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The above photo was taken, in September, 2006, by White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular, second petal, Sylvia Clow. In it, yours truly, John White, is ordering a draught Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen, the world's most famous Smoke Beer (Rauchbier), in the Schlenkerla in Nuremberg (Nürnberg). The Schlenkerla in Bamberg, the tap for the Heller brewery, is regularly featured in White Beer Travels Beer Hunts, as is this place in Nuremberg, which has permission to use the justly hallowed Schlenkerla name.

   

White Beer Travels Group Beer Hunts,
in Germany

Unless stated otherwise, beer prices quoted are for 50cl measures.

2007 (July): Beer Hunt based in Bamberg and
Nuremberg (Nürnberg)

The itinerary for this Beer Hunt is timed to allow a visit to Forchheim, for its famous Annafest beer festival, see above. Brewery visits will include Heller/Schlenkerla, in Bamberg, see above, and the Brauerei Hummel, www.brauerei-hummel.de, in Merkendorf. There will be a day trip to to Pottenstein (www.pottenstein.de, White Beer Travels Web page), a small town situated in the spectacular Franconian Switzerland (Fränkische Schweiz, www.fraenkische-schweiz.com); Pottenstein has two brew-pubs, both serving outstanding beers. There will be a Zoigl Hunt, see below, in the twin towns of Windischeschenbach (www.windischeschenbach.de) and Neuhaus an der Waldnaab, in the Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate). Regensburg, the Capital of the Oberpfalz, a marvellous place on the Danube, with five brewing establishments, will also be visited. We will certainly get to the City's oldest brewery, the Spitalbrauerei (www.spitalbrauerei.de), which is
on an island in the Danube, at Am Brückenfuß 1-3; its tap, the Gaststätte Spitalgarten, St. Katharinenplatz 1, is close to the Steinerne Brücke (Stone Bridge), Germany's oldest bridge. The Spital Brewery is part of a 13th Century hospital. At one time, hospital breweries were common, this one being a rare survivor. Click here to go to the White Beer Travels Web page covering Regensburg.

On this Beer Hunt, the Beer Hunters were: John & Joyce White; Ian & Denise Knowles; Brian & Sue Anderson; Chris Marchbanks; David Mummery; Jez (rauchbier) Blake; Stuart Lowe; John Ingham; and Steve Slater.

2007 (May): Beer Hunt based in Bamberg and
Nuremberg (Nürnberg), organised for the Southern UK Section of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD)

The IBD group in Weyermann Malt, in Bamberg: photo by Weyermann's Andreas Richter. Yours truly, John White, the trip organiser, can be seen on the extreme left of the group.	In this photo, which was taken by John White, Matthias Trum, the proprietor of the famous Heller-Trum/Schlenkerla Brewery, in Bamberg, is throwing a beech wood log into a fire that produces smoke used to kiln malt used in the brewery's famous Rauchbier (Smoke Beer). Looking on is the IBD group.

This Beer Hunt was commissioned by the Southern UK section of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling (www.ibd.org.uk). The following were the trip participants, some of whom were guests of the IBD, in alphabetic order by surname: Pete Channon, a Quality auditor with CMi Technical Services; Neil Channon, Pete's son (guest); John Dodd, of Fayourez International, a Swiss company producing Malt-based non-alcoholic fruit flavoured beverages; Julian Herrington, a Consultant with the UK's premier brewing industry training establishment, The Beer Academy (www.beeracademy.org); Ian Hornsey, Beer Writer; Rob Jaeger, Landlord of The Man of Kent Ale House, in Rochester, Kent (www.manofkent.org.uk); Belinda Jennings, Quality Manager at Adnams Brewery, in Southwold, Suffolk (www.adnams.co.uk, www.beerfromthecoast.co.uk); Kenneth Metcalfe (guest); Roger Mitchell (guest), a quality auditor for Cask Marque (www.cask-marque.co.uk), an organisation promoting the quality of Cask Beer (Real Ale) in the UK; Lesley, Roger Mitchell's wife; James and Maureen Nuthall (guests); Tim O'Rourke, the Chairman of the Southern section of the IBD, the Technical Editor of the Brewers' Guardian (www.brewersguardian.com), and Head of the brewing industry consultancy and training company, The Brilliant Beer Company (www.brilliantbeer.com); Alan Pateman, Head Brewer at Elgood's Brewery (www.elgoods-brewery.co.uk), in the Cambridgeshire town of Wisbech; Kate Pateman, Alan Pateman's wife; Roger Protz (guest) (www.beer-pages.com), a world-renowned Beer Writer, with numerous publications to his name, the editor of the Good Beer Guide (GBG), published by CAMRA, the UK's premier beer consumers' organisation (www.camra.org.uk), and founder member and former Chairman of the British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk); Dave Rosie (guest); John Sanders (guest); Mattias Sjöberg, the Shift Quality Control Team Leader at the Berkshire Brewery, in Reading, which is part of Scottish & Newcastle (www.scottish-newcastle.com); yours truly, John White, the trip organiser; Joyce White, John's wife; and Hedley Wright, the proprietor of the Springbank Distillery, in Campbeltown, Kintyre, Argyll & Bute (www.springbankdistillers.com), the oldest, independent family-owned producer of Malt Whisky, in Scotland, which is completely self-contained and thus produces its own Malt.

