Hallstadt (www.hallstadt.de) is a small town, six kilometres (four miles) North of Bamberg, in the great German brewing region of Franconia (Franken). Dörfleins is a village that is essentially a suburb of Hallstadt. Hallstadt and Dörfleins are typically reached from the justifiably world-renowned beer and tourist city of Bamberg, with its ten or more breweries; the seventy-seven page White Beer Travels guide to Bamberg, and its accompanying Beer Hunt maps, are available from the Downloads page. It is clear from the number of impressive old half-timbered buildings in Hallstadt, that it has had an important historical past, independent of Bamberg's. A link to information, with photos, on some of its main tourist attractions, can be found by clicking on the Sehenswürdikeiten (Sights Worth Seeing) page of the town's website.

I did not expect to produce this Web page dedicated to Hallstadt; In November, 2006, I planned to visit the tap of a brewing establishment in Dörfleins, and then add information on it to the White Beer Travels Guide to Bamberg, but following the visit to the excellent Brauerei Schwarzer Adler, the tap for the Brauerei Eichhorn, White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular, Jez (rauchbier, Smoke Beer) Blake, who accompanied me, suggested that we check out a place in Hallstadt, that he was aware of. So we duly walked there. I was so impressed with the place, the tap for the former Brauerei Goldener Löwe, that I just had to knock up this Web page featuring it. Of course, I have also added information on the Schwarzer Adler to it, along with information on other places in Hallstadt and Dörfleins. Thanks for the recommendation, Jez; I dedicate this White Beer Travels Web page to you, which happens to be a landmark one, as it is the 100th one to be added to the overall White Beer Travels website. Jez works for Highwood Brewery (www.tom-wood.com), in Lincolnshire, England; one of his specialist subjects is the Beers and Brewing Establishments of Bamberg and Franconia; he is a major contributor to the justly famous ratebeer website (www.ratebeer.com), his nickname on the site being rauchbier. Bamberg's breweries produce a good number of different styles of beer, but in the Speciality Beer world, the City is synonymous with Rauchbier (Smoke Beer). Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page giving more information on Rauchbier.

Unless indicated otherwise, prices quoted are from November, 2006, and for beer, they are for 50cl measures, which is just under an Imperial Pint (57cl), and just over a US one (47cl).

Gasthaus & Brauerei zum Goldenen Löwen, Marktplatz 1, Hallstadt

Quite simply, this tap for the Brauerei zum Goldenen Löwen (Brauerei Goldener Löwe, Löwenbräu Diller), which closed in 1985, is, for me, a National Treasure! It is a life-enhancing bar, housed in a magnificent timber-framed building (Fachwerkhaus), which dates from 1450. The above photos of the tap, and the former brewery building behind it, were taken by John White, in November, 2006.

Karl Diller, the landlord, was in charge of the brewery, before it closed, hence the alternative name for the Golden Lion Brewery: Löwenbräu Diller (Diller Lion Brew). Karl can be seen behind the servery, in the photo above left, and talking to locals in the photo, above right, with his wife, Greta, behind the servery. Both photos were taken by John White, in November, 2006. There are two beers on the menu, both on draught/tap, both of which are from Brauerei Hönig (www.brauerei-hoenig.de), which is in Tiefenellern, near Litzendorf, which is a few miles/kilometres to the East of Dörfleins/Hallstadt. There is Bier at €1.70; and Weizen at €1.80. The "Bier" is Hönig Lagerbier Ungespundet, and the Wheat Beer is Hönig Postillon Weisse. At Christmas time, the draught Wheat Beer is replaced by draught Hönig Bockbier Hell, but is then available in bottle; bottled Hönig Pils is always available, but is not listed on the menu.

The inside is old and basic, but is in the mega-gem class, and, on our visit, it was elevated by the wonderful atmosphere created by the locals in the place, these lucky people who have such a shrine for their local. Some of them can be seen in the photo to the left, which was taken by John White, in November, 2006. Food is limited to snacks, such as: 1 Paar Bratwürste/Kraut (Two Grilled Sausages with Sauerkraut) at €2.60; Blau Zipfl (Grilled Sausage poached with Onions, Vinegar, Juniper Berries and Bay Leaf) at €2.60; Dosenfleisch (literally "Tinned Meat", but is Sliced, Cooked Sausages) at €3.20; and Käse mit Butter (Cheese and Butter) at €3.

