Hofbräuhaus, Las Vegas Style

Las Vegas is a place where they try and reproduce experiences from around the world. You can go to Paris, New York, Venice, and Egypt, among other places, all in the same city. Did you know you can also experience Munich, in the most beer related way possible? That is what Hofbräuhaus, Las Vegas, is all about. This is what the Hofbräuhaus, Las Vegas, website says: "It’s the only faithful reproduction of the original Hofbräuhaus München in the world."

According to the Hofbräuhaus München website, Hofbräuhaus München was founded in 1589 by Wilhelm V, the Duke of Bavaria. Apparently, he was dissatisfied with the beer of Munich, and wished that it was more like the beer of Einbeck. He therefore recruited the brewmaster of Geisenfeld Monastery, Heimeran Pongraz, to build and run a new brewery: Hofbräuhaus.

The history of the brewery and beer hall has been ongoing, playing a key role in the founding of Munich's famous beer festival: Oktoberfest. According to Wikipedia, it also has a dark past during World War II and Nazi Germany, being a place where Hitler and his goons hung out, and it eventually got bombed to kingdom come. The place even has a famous song written about it: "oans, zwoa, g'suffa" (translates: "one, two, chug").

This is the place that is reproduced in Vegas, and this is the place we visited. Here are a few pictures with my impressions:

The Hofbräuhaus is off the strip, sitting diagonal across the street from the Hard Rock. This banner was hung off the wall in the bier garten.

The architecture was quite interesting. It had high ceilings that were arched like a cathedral, with wooden tables and benches below.

Julie and I shared a schnitzel and some pretzels. Pictured here is the schnitzel plate which was as big as my head.

They had really big beers. I had the dunkel.

I mean really big beers.

Did I mention that the beers were really big?

Was it a completely authentic experience? In a word: no. It was no more authentic than the Paris hotel and casino is to Paris, France, no more authentic than the Venetian is to Venice, Italy. Like everything in Las Vegas, it was...well...Las Vegas.

Granted, there were no slot machines (thank God). Three things, however, come to mind about the authenticity. First, our waitress, though dressed in traditional German dress, was very, very Asian, and in fact spoke with a heavy Asian accent. The whole getup was a little silly and out of place. Second, I peeked into the bier garten to find fake trees and a ceiling that was painted to look like the sky, with clouds -- a little cheesy. The final thing happened in the gift shop. There I asked, "How much is the stiefel?"

"I'm sorry?" the girl behind the counter responded.

"The stiefel. How much is it?"

"The what?"

"The boot! How much is the glass boot?"

"Oh, that. Seventy-nine dollars."

Obviously, she did not know what a stiefel was.

There you go: Munich in Las Vegas.