Immediately after this Beer Hunt, Roger Protz wrote "Thanks for a brilliant trip -- best ever".

The itinerary for this Beer Hunt included: a group meal in the world-class Schlenkerla tavern and a visit to its Heller-Trum Brewery, in Bamberg, see above; a visit to the justifiably world-renowned Maltings, run by Sabine Weyermann, and her husband, Thomas Kraus-Weyermann, in Bamberg, Weyermann Malz (In Malt) (www.weyermannmalt.com (English pages), www.weyermann.de (German pages, with links to pages in many other languages), White Beer Travels Web page), where beers brewed in Weyermann's test/pilot brewery (Versuchsbrauerei), were sampled in the Weyermann Bräustüberl, a very pleasant bar/restaurant, which is used by Weyermann employees, and is also used for entertaining invited visitors to the maltings; a group meal in the tap of the marvellous Zur Sonne Brewery (www.sonnenbier.de), in Bischberg, near Bamberg; a visit to the outstanding Franconian Brewery Museum (Fränkisches Brauereimuseum) (www.brauereimuseum.org), in Bamberg; a group meal in the tap of the truly superlative Klosterbräu Brewery, in Bamberg (www.klosterbraeu.de); and a visit and meal in the don't-miss Nuremberg Brew Pub and Distillery, the Bierbrauerei Destille Altstadthof (Old Town Courtyard Brewery and Distillery), see above. The latter visit was hosted by the Proprietor and Brewmaster, Reinhard Engel.

The Entrance to the Spezial Keller, a famous Bamberg Beer Garden

Asparagus with Schnitzel in Zur Sonne, Bischberg

As well as the scheduled places on the trip, there were also organised crawls, covering as many of Bamberg's truly rich beer treasures as possible. In the photo, above left, the Chairman of the Southern UK section of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling, Tim O'Rourke is leaving Bamberg's most famous Beer Garden, the Spezial Keller, en route to the next two places on the Saturday evening crawl, a marvellous pub, called the Stöhrenkeller, and the justly renowned tap for the Greifenklau Brewery (www.greifenklau.de). Following Tim through the arch, is Elgood's Brewery's Alan Pateman and his wife, Kate. Alan, the previous Chairman, was my contact for the organisation of the trip. In his luggage, Alan had packed an amazing amount of Elgood's and Adnams beers and gifts, to present, accompanied by thank-you speeches in German, to our hosts in the various places visited. May is the time for Asparagus (Spargel) in and around Bamberg, so it was on menus everywhere. Asparagus makes for an excellent vegetarian dish, but it can be accompanied by Sausages, Salmon, Schnitzel (Breaded, Veal, Pork or Turkey). as per in the photo, above right, which was taken in the Zur Sonne Brewery tap, in Bischberg, near Bamberg, during the group meal there, which was accompanied by the place's wonderful beers. The mini-blackboard in the background has "Herlich Wilkommen - Herr White und Anhang" (Hearty Welcome - Mr White and Following". Both photos were taken by John White, in May, 2007.