The Golden Lion can be reached from Bamberg by bus. When you get off the bus in Hallstadt, see below, just carry on walking down Bamberger Strasse, in the direction that the bus was travelling, and you soon reach an impressive municipal building, a mix of old and new, the Bürgerhaus (People of the Town's House), which is opposite the much older Rathaus (Town Hall), at Marktplatz 2. The Golden Lion is just beyond the Bürgerhaus, on the left, in the Marktplatz (Market Place).

On the November, 2006 visit, Jez and I arrived at the Golden Lion, having first been to the Schwarzer Adler, in Dörfleins, see below; we walked to it from there, Jez leading the way, in the photo, at the top right of this section. Walking from Dörfleins, one crosses the river Main, see below, and then one takes the third left, Bachgasse, which puts a stream (a Bach) on your left. At the end of Bachgasse (Stream Alley), the mega-impressive looking, former brewery building can readily be seen. Bachgasse is most pleasant, and one passes a most picturesque, but somewhat dilapidated old mill on this short alley, which is featured in the photo to the left, which was taken by John White, in November, 2006. The mill is also on the left, in the photo featuring the former brewery, at the top right of this section.

After you have passed the mill, you just navigate yourself round to the front of the former brewery, to confront yourself, with the wonderful old building housing the tap. Should you arrive by bus, and come to the front first, don't fail to have a look round the back. Note that there is another mill, the Reubelsmühle, very close to the one featured above, on Fischergasse; it is the oldest mill in Hallstadt, but it is still operational.

To the left is a photo, taken by John White, in November, 2006, of the sign for the "Brauerei goldener Löwe". You wlil also have noticed that I also refer to the place with a different spelling: the "Brauerei zum Goldenen Löwen", this being how it is referred to in the Sehenswürdikeiten (Sights Worth Seeing (Tourist Attractions)) pages of www.hallstadt.de. Both are correctly spelt. The second option for the place's name actually means "at the sign of the Golden Lion Brewery"; German is a language with much declension; in this example the little "zum" demands than "goldener" becomes "goldenen", and "Löwe" becomes "Löwen". Here endeth the lesson! In English, "at the sign of the" is usually translated to "The". Note that there are French equivalents of "zum": Au (for masculine pub names); "À la" (feminine); and "Aux" (plural). Here endeth the second lesson!

There is another sign outside the Golden Lion stating that it has accommodation (Fremdenzimmer), but there is a distinct lack of information on this on the Internet, so it is probably historic. A definite accommodation option, in a building dating from 1348, that was also once a brewery, is given below.

I don't know what the Golden Lion's opening hours are, but, on our November, 2006 visit, we were there on a Saturday lunchtime. If you arrive here when it is shut, just camp outside until it opens!

The former brewery's Keller (Beer Garden), the Diller-Keller is still in operation, and is covered below.

Hallstadter Ur-Fässla (Jägers Fass), Marktplatz 3, Hallstadt, tel 0951 713 25

The Hallstadter Ur-Fässla is next door to the Golden Lion, and as you may guess, it is an outlet for the wonderful beers from one of Bamberg's finest breweries, Fässla (www.faessla.de). The Hallstadter Ur-Fässla is open every day of the week, except Wednesday, from 10am.

Gasthof Zum Goldenen Adler, Lichtenfelser Straße 35, tel 0951 972 70

I found this pub, the Goldener Adler (Golden Eagle), in the "Tourist Attractions" section of Hallstadt's official website, see above, following the November, 2006 visit, so I have not yet checked it out, but I certainly will in the near future! Lichtenfelser Strasse is the street leaving the Marktplatz in a Northerly direction. The Golden Eagle, is housed in a building that was built in 1348, c.f. the 1450 of The Golden Lion covered above! The Golden Eagle is still functioning as a pub; it can be regarded as the tap for a brewery that stopped brewing in 1946. It now has beers from the Kulmbacher Brauerei (www.kulmbacher.de), in Kulmbach. It has a beer garden at the rear, with chestnut trees providing shade, see below.

The closure date for the Golden Eagle Brewery was obtained from Klaus Ehm's essential website, www.klausehm.de; this has a scan of a beer mat for the brewery, with the alternative name of Adler-Bräu (Eagle Brew). Klaus's website initially appears to be a site with a great number of scans of beer bottle labels, etc from a number of places, worldwide, Germany being covered in the most detail. However, the site is teeming with information on the chronology and changing names/ownership of breweries, past and present. For example, if you want information on Hallstadt breweries, click on "Historisches Brauereiverzeichnis Deutschland" (Historical Brewery Directory Germany) (www.klausehm.de/Uebersicht.html), and then on "Hallenberg bis Hannesried" (www.klausehm.de/H2.html). This shows that the Brauerei zum Goldenen Adler stopped brewing in 1946.

