The Brewery Trail
Stephanie, Max, and I have dedicated ourselves to hitting the ten most famous breweries in Bamberg. We picked up a local guide and are crossing them off our list.
Lesson learned: With Max we really have to pace ourselves. Yesterday we hit three brauereis for lunch. Max now has a hat shaped like a chicken, and we attended a political rally for the state of Bavaria (Bayern) to cede from Germany. Oops!
Beer Tour
1. Brauerei Spezial — Check. Great rauchebier and the best food yet.
2. Brauerei Fässla — Check, check, check…. We were on the other side of town today and one of Fässla’s delivery men recognized and waved to us.
3. Brauerei Greifenklau — Friday or next Tuesday
4. Privatbrauerei Kaiserdom — Friday
5. Brauerei Keesmann — Saturday or Tuesday
6. Brauerei Klosterbräu — Check
7. Brauerei Mahr’s Bräu — Saturday or Tuesday
8. Maisel Bräu — Saturday or Tuesday
9. Schlenkerla Brauereiausschank — Check, check! The “mecca of all beer connoisseurs” and the source of rauchbier! It also helps that our neighbors’ son, Joacim, is a sou-chef there. This brauerei deserves its own blog posting.
10. Ambräusianum — Check! Ok, but really not my style. Too yeasty.
Sigh, Max will probably own a full chicken suit before we get home.
Extra Credit
During medieval times beer was stored in caves or cellars to ferment. Four of the breweries still own and use beer cellars (caves) dug into the hills above town. They also have beer gardens on top of these hills that over look the town. The weather has turned cold, so I do not think we will get to go to anymore of these.
1. Spezialkeller — It has lots of tables under the chestnut trees. It overlooks the old town of Bamberg. You can see St. Michael’s Berg and the Dome very well. We went for a stammtish with my class.
2. Mahrskeller — This was the first beer garden we ate in. The weather was perfect. They have a great play area for children. All of us had a great time.
3. Greifenklau Keller – Not sure if we will make it.
4. Wilde Rose Keller — Not owned by a brewery, but said to be very nice and child friendly. It was closed when we went 
Educational Option
St. Michael’s Berg has a brewery museum. We are planning to visit on Saturday.
Ok, so our final week is planned out. I am glad Bamberg is a walking city. I am off to another school stammtisch now. Auf Wiedersehen!
Yeah Bavaria – we would love for them to be their own state. No more CSU!
Hope all is well and your final week is a blast!