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Buttenheim, near Bamberg, GermanyHome to 2 breweries: "St. Georgen" & "Löwenbräu Buttenheim"
Buttenheim (www.buttenheim.de) is a small town, twelve kilometres ( 7½ miles) South East of the the wonderful Baroque City of Bamberg; it is in the Landkreis Bamberg (Administrative District of Bamberg) (www.landkreis-bamberg.de), in the famous Speciality/Specialty/Craft Beer region of Franconia (Franken). Bamberg is covered in a seventy-seven page White Beer Travels guide, which is available from the Downloads page. Buttenheim is home to two renowned breweries, which are next door to each other: Löwenbräu Buttenheim, at Marktstraße 8 (GPS: 49.801873 N, 11.031375 E); and St. Georgen Bräu, at Marktstrasse 12 (GPS: 49.802083 N, 11.032110 E). The above photos of the names/logos on the walls of the breweries, were taken by John White in October, 2006; the Löwenbräu one was taken whilst inside the St. Georgen brewery! As you can tell from its full name and website address, the Buttenheim Löwenbräu (Pronounced Leuven Broy; it means Lion Brew) should not be confused with the one in Munich, which, rather sadly, is now owned by that load of Bankers, InBev. Both these Buttenheim breweries produce a wonderful Kellerbier or Lagerbier, a cloudy beer with a low carbonation level (Kohlensäurearm); such beers often have the word Ungespundet (Unbunged) in their name, for example, Löwen Bräu Ungespundetes Lagerbier; the bung hole in a barrel is a Spundloch. To prevent infection at the lagering stage, higher than normal amounts of a natural preservative – hops – are added to the Copper. St. Georgen, somewhat unusually, actually crush their hop pellets, which they claim provides more extraction of the hop compounds into the wort, for a given amount of hops. It is a tradition in pubs in Franconia, and the rest of Bavaria, that unfiltered beers such as these are served in stone mugs, which are often referred to as Steins, but, in Franconia, they are known as Steinkrugs, or just Krugs. It is St. Georgen and Löwenbräu Krugs which follow the cursor of this Web page, and photos of them both feature later in the Web page. In both their taps, these two great beers are delivered from barrels in the bar by gravity, i.e. without the use of gas dispense. Unlike UK Real Ales (Cask-Conditioned Beers), German Cask Beers cannot be clarified using finings, because of the Reinheitsgebot, the German Purity Law. Although produced by bottom fermentation (Untergärung), Kellerbier is often described as being the nearest thing to a UK Real Ale, although these are produced by top fermentation (Obergärung). Integrated into the two brewery buildings in Buttenheim are the taps for the two breweries, the St. Georgen Bräustübla, www.braeustuebla.de, and the Gasthof Löwenbräu. Both offer very good food, in addition to beer and other drinks. The Löwenbräu Tap: "Gasthof Löwenbräu"
Beers available in the Löwenbräu Bar/Restaurant include: draught Lagerbier, and bottled Pilsner and Weissbier. These are all €1.70 for 50cl (called a Seidla in Franconia), which is just under a pint (October, 2006 prices, as per others quoted on this page). The photo, above left, which was taken by John White, in October, 2006, shows a new barrel of the Lagerbier being tapped in the upstairs restaurant; being a National Holiday on the day on which it was taken, both the upstairs and the downstairs restaurants were packed, although the service was efficient and very friendly. A scan of the Wheat Beer's label can be seen, above right. Note that it is not brewed by Löwenbräu, but by the Brauerei Riemhofer (Schwanen-Bräu), in Riedenburg, in Niederbayern (Lower Bavaria), who have a Wheat Beer called Riemhofer Schwanen-Weisse. Food in the restaurant includes: Schäuferla mit Klösse und Gemüse oder Kraut (Shoulder of Pork with Dumplings and Vegetables or Sauerkraut) at €6.50; Putenschnitzel gebacken mit gemischten Salat (Baked Turkey Escalope with Mixed Salad) at €6; Karpfen in Bierteig mit gemischten Salat (Carp in Beer Batter with ...); Karpfen blau mit Salzkartoffeln, zerlassener Butter und Meerrettich (Boiled Carp with Boiled Potatoes, Melted Butter and Horse Radish); Wurstbrot (Sausage with Bread) at €2.40; and Käsebrot (Bread and Cheese) at €2.70. There are a number of other Carp dishes on the menu, the price depending on the size of the Carp (you have a choice); they are typically €6.50 to €8.50. If the wall paper paste-like dumplings (Klösse, singular Kloss) are not to your taste, they can be substituted with, for example, Pommes Frites (Chips). Löwenbräu's Gaststätte (bar/restaurant) is open every day except Monday, from 9am to Midnight. When the weather is good, the Gaststätte shuts, its function transferring to the brewery's nearby Beer Garden (Keller), see below.
