This was a handout from Draft magazine, which really caught my attention. Read on…

If you’re traveling through Europe this summer, spending time at an authentic, Austrian beer garden is a must. Beer gardens are a foretaste of heaven, where the sun always shines and everyone is your friend. But to avoid looking like a tourist, you’ll need to follow the rules. The May/June issue of Draft magazine offers tips on the proper beer garden etiquette:

· Don’t feel violated if strangers ask to sit at your table. It’s customary for patrons to fill up empty seats at an occupied table.

· Don’t hold your liter-mug (called a “mass”) by the handle. Slip your whole hand inside the handle for better control.

· Know where to sit. Large beer gardens have one section for self-service and picnics (yes, you can bring your own food). Table service is provided where you see chairs and/or tablecloths. Don’t carry beer or food to these tables, or you will be scolded.

· Be ready to order. Servers are busy and will walk away if you don’t know what you want.

· Be ready to pay. Servers will open their change purse on the table, add up the beers, and bark out a total. They expect payment on the spot.

· Tip about 5 percent by rounding up, and hand the tip to the server. Don’t leave it on the table.

· Don’t be unruly! Beer gardens are family places, so don’t be surprised to find yourself sitting among grandmothers with strollers and families picnicking after church.

· Left means “go,” right means “stop.” Bachelors should note that a single fräulein knots her dimdl apron on the left, married on the right.

· Look them in the eye and drink. When toasting, it’s rude to set your beer down or not look each person in the eye before drinking.

Final note from me. There’s a new beer garden right here in the Bay Area and I find it absolutely stony. Its Hopmonk in Sebastopol. Its the new beer cafe just opened by Dean Biersch, the co-founder with Dan Gordon of Gordon Biersch Brewing. This is Dean’s first restaurant venture in nearly a decade.

For a review, go here….and by the way, I’m going to be there Thursday night (May 22, 2008), see you there.,