The town's official website states that it was renovated and "umgebaut" (rebuilt) in 1995, and became part of an hotel, the Hotel Country Inn (Gasthof Goldener Adler) (www.hotelcountryinn.de). However, like the Brauerei zum Goldenen Löwen, covered above, the Goldener Adler is one of Hallstadt's Denkmäler (Monuments (the singular is Denkmal)), this being the equivalent of the UK's Listed Building system, so presumably the "rebuild" was carried out in such a way as to preserve its original features.

St. Georgenhof, Bamberger Strasse 15, Hallstadt, tel 0951 713 25

Just before the "Hallstadt Mitte" bus stop, on the right, is this outlet for St. Georgen Bräu (www.kellerbier.de), a brewery in Buttenheim (White Beer Travels Web page). As you can see from John White's November, 2006 photo, to the left, it has a very old façade. St. Georgenhof is a live music venue. Food, includes Pizzas, for which it has a home delivery service.

Zum Bären, Mainstrasse 30, Hallstadt, tel 0951 715 47

This was found in the Yellow Pages (www.gelbeseiten.de), after the November, 2006 visit, for checking out at a future time. Note that Main Street is the street that leads to Dörfleins, via the bridge over the River Main; it is a left turn off Bamberger Strasse, by the already mentioned Bürgerhaus.

Brauerei Eichhorn (Brauerei Schwarzer Adler), Dörfleinserstrasse 43, Dörfleins, tel 0951 971 04 07, www.brauerei-eichhorn.de,
GPS: 49.931757^o N, 10.859188^o E

The above two photos were taken by John White, in November, 2006. As can be seen, the Brauerei Eichhorn (Squirrel Brewery) is badged on the outside, the Brauerei Schwarzer Adler (Black Eagle Brewery); a Black Eagle logo appears on bottle labels, etc, as per the one on the beer mat (coaster) in the photo, above right (which features a glass of the brewery's Wheat Beer and a Krug of its Bock Beer), and in the photo, below right. The Brauerei Eichhorn is one of a number of excellent Brewing establishments with taps that can readily be reached from Bamberg by bus, see below, other examples being given in the previously cited White Beer Travels guide to Bamberg. The required bus stop is called "Dörfleins Mitte", the brewery and its tap being together, just before it, on the left.

On my November, 2006 visit, the draught Kellerbier was  €1.70; and the draught Weisse was €1.40/1.80 (30/5cl). However, the latter was only available in bottle at the time of the visit, as its tap was delivering the Bock, and excellent it was too, as was the Kellerbier. The food offerings are hot, but fairly simple, but extremely well cooked and appetising, examples being: Ein Paar Bratwürste mit Sauerkraut (Two Grilled Sausages with Sauerkraut) at €2.60; Göttinger angebraten mit drei Spiegeleier und Zwiebel (Slices of a Large Sausage with Three Fried Eggs and Onions) at €4; Zwetschgenbames mit Butter (Geräuchertes Rindfleisch) (Beef Smoked over Plum Wood) at €4.50; and Limburger mit Essig und Zwiebel (Belgian Limburg Cheese with Vinegar and Onion) at €3.30. A photo of the first two dishes can be seen, above left. The photo to its right is of the sign denoting the Stammtisch, the regulars' table (just for the Hackel Brüder (Hackel Brothers)?). Both photos were taken by John White, in November, 2006.

The tap is a delightfully simple, traditional, multi-roomed gem; don't miss having a look in the room with the wonderful stove, on the left, as you come in, before going into the main bar (see the photo featuring the stove, at the top of this page, on the right). Interestingly, from the main bar, one can see into the kitchen, which is large and very modern, with much spotless stainless steel. The toilets are also impressively modern and clean. The brewery itself is in the entry yard on the left, with the entry to the tap on the right.

The Brauerei Eichhorn's tap is closed on Mondays. On other days it is open from 9am until 11pm (7pm on Thursdays and 8pm on Saturdays).

Diller-Keller, Am Kreuzberg, Dörfleins, tel 0951 700 16 48

The Diller-Keller is the former Beer Garden for the Goldener Löwe (Löwenbräu Diller), in Hallstadt, which is covered above. It is on a hill above Dörfleins, the Kreuzberg. Dörfleins can be seen, in the background, on the left hand side of the river in the above photo, with the Kreuzberg above it. The river is the Main, which separates Dörfleins from Hallstadt. The Main joins the Rhine (Rhein) at Mainz, going via Bischberg, near Bamberg, where it is joined by Bamberg's river, the Regnitz, before flowing through the famous Franconia (Franken) wine town of Würzburg (White Beer Travels Web page) and then Frankfurt am Main.

