germany has of course the world's second best beer, to say the least. if you like it it will always be good for you. draft is best. microbreweries are, if you ask me, overrated, but the bottled stuff is good value for money. i like it in cans too because i think it looks cooler, whereas drinking it out of the bottle, as german proles and kids do, is too phallic for me. no i am not homophobic. forget the guiness, it does not taste good in germany; the irish pubs are a joke.
the favorite drink in my home town frankfurt is apple cider, called apfelwein (or in the local dialect äppelwei or ebbelwoi or äppler). it's sour and refreshing and doesn't make you fat. you probably won't like the taste but the wimpy can dilute it with water; superwimps add lemonade, echh. you drink it it nice taverns where everybody gets drunk and pleasant as the evening progresses. nobody gets nasty from drinking apfelwein. from the inside the cider taverns look somthing like this
but even better are the cider gardens in which i have spent many a summer afternoon, sorry no photo at the moment.
i won't talk about bar drinks but i can tell you where they make a good gimlet. what you should know however is that the rhine, neckar, and moselle rivers are in driving distance and that there, you can get some of the worlds best wines. forget the supermarket plonk you may associate with german wine; there is a new generation of wine producers in germany and they kick ass. for red i still prefer french but for white -- i know nothing nicer than a rheingau spätlese trocken, if it from a good brand. remind me and i'll get a few bottles to try when you visit.
