Taking a cue from German beer festivals like Munich's Oktoberfest, Tysons Biergarten issues different colored tokens or "chips" guests can use to buy beer, wine, liquor, and food!
So how does it all work? When you come to Tysons Biergarten, you'll go straight to the token or "chip" lines, just as you would at Bavarian festivals and biergartens. Chips are $8.48 each, including tax, and the blue chips are for beer/wine; the white chips are for liquor; the red chips are for food. Buy as many as you think you're going to need, so you don't have to wait in the chips line again. You can use them anytime; they don't expire! Next, you'll go to the bartender and place your order. According to Tysons Biergarten, this way of doing things ends up speeding up the process of getting drinks. Bartenders don't have to deal with making change, opening a tab for you, or going through a bunch of tabs looking for your name. You also don't have to wait to close your tab when you're ready to leave, or worry about forgetting your credit card at the bar! For food orders, take a menu print-out, and check the boxes next to the items you want. There are some spaces for you to write in special requests, like "no bun," etc. [caption id="attachment_8598" align="aligncenter" width="448"]
Sample menu, courtesy tysonsbiergarten.com[/caption]
What about tips? Tips are paid in cash at the token booths or bar, as part of a shared tipping system.
What's on the Menu
The main bier hall offers some of Germany and Belgium’s finest beers, along with seasonal specialties. Tysons Biergarten also features 100+ American Craft beers (you can even build your own six-pack to go). The wine list features a rose, chardonnay, pinot grigio, and cabernet sauvignon, all from local Barboursville Vineyard. The menu also features a pinot noir from California, as well as two German rieslings.
Tysons Biergarten also has bier cocktails, which are specialty drinks made by mixing bier with a distilled beverage. A mixture of bier with a beverage that contains a soft drink is typically referred to as “radler," which can be found at every biergarten in Germany.
American Underground, the basement bar, features over 60 different types of whiskeys and bourbons. They have whiskeys from Japan, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and America.