Note that caves/tunnels that were once used to mature beer are referred to in Franconia as Kellers. However, the word Keller normally means Cellar in German. In Franconia today, there are Kellers which are actually Beer Gardens, these being named after existing or former brewery Caves/Kellers. In Franconia, the word Keller has come to mean Beer Garden, hence the name of the website covering Beer Gardens in the Bamberg area: the essential www.bierkeller.de. Thus, the Diller-Keller is on the site of the former lagering caves for the Brauerei Goldener Löwe (Löwenbräu Diller). Note that, to help Kellers in their cooling job, a common practice, to shade their entrances, was toplant chestnut trees (Kastanienbäume) in front of them. Today, these trees provide shade for the visitors to such Beer Gardens, as they do at this one.

Like Goldener Löwe (Löwenbräu Diller), in Hallstadt, the Diller-Keller has beers from the Brauerei Hönig in Tiefenellern.

The Diller-Keller is open in May to September, every day, except Wednesday, from 2.30pm.

How to get to Hallstadt and Dörfleins

There are regular trains from Bamberg Bahnhof (railway station) to Hallstadt b. Bamberg railway station, which is just one stop North of Bamberg, but a bus is a better option, unless you are already at the station or traveling by train from elsewhere. From Hallstadt bei Bamberg railway station, going West along Bahnhofstrasse, gets you straight to the main square, the Marktplatz.

A website covering buses in the Bamberg is www.verkehrsbetriebe.de. Click here for the times of all local Bamberg buses. For each bus number, there are two lines in the list of lines on this page, the first line being for the forward journey (Hinfahrt) from ZOB (the Central Bus Station), and the other for the return journey (Rückfahrt) to ZOB. For each row, there are typically three timetables, that can be downloaded, i.e. for Montag bis Freitag (Monday to Friday); Samstag (Saturday); and Sonn- und Feiertag (Sunday and National Holidays). For Hallstadt and Dörfleins, the Linie 4 bus times are the ones that need to be downloaded.

The Linie 4 Buses go from Bay F, in Bamberg's Central Bus Station, ZOB (Zentraler-Omnibus-Bahnhof), on Promenade Straße (GPS: 49. 894277^o N, 10.891963^o E). The required stop in Hallstadt is called "Hallstadt Mitte" (Stadtmitte), on Bamberger Strasse; it comes after the stop named "Landsknechtstraße".

Dörfleins is reached by certain of the Linie 4 buses that also service Hallstadt, i.e. there is a fork in the route in Hallstadt (Stop "Hallstadt Mitte" (Stadtmitte)) and thus not all No. 4 buses go on to Dörfleins. The required stop in Dörfleins is called "Dörfleins Mitte", which comes after Kiliansplatz (the stop before the bus crosses the river Main) and Brunnenstrasse. The Brauerei Eichhorn in Dörfleins, and its tap, are just before the bus stop on the left. Note that at certain times, buses do not return from Dörfleins, and one then has to walk to the "Kiliansplatz" stop, in St.-Kilians-Platz, in Hallstadt, for the return journey to Bamberg, so, if this is the case for your return journey, on the forward journey, it is worth noting where this stop is. I would not recommend walking from Bamberg to Hallstadt, since just South of Hallstadt, one has to walk on the road over the A70 (E48) motorway, alongside which there is no footpath. For future checking out, in St.-Kilians-Platz, I spotted an outlet for Wagner-Bräu (www.brauerei-wagner.de), a brewery in Kemmern, just to the North of Hallstadt. Kemmern is not as easy to get to by public transport as Hallstadt, so if you want to try their beers ...

En route to Hallstadt and Dörfleins, on the number 4 bus, one passes the famous Bamberg firm of Kaspar Schulz (www.kaspar-schulz.de), the world's oldest manufacturer of brewing equipment; they were established in 1677. They are based in the Hafengebiet (Port Area) of Bamberg, at Kaspar-Schulz Strasse 1 (the NE pointing section of Coburger Strasse on some maps) (GPS: 49.913240o N, 10.878910o E). The required bus stop is called Coburger Strasse, the one after Zollhaus; it is two stops before Hallstadt Mitte. Kaspar Schulz is alongside the bus stop on Hallstadter Strasse, on the right. The photo of the Kaspar Schulz facility to the left, was taken by John White, in November, 2006. Bräuhaus, is the name that the company gives to its Pub Brewery offering.

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