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More accurately, a small party of the Newark
branch of CAMRA ventured forth in October to one of the most
beautiful cities in Germany. An early start (03.00) allowed
us to reach Stansted and check in with Air Berlin (highly
recommended) and still have time for either a final pint of
British beer or coffee in the airport Wetherspoons.
I had been to Bamberg six times before, my wife twice, the
other six in the group never, and in fact it was also the
first time in Germany for the latter as well. It was no
surprise to find that Nürnberg airport was connected to the
city by a fast, frequent, and cheap rail connection. The
rail fare from the city to Bamberg was about half the
equivalent fare in the UK and because we were travelling in
a group we obtained a fifty percent reduction on this. It
was a pleasant surprise to find the seasonal Bockbier on
sale at the Inn where the majority of the party were staying
and this was a good introduction to the Bamberg beers. The
brewery was Maisel.
After the remainder had checked in to their hotel we visited
the newest of the ten breweries in Bamberg – the
Ambräusianum – and sampled their Helles beer. My notes
recorded it as pleasant, slightly fruity but lacking in
hops. We then trudged up the hill to the Greifenklau, the
tap of the Brauerei Greifenklau. A couple of glasses of
their Lagerbier, dark gold in colour and rather tasty,
fortified us for the walk back down the hill to the
Klosterbräu brewery tap where we were told their Bockbier
would be on sale the following evening.
The next place was Zum Spezial on Obere Konigstrasse where
both the Rauch (not very smoky) and Helles were quaffed.
Some of us then retired for the night, others paid a late
night visit to the Fässla across the street to try their
Bockbier.
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Friday morning started with a
Rauchbier at 10.00 in the famous tap of the Brauerei Heller.
The choice here is not huge, it is either a half litre of
their Rauchbier or a half litre of their Rauchbier although,
since my last visit, lemonade is now available. This is a
great pub, but because it is so famous, for much of the year
it is full of tourists (which obviously we weren’t). The
beer is very smoky indeed and you either love it or loathe
it. I am firmly in the former camp.
Strengthened by the black nectar we had no problems in
walking along the canal to the Keesman and then across the
road to the Mahr’s Brau. A variety of beers were tried
before we walked back to the Fässla to sample the Bockbier,
and great stuff it was. Even though it was 7.5% it was
dangerously drinkable.
Nicely fortified once again, we then returned to the
Schlenkerla to see what their Urbock was like. Rather like
their normal smoked beer, only 6.5% instead of 5.2%. We
seemed to have the taste for Bockbier by now so the obvious
thing to do was to hurry along to the Klosterbräu before the
crowds poured in to celebrate the tapping of their Bockbier.
It was very good and thus the obvious and sensible thing to
do was to have a couple before departing to the Ambräusianum
for a meal and a beer. The day finished for some of us with
a last beer and some Strudel at the Alt-Ringlen across the
street.
Saturday morning saw us assembling at the railway station
for a visit to the small town of Forcheim, some 20 minutes
away, where there are four breweries. In order we visited
the Brauerei Nedas, Josef Greif, Fritz Hebendanz, and
Eichorn. All very different and very pleasant Beer in
Bamberg is cheap, being about 2.10 Euros a half litre (the
Bockbier is a little more expensive) but prices in Forchheim
were between 1.70 and 2.00. The town itself is picturesque
and well worth a visit.
Places visited in Bamberg later on included the Sternla, the
oldest pub in the city, dating back to 1380.
The last day was spent in Nürnberg where most visited the
site of the famous post-war trials, whilst my wife and I did
some research for the benefit of the group, ie tracked down
two home brew places – Hausbrauerei Altstadthof and
Barfüsser Brauhaus. After beer and food in both places it
was sadly time to go to the airport for the flight home. |
There were several highlights of the visit.
The first must be the laudable attempt by one of us to
conquer the German language. However, saying Danke Schwein
to the waitress is not quite the same as Danke Schöne and
the attempt was quickly forsaken.
Another was two late night revellers getting lost at two in
the morning and unable to find their hotel, even though it
is one of the easiest to find in the whole of Bamberg. The
bizarre and surreal conversation with the German lady who
eventually gave them directions is very amusing when spoken
but unfortunately doesn’t really translate to the written
word.
The third was the heated conversation between a customer on
the pavement and the landlord of the Tambosi, by the bus
station, who was leaning out of the third floor window. My
German was just good enough to get the gist of it. The
customer was incensed to find that it was still closed at
the normal opening time of 09.00 but the landlord was not
budging. I think his response was basically, clear off, it’s
my pub and I will open when I want to. Perhaps it was for
the best as some of us had agreed to have a nine o’clock
beer before getting the train to Forchheim.
Finally, the question posed by one of the group – surely
there must be more to Bamberg than the beer – was answered
with a resounding yes.
Kiwi
Oct. '07
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