Beer gardens got their start in 16th-century Germany, but you don't have to travel to Bavaria to find big outdoor patios, long communal tables, good food, and superb beer. Here are some great beer gardens across the United States offering thirsty patrons a taste of the old country — just in time to catch Oktoberfest season. What's your favorite U.S. beer garden? Tell us in the comments.
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Los Angeles
This popular trio of German restaurants and beer gardens — Wirsthaus, Rasselbock Mar Vista, and Rasselbock Long Beach — offers revelers six weeks of festivities with rotating beer and food specials, live traditional German music on weekends, and Oktoberfest-themed giveaways and decor. Attendees are encouraged to don their finest lederhosen or dirndls for costume contests and stein-holding competitions.
Philadelphia
Picnic-table-style outdoor seating is one of the allures of Philadelphia's Frankford Hall. The restaurant, in a renovated industrial space featuring reclaimed materials and exposed brick walls, offers classics including sausages, spätzle, and $6 German drafts during happy hour. Revelers can munch on Bavarian pretzels around fire pits between games of table tennis.
Columbus, Ohio
Located in the heart of Columbus' Olde Town East in a former firehouse, Gemüt is a brewery, beer garden, and restaurant combo. The menu includes plenty of wurst, schnitzel, and a host of other dishes inspired by southeastern European countries. Gemüt also offers delivery and carryout.
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Charlotte, North Carolina
VBGB serves 30 types of craft beer and imports on a huge patio. A "frost rail," a 5-inch block of ice, runs the length of the bar — perfect for keeping those brews cold.
Staten Island, New York
Killmeyer's has been around a long time — it was already in business when Nicolas Killmeyer bought it (and changed its name) around 1855. In addition to a traditional restaurant, there's a pretty awesome beer garden and a steady roster of live entertainment.
St. Louis
Grant's Farm (free admission; there's a charge for parking) was bought by the Busch family — as in Anheuser-Busch — from former president Ulysses S. Grant. It has rides, baby goats to feed, and other children's attractions for a small fee as well as a courtyard beer garden. Guests of age can sample Anheuser-Busch products for free with lunch.
Brooklyn, New York
Greenwood Park is a family-friendly beer garden built out of an old gas station and mechanic shop. It boasts 60 beer lines, bocce ball courts, and a menu with traditional bar fare as well as vegetarian and vegan options.
The legendary Bavarian beer garden and restaurant in Munich, Germany, has lent its name to about a half-dozen franchises stateside. Hofbräuhaus Pittsburgh offers hearty German fare and classic Bavarian beers brewed according to the more-than-500-year-old Purity Law of 1516.
Indianapolis
The Rathskeller in downtown Indy is known for live music as well as for its Bavarian-style food and brews. The historic building's beer garden has its own walk-up bar for beer and pub food.
Austin, Texas
The Easy Tiger is not only a creek-side beer garden but a bake shop famed for its pretzels. On the menu are several house sausages, but the beer garden isn't limited to German fare, scheduling specials like Tiki Tuesdays with an emphasis on tropical drinks.
Milwaukee
Estabrook is a truly public beer garden — it's within Milwaukee's Estabrook Park, near a waterfall. Managers say visitors arrive to enjoy imported German beers by foot, bike, car, kayak, and canoe. There's food for purchase, but customers can also bring their own food and soft drinks.
Boulder, Colorado
The Bohemian Biergarten has an extensive menu of traditional German and Czech foods and brews. Guests can wash their giant pretzels and pretzel sausage down with beers such as Paulaner, Pilsner Urquell, and Hacker Pshorr.
Tempe, Arizona
Handlebar Tempe, touted as a bike-friendly beer garden, offers 20-plus beers on draft plus a huge selection of can, bomber, and bottle options, along with loads of specials. They take drinking seriously here — but there are hand-cut fries, burgers, freshly baked pretzels, and local sausages to nosh on.
Mountain View, California
Steins Beer Garden & Restaurant is a modern American take on the traditional German biergarten. It has more than 30 craft and import beers on tap and a comfort-food menu. Happy hours make this high-end spot more affordable, but diners who sample the ghost pepper hot sauce might be happy to pay any price for a beer to put out its fire.
Columbus, Ohio
At the Short North Pint House, revelers can order what the pub calls a Gusto — a respectable 32-ounce beer for $12 — or the $8 beer sampler, which includes three beers from the draft list. A happy hour offers patrons half off selected food and drinks, with options changing daily.
Austin, Texas
Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden is just what it sounds like: a satisfying mix of sausage and beer. It cranks out more than 2,000 pounds of sausage every week, stages live music two to three times a week, and even has a dog park where pets can eat dog-friendly sausages.
Denver
For a beer garden with a real Oktoberfest kind of feel, there's Lowry — a massive 9,000 square feet of outdoor garden area, vast open-air seating, and a covered pavilion to escape the scorching mile-high sun. With a family-friendly atmosphere, Lowry offers a straightforward menu of brats and dogs, burgers, sandwiches, salads, and a kids' menu. It has around 16 beers on tap, and 30 or so bottled and canned varieties. The 3-6 p.m., Monday-Friday happy hour offers $5 drafts, well drinks, and wine. Finally, with seating for around 500, it's unlikely you'll ever have to wait for a table.
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