There are quite a few guides in German aimed at people who like beer gardens, but we think we’ve found the best.
Frankens Schoenste Bierkeller and Biergarten by Markus Raupach and Bastian Böttner is a weighty but handily sized guide to the most attractive gardens and pubs in Franconia. Even though our German is rudimentary, we found it easy to follow. For each city, town and village in Franconia, it suggests between two and twenty decent places to drink. It lists the beers on offer; gives details of how to to get to each boozer on public transport; and offers special tips for each one (Excellent asparagus menu in season! Particularly nice dunkel! Wonderful panoramic views from the terrace! And so on).
If you’re a regular visitor to Franconia, we’d say it’s a must, and a bargain at €16.95.
And its endless photos of green, sunlit beer gardens aren’t a bad way to cheer yourself up after a journey home from work in the rain, either.
5 replies on “The Good Bierkeller Guide”
Of course in Franken, the term is “bierkeller” which I am sure confuses a lot of Brits.
Thanks for that tip. If all goes well I’ll be needing that book in August when I go to the Annafest.
Ron — we thought of you when we were reading it. It recommends the Neder beer garden in Forcheim (which we missed) rather than the pub (which you love, but which scared us half to death).
This is the third or fourth edition, and the first to cover *all* of Franken. The first edition, IIRC, was a single volume for northern Franken. Then a second two-volume edition followed, covering Oberfranken (Upper Franconia) and Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia) in each band. Now this edition combines the latter two as well as adds the rest–Unterfranken (Lower Franconia?) and is organised by Landkreis (county).
And it is Good. We’ve found quite a few new places to try out, my Frau and I. And nearly amazingly, the entries are duplicated online at http://www.bierkeller.by.
We happened to be at a lovely Keller above Spalt one day last year whilst one of the authors was there doing research. The beer from the Stadtbrauerei Spalt is unfortunately lame, and the Keller too fancy (table service!), but it was a nice time, and recorded for posterity:
http://www.bamberg-guide.de/bamberg/bierundbierkultur/location.php?loc=586
The term “Bierkeller” not unknown outside Franconia, but Bierkeller(s) themselves, as an institution, seem to be (or have become?) unique to Franken and to a lesser extent, the rest of Bavaria.
Biermania Andy describes Bierkeller(s) as “cellar bars”, which paints an amusing image.
[…] A couple of weeks back, we mentioned an excellent book we’d picked up in Würzburg. It reviewed every beer garden in Franconia. Erlangernick, who often comments over at Tandleman’s place, was kind enough to give us a bit of back history and alert us to the fact that a big chunk of it is also available online. Thanks, Nick! […]