In Hamilton Burden's Book, The Nuremberg Party Rallies, 1923-1939, he describes how during evenings the party big-wigs would go out to sample the Nuremberg beer. If their tastes were anything like mine (in beer) they might have been disappointed. To me Nuremberg beer is not up to snuff with other beers in Germany, but that's just me.
The principal beer in Nuremberg is Tucher (formerly called Tucher-Siechen), owned by the patrician Tucher family. Tucher is actually a pretty big conglomerate having bought up Patrizierbrau AG and several smaller Franconian breweries over the past several decades including Gruener (Fuerth), Erich and Henninger (Erlangen) and Bamberger Hofbrau (Bamberg). Thus it qualifies for what some of my German friends derisively call, "industrial beer".
Tucher has a brewery restaurant in Nuremberg, which I have never visited, so I can't say whether the beer is of any higher quality. Then again, you might love it. It's just a matter of taste.
Another brewery in Nuremberg is Lederer, which I also try to avoid when seeking out an eating place in Nuremberg or its environs, like Erlangen.
One beer I definitely avoid is Zirndorfer from the outlying village of Zirndorf. My Italian friend, who has a pizzeria in nearby Stein, serves this beer along with Tucher. Faced with a choice, I go with Tucher. Zirndorfer has an unpleasant bitter taste.
The best local beer you will find in the Nuremberg area is Kitzmann, which is the major brewery in Erlangen.
Here is a pub guide to Nuremberg. It includes a couple I have frequented over the years, which are the Tucherbrau am Opern and Kloster Andechs, which brews their own beer (so-so). The former is down the street from the train station along the wall and across the street from the opera house, while the latter is also near the train station on Koenigstrasse.
Nuremberg has two beer fests annually, in spring (Fruehlingsfest) and fall (Herbstfest). It takes place on the former Reichs Party Rally grounds (Reichsparteitaggelaende) in the shadow of Kongresshall.
Again, you may find Nuremberg's brews to your liking. You will certainly enjoy the city. It is worth a visit.
