In August 2014, I spent the day at Gänstaller Bräu while brewmaster Andreas and his daughter Daniela created their new bottom-fermented Amber Weizenbock. These photos are at attic level for…

In November 2014 I visited Brauerei Gradl in the tiny Upper Franconian village of Leups, to drink their superb unfiltered 4.9% Dunkel from gravity barrel. This beer, or something like…

Some 30 km north of Bamberg sits Brauerei Hetzel in the town of Frauendorf. A short drive east of Bad Staffelstein brings you to four other breweries along the way:…

It’s not far from Bamberg to Lohndorf. It’s reachable by bicycle for the bold and the fit. In the winter the ride can be cold, windy, very dark. While Brauerei…

With the front entrance to Brauerei Heckel right on the street, not a meter from passing cars, it’s a gamble with your life to spill out into the street after…

Brauerei Witzgall recently became known to a wider online audience when their Landbier overtook Mönchsambacher Lagerbier as the #1 Kellerbier on Ratebeer. In May of 2013, three Ratebeerians who frequently…

Andreas Ganstaller moved his operation from Brauerei Beck Trabelsdorf to Schnaid-Hallerndorf in 2011. He retained his recipes from Beck, and some equipment, and renovated the interior operations of the old…

Brauerei Lieberth is another favorite but inconsistent Franconian brewer. Their best batches of Lagerbier, Pils and Kellerbier are some of the best in the world, and a perfect example of…

Brauerei Rittmayer Hallerndorf is a difficult favorite brewery of mine. They are capable of making remarkable landbier but they are also wildly inconsistent. At Rittmayer Keller am Kreuzberg I was…