You would be forgiven for thinking that the Paulaner Brauhaus was in Germany, but whilst it was a bierkeller, it was in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
When abroad I’d normally give a wide berth to bierkellers and Irish pubs, but options were limited, as of the two other nearby places, one had a menu in Russian only, and the other was too far to walk in the dark.
Our first foray to the Brauhaus was late one afternoon when we sat in the large ‘biergarten’ which had both covered and uncovered options. Whilst this too had a menu in Russian, there were also pictures and we managed to order a couple of beers in both a half and third of a litre. With a second large beer, they were good, but more expensive than the Russian beer we’d been drinking. However, the staff, who spoke little English, were helpful bringing a leather cushion for the bench and the credit card machine automatically with the bill.
Having eaten in the hotel on our first night, we thought it would be ideal for what was the final evening of our holiday, but this time chose to sit inside. The large restaurant was light and bright with lots of long blonde-wood tables, and we were served by staff wearing lederhosen and traditional Bavarian dresses.
Unfortunately, when we looked at the menu, we realised there wasn’t as many pictures as we’d remembered, so our choice was a little limited, particularly as I wasn’t keen on white German sausages which featured heavily. We chose cured salmon slices arranged on a board in the shape of a fish, with thick slices of potato, and also a salad of hummus, beetroot, spinach and pine nuts, which coincidentally went well with the salmon. However, having said yes to bread, the four huge salty pretzels hung on a ‘mug tree’, accompanied by an even saltier butter, were the star of the show. With our beers, the bill came to 23,980 Tenge (£41.34)
We left thinking it had been a good choice, bearing in mind the limitations.
According to the website it is ‘the only location for authentic Bavarian Food, Beer and “Gemütlichkeit” in the heart of Almaty’ and ‘Our experienced German Brewmaster uses only the best ingredients to brew our beer on site and always in strict accordance with the Bavarian purity law of 1516’ which as I later discovered, means the only ingredients that can be used in the production of the beer are water, barley and hops.