Very close to Buttenheim railway station, in Altendorf, there is a Löwenbräu outlet: Backstahäusla, Am Bahnhof 1, tel 09545 1704. It is open every day except Tuesday from 10am (4pm on Wednesdays). The Backstahäusla is the larger of the two buildings in the photo, above left; it was taken by John White, in October, 2006. It has a similar range of beers to the Löwenbräu brewery tap. The chef is Hungarian, so there are dishes such as Gulasch and Schaschlik (Shashlik, a Meat Kebab), and some of the typically Franconian dishes available have a Hungarian twist, such as Schweinesteak "Budapest" mit Pommes Frites oder Kartoffelsalat und Salat (Pork Steak "Budapest", with Chips or Potato Salad and Lettuce) at €8.50. Other dishes include: "Wiener Schnitzel" vom Kalb mit ... (Veal Escalope) at €8.50; Schweineschnitzel "Wiener Art " mit ... (Pork Escalope) at €5.60; and Zuchtwelsfilet in Zitronen-Butter-Soße mit Kartoffeln und Salat (Farmed Cat Fish in a Lemon and Butter Sauce, with Potatoes and Lettuce) at €8.50. The wines are Hungarian, and they have the notorious, incredibly herby Hungarian Liqueur, which comes in a spherical, Molotov Cocktail-shaped bottle: Unicum (www.zwackunicum.hu) at €2 (2cl). The smaller building on the left hand side of the photo, above left, is a football supporters' bar, which opens on Tuesdays, when the Backstahäusla is shut. It is quite in order to have a drink, even if you are not a member of the club, in this wonderfully atmospheric, smaller place; the photo, above right, of a group of White Beer Travels Beer Hunters enjoying a beer and more inside it, was taken by one of its regulars, in October, 2006. In the photo, from left to right, all with Krugs of Löwenbräu Lagerbier, are Stuart Lowe, yours truly, John White, Mike Robinson and Dr Eric Clow.
The football supporters' bar is run by fans of 1. FCN (1. Fussball Club Nürnberg (First Nuremberg Football Club) (www.fcn.de), this being the home of the "Attacke '91 Altendorf" branch. It is an incredibly welcoming place, which is on no account to be missed; I will certainly be back. This life-enhancing bar only opens when the Backstahäusla is shut, i.e. on Tuesdays. It is a Löwenbräu outlet, indeed your Krugs of Lagerbier (€1.60 in October, 2006) are carried from there! Note the 1. FCN sticker on the Krug on the left, which appears on all the Krugs in the place. The photo on the right features the place's superb barman. Both photos were taken by John White, in October, 2006. In the marvellous beer town of Forchheim, which is close to Buttenheim, and which can also be reached from Bamberg by train, there are Löwenbräu and St. Georgen Bräu outlets in the Kellerwald (Cellar Forest), on Kellerberg (Cellar Hill). These are covered in the White Beer Travels Guide to Forchheim, which can be obtained from the Downloads page. A good time to visit Forchheim, is when the Annafest Beer Festival (www.anna-fest.de or www.annafest-forchheim.de) is taking place on the Kellerberg. The dates for the 2007 one are the 21st to the 30th of July. The Kellers serving Löwenbräu Buttenheim beers are: the Rappenkeller, Auf den Kellern 14 (during Annafest, it is open every day from 10am; at other times, it is open from 11am (2pm if the weather is bad), every day except Monday); and the Löwenbräukeller, next door, at Auf den Kellern 12. In Bamberg, a most pleasant, relaxing outlet for Löwenbräu Buttenheim beers is Schmitt's Cafe, at Michelsberg 29A (on the corner of Storchsgasse); it is very close to the don't-miss Fränkisches Brauereimuseum (Franconian Brewery Museum) (www.brauereimuseum.org).
