beer is in Bavaria a topic at any time.
Bavarian purity law
On April 23, 1516, St. George's Day, Duke Wilhelm IV. In Ingolstadt proclaimed today's as Bavarian purity law known decree. According to this, Bavarian beer can only consist of hops, malt, yeast and water. Many brewers still adhere to this requirement to this day.
background
Based on the number of inhabitants, there is in Upper Franconia one brewery for every 5,511 inhabitants, that's a record in the world. The community 1 Aufseß
has the highest density of breweries and in 2001 it received an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. The 1,287 inhabitants are compared to 4 breweries, with 322 inhabitants per brewery, the highest density of breweries in the world.
On the pages Breweries in Franconia and Breweries in Bavaria you can find descriptions of the brewery and overview maps.
Types of beer
The expression Unbunged beer comes from the so-called Bunghole at the beer barrel. In wooden barrels, this hole at the top serves to equalize the pressure during fermentation, which creates carbonic acid and thus overpressure. The unpounded beer, which is mainly common in Franconia, ferments without closing this hole and therefore has a lower carbonic acid content than other beers.
Cellar beer, also Zwickelbier or Zwickl called, is an unfiltered, naturally cloudy beer that still contains all suspended and cloudy substances. It belongs to the group of unpumped beers with a low carbonic acid content, has a short shelf life and should always be drunk fresh.
Lager
Lager is a bottom-fermented beer that ferments at low temperatures, which is why it used to be brewed only in the cooler season. Due to the good storage properties, it could then be stored in ice cellars until autumn, which is where the name comes from.
Wheat beer
A distinction is made between clear, filtered crystal wheat and cloudy, unfiltered wheat beer, as is the case in Franconia Wheat yeast is called. There is also light wheat with a reduced alcohol content and non-alcoholic wheat beer.
The wheat beer glasses have a special shape, they are tall and slim with a reinforced glass bottom. They are usually available without a handle, with the exception of the Kapuziner glasses from the Kulmbacher brewery. Traditionally, wheat beer is toasted below.
Light
The Helle is the most popular type of beer in Munich and the surrounding area, in contrast to large parts of the German-speaking area, where Pils is the most popular beer. It is a bottom-fermented, light yellow and slightly hopped type of beer with an alcohol content of 4.7 to 5.4 percent by volume.
Zoigl
The is brewed Zoigl for almost 600 years by those authorized to brew in the communal breweries in the north Upper Palatinate around the place Windischeschenbach around. There is also a communal brewery in five towns: Windischeschenbach and the district of Neuhaus, Falkenberg, Mitterteich and Eslarn.
The Zoigl is a bottom-fermented beer that only contains the naturally occurring carbonic acid. A six-pointed star (guild sign of the brewers) hanging on the house gable indicates that "Zoigl" is being served there. The half is available from € 2, plus there are home-made snacks, reservations are not possible, from time to time music from randomly present musicians.
- The 1 Schafferhof is a Zoigl parlor in the shadow of Neuhaus Castle with home-brewed beer and local food. With a beer garden in summer, live music, theater and cabaret regularly throughout the year. The Altneihauser festivities Kapell'n, known from the Carnival in Franconia, has its rehearsal room here.
Bock beer
Many breweries offer a strong beer, also called bock beer, at certain times of the year, which often ends in -or z. B. Markator (Schinner, Bayreuth) or Mobilator (Gottmannsgrüner Brewery). The bock beer tapping is usually celebrated in the brewery restaurants.
Eisbock
Around the year 1890 a brewer journeyman in Kulmbach is said to have forgotten barrels with bock beer outdoors. In the cold winter night the barrels froze, part of the water in the beer crystallized out, the alcohol and other beer components accumulated in concentrated form. The next day the journeyman was supposed to drink up the remaining liquid as a punishment. To everyone's surprise, it was drinkable, sweet and tasty. This is how the Eisbock was invented, a beer based on the purity law that is stronger than any other.
Special beers
- EKU 28 of the Kulmbacher brewery, with an original wort of about 28%, alcohol 11.0% one of the strongest beers in the world. It is sold in 0.33 L bottles. It is viscous, liqueur-like and should be drunk well chilled.
- The most famous Smoked beer comes from the Schlenkerla brewery in Bamberg, but there are a few other breweries in the Bamberg area that also brew this specialty. The malt is smoked over beech wood and thus takes on the taste. The beer also has a distinctive smoky taste and is not everyone's taste, but you should try it if you are in the Bamberg area.
- Schlenkerla, Dominikanerstraße 6, 96049 Bamberg. Tel.: 49 (0)951 5 60 60. "Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier" in the historic brewery bar, for many people only tastes really good after the 3rd Seidla (0.5l).Open: daily 09: 30-23: 30.
