Bamberg: Tag Zwei!

So, let’s back up a moment… I left Zum Sternla the night before and went for a walk about before returning to the hotel. I forgot to mention that the service was excellent, and I even passed myself off as being able to speak German – if ordering beer and food off a menu counts as such. Fortunately, no one challenged me, or asked me any questions. I also met three charming young people from China, who were on their own trip through Germany – Fei Xu, Fang Han and Yuliang Huang, who spoke no German, but one of whose English was good. We struck up a conversation about world travel, beer (of course) and other things, then wished each good travels and went our own separate ways. As I wandered through the empty streets, I started to pick up the faint smell of smoke that seemed to grow stronger each block I walked. Ah! Someone was either smoking malt or mashing rauchbier! Same thing happened the next morning. I walked through different neigbourhoods and along different streets, but every now and then it was the mashing of malt that I smelt, sometimes smoky, sometimes not. This is the quintessential aroma of Bamberg! And what a lovely smell it is! So, with this in mind I made my way to the Schenklanker tied house in the middle of the old town, Restaurant Alt-Ringlein. It was 10 am and the place was packed. I found myself a seat at the end of one long table and was almost immediately joined by Ulrich, a world traveler himself and a very good conversationalist. He was just killing time before an appointment and came in for the same thing I did – the Aecht Schenklanker Rauchbier poured fresh from a wooden barrel. Oh my, I thought it was good yesterday, this was heaven in a glass! We covered the gamut of pub topics – travel, kids, divorce, collecting beer paraphernalia and then settled on the beers of Bamberg. We talked about the places I’d already been and then he told me about Greifenkläu, up on Kaulberg Hill. Bamberg is built on 7 hills you see, and I had only spent my time in the old town centre. So, up I marched past many old, beautiful churches, school children waiting at bus stops and in no time found myself at the very traditional Brauerei Gaststätte Biergarten Greifenkläu. The day was beautiful, warm sun shining and clear blue skies, so I had definitely worked up a thirst. And Ulrich was right, the Greifenklaubier was worth the walk (See Beer of the Day, Sept. 29). I wanted to stay and try the Weizen, but the clock was ticking. I had planned on visiting Fässla for a meal before my train, which everyone told me was the local favourite brewery/pub. These traditional pubs are cozy and warm, but I wanted to sit outside on such a nice day, so I wondered into the back patio and who do I run into but my Chinese friends from the night before! So, we lunched together and talked more about beer and travel. The Fässla Gold-Pils on tap was fabulous by the way. Beautiful clear, gold colour with both hop and malt prevalent in the nose, light, crisp, clean palate with good hop presence, bright white head that falls to some interesting lacing, smooth mouthfeel and a lovely dry finish. The curry-wurst wasn’t the best choice, but the Zwergla, a 6% bottled dunkel, was a good follow up. This was a malty brew, deep golden brown, with a head that faded quickly and left no lacing (dirty glass?), but some bitterness danced on the tongue and played with the maltiness, dissolving into a smooth palate, with a hint of malt sweetness before drying out. Xu, Han and Huang dashed off to catch their own train and then I was approached by Ilya from a neighbouring table, who heard us talking about beer. He was with a group of Baltic ex-pats, now living in New York, who were also on a German holiday, somewhat concentrating on beer too. I shared my two day experience with them, giving them my Bamberg beer map and a few hints on my favourite spots. It is always good to meet fellow beer geeks on the road. They wandered off and so did I, after picking up a few bottle for my hosts in Innsbruck. But Brauerei Spezial was right across the street, and I wanted one last beer there before hitting the road. Ilya was actually sitting there when I arrived. The pub has 6 beers on tap and 3 specials in the bottle, the brewery is in the back. I had already tried the local favourite Rauchbier, so opted for the Ungespundetes, an unfiltered, naturally carbonated Kellerbier. I was not disappointed. Pale gold, falling head, fully flavoured, poured from a wood barrel, lace following to the bottom of the glass – oh yes, a very good pint! Ilya and I wished each other well (again), I grabbed some bottles of Rauchbier for my Innsbruck-bound stash and raced up to the train station. But trains were running late that day, if you can believe it. So, half lit, I found myself doing something I thought I’d never do – I bought a beer at the station store – a Bavarian Mönchshof Kellerbier Dunkel (5.4%) and sat on the platform with a bag of chips and waited for the train. At least it was a swing-top, so I was able to nurse it all the way to Nürnberg .