Augustiner on Draft, Finally
Earlier this week, Boak & Bailey wrote that they "still haven't seen it on draft anywhere in the UK" — referring to Augustiner Helles, the famously protected Munich pale lager that the brewery refuses to sell to anyone who won't look after it properly. "Perhaps no pub has yet met their stringent quality standards," they speculated.
The programme is genuinely new. James Clay & Sons, the exclusive UK distributor, only officially launched Augustiner Helles on draught in November 2025 — about five months ago — and hasn't published a public list of which venues have been accepted onto the programme. So the question of where to drink it has been a real one.
According to Glasgow Live's reporting on Bavaria Brauhaus becoming the first Scottish venue on the programme, only seven UK pubs are currently selling Augustiner Helles on draught. PINtPOINT can name all seven — and the eighth, opening in two weeks.
Augustiner Helles, on draught, in the UK
- The King's Arms · Bethnal Green, London
- Albert Schloss · Soho, London
- Café Beermoth · Manchester city centre
- Society · Barbirolli Square, Manchester
- Mosaic Tap · Newcastle upon Tyne
- Ball & Chain · Luton
- Bavaria Brauhaus · Bothwell Street, Glasgow — first in Scotland
- The Whippet EC2 · Liverpool Street, London — opening 12 May 2026
What it takes to pour it
James Clay's published terms make the bar concrete. To be accepted onto the Augustiner draught programme, a venue has to:
- Run cellar temperature at 4°C — not the 11–13°C that's the UK norm
- Use direct keg draw rather than a long line through a remote cellar
- Pour at 100% CO₂ top pressure
- Install 10mm wide-bore lines
- Commit to mechanical line cleaning
- Meet rate-of-sale expectations and have an existing range that fits
This isn't a beer you put on as a try. It's pub-cellar surgery for one product. The reward is a beer that pours the way Munich drinks it — clean, soft, fresh, no oxidation, no off-notes from a warm cellar. The cost is real money and real commitment.
James Clay invites venues to register interest privately. They haven't published the list of accepted operators. What surfaces these seven is the cross-referencing PINtPOINT does by default — each venue's tap list aggregated from its public Untappd check-ins, then normalised by brewery and beer so any one of them can be searched. Seven independent decisions; one shared answer.
Two threads worth pulling
Mosaic Tap (Newcastle) appears on this list and on a different list this Friday — Pressure Drop's 12 Years of Bosko celebration, where twelve UK venues will simultaneously pour the brewery's iconic West Coast IPA on 1 May. So one of the venues pouring Augustiner is also pouring an iconic UK hop-forward release on the same day. Mosaic Tap curates across the whole spectrum, German lager to North London IPA, fresh.
The King's Arms in Bethnal Green was taken over in November 2024 and is now the sister pub of the Sutton Arms in Clerkenwell — itself another of Friday's twelve Bosko launch venues. Two pubs, two different lists, one ownership group. It isn't coincidence; it's a pattern. Independent operators with strong curatorial taste tend to make the same kinds of decisions: source what's hard to source, treat it properly, charge what it costs.
The Whippet EC2 angle
When The Whippet EC2 opens on 12 May at 76 Old Broad Street, by Liverpool Street station, it'll be the first new pub under the Whippet name since the original Holborn Whippet closed in December 2020. Augustiner Helles is one of the lines flagged for opening day. Worth a trip when the doors open.
A small number of careful operators
pour Augustiner properly in the UK.
They're independent, scattered, and know what it takes.
What we're not claiming
That this is the final UK list. Glasgow Live cite seven pubs currently on the programme — PINtPOINT names all seven via public Untappd check-ins, and the eighth from 12 May. But as more operators make the cellar investment to join the programme, the list will grow. If you know one we've missed, tell us; we'll add it. What this list shows is a pattern: a small number of careful operators pour Augustiner, and they tend to be the same operators who make the rest of the right calls.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I drink Augustiner Helles on draught in the UK?
Seven UK pubs are pouring Augustiner Helles on draught as of late April 2026, following the November 2025 James Clay launch: The King's Arms (Bethnal Green, London), Albert Schloss (Soho, London), Café Beermoth (Manchester), Society (Barbirolli Square, Manchester), Mosaic Tap (Newcastle upon Tyne), Ball & Chain (Luton), and Bavaria Brauhaus (Bothwell Street, Glasgow — first in Scotland). The Whippet EC2 by Liverpool Street station joins the list from 12 May 2026 with Augustiner flagged as one of its opening lines, making eight.
When did Augustiner Helles launch on draught in the UK?
Augustiner Helles launched officially on draught in the UK in November 2025, distributed exclusively by James Clay & Sons. The list of accepted venues isn't published publicly by the distributor, which is why "where to drink it on draught" has been a real question. The programme is roughly five months old as of late April 2026.
Why is Augustiner Helles so hard to find on draught in the UK?
Beyond Augustiner-Bräu München's broader reputation for protecting its product, James Clay & Sons (the UK distributor) requires accepted venues to run cellar temperature at 4°C, use direct keg draw with 100% CO₂ top pressure, fit 10mm wide-bore lines, and commit to mechanical line cleaning. Those terms are well above the UK norm of 11–13°C cellars and standard line gear, which is why most pubs can't or won't meet them — and why the operators that do tend to be careful, independent ones.
Is Augustiner Lagerbier Hell the same as Augustiner Helles?
Yes. The brewery's flagship pale lager is officially named Lagerbier Hell. "Helles" is the style designation; "Augustiner Helles" is the colloquial name UK and US drinkers use. Untappd lists it as Lagerbier Hell, which is why our app surfaces it under that name. Same beer.
Will the Whippet EC2 actually pour Augustiner from opening day?
Augustiner Helles is one of the lines flagged for opening day (12 May 2026) by the venue and the @WhippetEC2 social account. As with any new pub, the day-one tap list isn't fully confirmed until the doors open. PINtPOINT's live tap data on the Whippet EC2 venue page will reflect what's actually pouring once check-ins start coming through.
How does PINtPOINT know what's on tap?
For each venue with an Untappd presence, PINtPOINT continuously aggregates the recent check-ins published to Untappd's public feed for that venue and surfaces the resulting tap list inside the app. Each beer is annotated with a green / amber / red freshness dot so you can judge how recently the tap line was last confirmed. There's no claim of real-time accuracy — that's what the dots are for. Read more about how it works.
If you've ever wanted to drink Augustiner Helles fresh, on draught, in the UK — turns out there's a short list, it's growing, and PINtPOINT now has all of it pinned.