Franconia Beer Message Board
B&J in Franken: Report 4 |
| Posted by barry on 2014-04-18 01:47:43 |
| After our outing to Nurnberg, we were feeling a little lazy on Wednesday, so we opted for a visit to zum Sonne in Bischberg. We visited there last September with Frank and were impressed that such a typical Franken rural pub could exist a handful of kilometres from Bamberg (mind you, we know now that such is the case with Drosendorf, Merkendorf, Schammelsdorf, etc., etc.). Arriving, we found that Sonne's springtime Fastenbock was on, so I tried a bottle, while J. opted for the Dunkles. Again, I was a bit disappointed, yes, it's a well made beer but, IMHO, really only a stronger version of the Helles, to which I reverted. When I consider the way that rural pubs in Ireland are closing for lack of customers, here was another Franken pub with a healthy clientele at 3 pm on a Wednesday. Is it the price of beer (nearly half that in Ireland), availability of transport, or what? I don't really know but, of course, a 'village' in Franken is a different thing to that found in the west of Ireland, where the population is likely to number 200rather than 2,000. Yesterday (Thursday) was the Rauchbier anstich in Goeller and, at 12.15, we sampled our first Seidlas. I thought it was nice enough, very like most of the other Rauchbiers, but J. would have liked it stronger! After lunch, we decided to utilise the curious bus system that operates around this area, which is a little too complicated to explain in full We picked up the incoming 14.50 bus number 907 at Memmelsdorf Markt (where it changes to the 927) for the 10 minute ride to Schammelsdorf. Conveniently, the bus stops right outside Brauerei Knoblach, so within minutes I was enjoying a Helles vom Fass and J. opted for her usual Dunkles. Wow, the Helles is a bitter beer, certainly the most bitter that I've tasted in Franken but all the better for a few more hops. However, J. didn't like the Dunkles too much - a bit too bitter for her - so we jumped on the 16.12 bus 927, which becomes the 16.22 bus 917 at Drosendorf heading for Merkendorf. Confused? I said the local bus system took some understanding! Hummel showed all the signs of a busy evening's dining coming up, with all the tables bearing reserviert signs. But we tucked ourselves onto a table reserved for 19.30 and ordered a Zwickelbier and a Dunkles (both excellent, of course). By the time these were finished, the pub was beginning to fill, so we headed for Wagner, which was also quite busy. Finding a couple of seats next to a friendly couple, J. was immediately engaged in conversation (in German) by an elderly gent who turned out to be H. Wagner, Senior - a nice gesture even if she didn't understand a word. Having tried most of the beers at Wagner, we settled on our personal favourites: guess what? A Dunkles for J. and a 'U' for me. In answer to someone's question of a few days ago, yes, the U is served vom Fass, while the other beers come from kegs. Only time for 1 beer and it was back on the 18.22 bus 917 for connection at Memmesdorf to the 907 back to Drosendorf. We were going back to our fewo but, it would be possible to stop off at Goeller, have a few beers and get the bus back to Bamberg at 19.41. Sorry if this report is a bit geekish with bus times and numbers but I wanted to show how it is possible, for the price of a €7-ish Tagesticket, easily to visit Hoehn and Drei Kronen in Memmelsdorf, Knoblach, Wagner and Hummel, and Goeller in half a day. |
| Followups: |
 B&J in Franken: Report 4 by Gerhard Schoolmann on 2014-04-18 02:57:12 |
| B&J in Franken: Report 4 by barry on 2014-04-18 05:40:59 |
| B&J in Franken: Report 4 by Gerhard Schoolmann on 2014-04-18 07:06:54 |
| B&J in Franken: Report 4 by Gary on 2014-04-19 08:33:45 |
| B&J in Franken: Report 4 by Nick B. on 2014-04-19 22:10:00 |
| B&J in Franken: Report 4 by FredW on 2014-04-19 22:19:06 |
| B&J in Franken: Report 4 by barry on 2014-04-20 02:00:50 |
| B&J in Franken: Report 4 by barry on 2014-04-20 04:57:59 |
| Relative Values of Beer by Nick B. on 2014-04-21 01:05:47 |
| Relative Values of Beer by FredW on 2014-04-21 15:02:39 |
| Relative Values of Beer by Nick B. on 2014-04-22 00:09:57 |
| So-called 'Session IPA' by Nick B. on 2014-04-22 00:49:13 |
| So-called 'Session IPA' by FredW on 2014-04-22 17:32:09 |
| So-called 'Session IPA' by Nick B. on 2014-04-23 00:32:19 |
| B&J in Franken: Report 4 by Gary on 2014-05-04 13:14:33 |