In the photo, above left, which was taken by Joyce White, in May, 2007, yours truly, John White, on the left, is with a distiller and a brewer distiller: IBD member, Hedley Wright (in the middle), who produces the renowned Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn ranges of Malt Whiskies in his Springbank Distillery, in Campbeltown, Scotland; and Reinhard Engel, who produces Schnapps from the various beers he brews at the Altstadthof Brewery and Distillery, in Nuremberg; in our hands we have glasses of Rothbierbrand, the Schnapps made from the brewery's Rothbier (Red Beer), a lost Nuremberg beer style, recreated by Altstadthof). I guess Hedley could also be regarded as a brewer, since Whisky is unhopped beer that is distilled. Click here, to go down this page, for further information on the Altstadthof Brewery and Distillery. The photo, above right, was taken by John White, in May, 2007, in the marvellous bar within Weyermann Malt. In the photo, Thomas Kraus-Weyermann is sitting next to Roger Protz, a big promoter of the IPA (India Pale Ale) beer style. Fittingly, Roger is sampling an IPA brewed by Weyermann, and excellent it was too. All the Weyermann Versuchsbrauerei beers that I have tried have been top class. What is fascinating for me is the total authenticity of the Weyermann beers that are not German styles, such as their IPA, Bamberg Stout and Baltic Porter; these really are stunning beers that will impress the most hardened Speciality/Specialty/Craft Beer fan.

2006: Beer Hunt based in Bamberg and
Nuremberg (Nürnberg)

The photo, above left, shows the group of White Beer Travels Beer Hunters, at the Wagner Brewery (the "RW" stands for Richard Wagner), in Merkendorf, near Bamberg. It was taken by second petal, Sylvia Clow, during this September/October, 2006 Beer Hunt. From left to right on the steps are: yours truly, John White; Mike Robinson; Wagner's Christian Bruse; and Paul Middleton. Standing on the ground are: Jez (rauchbier, Smoke Beer) Blake; Chris Marchbanks; Dr Eric Clow; Bob Critchley; Stuart Lowe; Bob Middleton; and Tony Sibson. The photo to its right, shows glasses of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier (Smoke Beer) being filled for the White Beer Travels Beer Hunters by Heller/Schlenkerla's proprietor, Matthias Trum, direct from the lagering vessels in the sandstone caves below the Heller Brewery, in Bamberg. The photo was taken by John White, in October, 2006.

During this Beer Hunt, there were brewery visits to: the Heller Brewery, and its tavern, the Schlenkerla, see above; the Brauerei Wagner, www.wagner-merkendorf.de, in Merkendorf, near Bamberg; Zur Sonne (www.sonnenbier.de), in Bischberg, near Bamberg; and the two breweries in Buttenheim, near Bamberg, Löwenbräu (www.loewenbraeu-buttenheim.de) and St. Georgen Bräu (www.kellerbier.de). The day in Buttenheim, which also included a visit to the Levi-Strauss Museum "Jeans & Kult", www.levi-strauss-museum.de, is covered more fully in a White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here. The White Beer Travels Beer Hunters were present at the tapping of the Urbock in the Schlenkerla tavern, this being covered in the White Beer Travels Schlenkerla page see above. There was also a brief visit to the Brew House of the Brauerei Fässla (www.faessla.de), in Bamberg, during the "Brewing Establishments, Past and Present Tour" covered below.

The above photos were taken in Bamberg by John White in October, 2006. On the left is Schmitt's Cafe, at Michelsberg 29A (on the corner of Storchsgasse). This is a really atmospheric Bamberg outlet for Löwenbräu Buttenheim. It is very close to the also-visited, don't-miss Franconian Brewery Museum (Fränkisches Brauereimuseum) (www.brauereimuseum.org), which is housed in the brew house of a former Benedictine Monastery, easily spotted on the top of St. Michael's Hill (Michaelsberg or Michelsberg). On its right is a photo of the sign for a real rarity in Bamberg, a Vegetarian Restaurant: Kürbiskern (Pumpkin Seed), at Kunigundenruhstrasse 1 (on the corner of Josephstrasse, the far corner being with the historic"brewery street", Steinweg), tel 0951 208 48 10. As you can see, Kürbiskern is a Keesmann outlet. The food in this most pleasant of places is excellent, so don't miss this one, when in Bamberg. Kürbiskern is open every day except Sunday and Monday from 5.30pm to 11pm. It also opens on National Holidays and, from September to May, it opens on Sunday, from 9.30am, for Brunch. The marvellous Keesmann's tap itself was visited, along with the also wonderful taps for Mahr's-Bräu (www.mahrs-braeu.de) and the Brauerei Greifenklau (www.greifenklau.de).

