Hi,
Please help me here. I know that Germany is famous for its beer but I am a teetotaller - I can%26#39;t drink at all. So, what would you advise me for a drink in a Germany restaurant ? Is there any drink commonly served in a Germany restaurant which is totally alcohol-free ? Please provide me with the German name so I may write it down and show to the waiter. Also, is water usually served on a table free (we in Hong Kong have that) ? After a glass of that, can I ask for re-fill (also a frequent occurance in Hong Kong%26#39;s restaurants) ?
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You may want to ask for a Traubensaft, grape juice usually made from white grapes and alkoholfree. Also Apfelsaft, apple juice, is very popular. There are several alcohol-free beers available.
Water: That is bit tricky. Usually, German restaurants don%26#39;t serve tap water, and certainly not with ice. If you ask for it, some restaurants will acomodate you, others can be quite rude. It often depends on the waiter.
It is perfectly OK, though, to ask for bottled water --either carbonated (with or without lemon or some other extract). In southern Germany these are called %26quot;Sprudel%26quot;. Or you can get non-carbonated or slightly cabonated bottled water. You can ask for bottled water %26quot; eine Flasche Wasser ohne Kohlensaeure%26quot; (without gas), or you ask by brand. As I recall, Fachinger water has little or no carbonation.
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As to drinking tap water, I believe that it is required by law that the restaurant serve it to you if requested. Of course, the waiter doesn%26#39;t get his service charge as he would if you ordered expensive bottled water, so they probably prefer not to do it. Non-alcoholic beverages include coffee, tea, bottled water with or without carbonation, soft drinks such as CocaCola, and fruit juices and you should have a fair choice of beverages without drinking beer or wine.
Refering to your other tipping question, if your request for tap water is met in a friendly manner, certainly give a tip. If the waiter objects strongly, then I wouldn%26#39;t leave that additional tip.
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%26gt;German name so I may write it down%26lt;
Mineral water - Mineralwasser
Coke -Cola
Lemonade (orange taste) - Orangenlimonade
Lemonade (lemon taste) - Zitronenlimonade
Apple spritzer - Apfelschorle
Apple juice - Apfelsaft
Orange juice - Orangensaft (Fresh squeezed - Frisch gepresst)
Malt beer - Malzbier
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Thank you everybody !!!!
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Or for something a bit more different, try a KI-BA (Kirschsaft + Bananensaft - or cherry and banana juice). Absolutely gorgeous, tends to be served layered, with the thicker banana juice poured in the glass first and cherry juice on top, tastes like a yummy fruity milkshake! Not sure if its a regional thing but I found it served in Leipzig and Berlin and its something my teetotal German friend asks for regularly.
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Or try the less-sugary lemonade %26#39;Bionade%26#39;, has become really trendy and is often served in %26#39;in%26#39; cafes and bars ( like it a lot myself, much less of a sugar shock than coke etc.)
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Two very popular alcohol free drinks, at least where I have traveled in Southern Germany are:
%26quot;Spezi%26quot;. It is a mix of one-half coke and one-half Fanta Orange drink, usually mixed on the spot. It is popular enough to be on the menus of many restaurants. Also;
%26quot;Mezzo-Mix%26quot;. It is essentially a bottled version of the above
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You might want to try Erdinger Weissbier alkoholfrei, which is an
*** alkohol free ***
version of Erdinger%26#39;s wheat beer. It%26#39;s got less calories than a Coke but is very healthy and isotonic. It%26#39;s brewed in accordance with Germany%26#39;s most strict pure beer law.
%26quot;German beer - pure enjoyment!
Beer brewing has been regulated by law in Germany for over 800 years. The Purity Law has long become an international seal of quality for German beers.
Its origins date back to the year 1165, when the first penalty was introduced in Augsburg for the sale of %26quot;bad%26quot; beer. Over 300 years later, in 1487, Duke Albrecht IV passed a law which initially applied only to the Munich area and which imposed standard beer prices. It stated that %26quot;a tankard of winter beer was to cost one pfennig, and a tankard of summer beer two pfennigs%26quot;. In addition, each brewer had to take a so-called brewer%26#39;s oath, under which he was only allowed to use barley, hops and water for brewing beer, and no other ingredients.
In 1493 Duke George the Rich of Bayers-Landshut enacted an order which was extended to the whole of Bavaria in 1516. This is known as the BAVARIAN PURITY LAW. Like the brewer%26#39;s oath, it states that nothing may be added to beer other than barley, hops and water.
To this day, the rules of the Purity Law are contained in the German Beer Tax Law, with just a few, minor amendments. Besides various tax duties, this law also contains regulations concerning the brewing process itself. For bottom-fermenting beer, for example, only barley, malt, hops, yeast and water may be used. The law also contains rules relating to top-fermenting beers, such as wheat beer. Thus, for top-fermenting beers, the use of other cereal malts, such as wheat, is also allowed.
Aficionados of German beer can continue to depend on the purity of its ingredients. Although a judgment of the European Court of March 12, 1987 concerning the free sale of goods throughout Europe allows beers to be sold in Germany which are not produced according to the Purity Law and contain other raw ingredients (such as maize, rice or millet), these beers must be clearly marked. When purchasing beer, however, you simply have to look for the quality seal stating %26quot;brewed according to the Purity Law%26quot; and you are guaranteed pure beer-drinking enjoyment!%26quot;
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