German Fest may have said “auf wiedersehen” for 2024, but there’s a spot where Deutschland-inspired delights run 365 days a year: Von Rothenburg Bier Stube, pouring liters and half-liters of authentic German communal spirit – and, of course, hoppy German spirits too.

Whether you’re venturing indoors or hanging in the beer garden, you’ll feel like you’ve landed in Rothenburg itself – but without feeling the jet lag from the nine-hour flight.

"I go to Germany every year, and this is one of the most authentic places I’ve ever seen,” said Rick Heil, a Bier Stube regular for a dozen years. “Most of the tables in the beer garden are from Gemany. The beer, the décor, the wood seats: This is something like what you’d see in a real beer hall.” 

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Found at N116W15863 Main Street in (where else?) Germantown, Von Rothenburg Bier Stube is at least 800 years younger than its medieval walled German namesake, built into its current state in the mid-‘90s. Over the past almost 30 years, several owners have taken over the spot – with the latest, Shaun Bowe of The Stillery in Richfield and Grafton, adding his name to its legacy just a few months ago.

Bowe took over after the Bier Stube closed in late 2023, purchasing the Germantown favorite – as well as the former Jerry’s Old Town Inn next door – in March. 

"Historically, this has been a really cool place for the area,” Bowe recalled. “I used to work as a bartender at Jerry’s Old Town and here around 1999 or 2000, and it’s always been a cool group of people, real down-to-earth people who love German beer. I always liked this location; it’s just a cool, authentic place. I actually had my wedding rehearsal dinner upstairs, so it’s always been something we’ve had our eyes on.”

Unsurprisingly, considering his personal connection to the spot, Bowe and company didn’t make many changes to the Bier Stube when they took over earlier this year. Besides a new tap system and freshening up the outdoor beer garden space, the bar looks as it did before – a sigh of relief for regulars worried about the spot losing its unique traditional charm. 

"People were terrified when we bought it that it was going to be something else – a different concept, like an Irish bar – and they were ecstatic when we told them it’d be a similar thing to what it’s been in the past,” Bowe said. 

“For it to be around for 30 years, we want to keep that tradition still going for another 30 – and the community’s the ones who are going to keep it going, so we want to do right by them,” added director of operations Tanner Golz. 

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Walking into the bar itself, it’s hard to imagine someone wanting to change the Bier Stube. The inside is truly like teleporting to Rothenburg thousands of miles away, the rich wooden interior and intricately carved décor so authentic it was all crafted by actual Austrian woodworkers. It’s cozy, but that only adds to the lively, communal atmosphere, even a small crowd making the place look, sound and feel full of energy.

Adding to the immersive ambiance are several impressive stained glass creations, the first floor centerpiece telling the legend of “Der Meistertrunk,” the 17th century saga of an army invasion thwarted thanks to a brave mayor (and his even braver liver) chugging a tankard of wine. The second floor contains even more seating and German posters on the walls, plus a balcony perfect for watching the city’s annual parades come by. 

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Of course, the most important part of creating a German-themed beer hall is the beer itself. Von Rothenburg Bier Stube’s taps are almost entirely dedicated to Deutschland, pouring various liters of Weihenstephaner, Hofbrau and other German brews – often seasonal picks – on draft. For those saving the authenticity to the atmosphere, the bar also offers Miller and Coors in cans, a number of seltzers and cocktail options.

As immersive as the bar’s interior is, the star of the Stube is the sprawling authentic beer garden in the back, featuring well more than a dozen German-style picnic tables scattered across the shaded outdoor haven. The tap list is almost identical outside, served by waitresses in dirndls while music fills the air – sometimes from live German bands, other times piped-in tunes like “Dancing Queen” … but sung in German.

On a Midwest summer day, it’s like a bright, festive and refreshing vacation but shockingly close to home – simultaneously an escape but also a gathering spot purposely designed to bring people together, with its picnic benches and family-friendly (and dog-friendly) atmosphere, complete with games like a small putting green and hammerschlagen. 

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“I would call it as authentic of a beer garden as you can get,” said Steve Bailey, a longtime Bier Stube regular and member of their popular Bier Club. “We’ve had people from Germany here who admitted they were jealous because it was better than what they had at home.”

“It’s very open to strangers – which is the Bavarian way,” Heil said. “Total strangers sit at the same long tables; they don’t isolate themselves as much. A lot of people in America equate drinking beer to a bar where things are dark and loud. A beer hall in Germany, it’s not dark, they serve food, people bring their kids, there’s beer gardens – it’s not like the stereotype Americans imagine.”

“You can have two or three different groups sitting at a table who’ve never known each other, connecting throughout the night,” Golz added. “It’s very much a community feel. It’s fun to see so many different ways of life all coming together in this one space.”

Just a few months in, it’s a strong start for the Bier Stube’s new era. Looking ahead, Bowe and company want to add even more live music to the beer garden and add more food. For now, the Bier Stube currently serves a limited menu of sausages and pretzels as well as other tavern favorites like smash burgers and a Wisconsin fish fry out of a food truck – a temporary plan as they continue working on rejuvenating the former Jerry’s Old Town Inn next door. 

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Stay hungry for more updates to come on that – but in the meantime, Von Rothenburg Bier Stube seems happily focused on maintaining its one-of-a-kind community and one-of-a-kind cultural hotspot. 

“The people that come here are open to ideas,” Bailey noted. “They get into conversations. It’s a good way to meet people who you would not otherwise talk to.”

“Weirdly enough, being in Germantown, there’s not really too many authentic German places here,” Golz said, “so being one of the only places in the area to stick with that mindset, that the inside is what you could expect walking into a building in Rothenburg and keeping it that, means a lot.”

"It’s cool to see it carried on,” Bowe added. “I’ve been here on and off for 25 years and seeing different phases of life for different people coming in and out of the area, it’s cool to see that continue and that people can still enjoy it.”

So if you’re wanting to keep up that German Fest joy, you could travel the 4,300 miles to Rothenburg … or you could go just 20 miles to the next best thing, Deutschland found right within driving distance.