During the Beer Hunt, as well as breweries and/or their associated taps, a good number of Bamberg bars and restaurants, were visited. These included, in addition to those just featured above: Kachelofen, Obere Sandstrasse 1 (www.zumkachelofen.de), a Buttenheim St. Georgen Bräu Outlet, with a famous tiled stove (Kachelofen); a must-visit bar run by a beer enthusiast for beer enthusiasts, Torschuster, Obere Karolinenstraße 10 (corner Michaelsbergstrasse), (www.torschuster.de (stopped working in June, 2006)); and the bar and restaurant of the Hotel Alt-Ringlein, Dominikanerstrasse 9 (www.alt-ringlein.de), where one can do a side by side tasting of Bamberg's two Smoke Beers, in a building that once housed the Brauerei Ringlein. Some other bars and restaurants visited are covered in the next paragraph.

An interesting and truly marvellous aspect of this Beer Hunt, was a tour round Bamberg, featuring some of its past and present breweries. In 2004, a book was published by Dr Christian Fielder on the breweries of Bamberg; it is reviewed in a White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here, this page also giving further details of the tour, along with photos taken during it. Christian's book does not cover just the ten or so brewing establishments that exist today, but all the sixty-five that were operating in 1817, plus those that opened after this date, i.e. seventy-three in all. They are all located exactly on the excellent maps in the inside cover of the book. In the book itself, they all have an individual entry (at least two pages each), with appropriate photos, often when they were still breweries, and as they are today. This allows one to find these as one is walking around the city. Although it is in German, its format is such that words are repeated, such as "present use", "year closed", etc, etc. This means that even with limited German, the book is of great interest. For those brewing establishments still in operation, there are old photos.

On this Beer Hunt, Christian gave us a guided tour of some of the streets covered by the book. We started on Königstrasse (former Steinweg), which had the biggest concentration of breweries, including two still in operation: Fässla (www.faessla.de) and Spezial. After starting off at the sign of the former Brauerei Großkopf (Big Head Brewery), at Obere Königstraße 5, we visited Fässla and Spezial's bars, and that of a third operational one, for lunch, Klosterbräu (www.klosterbraeu.de), Bamberg's oldest brewing establishment, still in operation, having been established in 1533, before walking up the Stephansberg, ending up at Heller Brewery for our visit there. Click here to see the Christian Fiedler Tour itinerary.

We also visited Merkendorf, a village close to Bamberg, which has two Brew Pubs: the Brauerei Hummel, www.brauerei-hummel.de; and the Brauerei Wagner, www.wagner-merkendorf.de. The above photos of the breweries and their taps, were taken by John White, in October, 2006. A brewery visit had been arranged to Hummel, which has a marvellous Rauchbier (Smoke Beer) in its portfolio: Merkendorfer Hummel-Bräu Räucherla (5.6%). Sadly, on the 3rd of October, 2006, the day of our visit, Leonhard Hummel (1926-2006) died, but, despite this, his son, Julius Hummel, had arranged that we could go to Wagner instead, where Gabi (Gabriele) Wagner made us most welcome; she very kindly arranged a brewery tour for us, and we had some excellent beers in the brewery's marvellous, atmospheric tap afterwards. Click here to see the announcement of Leonhard Hummel's death in the regional paper, the Fränkischer Tag (www.fraenkischer-tag.de), on the 4th of October, 2006.

