European Beer Hotels

Hotel Weierich Bamberg, Bavaria
Once home to a brewer. Today this building houses a 3 star hotel and restaurant that offers two special beer programs run by Bamberg’s Germany Beer Academy. In addition to beer sommeliers and brew masters teaching you the finer points of wort cooling, the seminars include a fitness required nine-beer tasting dinner (of traditional Bavarian foods) and course diploma. There’s also a Beer Taster’s Tour that takes you on a brewery jaunt through the city. There are nine breweries within Bamberg’s town walls and this is the home town of ‘smoked beer’!

Kerry Hotel Shanghai, China Doing its best to give China’s beer some buzz, this luxury hotel offers plenty of drinking opportunities, be it sampling the craft beer and cider from their resident brewmaster at the hotel bar, the BREW (two-for-one beers daily from 4 to 8pm), or touring the onsite microbrewery before a multi-course pairing dinner. Each September they host a free craft beer festival, complete with over 50 craft varieties, BBQ and pizza, and live music. Shanghai is home to an underrated craft beer scene, so put Shanghai Brewery, Boxing Cat Brewery, and Dr. Beer on your list, not to mention a visit to the “beer boutique” called Cheers In.

The Old Cannon — Bury St Edmunds, United Kingdom
This brewery, restaurant, and seven-room B&B hybrid serves homebrew, and local dining experiences like, Old Cannon Beer-Battered Atlantic Cod and Beef & Best Bitter Bangers, all with the chance to watch beer being made over lunch. Check out historic Greene King Brewery; open since 1799 and one of Europe’s largest breweries, it runs tours, tastings, and an interesting museum of beer-making history and paraphernalia.

Hotel Brovaria — Poznan, Poland
This 21 room hotel located at Poznan’s Old Town Market boasts an onsite microbrewery and offers a beer-themed stay complete with tours, beer foods, and plenty of their signature pils, wheat ale, and honey beer. The nearby Lech Brewery crafts one of Poland’s most popular beers, and maintains free tours, interactive exhibits and tastings.

Hof Beverland — Ostbevern, Germany
This 4 star hotel houses an unusual experience; you’re invited to sleep in an actual 19th-century beer barrel. Also, relax in a beer-barrel sauna. Explore the area’s beer heritage at nearby Potts Naturpark Brauerei; it was established in 1769, maintains a museum, and serves typical German fare paired with beers brewed in-house.

Augustine Hotel — Prague, Czech Republic
This seven-building, 5 star hotel complex in the heart of Prague includes a 13th-century monastery and cavernous brewery once used by Augustinian monks. Short list of activities while there: Sip dark lager made from the recipes of said monks. Eat veal shank braised in St. Thomas beer at their Elegantes Restaurant. Hit the spa for a St. Thomas Beer Body Ritual, which involves being exfoliated with ground organic beer hops, hydrated with monk beer, and massaged — yes, that is slightly unusual, but intriguing. Grow your local brew culture/knowledge by exploring the country that invented Pilsner on a daily Prague Beer Tour.

Settle down for sleep on a bed of beer
Catering to alcohol lovers across the globe, Best Western Plus Bierkulturhotel Schwanen in Ehingen, Germany has announced guests can now sleep in new beer-themed rooms. Rooms at the beer-themed hotel are made using the wood of a former grain and hop storage, so guests can truly “sleep in beer”. The family operated hotel has paired with an old brewery tradition and is adjacent their brewery which has been operational since 1697.

The hotels history is entwined with modern architecture, constructed from original medieval stonework in the town wall maisonette. Rooms offer a warm and pleasant atmosphere and are equipped with adjustable air conditioning, LCD television, Sky television (free of charge), free Wi-Fi, radio, telephone, safe, alarm clock and coffee/tea making facilities.

The highlight however is the 23 rooms which have furniture made from the wood of a hop storage, and from old beer crates. This gives the rooms that unmistakable scent of beer.

Visitors and guests can enjoy homebrewed beer, Swabian cuisine and self distilled liquor at the restaurant and brewery “Schwanen”, which first opened in 1697 and is connected to the hotel.

Ehingen is centrally located between Munich, Stuttgart and Lake Constance. It is an ideal starting point for cycling and hiking tours to the biosphere reserve “Schwaebische Alb” and the numerous castles, cloisters and museums of the region. The BierKulturHotel Schwanen is part of the Swabian-baroque historic city, and a highlight in the city of “beer culture”, where visitors can also find five private breweries.