German Chancellor Angela Merkel made an impromptu appearance at one of Brisbane's most popular pub strips on Friday night.

Ms Merkell stopped in at bars on Caxton Street, a popular nightspot which is home to eight bars and a German sausage hut, shortly after landing in Brisbane.

The official cultural performances for world leaders at the G20 summit may not be scheduled until after a trade dinner tonight, but Ms Merkel and her guards soaked up some authentic Brisbane culture, stopping for photos and shaking hands with pub goers.

Locals who rubbed shoulders with Ms Merkel took to social media, posting "selfies" with the German leader and offering to buy her schnapps.

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"She knows where the party's at," wrote Kirsten Sealey on Facebook.

"The sign of a true leader, mixing it up with the locals!" wrote Jan Green.

A craft beer bar she visited played the 1980s German pop song 99 Luftballons in her honour shortly after she left the venue.

One of the pub goers who met Ms Merkel said the leader did not rush to get inside and took time to greet the crowd.

"Her security detail was tight and we were told she doesn't usually greet people but she seemed in a really excited mood and happy to be in Brisbane so she took the time to meet the locals," she said.

"My friend from Germany was definitely star-struck and struggled to get the German words out."

The German Chancellor's "pub crawl" may not come as a surprise to some, as the leader of one of the world's biggest beer producing nations she has often been pictured celebrating special occasions with a weizenbier, Kölsch or pilsener.

Other world leaders at the summit may wish they had a cold Australian beer to sip between intense meetings and trade talks, as record high temperatures are expected across Brisbane for the weekend.