The beers in Wagner included a new one, Richard Wagner Dunkel, brewed in honour of the seventy-fifth birthday of the brewery's patriarch, the "Beer Composer". The photo, above left, has a poster advertising this excellent beer (€1.60 for 50cl on draught); it was taken by John White, in October, 2006. Below, it, the poster is declaring that Federweisser (Feather White) is available (€1.60 for 25cl). This is very young wine, which is still fermenting and is usually cloudy, white and sparkling. It is very refreshing, and definitely worth trying. Because of its evolving nature, it cannot be stored in sealed bottles, so is typically only seen in wine producing regions, such as Franconia. Depending on how much fermentation has taken place, it can have an alcohol content of from 4% to 10%, and have varying degrees of sweetness. It is available from early September to late October, in lots of places in Franconia. Wagner's brewery equipment was largely supplied by the famous Bamberg firm of Kaspar Schulz (www.kaspar-schulz.de), the world's oldest manufacturer of brewing equipment; they were established in 1677. Augmenting their Copper (Hop Boiler), Wagner have a new technology vessel from Kaspar Schulz, their energy saving "SchoKo" Soft Boiling System; SchoKo is short for Schonkoch (literally "Nice Boil"). The photo, above right, shows White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular and brewing technologist, Chris Marchbanks, inspecting Wagner's SchoKo. The other draught beers available on the October, 2006 visit to the Wagner tap were: Ungespundetes Lagerbier, Märzen and Pils, all at €1.20/1.60 (25/50cl); and Wagner Weisse at €1.30/1.90 (25/50cl). There are also seasonal beers, such as Wagner Bock Hell and Dunkel; the Wagner Bockbieranstich (Bock Beer Tapping) takes place in the middle of November. Food available includes full meals, such as Kotellet mit Kartoffelsalat und gem. Salat (Pork Chop with Potato Salad and Mixed Salad) at €5, Game Dishes, and Snacks (Brotzeiten), such as Limburger mit Butter und Brot (Limburger Cheese (from Belgium) with Bread and Butter) at €3, and Hausmacher Göttinger mit Gürke und Brot (Cold, Sliced Sausage, with Gherkin and Bread) at €3.50. The Wagner tap is not open on Mondays.

The Hummel Brewery will be visited at a future date, but on this Beer Hunt, we did get to its wonderful tap or pub (Gaststätte). In the photo on the left, the barrel of Räucherla, which is in the cabinet, to keep it cool, is being tipped, as it is nearly empty. As you can see, this is a gravity-fed beer. The photo was taken by John White, in the Hummel tap, in October, 2006. The photo on the right was taken by White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular, Dr Eric Clow. In my hands, I have a litre of Räucherla and a Hummel beer mat (coaster). Draught (vom Faß) Räucherla is listed in the place's menu card at €1/1.20/1.70 for respectively 25cl, a Schnitt and 50cl (October, 2006 prices). A Schnitt is a generous unmeasured half measure (25cl) of beer, served in a 50cl glass, so you usually get more than 25cl. In some establishments, a Schnitt can be ordered as the last drink of a session, when one would probably only be charged half the cost of 50cl of beer. Other draught beers available at the time of the visit were: Pils, Kellerbier and Märzen, all at €1/1.20/1.70 (25cl/Schnitt/50cl). In bottle, the Hefeweiss Bier, Hell (Pale) or Dunkel (Dark) at €1/1.20/1.90 (25cl/Schnitt/50cl). There are also seasonal beers, such as a Weizenbock (November, December, and Fastenzeit (Lent)), Dunkler Bock (November, December), Heller Maibock (April, May), and Räucherator, a Rauchbier Doppelbock (8.1%), at €1.20/1.30/2.20 (25cl/Schnitt/50cl), the latter being available at Lent, which is the forty days up to and including Easter Saturday, not counting Sundays. There are 33cl bottled versions of the beers available, the Freggäla range, a character with this name appearing on the labels. The Hummel Bockbieranstich (Bock Beer Tapping) takes place on the first Saturday in November. Food includes main courses such as Schweineschnitzel mit Pommes und Salat oder Kartoffelsalat und Salaten (Pork Escalope with Chips and Lettuce or with Potato Salad and Salad) at €5.80, and Brotzeiten (Snacks) such as Currywurst mit Pommes (Curry Sausage and Chips) at €3.60. There is also a Tageskarte (Dishes of the Day). The Hummel tap is closed on Tuesdays.

The above two photos of the outside and inside of Zur Sonne Brewery, in Bischberg, near Bamberg, were taken by John White, in October, 2006. The brewery's truck in the photo on the left has just been used to collect yeast from another brewery; it is directly in front of the entrance to the Brew House; to the left of the truck is the brewery tap. There has been a brewery on the site since 1587, the Schuhmann family having run it since 1856; the eldest son, Christian is the Brew Master, whilst his brother, Peter, is in charge in the kitchen. In the photo, above right, Christian is in the Brew House, checking the height of the wort being charged to the stainless steel Copper (Hop Boiler). On the October, 2006 visit, the marvellous draught, Urtyp Hell was €1/1.60 (25/50cl). Bottled beers available were: Zunft Trunk Dunkel, Sonnen Pils (unfiltered), and Sonnen Weisse, all at €1.70. Food includes: Snacks (Brotzeiten), at €2.70, such as Pressack gemischt mit Brot (Mixed Pressack with Bread, i.e. both Weiss and Rot, Red (Black Pudding) and White (Brawn)); and main meals, some of which are listed in the menu under Biergerichte (Beer Cuisine), for example, Gebratenes Zanderfilet auf Biersenfsoße mit Butterkartoffeln und Salatteller (Baked Zander Fish in a Beer/Mustard Sauce, with Buttered Potatoes and Salad) at €7.50. The food and drink available are all listed and priced on the place's website. Zur Sonne's tap is not open on Tuesdays.

