http://www.franconiabeerguide.com/discuss.asp/ A virtual Stammtisch for discussing Franconian beer en-gb http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5KYes indeed they were filming the Three Musketeers on the Obere Brucke. We saw Orlando Bloom smoking a cigarette and sundry other stars and extras milling about. Other than that, we spent the day going to Roedental to see Schloss Rosenau and have lunch at Grosch, then to Coburg for the Veste (no beer stop) then to Spezial Keller and Klosterbrau, with celebrities in between. Tomorrow probably Kirkweih in Bischberg. http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5LI stopped by in some Ost (East) Bayern towns on a recent visit. Both breweries in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Sperber and Fuchsbeck, have excellent beers. Sperber is the more touristy of the two. The liver & onions at Sperber was quite superb. Note that if you are going to S-R by train, there is a station on the edge of town called S-R Hüette. Don't get off here, you need the next stop. I continue to be impressed by the beers in Regensburg. It kind of restores your faith in the traditional Bayern helles 'n' dunkel. Very quaffable stuff. Spital, Kneitinger, Löwenbrau/Passau, you can't go wrong. The new brew pubs were also good -- Weissbierhaus and Fürstlich. Schwandorf was a bit of a disappointment. The local Schmidtbrau was reasonable enough (although I don't think its locally brewed any more), and I found places that served Weltenburger Kloster and Kneitinger. There is also an upmarket place that serves Bruckmüller from Amberg. But otherwise, it was Arcobrau. http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5MDo what you have to, bum a ride, beg, steal, whatever, but if you like sour beers (lambics, Flemish sours, etc), do NOT hesitate to visit the utterly delightful little Woellnitzer Talschaenke, just southeast of Jena, Germany in the hillside suburb of Woellnitz ("oe" is the umlaut-o; I'm using a netbook with umlaut-crippled keyboard). C'mon, it isn't that far from Bamberg. The Papiermuehle brewpub, out on the western edge of Jena (and right on the main highway to Weimar and Erfurt) also brews a delicious unfiltered dark Bock. Just Say Yes!http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5M01Funny you should mention it -- we are planning a stop in Jena on our way to Leipzig in October.http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5M02So are they trying to approximate a particular sour beer style Don? Just curious. Joellehttp://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5M03I made a visit to Wöllnitz on my way from Berlin to Bamberg last month. The beer is supposed to be a Lichtenhainer, but i cannot find any trace of smokiness in it, so for me it is a close relative of Berliner Weisse. Very rare, very nice.http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5NIt isn't new. But it could be new for You. The folllowing breweries sell a "Bierdümpfl", a coupon for 8 beers (0,5 l) for only 6 Euros (that is: 0,64 Euro per Seidla!). You can get one Seidla in each brewery. You have to show your "Bierdümpfl" before or with ordering the beer. And You can only get 1 beer each visit. (But you can buy further Bierdümpfl for further visits of the same brewery or for other members of Your group). * Brauerei Göller in Drosendorf * Brauerei Griess in Geisfeld * Brauerei Kundmüller in Weiher * Brauerei - Gasthof Mainlust in Viereth * Brauerei Hummel in Merkendorf * Brauerei - Gasthof Kraus in Hirschaid * Brauerei Höhn in Memmelsdorf * Brauerei 3 Kronen in Scheßlitz http://www.qualitaetsdruck.de/bierduempfl/index.phphttp://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5N01That is a very interesting brewery list. And very very cheap. Looking on the website, I see you can also buy this at the Collibri bookshop in Bamberg (Austrasse).http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5N0101It does look good. What a coincidence that I will be stopping by Kundmüller before too long...http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZZ5N010101Yes, I was at (or rode past) most of the breweries on the list. Wish I'd know about it :)