wines
The north of Bavaria is famous not only for its beer but also for its white wines that come in special bottles called "Bocksbeutel" bottles with a big round yet flat belly. For a sweet treat, try Eiswein Ice wine, made from grapes that are allowed to stay until the first severe frost and then pressed and made into a very sweet wine.
beer
Bavarians love their beer. One of the most beloved is the "WeiÃbier", a cloudy, unfiltered beer brewed with wheat, which is commonly consumed earlier in the day with a Weisswurst and sweet mustard. It's good to know that there exists a special ritual with this beer: Normally it will be served in a special glass, called "WeiÃbierglas". But if you get the empty glass and the bottle of beer, you have to fill it by yourself: in one step without dropping the bottle. Weissbier is more carbonated than most other beers and produces a lot of foam so it is not easy to fill without spilling something.
Bavaria could opt for the title of "holy grail of brewing". Not only is it home to Oktoberfest but also the highest brewery density in the world is in the north of the state, in the Franconian region. There, you can find a brewery in almost every village it is sometimes very small and maintained among a few families. You can find a lot of local beer specialities, as for instance the "Bamberger Schlenkerla" a beer with a taste of smoked bacon. So always try to stick with the local beersâ-especially tasty and supposedly healthy are the unfiltered beers served only in pubs.
In summer, you can generally find beer festivals everywhere: not only in the bigger cities but also in the smaller villages; be warned, however, that the beer there is often served in 1 L ceramic glasses called "MaÃ". The biggest certainly is the Munich Oktoberfest (http://www.oktoberfest.de), followed twice a year by the Nuremberg Volksfest (http://www.volksfest-nuer...). Also very nice is the Erlangen Berg (http://www.berch.info-Kir...) (http://www.der-berg-ruft.de.If) you are touring Upper Bavaria in August, you shouldn´t miss the Barthelmarkt in Oberstimm, next to Ingolstadt. One of the oldest traditional Volksfest in Bavaria. It´s kind of an insider tip. You will hardly find foreigners there. On Monday there is a big horse market and the beer tents open already at 5:30 am and they are packed with people at 6:00 am.
Bavariaâs beer garden (http://www.bayern.by/en/b...) season starts in mid April and runs right through to October. The shade of ancient horse chestnut trees become a rendezvous for both young and old, rich and not-so-rich, and locals and visitors alike: a place to enjoy a convivial glass of cool beer and some tasty Bavarian snacks. You can even bring your own food but not drinks.
brandy
Germans generally make brandy out of everything; most common are the fruit brandies Obstler and the herb liqueurs such as Sechsämtertropfen form northern Bavaria. For a real Altbayerisch feeling, try Bärwurz, Kräuterwurz, or Blutwurz.