Strong Beer Festival Escort Munich: a Companion for the Salvator, Maximator and Triumphator

Starkbierfest Munich: Lenten beer from the monastery

How the Salvator became Munich’s strong beer

In the 17th century the Paulaner monks in the Au district brewed a strong beer for Lent, because liquids did not break the fast. That monastery beer became the Salvator, and pouring it at the Nockherberg, the brewery’s hill above the river Isar, became the Starkbierfest. Munich’s other breweries followed with their own Doppelbock beers, whose names still end in „-ator“: Maximator, Triumphator, Unimator.

A Starkbier has around 7.5 percent alcohol, well above the Oktoberfest beer at about 6 percent. It comes in the Maß, tastes malty and sweet, and the halls serve Brotzeit, roast pork and brass music with it. If you plan the evening, count on two Maß rather than four; that applies to guests and companion alike. Munich is on Central European Time, worth remembering if you fly in from further away and want to be fresh at the table.

Where Munich pours its strong beer

The Nockherberg lies in the Au above the Isar, a short walk from the Kolumbusplatz U-Bahn station (U1/U2). The Augustiner-Keller is on Arnulfstraße, a few minutes from the Hackerbrücke S-Bahn station and from the main station. The Löwenbräukeller stands at Stiglmaierplatz (U1/U7), the Unionsbräu on Einsteinstraße in Haidhausen near Max-Weber-Platz (U4/U5). All four houses are in the city, none on a fairground; the U-Bahn or a taxi takes you to the door. From Munich Airport (MUC) the S-Bahn or a taxi reaches the city centre in about 40 minutes.

The houses publish their strong beer dates in winter. If you want a table, you reserve directly with the brewery or the landlord, as you would with the tent landlords at the Wiesn, the name Munich gives its Oktoberfest; how that works there is explained on the page Oktoberfest opening hours and reservations.

A companion for the strong beer festival: how the evening runs

Enquiry, confirmation, meeting point

You send your enquiry through the booking page or the form at LEA Escort® and name the date, the beer hall, the start time and the hours, plus the lady you would like to meet. The agency asks the lady whether she accompanies you that evening and confirms the meeting point and time to you, in English. A few days‘ notice gives everyone involved time to settle clothing, table and what follows.

The meeting point is always a public place that is easy to reach: the lobby of your hotel, the entrance of the beer hall or a café nearby. For the Nockherberg a hotel lobby at Rosenheimer Platz works well, for the Augustiner-Keller the hotels around the main station, for the Löwenbräukeller the Stiglmaierplatz itself. From there you walk in together and take your seats.

Hours that have proved themselves

The beer halls fill from the late afternoon; if you arrive around 5 pm you usually still find a seat in the areas without reservations. The band plays late into the evening, and beer service ends between 11 pm and midnight depending on the house. Four hours of companionship cover Brotzeit, two Maß and the way back to your hotel; if you want dinner afterwards, plan six hours.

At the table in the beer hall

In the strong beer halls you sit at long tables, often next to strangers, and move closer together when it fills up. The lady knows this from the Wiesn: she raises her glass, chats with the neighbours and stays with you. If you prefer a quieter seat, reserve a table in the gallery or in a side room; the houses offer these depending on the date.

You agree the clothing in your enquiry. Many guests come to the strong beer in Tracht, the Bavarian traditional dress, and many in jeans and a Janker, the wool jacket that goes with it; a Dirndl does not stand out, an evening dress does. The ladies on this page own a Dirndl and show it in their photographs; whether she wears it is the lady’s decision after your discussion. A look at the Wiesn tips on Tracht and dress code helps for the strong beer season as well.

After the beer hall: restaurant, bar, hotel

Moving on from the beer hall to a restaurant, a bar or your hotel is part of the companionship if you include it in your enquiry. From the Nockherberg it is ten minutes by taxi to Lehel or the old town, from the Augustiner-Keller five minutes to the hotels at the main station. Hotel visits are usual for guests from abroad, and the agency helps you choose a suitable house. An overnight starts at twelve hours and is possible as a first meeting too, if the lady agrees.

What applies to a strong beer festival escort

The agency arranges, the lady decides

Every enquiry goes through LEA Escort® in Munich. There is no direct contact with the ladies, neither before the meeting nor afterwards; date requests, changes and questions go to the agency, which settles them with the lady. What a sedcard states is information from the lady, not a commitment: whether she accompanies you on an evening is her own decision at every enquiry.

The fee is stated in euros on each lady’s sedcard, graded by duration, from an evening in the beer hall to an overnight. This page names no amounts because they differ from lady to lady; you find them on the profiles of the escort ladies and on the sedcard at LEA.

Meeting point, restricted zone, language

Munich has a Sperrbezirk, a restricted zone under city law, which is why the meeting takes place in your hotel, in the beer hall or in the restaurant, never on the street. The meeting point is public and easy to reach, and the agency agrees it with you. All four ladies speak German and English, as their sedcards state; guests from abroad write their enquiry in English, and the agency in Munich answers in the same language.

The photographs on the profiles were taken for LEA Escort® and show the ladies in a Dirndl; eyes and face are veiled, never fully covered. The pictures are edited but left natural.

Who a strong beer companion suits

Business travellers in March

The strong beer season falls in the spring trade fair weeks. If you come in the evening from the Messe München fairgrounds in Riem or from an office in the city centre, you reach the Löwenbräukeller and the Augustiner-Keller in twenty minutes by U-Bahn or taxi. The companionship begins in your hotel lobby and ends there again if you have an appointment the next morning.

Guests who visit Munich in winter

Between carnival and Easter Munich has few festivals; the strong beer season is the one that takes place in these weeks. If you plan a weekend in the city, you combine Saturday evening in the beer hall with dinner on Friday and breakfast on Sunday; the lady accompanies you at one or several of these, depending on your enquiry. From Munich Airport you are in the city in about 40 minutes by S-Bahn or taxi, which leaves the Friday evening free.

Munich residents with a table reservation

If you sit at the Nockherberg or in the Löwenbräukeller on the same evening every year, you enquire for a companion for exactly that table. The agency confirms time and meeting point; Dirndl or dress is agreed with you by the lady beforehand.

Strong beer, carnival, spring festival, Wiesn: what differs

Beer hall instead of fairground

At the Wiesn and the spring festival you sit in a tent on the Theresienwiese; at the strong beer you sit in a hall with a solid roof, a cloakroom and heating. There are no rides, no walk across the grounds and no fireworks, but music at the table and an evening that stays in one place. The spring festival follows at the end of April; what runs differently there is on the page Spring Festival Munich.

After carnival, before Easter

Fasching, Munich’s carnival, ends on Shrove Tuesday, 9 February 2027; the next day, Ash Wednesday, opens the strong beer season. If you want both, you book the companion for the carnival in Munich and for a strong beer evening in March separately; the lady may be the same if she accompanies you on both dates.

Tracht is usual, not compulsory

At the Wiesn nearly all guests wear Tracht, at the strong beer about half. Say in your enquiry whether you come in Lederhosen or a suit; the lady matches Dirndl or dress to it, and the decision is hers. That way there is no surprise at the meeting point.