-OUR UPCOMING- -BEER TRAVELS- July 2008 Oregon Brewers Festival in
Portland, OR August 2008
Great British Beer Festival in London, England September 2008 Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany October 2008
Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO November 2008 Strong Ale Festival in San Diego, CA December 2008
Kerstbierfestival in Essen, Belgium
For more information on the Franconian Brewery Museum, visit their website.
Located 150 miles north of Munich, Bamberg is a city that shouldn't be overlooked. Bamberg is a picturesque, thousand-year-old city with one of the largest old town centers in Europe. Emerging from World War II virtually unscathed, Bamberg has the classic architecture of a medieval German town. Included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, Bamberg is a must stop on any tour of this part of Bavaria.
Moreover, Bamberg boasts 9 breweries (plus the secret brewery), many within easy walking distance of each other in the old town center. Scenic beer gardens and charming beer halls plus the Bamberg specialty ‘rauchbier’ make Bamberg one of the best beer destinations in all of Europe.
Some of the breweries have odd business hours (such as closed on a Saturday afternoon) so consult their websites for hours of operation.
We made it to 7 of the 9 breweries... we asked about the "secret brewery" but found out nothing.
Fassla - One of the two brewery hotels in Bamberg.
Greifenklau - One of the nicest beer gardens we have been to in Germany, Greifenklau is well worth the hike up the hill. Chestnut trees provide the perfect shade on a warm summer afternoon while you sip their brews and enjoy the view.
Mahrs Brau - A nice beer garden, good food and beer plus conveniently located down the street from two other breweries.
Keesman - Keesman has a pleasant beer garden and is close to Mahr's Brau. This is where we first heard about the "secret brewery" from the lads having a stag party.
Klosterbrau - Tucked on a side street, this brewery was the hardest to find... but worth it. Try the black beer.
Schlenkerla Heller Brau - One of the two breweries that make rauchbier in Bamberg. Schlenkerla claims to be the original and their version is the most famous. If you go to one brewery in Bamberg, make it this one. (Zum Spezial is the other brewery with rauchbier but they close early on Saturdays so we missed trying their verion of the Bamberg classic. Zum Spezial is also the other brewery with rooms.)
Ambrausiamum - The newcomer on the Bamberg brewery scene, pop in after you have some rauchbier at Schlenkerla... it is a few doors down.