A trip was made to the twin towns of Windischeschenbach (www.windischeschenbach.de) and Neuhaus an der Waldnaab (Neuhaus bei Windischeschenbach), in the Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate), region of Bavaria, which is close to the border with The Czech Republic (Česká republika). The purpose of this trip was to hunt Zoigl, a beer produced by communal brewers in five towns in the Oberpfalz. Click here to go to the White Beer Travels Web page that provides more details of the successful Zoigl Hunt, and information on Zoigl and other communal brews that one can search out in the area adjoining the Oberpfalz.

Also visited was a Brew Pub and Distillery, the Bierbrauerei Destille Altstadthof (Old Town Courtyard Brewery and Distillery) , and its tap, the Schwarzer Bauer, in Nuremberg see above. Our host was the Proprietor and Brewmaster, Reinhard Engel, who can be seen in the photo on the right, addressing the White Beer Travels Beer Hunters, in front of the Distillery. The photo on the left shows the main brew house vessels, the Mash Tun and the Copper. Both photos were taken by John White, in September, 2006.

The itinerary for this Beer Hunt, which was one of a number of handouts given to trip participants, can be seen by clicking here.

2005: Beer Hunt based in Bamberg and
Nuremberg (Nürnberg)

In the above two photos, John White, of White Beer Travels, is with the two producers of Bamberg's most famous style of Beer: Rauchbier (Smoke Beer). In the one on the left, John is with Matthias Trum of Heller/Schlenkerla, and in the one on the right, he is with Christian Merz of the Brauerei Spezial. Further information on the photos is given below.

During this July, 2005 Beer Hunt, visits included: the Schlenkerla Tavern and its world-famous Heller Brewery, and the Brauerei Spezial, see above; Brauhaus Robesbierre, in Bamberg; Brauerei Griess (www.brauerei-griess.de), in Geisfeld; Mahr's-Bräu (www.mahrs-braeu.de), in Bamberg; the Weinstube Pizzini, Obere Sandstrasse 17, tel 0951 563 89, which, despite its name, has an excellent selection of beers, and is an absolutely don't-miss gem of a bar; and the Drei Kronen Brew Pub (www.drei-kronen.de), in Memmelsdorf, whose beers include Hefe-Pils (4.5%) (means Yeast-Pils, to denote that it is unfiltered, as are all the brewery's beers) and Stöffla (4.5%), the latter being a Rauchbier. The Drei Kronen is one of a number of Brew Pubs, many of which, like this one, having accommodation, that are featured in the essential Privaten Braugasthöfe (Independent Brew Pubs) website, www.braugasthoefe.de, which has English and Italian pages, as well as German ones; there is a free-of-charge companion booklet that is available in the outlets featured in it. In the July, 2005 edition of the US magazine Men's Journal (www.mensjournal.com), Mahr's-Bräu was voted the best brewery in the world, its new Leicht (Light) beer (2.8%) getting special praise, as did Schlenkerla Rauchbier.

The photo, above left, which was taken, in July, 2005, by White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular, Jez (rauchbier) Blake, shows Heller Schlenkerla's Matthias Trum holding on to the Zwickel Schlüssel of a vessel of maturing Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock, in the sandstone caves below the Heller Brewery (Jez's highest rated beer on www.ratebeer.com is Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock). John has a glass of the beer - it was magnificent - that Matthias has just drawn from the aluminium lagering vessel in the background, and it is thus a genuine Zwickelbier (derives from the Zwickel Drill used to make a hole in the side of a wooden vessel to enable the maturing beer to be sampled); he drew one for everyone in the White Beer Travels group. The photo, above right, was taken by Brian Glover, in July, 2005. In it, John is with Christian Merz, the proprietor of the Brauerei Spezial, in Bamberg. They are standing in front of the beech wood-fired kiln that gives the smoke flavour to the Malt used to produce the Spezial's Rauchbier.

