Franconian Beer Message Board

trip report ( a bit long)
Posted by gavin on 2010-07-15 03:50:14
Thought i'd share my latest trip to franconia with the board, it was a 40th birthday suprise from my other half, i found out on saturday 12th june and was drinking my first beer by 11.30 on monday morning after a long drive from london.first stop was keesman before popping over the road to mahrs, herren pils and the u both well up to scratch.on the way back to appartment stopped off at cafe abseits for a few seidla of the beck zoigl beer, good beer with a bit of a kick to it. tuesday was a day to get on our bikes which we bring over now oberleinleiter was the first stop for brauerei ott had the export solid brew but nothing special ,next stop was krug of Breitenlesau dark beer very good and tasted even better when the carbonation died down a bit.off to heckenhof next for kathi brau lovely setting, another dunkles and the best beer of the day also the pressack was excellent here.on the way back to bamberg we stopped in geisfeld for the greiss keller for a couple of the always good keller beer,long day in the saddle but well worth it. wednesday was a lighter day in the saddle just a short ride to kemmern for the wagnerkeller ,beer always good and refreshing and a wonderful vista to boot. next stop was oberhaid for the kraft keller and the beer from brauerei Eichhorn, kellerbeer out of the wood and very good indeed.back to bamberg and the fassla keller as i wanted to watch a bit of footie on the big sceen before finishing off the day back at cafe abseits sitting in the beer garden drinking Zehendner lagerbeer a lovely relaxing day. thursday and a longer ride planned for today headed of to Schederndorf for brauerei will, lovely ride until wurgau then gets very hilly and twisty, lots of hairpins and seems to be a favourite road for motorbikes as loads kept zooming passed us. got to brauerei will just passed the yard arm with a raging thirst to find the garden packed, got the last free table and settled down for a few beers ,good beer with a nice dry finish. next stop was hubner in wattendorf, excellent dunkles beer and by now we were very hungry ,we both had Schnitzel mit bratkartoffeln and in 13 years of coming to franconia it was easily the biggest portion of food i have ever had, absolutely massive and very tasty too.we were going to try dremel over the road but we were so full we needed to cycle off the food to make some room for more beer so we made our way back to bamberg with a stop off at kottensdorf for brauerei hoh,nice place where everyone was eating chicken must be a speciality of the house, beer was good with a nice hoppy taste. friday the heavens opened so a bamberg day for us,spezial and schlenkerla were both excellent and very quiet as germany were playing, finished off the day in fassla and had an early night. saturday and the sun was out so back on the bikes and off to melkendorf for brauerei winkler ,weird looking place from the outside looks more like a block of flats but inside was all dark wood and we got a very warm welcome as we were the only ones in.beer was pretty good a lot better than i was expecting as i've read a few reviews that were not that complimentary.next place was in lohndorf, brauerei holzlein was recommended to us by our friends in bamberg and it didnt disappoint the Schnitzel and bratkartoffeln were even better than hubner, though not as big the Schnitzel just melted in the mouth and i even ate the salad and i never eat salad to healthy and all that. beer was also good a light quaffable brew that goes well with the food.off to geisfeld next for krugbrau were the welcome was as friendly as ever and the beer always up to scratch.last stop of the day was the felsenkeller in rossdorf am forst, where we were delighted to find them not only open but also serving the excellent Braunbier a fantastic end to a great day. sunday and we had to leave the Ferienwohnung and we wanted to extend our stay so i changed the ferry back and booked into the langasthof rittmayer in willersdorf for a further 3 nights its a lovely hotel within walking and cycling distance of the kreuzberg kellers and many others.after checking in we headed to Zentbechhofen for the fischer keller,its a lovely spot lots of families about,had the kellerbeer first very good, but the next beer the rauchbeer was excellent more smoke than spezial but less than schlenkerla a very happy medium. popped down the road next to roppelts in Stiebarlimbach ,beer always good and a nice big salzknockla went down a treat.being a sunday and the sun shining we headed of to the Witzgall keller for the landbier, wonderful beer so glad the sun was out. finished off the day at the hotel with a few seidla of rittmayer kellerbeer. monday and after a large breakfast headed of to Forchheim and the kellerwald got there a 1.30pm then the rain came so no kellers open for a while, so headed to eggolsheim for Schwarzes Kreuz ,amusing scene in the pub as 5 other cyclist looking like drowned rats supping the excellent beer when we arrived, we all looked like we just got out off the shower fully clothed.after a few hours the weather improved so we moved on to the kreuzberg kellers had a few in rittmayer and then friedel to finish off the day. tuesday was the last full day of the trip a glorious sunny day was forecast so on the bikes and off to sambach for brauerei hennemann but the dreaded urlaub sign was up so carried on to herrnsdorf for barnikel one of my favourites, after a couple there we moved onto robersdorf for brauerei weber ,we sat in the courtyard with the sun beating down and drinking their very refreshing beer.when the sun became a little too hot we moved on to the shaded keller of Schwarzes Kreuz where the beer tasted even better direct from the barrel we relaxed there for a few hours before finishing the trip off at lieberth dorfleins keller in hallerndorf. a wonderful trip especially as it was a suprise,highlights beer wise were kathi brau,hubner wattendorf and the fischer rauchbier, food wise holzlein and hubner. i can also highly recommend langasthof rittmayer in willersdorf good location and very reasonable price 62 euros for a doubleroom inc breakfast. cant wait for august as we will be in bamberg for sandkerwa.
 
Followups:
   trip report ( a bit long) by Mark Andersen on  2010-07-15 15:57:57
   trip report ( a bit long) by mike004 on  2010-07-16 02:19:58
     trip report ( a bit long) by gavin on  2010-07-16 02:39:30
       trip report ( a bit long) by mike004 on  2010-07-16 04:18:32
   trip report ( a bit long) by A Harvey on  2010-07-16 11:39:06
     trip report ( a bit long) by Fred Waltman on  2010-07-16 13:17:02
       trip report ( a bit long) by gavin on  2010-07-17 05:56:43
   trip report ( a bit long) by Nick B. on  2010-07-18 03:17:14