The St. Georgen Bräu Tap: "Bräustübla"
The above photos of the outside and inside respectively, of the St. Georgen tap, the Bräustübla, were taken by John White, in October, 2006. The column of the stone fountain, in front of the tap, in the photo on the left, has brewing scenes on it. As can be seen, on the top of the fountain, and on the wall of the pub, St George is doing his dragon slaying bit. In the photo, above right, White Beer Travels Beer Hunters can be seen with Krugs of St. Georgen Kellerbier or with the Dunkel (Dark) Weiss Bier. From left to right, they are Mike Robinson, Bob Middleton, Chris Marchbanks, Dr Eric Clow and Paul Middleton; hidden are Jez (rauchbier, Smoke Beer) Blake, Tony Sibson, Stuart Lowe and Bob Critchley. It is clear that Sankt Georgen produce a Kellerbier from the name of its website, but it produces other excellent beers, the following being amongst those available in its bar on my October, 2006 visit: draught Kellerbier and Helles, both at €1.10/2 (25/50cl); draught Pilsener at €1/1.90 (25/50cl); draught Weiss Bier Hell (Pale) at €1.20/2.10 (25/50cl); bottled Landbier at €2; Weiss Bier Leicht (Light) and Weiss Bier Dunkel (Dark), both at €2.20. Seen in the brewery, but not available in the bar, is Pottensteiner Höhlen Trunk (also appears as one word, Höhlentrunk), which is brewed for "Zum Urbräu", a bar with accommodation and a brewery museum within it, in nearby Pottenstein (Am Nürnberger Strasse 10, www.hotel-bruckmayer.de). It is owned by the Bruckmayer family, who had the former Wagner-Bräu brewery, in Pottenstein, indeed it is housed in the former brewery. Pottenstein (www.pottenstein.de) is a really lovely town, with two breweries (Gasthausbrauerei Hufeisen (Horse Shoe Brew Pub) (www.hufeisen-braeu.de), and the Brauerei Mager, in the spectacular Franconian Switzerland (Fränkische Schweiz, www.fraenkische-schweiz.com), which Buttenheim is on the Eastern edge of. Pottenstein and St. Georgen Bräu were visited during a group White Beer Travels Beer Hunt, in 1996; click here for more information on it. Höhlentrunk means Cave Drink, its name being inspired by a famous Pottenstein tourist attraction, Germany's most well known cave, the Teufelshöhle (Devil's Cave) (www.teufelshoehle.de). Pottenstein can be reached by number 389 bus, which runs between Ebermannstadt and Pegnitz (White Beer Travels Web page); the latter has a train station, and there are regular trains from Bamberg, via Forchheim, to Ebermannstadt. St. Georgen also brew other commissioned beers, such as Zimbus Drachenblut (Dragon Blood), for a comic strip company, who have a character called Ritter Zimbus (Zimbus, the Knight). I have seen this in the Kachelofen, in Bamberg, see below. There is a very good and interesting selection of main meals and snacks available in the St. Georgen Bräustübla, and there are changing theme menus, the following examples being from a set of dishes, including Desserts, based on Meerrettich (Horse Radish): Gebratenes Zanderfilet auf Kräuter-Meerrettichsoße, dazu Brokkoli und Walnussreis (Baked Zander Fish in a Herb and Horse Radish Sauce, with Broccoli and Walnut Rice) at €12.80; and Gegrilltes Hirschsteak auf Meerrettich-Preiselbeerensosse, dazu gefüllte Kartoffeltaschen und kleinem Salatteller (Grilled Venison in a Horse Radish and Cranberry Sauce with Stuffed Potato Pockets and Salad) at €13.80. The St. Georgen Bräustübla is open seven days a week from 11am, with hot food available until 9.30pm. In May to September, when the weather is good, the bar/restaurant closes at 2pm, and at 3.30pm, its nearby Beer Garden opens, see below. Other St. Georgen Outlets A superb St. Georgen outlet in Bamberg, is Kachelofen (www.zumkachelofen.de). The St. Georgen website has details of many other outlets; follow the "Wo gibt's unser Bier" link, and then "Unsere Gaststätten". On Forchheim's Kellerberg, where the Annafest takes place, see above, the Kellers serving St. Georgen Bräu beers are: the Nürnberger-Tor-Keller, Auf den Kellern 30 (which opens from 3pm, only during Annafest); the Winterbauerkeller, Auf den Kellern 7 (open from 4pm (Saturdays from 1pm, Sundays and National Holidays from 10am, Winter from 5pm (closed Tuesday)); and the Weiss-Tauben-Keller, Auf den Kellern 19 (open each day from 3pm (9am on Sundays and National Holidays), and during Annafest, every day from 10am (11am on Sundays)). In 2005, the St. Georgen Kellerbier was available on handpump in the Real Ale pub chain, J D Wetherspoon (www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk), White Beer Travels Web page). This was put into casks by the Kent Brewers, Shepherd Neame (www.shepherdneame.co.uk), who collected the unfiltered and unpasteurised "Real Ale" in Buttenheim, using road tankers. Hopefully, there will be a repeat of this great initiative in the future. Buttenheim Brewery Visits
Visits to the two Buttenheim breweries can be arranged using the contact e-mail addresses on their websites. White Beer Travels Beer Hunters visited both breweries in October, 2006. Our host on the visit to Löwenbräu was its proprietor, Johann Modschiedler, who can be seen in the photo on the right alongside an open "Coolship" wort cooler, that is no longer used, it being one of the museum pieces in the brewery building. The Copper hop boiler, made of Copper, to its left, is not part of the museum, as it is still in use. There is also more modern equipment on view during the brewery tour, such as a stainless steel mash tun and cylindro-conical fermenters. Both photos were taken by John White, in October, 2006. The Löwenbräu Buttenheim brewery has been in Modschiedler family ownership since 1880. The St. Georgen Brewery has a history dating back to 1624, with generations of the Modschiedler family running it since 1814. It is a different stem of the Modschiedler family that runs St. Georgen.
