, Cintorínska 32, tel 07 321 151, www.mamut.sk

The Mammoth Old Maltings is the city's most famous Beer Hall. It is about ten minutes' walk from the Old Town (Staré Mesto). Buses 215 and 220 stop outside. The place is on the end of Cintorínska, the one furthest from the Old Town, on the corner with Ulice 29. augusta. The two entrances (Beer Hall and Garden) are away from the corner, on Cintorínska. There was a complicated set of what appeared to be very extended opening hours displayed, for the various attractions within the beer hall, such as Bingo and live Country and Western music! It is big, indeed Mammoth, inside, with functional tables, near most of which are TV screens with dormant bingo numbers on them, a few having English language pop videos! On the Wednesday lunchtime recce, there were only about twenty people in, so one could not get a feel for the atmosphere of the place. Some were in suits, others less well dressed. The garden was pleasant enough.

The food menu was indecipherable; food is available from 11am until 11pm. Using a bit of German, John White, who was doing a solo recce, whilst others were doing the tourist stuff in the Old Town, managed to get some fried beef, which the waiter insisted was pork. There were separate people selling bread to go with it. The only beer available was from České Budějovice, in The Czech Republic, Budweiser Budvar 12^o (Světlý ležák, Light Lager) (5%). On draught, inside it was 22 crowns for 50cl (£0.32, €0.53, $0.46, at April, 2002 exchange rates). In the garden, it was 21.50 crowns (£0.31, €0.52, $0.45). Inside and out, it was 26 crowns (£0.38, €0.62, $0.55) for 50cl bottles (the word is something like flaz), which is somewhat perverse, since it is far better on draught; it was outstanding here in this form.

1. Slovak pub, Obchodná 62, tel 02 5292 6367, www.slovakpub.sk

Subsequent to the 1998 visit to Bratislava, I have become aware of this place. It has fourteen different rooms all featuring Slovak history. From the website, it appears to be a don't-miss; if you follow the Nápojový a jedálny lístok link ("drink list and menu" on the English pages) you will discover that it has ten different Slovak draught beers: Zlatý bažant 12, Šariš svetlý 12, Corgoň 12, Martiner 12, Topvar 12 (www.topvar.sk), Smädný mních 12 (www.mnich.sk), Šariš tmavý 11, Kelt 12, Steiger 10 (www.steiger.sk), and Kvasinkové pivo. Zlatý bažant, Corgoň, Kelt and Martiner are all produced in breweries owned by Heineken (www.heineken.sk). There is also a brew of its own, Dobré pifko 11,5, which is described as being "živé" (nepasterizované pivo), i.e it is unpasteurised. There are other outlets in the city for some of the ten draught beers that this place has.

Other Bratislava Info

In the Mamut Beer Hall, just described above, there were advertising signs for beers from the local Pivovar Stein (Stein Brewery) (www.stein.sk), but sadly none was available. Information on the Stein Brewery could be obtained on the website of The Slovak Association of Brewing History (Slovenská Asociácia Histó Pivovarníctva), which had some useful links (it stopped working in April, 2004): http://sahp.home.sk, as does www.pivo.sk and www.beers.cz (covers Czech and Slovak beer). Knowing that Pivo and declensions of it are Beer and that Pivovary is Breweries allows one to find details of Slovak beers and breweries from these sites. Bottles of a number of Stein beers are to be found in the Tesco Hypermarket (Panónska cesta 9) en route to the Mamut Beer Hall!

On the recce, no bars of major interest for the Specialty Beer Hunter popped up in the Old Town. Disappointingly, no Stein outlets were to be found. There was, somewhat sadly a lot of Amstel on sale, and some good beers, albeit very well known ones from The Czech Republic.

The Old Town (Staré Mesto) area of Bratislava is extremely pleasant, but one has to watch out for organised pickpockets. They were on each corner with mobile phones (cell phones), when these were not that common, even in England. On the recce visit, Joyce White had a camera stolen from a bag that was zipped up. There was no time to complain to the police, as this would have meant missing the Hydrofoil back to Vienna.

General websites covering Bratislava include www.bratislava.info and www.bratislava.sk. Hotels in Bratislava can be booked on www.bratislavahotels.com. This has a page with some information on bars and restaurants: www.bratislavahotels.com/showarticle.php?articleID=10).

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