Bamberg — part two (the beers)

By Stuart Whytcross

Bamberg is best known for its Rauchbier or ‘Smoke Bier’. This should not be confused with ‘smoked bier’, as the beer isn’t smoked at all, the grains are. However, only two of Bamberg's breweries actually produce rauchbier: Aecht Schlenkerla and Spezial.

Both of these breweries produce their own smoked malt, called rauchmalz. This is made by smoking malt over an open beechwood fire, rather than the traditional method of using a kiln. The intense flavour of this malt means that only a small amount needs to be used to impart that distinctly smoky flavour and aroma to the beer.

Other common biers found in Bamberg are:

• Vollbier ‘Full Bier’ which is a strongly hopped dark gold/red color with strong bitterness and and sweet malt.
• Festbier, similar to Vollbier but stronger and produced for Christmas.
• ‘Ungespundet’ Lager bier also known as Kellerbier (Cellar Beer) seems common amongst the bamberg breweries, Ungespundet means unbunged, meaning that the bung on the tops of the wooden barrels are removed during lagering, meaning the carbon dioxide escapes, and the hoppy lager beer is served unfiltered with a similar mouthfeel to an English cask ale.
• Bockbier, stronger and darker versions of Vollbier is produced seasonally by most of the breweries, the dates are organised so that each breweries bockbier is released on its own, meaning the Bockbier season lasts from October through to May!
• Pils, Marzen, Schwarzbier and Weissbier are also quite common amongst Bamberg’s brewers.

The Bierkellers

In Franconia the term Bierkeller (Beer Cellar) has quite a different connotation to what we, and the rest of Germans for that matter, are familiar with. In Franconia, a bierkeller is actually a cave dug into the side of the mountain, which was used to store beer during the summer. Chestnut trees were planted on top of the mountains to give extra shade. Eventually, rather than cart the bier all the way back to the brauhaus, tables and chairs were moved amongst the chestnut trees, and naturally developed into a drinking area for the summer months. With Bamberg being the town of seven hills, there is plenty of room for kellers, with most of the breweries utilising the popular drinking areas in the summer months.

The Wilde Rose Keller perched up on Stephansberg Hill in Bamberg.

The breweries

Franconia is famous for the biggest concentration of breweries in the world, being home to almost 300, and as recently as 15 years ago, it was closer to 400. Bamberg is home to nine breweries, all within walking distance of each other, and also home to plenty of great traditional taverns in between.

Klosterbrau

A few minutes walk down Judenstrasse from the heart of the Altstadt, will lead you to Bamberg’s oldest brewery, Klosterbrau. It was founded here, in its picturesque timber-framed riverside building, in 1533. This brewery, once owned by Bamberg's Princes and Bishops, has been run by the Braun family since the mid 1800’s.

The large doors seen above are characteristic of most of the breweries in Bamberg. They are the original doors, that were wide enough for a horse and cart to go through to deliver beer. The large corridor leads through to the back brewery, with doors either side leading to different areas of the pub. This corridor is known as a 'Schwemm'.

The ‘Schwemm’ area, shown above, is apparently not actually 'in the pub'. However, you can buy beers, normally though a small slide window, and drink them here. The idea behind the ‘Schwemm’, which is a Bamberg tradition, is that a person can stop by for a few beers after work, and can honestly tell his partner that he has not been to the pub!

Klosterbrau’s beers include Gold Pils, Vollbier, Schwarzla, Braunbier, Bockbier, Maibock, Schwarzla Bock and, the pick of them, the Brauns Weisse.

Klosterbrau’s Brauns Weisse and Schwarzla
 

Klosterbrau’s Brauns Weisse
Pours a cloudy medium yellow with a persistent medium dense pearl white head with minimal lacing. Aroma of rose perfume, soft sweet fruit, toffee apple, slight clove and even slighter banana. Initial flavours of sweet banana bread, apple juice into slight mint and a tart almost baking soda finish. Easily one of the nicest wheats in Bamberg.

Fassla

Founded in 1649, Fassla have been brewing and serving beer here ever since. Fassla means ‘little keg’ and they normally have a Helles and Pils on tap.

Out the back of the pub through the small courtyard, its possible to get a glimpse of the brewery in action. Fassla’s other beers include Zwergla (Dark Lager), Weizla (both helles and dunkel) and Bambergator (bock), with my pick being the unfiltered Zwergla.

Fassla Zwergla
Pours from cask a red, deep amber with medium large beige detergent like head. Aromas of fresh cracked caramel malt, strong biscuit, toffee with slight marmite/meaty tomato sauce aromas. Light malt, no real hop flavour or any real flavour for that matter, was expecting much more considering colour and meaty aromas. Low on carbonation and very thin on palate, and explained to me by bar tender that this is a real German session beer.

Brauerei spezial

Upstairs from this brauhaus was our accommodation. Consequently, I spent quite a bit of time here sampling their beers, and also most of the home cooked Bavarian style items on their menu. This family run brauhaus is one of only two rauchbier producing breweries in Bamberg, the other of course being the more famous Schlenkerla.

There are several small tiny drinking rooms inside, all adorned with deer antler chandeliers and old black and white photographs of the early days of the brewery.

Spezial make three smoked beers: a Lager, Weizen and Marzen. All use 100% of their own smoke malt, which is smoked on site. They also have a seasonal Bock bier, which is also smoked, and a Ungespundetes, which is unsmoked. However, I did have a few glasses of it and was certain there was some smoked malt in it.

The food is simple, traditional home-cooked Bavarian style, in massive quantities of pork and potatoes, and very cheap.

Two thick rashers of bacon on beans? It might not look very appetising, but it was the perfect accompaniment to the smoked marzen lager.

Spezial Marzen
Pours flat dark amber with surprisingly very white thin head. Complex aromas of leather, cigar, thick sweet toffee, caramel and cooking chocolate with slight barnyard. Flavours of burnt toffee roasted grain, very smokey on palate. Quite deceptive smokiness flavour compared to minimal some aroma. Medium bodied with slight alcohol warmth evident in finish.

Brauereiausshank Schlenkerla

This is by far the most famous, and most visited, brauhaus in Bamberg. Schlenkerla is known around the world for their Rauchbier, producing a Marzen, Lager and Weizen, all of which are bigger in smoke than Spezial. They also produce a Rauchbock for winter. I was fascinated to find that the Lager bier doesn’t actually use any smoked grain at all. It just picks up the smokiness from the brewery equipment, mainly the filters, and repatched yeast. This probably answers my earlier question on Spezial’s unsmoked ungespundetes having a slight smokiness to it.

Entering through the large doors takes you directly into the ’schwemm’ with a court yard at the back, and two rooms of either side, both of which are very gothic church like and an awesome places to enjoy a beer or two.

Writing some beer notes inside the very church like Schlenkerla…amen.

Ambrausianum

Just two-doors down from Schlenkerla is Ambrausianum, which is a new brewpub opened in 2004.

Ambrausianum produce three beers, a hell, dunkel and weizen, and all are served on tap only. They're brewed in the 10-hectolitre (1000 litre) copper brewery, which is located right in the middle of the pub.

The food here is traditional Franconian and worthy of a mention is the Bamberg Onions.

Ambrausianum Weizen
Pours a deep yellow, with a thick, soapy dense head which clings to glass. Aromas of dried apricots, slight breadiness and subtle banana. Flavour similar to aroma with apricot dominating, slight creamyness to it and slightly sour. Low bitterness, and very creamy.

Next time: Brauerei Keesman, Mahrs Brau, Brauerei Greifenklau, some pubs, and recommended travel guides.