- Since the brewing pans for boiling the wort used to be made of wood, they were heated from the inside with hot stones. After the invention of the metal brewing pans, this went out of fashion. Some of the malt sugar caramelises on the hot stones, which gives the beer its special taste. Today will Steinbier produced again by a few breweries, e.g. by the Leikeim Brewery out Altenkunstadt.
Mixed drinks
Until the new version of the Beer Tax Act on 1.1.1993, the production of finished mixed beer beverages was not permitted in the brewery. Mixing beer and lemonades could therefore only be done in restaurants. Only since then have filled bottles with mixed beer beverages come into shops and restaurants.
- A Cyclist is a mixture of beer and lemonade. "That" or "the" Radlermaß was created in the years from around 1900, according to a legend that has since been refuted on the Kugleralm in Oberhaching. Back then, dark beer was the most popular, today it is light beer. In breweries, people are often asked whether they are mixed with light or dark beer.
- Especially in northern Germany there is a similar mixture of pilsner with lemonade, which there is called Alsterwasser.
- A Russian is a mixture of wheat beer and lemonade
- A Negroes on the other hand the mixture of wheat beer and cola.
- Bavarian Goass, Swabian Goiss, Upper Franconian Gaass and Middle Franconian Bumber/Bumbers/Bumba -Mass is a mixed drink. It consists of dark beer, cola and 4 to 8 cl cherry liqueur or cognac.
- Eco Beer & apple from the brewery Rother Brew in Roth Hausen in the Rhön is a mixture of 65% organic beer and 35% Rhön apple juice from organically controlled cultivation, alcohol 3.1% vol.
activities
Sightseeing
- Will be in many breweries Brewery tours offered, usually by appointment.
- Beer tours through Munich:
Hikes and bike tours
- The four breweries in Aufseß are with Breweries way connected, approx. 14 km, 4 hours walking time, 4 brewery inns, 2 castles. A must for every beer lover, but the trip home should be organized beforehand.
- 1st stage: Aufseß - Sachsendorf, Stadter brewery
- 2nd stage: Sachsendorf - Hochstahl, Reichold brewery
- 3rd stage: Hochstahl - Heckenhof, Kathi-Bräu brewery
- 4th stage: Heckenhof - Aufseß, Rothenbach brewery
- The Five-Seidla-Steig is a brewery route with a length of about 10 km to the five private breweries in the municipalities Graefenberg and Weißenohe
Beer cellar in Franconia invite you to stop by, but can also be the occasion for a bike tour or hike.
Museums
- 1 Franconian Brewery Museum - In the historical vaults of the former Benedictine brewery in Michelsberg Monastery
- 2 Maisel's brewery museum - Visiting the museum is only possible with a guided tour every day at 2 p.m., or in groups of 12 people or more.
- 3 Bayreuth catacombs - The visitor learns details from the brewery's history and after the tour there is a AKTIEN cellar beer in the "Bräustüberl".
- 4 Bavarian brewery and bakery museum - There is a show brewery in the brewery museum, every visitor gets a glass of museum beer
- 5 in the Sterneckerstrasse in the Munich old town there is also that Beer and Oktoberfest Museum on the history of the largest folk festival in the world.
- 6 Brewery Museum - in the Hofbräuhaus Traunstein. Tradition, craftsmanship and innovative technologies are shown.
- 7 Brewery Museum - in the cellar of the Gasthof Bräustüberl "Zur Kanne" in Weißenburg in Bavaria
- 8 Kuchlbauer's world of beer - directly at the tower on the premises of the brewery. There are guided tours, visits, events and of course the Hundertwasser Tower.
- 9 HopsBeerGood - In the historic Kornhaus you can interactively learn something about Spalt, hops and beer
- 10 German Hop Museum, Elsenheimerstraße 2, 85283 Wolnzach. Tel.: 49 (0)8442 75 74, Fax: 49 (0)8442 71 15, Email: [email protected].
in Wolnzach in the Hallertau.
shop
- 1 Weyermann Fan Shop - Fan shop of the Malzfabrik Weyermann with beer, malt and accessories.
- 2 Beer office - Around 350 bottled beers from all over the world.
Customs and traditions
- With wheat beer glasses you hit the bottom with the bottom.
- In Bavaria and neighboring areas, the beer mug is often briefly placed on the table again after the toast. There are a number of possible explanations for this widespread custom, see here
- In some areas of Franconia you can observe the custom of newcomers going from table to table in the inn and knocking their fists on the inn table, the so-called Hangman's greeting. In earlier times, of course, nobody wanted to shake hands with the hangman, so the hangman went from table to table and knocked, the other guests replied in the same way. The custom has been preserved to this day and so in some village inns people still knock on the table to greet them.
- In Franconian inns that serve beer in stone mugs, the waitress cannot see when the mug is finished. That's why you put the empty beer mug on its side on the table. The waitress then knows that you want to order a new beer and usually brings a full mug without further effort.
