Franconia Beer Message Board

Past the half way point in our long visit and so decided to venture for a couple of longish walks.  First was the Ebing, Hoefen, Freudeneck jaunt.  Schwanen in Ebing is a lovely place and we geared up for the walk with a Seidla of their excellent Dunkel.  We asked the Kellnerin how long it would take to walk to Freudeneck and she said 'Ein gutes Stunde' and this proved correct, although it would have been quicker but for slight confusion at Rattelsdorf and the fact that the road from Hoefen was, literally, a building site.  Freudeneck was a trifle disappointing, nice place but the Keller-bier was only so-so, not much character and way too 'fizzy'.  However, Hoefen was delightful, a really beautifully prepared beer.  Next time, we'll cut out the Freudeneck leg.

Thursday, we arranged to meet Nick in Buttenheim.  A little initial confusion meant that we sampled a Seidla in the two town Stubl'n.  The St. Georgen was ok, not unpleasant but neither especially memorable.  We've visited Loewenbrau-keller before (with Nick & Beccy) and it is a delightful spot, with a great view to both breweries.  However, I can only say that planning in the 1960s (?) must have been very poor to allow St. Georgen to build that monstrosity – it is a real eyesore when viewed from the keller.  Nick had pointed out that the beer in the Loewenbrau keller was quite different from that in the stubla and this is certainly true.  Much mellower and tasty – worth remembering.

Friday was reserved for a trip down memory lane – a return to Forchheim, scene of two memorable holidays.  After a couple of pleasant Seidlas in Greif – a really professionally brewed beer – it was into Neder, one of our favourite haunts and what I would describe as a proper boozer.  All the old regulars seemed to be in place and there was the usual lively atmosphere.  Combine this with a lovely Fassbier for me and J's favourite Schwarz-Anna – what could be better?

We decided to stay local on Saturday, as Hoehn keller was open.  We tried the Goerchla in the pub garden first before moving a few hundred metres up the hill.  To my mind, the beer in the pub was much better, less carbonated and more naturally tasty.  I suspect that the beer in the keller had been given a shot of CO2 to keep it lively – I remember that, previously, we discussed this practice at length with regard to the Witzgall keller.

On Sunday, we were all set for a longish walk to Lohndorf and Tiefernellen when we got a call from Juergen, who was in Stegaurach, having completed a 20 k run/walk.  Quick change of plans and it was off to the north and several places where we had previously been thwarted by unexpected Urlaub!  First stop, Leicht in Pferdsfeld.  Juergen was a bit concerned that his natty training gear would not be popular but no one seemed to notice or care.  There were no tables outside and inside was very crowded with diners but we managed to get a table.  A really nice beer, which reminded me, oddly, of the beer at Spielbach, very smooth and mellow – a credit to the brewer and just shows what can be done in an old brewery, without all the modern trappings. 

After an unplanned diversion, next it was Wiesen.  We bypassed Thomann and opted to sit in the glorious sunshine outside Hellmuth.  This time, it was lucky for J., as they were serving Dunkel vom Fass – and it was excellent.  After leaving Hellmuth, we headed for Heilgersdorf, which proved a bit tricky, owing to road closures and odd signposting, but we got there and approached the brewery a little nervously, as it seemed a bit deserted.  Fortunately, Juergen chose to go by the back door, as, if we had chosen the front door, we would have seen the sign that read (roughly translated) 'Closed at 13.00, due to confirmation event!'  But, fortunately, the back door was open and silver-tongued Juergen managed to secure three Seidlas of the Maerzen - and it was worth waiting for.  A really full-bodied beer, darkish colour and very more-ish.  The only disappointment was that the Zwickel was not available due to the day's events.

Putting that behind us, we decided to make one more stop and it was really good for Juergen that we were able to try a brewery that was new to him: Schleicher at Kaltenbrunn.  In fact, I have rarely seen Schleicher mentioned on this Forum, probably because it is a bit out of the way.  However, it is certainly worth a visit: the Pils was excellent, probably as good as any I've tasted, while J's Dunkel was equally noteworthy.  In fact, it was so good that I had to have one myself!

Thus ended another great day – thanks again to Juergen for greatly extending our education in Franken beer (and all things Franconian!).

Next time: we finally make Lohndorf and Tiefernellen, a visit to Stublang and Loffeld and to much to drink on the Tag des Bieres in Bamberg!