Beer in Bamberg

Bamberg town hall


Bamberg is a picturesque town in the northern Franconian region of Bavaria. If you are old enough to remember the song and film, "Town Without Pity", it was filmed in Bamberg and nearby Forchheim and based on a story set in Bamberg. During my time as an MP in nearby Erlangen, in the 1960s, Bamberg was referred to by GIs as the "Town Without Pity".

Bamberg is also one of those towns in Germany, like Dortmund and Kulmbach, that is noted for beer. (Need I even mention Munich?) When I was first there (Our MP company had a detachment in Bamberg), I enjoyed Bamberger Hofbrau, which I thought was one of the best beers in the region (just my taste). I even got myself a Bamberger Hofbrau wall poster that unfortunately disappeared over time after I got back home. As for the brewery itself, it was eventually bought up by the Tucher brewery in Nuremberg. Below is what I think is an exact replica that I just found on the internet.




However, Bamberg is most noted for its Rauch beer or smoked beer. It is dark and has a smoky taste to it. Personally, I prefer to stay with the pils-helles types.

Here is a website (in German)  that promotes Bamberg beer.

Here is a more specific one (in English) that lists the top breweries/restaurants in Bamberg.

Going strictly from memory, one of the main brewpubs is located right on the street that runs between the town hall (built over the river Regnitz) and the famous cathedral (which holds the remains of a former pope). If I recall correctly, the restaurant used to belong to the now defunct Bamberger Hofbrau. On my last trip to Bamberg in about 2004, we had dinner and beer there under new ownership, but I don't recall the brewery.

You can find the Schenkerla Rauch beer in the US now as well as their regular beer in bottles or cans. I have tried the regular stuff and it wasn't bad (for an import, of course).



But if you are ever in the vicinity of Bamberg, it is well worth a visit and not just for the beer. It is a beautiful little town.

Erlangen Bergkirchweih Cancelled Due to Corona Virus

Bad news to report. The annual beer fest in Erlangen (Bergkirchweih), arguably the 2nd most popular in Bavaria, has been cancelled die to the Corona virus. Also cancelled are nearby fests in Bamberg (Sandkerwa) and Forchheim (Annafest). The news was announced this week in the Erlanger Nachrichten.



The Bergkirchweih begins every year on the Thursday before Pentacost and lasts 12 days. It is a great event. I am sure it will be missed in Erlangen this year.

German Beer at Rasselbock's (Mar Vista)

I had a nice experience Friday night in terms of German food and drink. For quite some time I have been meaning to try Rasselbock's German Kitchen and Beer Garden, both in Mar Vista (W Los Angeles) and Long Beach. Friday night I had to take my wife to LAX for a trip to Mexico. Since it was about dinner time, I headed north to Mar Vista and had dinner at Rosselbach's.

It's a small place, but I got a table and ordered dinner and a couple of beers. The first one I chose was Weihenstephaner Lager. I was very pleasantly surprised. It came with the type of tall, creamy head you would get in Germany. The taste was also excellent. It had that creamier texture common in German beers as opposed to our watery swill. It was also quite smooth, and with the exception of the Las Vegas Hofbrauhaus, was probably the most authentic tasting German beer I have had in the US. Of course, it was served American-style cold.

The second beer was Spaten Oktoberfest. It was fine, but I should have stayed with the Weihenstephaner.

Another thing I liked is that they bring your beer in a glass of the beer you order, for example, my Weihenstephaner came in a Weihenstephaner glass (just like the one above-.5L) and the Spaten Oktoberfest came in a Spaten Oktoberfest glass.

The food was also very good though the menu is pretty much limited to schnitzels and wursts, which suits me fine. The only real negative is that the establishment is in the middle of a homeless encampment.

German Beer Mugs

As an aficionado of German beer, I am also a collector of German beer glasses and to a lesser extent, German beer mugs and steins. This dates back to my US Army days in Erlangen in the 1960s. In addition to dozens of beer glasses from different breweries, I brought back a few one liter and half liter mugs. I have recently taken the one liter mugs  out of the garage and now display them on my bookcase in my study.

