Vienna, Austria
7 Stern Brau, a microbrewery and eating place in Spittelberg
Siebensterngasse 19, Vienna, Austria
Microbreweries in Vienna are called Gasthausbrauereien. Gasthausbrau’s feature Zwicklbier; an unfiltered beer, clouded, no preservatives.
The barman stood behind a series of beer taps, drawing a liter. I took a stool at the bar, my preferred dining seat. Nobody else was at the bar, but the dining tables in 7 Stern Brau were filled.
“You speak English?” I asked.
“Of course I do, I’m Alexander,” he stretched his hand across the bar.
“Describe your Wiener Helles beer?”
“Blond, unfiltered, no preservatives,” Alexander said.
Blond, a little dirty and no make-up, my type, “I’ll take one.”
Over Alexander’s head, above the beer taps (bierschenke), stacked upside down and ready to pour, were 10 bottles of Austrian Schnapps; each graded at 35% alcohol. A different fruit appeared on each label.
“Alex,” I asked, “what is the true flavor used for schnapps, real Austrian schnapps.”
“Apple,” he said. The schnapps arrived next, before dinner.
The bar waitress appeared with a Vienna smile; she set a menu on the bar.
“Do you speak English?” I asked.
“Of course I do,” she said.
“I’m Tom, what’s your name?”
“Alexandra,” she said.
“Of course it is,” I replied.
Why this place appeals to me
A food critic once observed that the quality of the food declines as you rise and improves as you descend. I.E. have a drink at the restaurant in the sky, eat in a ratskeller. I descended ten steps to enter 7 Stern Brau.
The sign outside read BIERGARTEN, but the ten steps down? Copper kettles gleamed from behind the bar. Walking through 7 Stern, a rear door led up ten steps to a courtyard with trees, tables and local beer drinkers.
How Far Down the Block?
Spittelberg is a six-block neighborhood just north of Vienna’s inner ring. It is served by the Volkstheater subway stop. The cobblestone streets of Spittelburg will thrill the shopper traveling with you. [mappress mapid=”13″]
7 Stern Brau lies on the edge of Spittlebug. Gasthoff and restaurants, tables set with white linen and flickering candles on outdoor terraces, were mostly empty on a Monday evening in May. 7 Stern Brau was buzzing; filled with Viennese chattering in German. Real Austrian food was being served at prices well below those at the vacant tables of their nearby competitors.
Why you might be nearby? The Museums, the Austrian Folk Theater and Vienna’s English Theater.
Lesser Known Facts
Viennese have great pride in the quality of their water.
“You don’t need to order bottle water in Vienna,” Willy, barman at Hansy Gasthoff said. The Hansy is across town from 7 Stern Brau, just outside the Praterstern subway stop.
“I never do when beer is an option,” I said.
“No, I mean when you want water,” Willy said, “Vienna water is pure, from the mountains.”
Water flows into Vienna from springs in the Lower Austrian Alps, reaching the Austrian capital 36 hours later; no pumps and under strict regulations. Vienna has declared their water White Gold and placed it under the protection of the Austrian constitution. In 1998, the Vienna Water Line Hiking Path opened following the water route from the mountains into Vienna! The head of the hiking path can be reached by public transportation for a leisurely walk back into Vienna . . . for a beer.
Local Recommendation
Drink Green; this concept can be overdone. Pesticides have allowed the US to feed the world, but that’s another tale. The Reinheitsgebot, the German beer purity law, ensures that beer made only from barley, hops, water, and yeast – no preservatives – can be brewed and consumed on site in Vienna
Ask for a Weiner Helles; a 4.6% alcohol, unfiltered beer without preservatives. 7 Stern’s head brewer is a Slovak; from the land that gives us Czech Budweiser and Urquell.
Eat local; sample the German Potato Salad (kartoffsalat), Cabbage Salad (krautsalat) and Wiener Schnitzel
Something for Nothing
Roam the cobblestone streets of Spittelberg; potentially a free stroll. The shops, alternative restaurants will keep you busy for hours.