Participants on the trip were both White Beer Travels Beer Hunters and members of the British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk); John is on the Guild's committee. The Guild members on the trip were: Brian Glover, a Guild Beer Writers of the Year; Iain Loe, CAMRA HQ's Research & Information Manager and representative at EBCU (European Beer Consumers' Union) (www.ebcu.org) meetings, at which he acts as Secretary; Chris Marchbanks, brewing and beer technologist; and Tim Webb, the editor of the don't-enter-Belgium-without Good Beer Guide Belgium (www.booksaboutbeer.com). Tim's guide is covered in a White Beer Travels Web page, which gives some explanation as to why Tim was on this Beer Hunt in Germany. Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page giving more details of Tim's Guide, including how to get your hands on a copy. In the photo, above right, Tim is in discussion with Stephan Michel, the Brew Master of Mahr's-Bräu, in Bamberg. The photo, above left, was taken by John White, in the Schlenkerla's Altdeutches Zimmer (Old German Room), in July, 2005. In this private room, Matthias Trum hosted a meal for the White Beer Travels group, a number of whom can be seen in the photo, i.e. from left to right, Brian Glover, Mike Robinson, Bob Critchley, Stuart Lowe, Jez Blake, Iain Loe, Tim Webb, and Bob and Margaret Middleton (backs to camera). Also around the table were: Joyce White; Chris and Vicki Marchbanks; Fred Waltman; Tom Rierson; Bamberg local, Frank Wetzel and, of course, Matthias Trum. Fred (www.franconiabeerguide.com) and Frank (www.bierregion-franken.info) both have essential websites covering beer in Bamberg and Franconia. Fred and Tom are both Home Brewers from the USA, who White Beer Travels Beer Hunters regularly bump into, in Bamberg and in other places where one can expect to find top-class beer.

The above two photos were taken in July, 2005. In the one on the left, which was taken by Joyce White, John is with Robert Pawelczak, in his Brewery, in Bamberg, the Brau Haus Robesbierre. At the time, Robesbierre was below the "Wilde Rose" Bräu-Keller (www.wilde-rose-keller.de), at Obere Stephansberg 49, and, indeed, some equipment from the former Wilde Rose Brewery is still in place. In 2006, Robesbierre closed in this location, but it is expected to reopen somewhere in Bamberg, in 2007. In the photo on the right, which was taken by Brian Glover, John is with Peter Griess and Frank Wetzel, shortly after a visit to the Griess Brewery, in Geisfeld, which produces a range of top-class beers.

The visit to Griess Brewery was part of a largely off-road walk, which started and finished at Strullendorf railway station, near Bamberg. The photo, above left, which was taken on the July, 2005 walk, by John White, features the Waldkapelle (Forest Chapel), near Strullendorf. It is being approached (bottom right), by Joyce White and Vicki and Chris Marchbanks. The photo, above right, was taken in front of the Felsenkeller Sauer, Rossdorf am Forst, by Joyce White, in August, 2004. What a super place this is to drink the Brauerei Sauer's range of marvellous Rossdorfer Beers. In the photo, John White is on the previous year's recce for the walk, getting the Waypoint (Latitude and Longitude, 49.865373^o N, 10.998092^o E) for the Felsenkeller Sauer, with a GPS device.

Other highlights of the Strullendorf walk included: the world-class beer in the Brauereigaststätte Krug, in Geisfeld; the exceptionally pretty, already mentioned Felsenkeller Sauer, in Roßdorf am Forst (www.brauerei-sauer.de); the superbly located Schwanenkeller, in Strullendorf (click here to see a photo); as well as the more well-known Griess-Keller (www.griess-keller.de), in Geisfeld. We also had a good lunch in the beer garden of Gasthof Schiller, in Wernsdorf. The walk is fully described in a White Beer Travels Guide entitled Strullendorf Beer Hunt Guide that can be obtained from the Downloads page. Click here to see a reduced size version of its cover, which features the Schwanenkeller, that was reached by walking through a forest, the place being inside it, on its edge. In 2005, we were invited into the sandstone caves of the former brewery, that are today used to store the beers that are served in the Keller, these being supplied by Löwenbräu, in Buttenheim (www.loewenbraeu-buttenheim.de, White Beer Travels Web page).