As you can see, I am somewhat of an amateur scholar on the history of the Third Reich and the Holocaust. Having been stationed just outside Nuremberg, I became quite interested in this terrible period and still read voraciously on the subject.

In the top photo, on the top shelf (l-r) , the mugs are, Bamberger Hofbrau, Henninger Reifbrau of Erlangen, Steinbach Brau of Erlangen, and Erlanger Erichbrau. On the bottom is a mug from Kitzmann of Erlangen. With the exception of Steinbach, all of the breweries are now defunct. The Steinbach and Kitzmann mugs were just purchased this month on Ebay. The other three are souvenirs from Erlangen's Bergkirchweih beer fest in the 1960s. The ceramic Frankfurt beer stein is one of a separate collection.

Kitzmann of Erlangen


They make a nice collection, but the problem is if you have too many, it is hard to find a suitable display location. My wife isn't going to tolerate any more beer mugs in my book case.

The Beers of Munich

Since we are in the Oktoberfest season, we should note that only six brews are allowed to be sold at the Oktoberfest grounds -those being the six recognized Munich breweries. They are:

Spaten
Loewenbrau
Hacker-Pschorrbrau
Augustiner
Paulaner
Hofbrauhaus



Bavaria, of course, has innumerable breweries and some others are located near Munich (like Weihenstephaner of Freising) and are thus, sometimes confused with Munich. You should note that the well-known Franziskaner beer has been merged with Spaten.



Does Munich have the best beer in Germany? That's a matter of taste and opinion. In my view, having visited Munich several times, I am of the opinion that with its beer halls and beer gardens, Munich is probably the best place to enjoy beer. I do think, however, that you can find beer just as good in other parts of Germany, other parts of Bavaria, like Franconia, or in states like Baden Wuerttemberg, in Stuttgart, for example.



In fact, with the exception of Paulaner, I have dined in all of the above brewery restaurants in Munich.  Personally, I have found Spaten and Hacker-Pschorrbrau to be somewhat disappointing, but that's just me. If I had to choose my favorite Munich beer, I would say Paulaner with Loewenbrau coming in second. Of course, I am merely talking about the normal pils variety, not the dark or hefeweizen.



Whatever your taste, however, for the true beer lover, a trip to Munich is a must.

Rothaus From the Black Forest

Last night after the Angels game, I popped into the Phoenix Club in Anaheim to have a couple of German brews. I noticed they had a new beer on tap, Rothaus. There was no indication of where it was from and I had never heard of it. So I ordered a glass (tap) and found it quite good.  (Always the disclaimer: It is almost certainly better in Germany.)  It was quite smooth.

Checking into it this morning, I see that this beer hails from a small village in Baden Wuerttemburg named Grafenhausen and is owned by the state of Baden Wuerttemburg.



What I had was the Tannenzäpfle pils version. If you happen to come across it, check it out.

German Beers in the US: Two New Suggestions

Until I can get back to Germany, this site is beginning to look like a promotion for this and that German restaurant in the US. I don't want to do that, but I do think I should point out two new brews currently being offered on tap at the Phoenix Club's beer stube in Anaheim. They are:

1 Ayinger Oktoberfest
2 Weihenstephaner Keller Bier

Both are Bavarian breweries, the latter being the oldest brewery in the world. The Ayinger Oktoberfest is a little darker and perhaps a bit stronger. Since I am not a connoisseur, I can't describe the taste to you in that flowery language they all use about hints of this and that. I just drink the stuff, man.

As I said, imported German beer has improved greatly over the decades, and I will take it even over American micro-brews, not to mention industrial beers like Bud, Schlitz, Miller etc. Of course, it's all a matter of taste, even among German brews, but if you in a German restaurant in the US, and they have these on tap, I recommend them.