The photo, above left was taken in October, 2006 by Chris Marchbanks. In my hands, I have a cask of St. Georgen Kellerbier. Alongside me is Norbert Kramer, the brewery's Braumeister (Master Brewer), Norbert Kramer. The photo, above right, which was taken by John White, in October, 2006, shows a pressure gauge attached to a lagering (maturation) vessels containing St. Georgen Kellerbier. The reading is 0.7 bar g.
Each of the breweries has a nearby Beer Garden or Keller, where food and drink is also available. Note that Keller literally means Cellar, but in Franconia, it refers to the place where tunnels have been dug into hillsides to lager beer, at the entrance of which there is often today a beer garden. The Buttenheim Kellers are reached by turning right out of the breweries and then turning right onto Kellerstrasse (comes after a lesser right turn, with the street name Geyerswörth, on the corner of the St. Georgen tap). After crossing a main road, the Löwenbräu-Keller, can readily be seen off Kellerstrasse on the right, at Eremitage 3, and the St. Georgen Bräu Keller is a little bit further down, off to the left. The Löwenbräu-Keller is not open on Tuesdays, and from September to April, it is also not open on Wednesdays. On other days, it is open from 11am (10am on Sundays and National Holidays) to 11pm, with hot food available from 11.30am to 1.45pm, and from 4.30pm to 8.45pm. The photo, above left, of the Löwenbräu-Keller, was taken by John White, in October, 2006, as was the photo next to it, of the nearby St. Georgen "Welcome to Buttenheim" sign. It informs one that Buttenheim is the birthplace of Levi Strauss, the Inventor of Blue Jeans, see below. Buttenheim's Tourist Attractions
The museum is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm to 6pm (1.30pm to 5pm in Winter) and on Saturday, Sunday and on National Holidays from 11am to 5pm. The museum is well worth visiting, as long as you follow the audio guide, which is available in English (the museum's website is only in German); the audio guide gives a very good insight into why Loeb (Löb) Strauss left Buttenheim for America, and once there, why he changed his name to Levi Strauss; there is also information on Jacob Davis joining the company, bringing with him his idea for using rivets to strengthen the jeans, this being patented by the company in 1873; the museum's entry charge is €2.60. The website, www.levistrauss.com, provides a detailed history in English of Levi Strauss and the company he founded in San Francisco, California, USA. The main church in Buttenheim, the Pfarrkirche (Parish Church) St. Bartholomäus, is worth a visit. It is opposite Löwenbräu. Alongside the church, at Marktstrasse 7, is an art gallery covering Eastern European art, "Das Kleine Haus der Kunst" (The Small Art House), www.romtendenzline.com. There is also a church in the tower of Schloss Buttenheim (Buttenheim Castle), at Schloss-Strasse 11. The castle houses a wine merchants that specialises in Italian wine (www.schloss-buttenheim.de). Accommodation in Buttenheim Accommodation in Buttenheim is provided in the Löwenbräu tap itself and the Hotel am Markt, www.hotel-buttenheim.de, which is owned by the St. Georgen Brewery. It is opposite the brewery, at Marktstrasse 19. The hotel's restaurant has hot food seven days a week, from 11.30am to 9pm. There is also a hotel near Buttenheim Castle (Schloss Buttenheim), see the next section for directions, the Landhotel Schloss Buttenheim, at Schloss-Strasse 16, www.landhotel-buttenheim.de. How to get to the Two Buttenheim Breweries
After getting off the train, cross the tracks and walk in the same direction along the road leading from the level crossing over the tracks; it is the St 2260 road and is named Jurastrasse. When you reach the bridge over the A73 motorway, you are about a third the way there, and the road name changes to Am Strauch. After passing the junction for Stiebargasse on the right, take the next right, Schloß-Straße (Castle Street). This soon bends to the left, to become the required Marktstraße. Note that the right at this point leads to a short cul-de-sac section of Schloss-Strasse, where Schloss Buttenheim (Buttenheim Castle) is to be found. Once on Marktstrasse, the two breweries are quickly reached, on the right, with Löwenbräu first, opposite the Pfarrkirche (Parish Church). John White (1945-), |
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