The photo, above left, features Graham Lees, one of the four founding members of CAMRA, the CAMpaign for Real Ale, which is the UK's premier beer consumers' organisation. It was taken in July, 2005, in the Beer Garden of the Drei Kronen, in Memmelsdorf, by Neil Kellett, who was CAMRA's auditor for thirty-five years. In the photo, both Graham and I have a glass of Drei Kronen unfiltered Rauchbier, Stöffla. Graham is the author of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide to Munich and Bavaria, and the first edition of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide to Prague and The Czech Republic (click here for details of a later version). Click here to see a photo featuring another of the founders of CAMRA. The photo, above right, was taken by John White, in July, 2005. The porcelain statues are The Three Kings; they are between the two main Brew House vessels in the Drei Kronen (Three Crowns) Brewery, opposite which is an operational Coolship (Wort Cooler); click on The Three Kings to see a photo of the Coolship.

The trip coincided with Forchheim's famous Annafest beer festival, see above.

On the last day of the Beer Hunt, John and his wife, Joyce, were presented with a book (Christel Seidensticker's Hopfen und Malz (Hops and Malt)) by the Beer Writers and the White Beer Travels Beer Hunters, signed with the words: "Thanks for an unforgettable world-class visit to Bamberg and Nürnberg". In the photo to the left, Mike Robinson is making the presentation. The photo was taken by Chris Marchbanks, in Nuremberg's Schlenkerla (very close to the Imperial Castle (Kaiserburg), at Beim Tiergärtnertor 3), in July, 2005, see above. In John's hand there is a glass of draught Schlenkerla Rauchbier!

The last night of the Beer Hunt was spent in Nuremberg, there being sufficient time to visit its principal beer attractions, some of which are detailed above and below.

On this 2005 trip, we visited two bars in Nuremberg which proved to be very special: Hütt'n and the Wodanstrasse 15 branch of Landbierparadies, see above. In the photo, above left, which was taken by Joyce White, in July, 2005, John is with Hütt'n co-proprietor, Gerhard Pickel. John has a glass of the draught Hausbräu (House Beer), which is brewed by the Brauerei Fischer, in Greuth; its bottled Rauchbier was sampled later. In the photo, above right, which was taken by Chris Marchbanks, in July, 2005, John is with Claus Schmidt, of Landbierparadies. John has a Krug of Gunzendorfer Schlückla Rauchbier from Andreas Sauer, in Gunzendorf (Jurastrasse 30, tel 09545 215), which is a few kilometres to the East of Buttenheim. Claus is the co-author (with Christiane Klinke and Heinrich Barth) of the book he is holding: the hop company Joh. Barth's The Hop Atlas (www.johbarth.com); the German-language version is called Der Grosse Hopfenatlas.

2004: Beer Hunt based in Bamberg and
Nuremberg (Nürnberg)

During this August, 2004 Beer Hunt, visits included the Schlenkerla and its Heller Brewery, see above. Also visited, a few days before its official opening on the 4th of August, was a new Brew Pub, the Gasthausbrauerei Ambräusianum, (www.ambraeusianum.de), at Dominikanerstrasse 10, in Bamberg, i.e. a couple of doors away from the Schlenkerla. Click here for more further information on the visit to Ambraeusianum. The visit coincided with the Annafest beer festival, in Forchheim. A number of Nuremberg's best beer-orientated places were also visited, see above.

1999: Beer Hunt based in Paris, France & Liège, Belgium, which featured a day trip to Aachen, in Germany

Information on the non-German parts of this Beer Hunt can be obtained by clicking here.

Photo of the Postwagen, Aachen, from www.aachen-markt.de.

Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), was reached from Liège,in Belgium by a Thalys (www.thalys.com) high speed train. Aachen has a mega history (involving Charlemagne and countless other Holy Roman Emperors), and some excellent pubs, including the superb Postwagen (Krämerstrasse 2, tel 0241 350 01). This has very good food and a nice selection of beers, including the legendary Köstritzer Schwarzbier (Black Beer from Bad Köstritz, from the Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei (Köstritz Black Beer Brewery)) on draught, see the brewery's website, www.koestritzer.de.