Bierkeller Brewing Company — Restaurant in Columbia

The folks at bierkeller really knocked it out of the park. Their beers have always been some of the best in the state, and they remain so. They have several traditional German style beers, on a rotating basis. Each is a high fidelity example of the style it claims to be. You won't find barrel aged Baltic porters or IPAs or sour milkshake beers (I am not maligning these beers, just setting the expectation for what bierkeller offers.) If you like a lighter and crisper beer, their kolsch and Kellerbier are both phenomenal. Their wheat has all the fruity yeast character you expect from a German heffe. If you want something with more heft, their rauchbier and fastenbier are both fantastic.

Enough about beer, they also offer food, ranging from pretzels and cheesey spread to schnitzel and roast chickens. I have not had the whole menu but all the food I have had has been excellent. The food is served cafeteria style so while there may be a long line to order, once you order the food will be out in a jiff. In my opinion they have figure out the holding methods and how much food to make ahead. None of the food I have had there tasted like it had been under a heat lamp or in a chaffing dish. Well done.

As for the atmosphere, outside is gorgeous, lots of long tables with benches. Feels very much like the biergartens I have been to in Bavaria and Franconia. The tree shaded brick Plaza and the view of the canal really make this one of the nicest places to have a beer in the city.

There is ample parking in a garage just north of the Brewery, and even more at the entrance to the riverfront park near laurel and huger. I reccomend taking a stroll through the park and climbing the stairs to walk along the old prison wall to...

UPDATE: answer to the somewhat rude response I got to my review. I do understand how you would take it personally that I did not have a good experience but I do not feel that it is appropriate or necessary to take such a public passive aggressive stance in your response to it. Also although we are German, we are 1st generation. So although we were not personally born in Großkrotzenburg and Erlangen as our parents were, we have visited and even lived there for a short time. So sorry I missed an “e”. 🤷🏻‍♀️Also not to mention literally growing up on that food as my comfort food through out our childhoods. But best of luck and I hope you take this time to reflect and improve.

So I’m going to give this place a 2 solely because of the environment…. Which is amazing!! Great outdoor seating and staff was super nice!! I would only give one star if we were talking about the food and beer that just plain suck. No other way to put it. Me and my husband are German and have had German food and beer all over the country and world and this is definitely bottom of the barrel. We were so excited to see that they had opened and upon arriving felt we had made a great decision until we received our food and drink. My husband ordered currywurst and fries which was one small sausage with some “curry ketchup” type sauce mix sparingly drizzled on top and a wiesse beer. He ate about half because we were starving and then we quickly decided we would just got to McDonalds instead especially after I got a bite of my schnitzel that was utterly tasteless. Will never come...

The beer is outstanding. The food is legit and delicious. It takes me back to my days in Germany. The sausage, bread, schnitzel, and cucumber salad are jut like you find them in Germany. The pricing is very reasonable. Why the rating? Because of their process for service which is horrible. We went Saturday at noon. Grabbed 3 Gluhweins and a beer. The Gluhwein was sensational too. We go inside and long lines. That's OK but they make no sense. The beer line merges with the food line and its a complete Stau (traffic jam). The food line was so slow. I know it's fresh, but they need a better system. I go outside to refill gluhwein and beer. I stand in line and grab a beer. They won't take a return on a gluhwein cup at the beer station. You have to stand in a separate line for gluhwein. That line was crawling. By the time I got to the register, I had finished 80% of my beer. I return a gluhwein cup and refill 2 for my family. We finished our drinks and decided it was not worth 30-45m to wait in line to return our cups. I wanted to keep one cup but not two plastic beer steins and 2 gluhwein cups. Now I am out $18. You should have a dedicated person in the courtyard to collect returns and provide refunds. No reason to wait behind everyone buying drinks. BTW inconsistencies in gluhwein portions. Is it half filled cup or 3/4. It was dissapointing to pay for a 1/2 cup of Gluhwein. Great, great food but they need to work on their...