Events with beer
Beer at certain times
- In the Upper Palatinate Zoigl brewed for almost 600 years. The authorized brewers brew in the communal breweries in Eslarn, Falkenberg, Mitterteich, Neuhaus and Windischeschenbach. The Zoigl is a bottom-fermented beer that only contains the naturally occurring carbonic acid. A six-pointed star (guild sign of the brewers) hanging on the house gable indicates that "Zoigl" is being served there. The half price from 1.60 €, plus home-made snacks, reservations are not possible, from time to time music from randomly present musicians.
- In the community Neuhaus an der Pegnitz There has been a communal brewing right since the early Middle Ages that is still used today. It is brewed in the common brewery. The communal restaurants are not always open, only one of the three communal hosts takes turns serving. The traditional six-pointed brewer star, the symbol of the brewers, is used as a distinguishing mark. Information about opening times is available from the hosts.
- In Bayreuth there are two specialties that are only offered for sale in two bars.
- 1. The Buschenbier (from the clump that is posted to indicate that the delicious Buschenbier is available) in the Mohren Bräu always on the first Thursday, Friday of the month into Saturday and then until it is completely empty.
- 2. the Beckn beer, which is served periodically by the Lang bakery. Both beers are unpounded beers which should be drunk within a few days.
- For the Schlappentag in courtOn the Monday one week after Whit Monday, an extra strong beer is brewed that Schlappenbier. After the original Zeltbräu brewery was closed, the Schlappenbier is now brewed according to the original recipe by the Scherdel Brewery (part of the Kulmbacher Group). Around Whitsun, beer can be drunk in and around the courtyard.
Beer calendar
January
- The Drink strong is an old custom in Upper Franconiathat on the eve of January 6th or on January 6th the Epiphany itself takes place. The "strength" means health and strength for the new year to arm yourself against future adversities. For this reason, a number of breweries offer strong beer, also known as bock beer. In many taverns there are special offers and meals to drink yourself a decent strength.
February
March
- The strong beer tapping of the Paulaner Salvator on Nockherberg
April
- In Pegnitz is the strong beer season from April to the beginning of July. The Flinderer, this is what the strong beer is called, is served in various restaurants.
- On April 23, the Day of the beer celebrated
May
- Flinderer in Pegnitz
- At the end of May, in Nuremberg the Franconian beer festival hosted. 40 privately run breweries present over 100 different types of beer. There is live music and a wide range of culinary options.
June
- Flinderer in Pegnitz
- The Schlappentag in court is on Monday one week after Whit Monday (Whit Monday is / was this year on May 24, 2021.). For this day there will be a special strong beer, the Schlappenbier brewed. (Wikipedia)
- The Bergkirchweih in gain takes place in 14 beer cellars on Whitsun. You go up the mountain.
July
- Flinderer in Pegnitz
- The Annafest in Forchheim is always on the week of July 26th and takes place in 23 beer cellars in the Kellerwald.
- The Kulmbacher beer week in Kulmbach is a very original beer festival. There is the big beer tent with music, around it a few food and drink stands and no other attractions that distract from the main thing. Beer week starts on the last weekend in July.
August
- The Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing is in mid-August
- The Karpfham Festival in Bad Griesbach in the Rottal is at the end of August.
September
- The Oktoberfest in Munich offers everything a modern folk festival needs.
October
- Bock beer taps at many breweries in the Bamberg area
November
- Bock beer taps at many breweries in the Bamberg area
December
- Bock beer taps at many breweries in the Bamberg area
literature
- : Beer from Bavaria - Bavarian Beer Guide. All breweries and their brewpubs. Nuremberg press, May 2014, ISBN 978-3931683283 , P. 672 (German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese).
Stopping off
Francs
- : Franconia's most beautiful beer cellars and beer gardens. Bamberg: Franconian day, 2008, ISBN 9783936897647 ; 640 pages. A must for every beer garden lover
- : Beer guide Middle Franconia: All breweries - all beers. Carl, Nuremberg, 2010, ISBN 978-3418001210 , P. 200.
- : Breweries and brewery inns in Franconia. Nuremberg press, 2013, ISBN 978-3-931683-25-2 ; 672 pages. All breweries, beers, museums and beer festivals
Old Bavaria
- : Upper Palatinate Beer Guide: All breweries, all beers. With excursion and hiking tips. Mz book publisher, 1999, ISBN 978-3931904562 .
- : Beer guide Upper Bavaria: All breweries - all beers. Carl, Nuremberg, Aug 2011, ISBN 978-3418001234 , P. 200.
Web links
- www.bierland-oberfranken.de - Information about breweries, beer gardens and beer cellars
- www.biergarten.com - Overview of many beer gardens in and around Munich
- Free Beer app for Android with beer cellars and beer gardens in Franconia. They are available free of charge for the iPhone in the iTunes Store.
- bierstrasse-franken.de - Information on breweries, brewery restaurants, beer cellars, leisure tips and brewery tours
- bierstrasse.de - Aischgründer Bierstraße, information about beer, breweries and the region
