http://www.franconiabeerguide.com/discuss.asp/ A virtual Stammtisch for discussing Franconian beer en-gb http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJI will be staying in Bamberg for 3 nights from the 7th June. I was wondering if maibock vom fass will still be available for me to try. Also I would like to try some hell bock also vom fass. Any tips. Thanks Davehttp://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJ01Hi Dave, there's a Maibock from Klosterbräu/Bamberg – a nearly typical "Heller Bock" and I think it should be "vom Fass" there. I had a bottle a friend braught me from there. There's also a Maibock (Hell) from the brewerey Hummel/Merkendorf near Bamberg, which is very good and only availabla in Merkendorf vom Fass, rest in bottles is sold out. If you like to travel, you should try the Bockbier Hell from Staffelbergbräu/Loffeld near Staffelstein. This ist great. Or you can try the Rehbock/Hell from the brewery Reh in Lohndorf/"near" Bamberg. But right at the Moment I can't tell you, where to get this "vom Fass". But I'm not sure, if you can get these beers still in June. Most of them are sold from April on ... But there's plenty of good beer in Bamberg anyway, so enjoy your trip Norberthttp://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJ02Maibock is not as big a phenomenon in Franconia as it is elsewhere, perhaps. They're not brewed by many breweries at all. Hellerbock is surprisingly common in *winter* though, leading up to Xmas. (It was a big surprise for me, anyway, when I first learned about it.) And seasonal beers don't stick around long after they're brewed and released, unlike in the US, for example.http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJ0201Thanks for the quick responses. I have had Maibock and Hellerbock from bottles before and was really hoping to try them from fass so I guess its fingers crossed that there may be somewhere that I can try these.http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJ020101June is too late for maibocks on tap. At Café Abseits we tap bocks from October to May. But the Mönchsambacher Maibock is sold out yesterday. We change to Hölzlein Vollbier from Lohndorf. In the summertime only few locals want to drink strong beers. On bottle we have actual: - Hummel Maibock - Huppendorfer Josephibock and Weiherer Bock (this is a non seasonal bock). Maybe, but only with a very small chance, You can get on tap: - Hummel Maibock in their brewpub - Gänstaller (Drei Kronen) Maibock in the "Drei Kronen", Strassgiech. Talk with Andy Gänstaller to get examples of his other strong beers (non seasonal), p.e. Quator (11,4% vol. alc.). These beers are not part of the official beer menu in Strassgiech. Try insteand an other seasonal beer on tap: Schlenkerla Kräusen, only in the Schlenkerla brewpubhttp://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJ02010101Danke Gerhard. Thanks for the tips. I will look forward to sampling the Hölzlein Vollbier in Cafe Abseits. What other beers will be there from Fass on June 7th/8th/9th? I am staying in a cheap hostel on Heiliggrabstraße so i guess this is close to you? and I will visit a few times. http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJ0201010101Maybe 1,4 km distance or 15 minutes walking. Or You take the bus Nr. 902 or the night bus 935 from the railway station (half of the way to Café Abseits). The bus connection is more interesting if You don't come from Your hostel (maybe from the old city (ZOB, central bus station). Your hostel is also near by the malthouse Weyermann (around 1 km). You can visit their fanshop or better: You contact - Dominik Maldoner, the brewmaster of the Braumanfaktur Weyermann, http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000595557691 or - Adam Brown, an australian brewer, working at the Braumanufaktur http://www.facebook.com/adam.brown.758 to discuss an visit of the Braumanufaktur and maybe an informal tasting). Formal Visits of the malthouse (much greater than only the brewhouse) is possibe only for groups (> 20 peoples and cost 12 Euro ??). But maybe they have a group visitation in the time when You are in Bamberg and You can connect. If You have a facebook contact, fried me http://www.facebook.com/gerhard.schoolmann and I will suggest You these two brewers as friends. We have listed some of the Weyermann beers on our beer menu, too. We have 4 regular beers on tap: - Keesmann Herrenpils - Mönchsmbacher Lager - Huppendorfer Vollbier - Huppendorfer Hefeweißbier You can get these beers also in small glasses so You can taste more beers. In around 3 weeks is the launch of the Mönchsambacher Weizenbock a second edition after 2011. Only available in bottles (bottle gearing). The date of the launch (in the summertime) is a little bit crazy. Normally breweries present seasonal Weizenbocks on the ash wednesday. The ratings from ratebeer are not so good. http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/zehendner-monchsambacher-weizenbock/148298/ But they have had a great success in the last year and sold 400 cases (40 hl) - most from their ramp. The Brewery Zehendner distribute their beers not in shops, only in some pubs around their location and in Bamberg. Sometimes You find their Lager in the USA (imported by the Shelton brothers) and on european beer festivals and pubs in Scandanavia.http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJ020101010101Thanks Gerhard i will certainly add you on facebook.I will look forward to sampling some beers in Cafe Abseits on my visit to Bamberg.The Mönchsmbacher Lager sounds like a nice beer from the ratings I have read.http://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJ02010101010101Dave, Myself and a friend will be on our annual Bamberg trip from 5th-12th June, maybe we could meet for a beer somewhere? Johnhttp://franconiabeerguide.com/discussdet.asp?IDKEY=ZYWJ0201010101010101As a "language trainer", I feel compelled to point something out to the non-native English speakers here. We teach that when the 1st person pronoun is the subject of a sentence, it takes the form "I". Thus, John's sentence would normally be taught to be written as "A friend and I will be...". "Myself" is a reflexive 1st person pronoun and would not normally be used as a direct subject as above, but then in everyday English we often speak and write differently from how we were taught in school. And I believe this particular use of "myself" as a subject is a more British English phenomenon than, say, American. Oben wurde "myself" korrekt groß geschrieben, aber nicht weil es sich um ein Personalpronomen handelt, sondern weil im Englischen der erste Satz eines Briefes *immer* groß geschrieben werden muss.