Franconian Beer Message Board

In Forchheim: 1

Posted by Barry on 2013-09-06 01:25:10

For every upside, there's a downside. Being in the centre of town is very handy (see later) but being next to St Martin's Church means that we have to put up with the b------- bells ringing all night! Urgent memo to self: buy ear plugs today. Anyway, to the upside: after tea, a leisurely stroll across the square brought us to Neder. It was a beautiful balmy 25C, so we relaxed outside, with a seidla (or several) of Neder's best and watched the world go by. As has been said before, excellent darkish beer at an excellent €1.90 for self-service. While we drank, Hebendanz stayed resolutely closed, a question we raised with a fellow drinker. Here I must add for those who don't know Neder (or Hebendanz), many of their customers are colourful, to say the least. This one arrived with a tiny mobile disco, complete with flashing lights, and with which he 'entertained' the street. Apparently, he had learned his English during 7 visits to Jamaica, thus, it was somewhat opaque in meaning. What we managed to glean (apologies for gaps and inaccuracies) was that the owner of Hebendanz was of Ost-Deutsch origin (there were dark hints of Stasi connections), was producing very bad beer (not as good as Neder, this with the Neder's landlady standing near) and had been arrested for some kind of financial irregularity (€3,500 was mentioned). Our informant claimed that he had acted as a character witness (!) for the unfortunate brewer and had even offered to settle the debt (this latter somewhat questionable in view of his rather run down appearance but don't judge a book by its cover). More investigations today. Anyway, a good time was had by all and, along with the other customers, we managed to finish off the fass, which mneant recourse to a bottle of export. Ok but not as nice as the regular stuff. Postscript to visit to Hirschbrau Leipheim. On Tuesday night, we had two of the most bizarre dinners ever at any hostelry. My meal was spinatrahm, mit spiegel ei and kartoffeln. It arrived on an oval platter, in size, something like those used by Henry VIII: first, a thick layer of spinatrahm, this was topped by five (!) fried eggs and, perhaps, a dozen sautéed whole potatoes. OK, they were smallish but the whole was absolutely massive. J. opted for a salat mit gekocht ei, which also arrived on a large platter, and was equally fulsome. We could only fit down a seidla each of helles and the whole came to the princely sum of €17! Cordon bleu it was not but, for strangeness and value for money, it was amazing. Hirschbrau really reminds me of something from medieval times. The building is not so old (20th century probably) but, with its low beamed ceiling and rustic interior – and rustic and varied clientèle, it feels as if you have stepped back in time. Quite wonderful. More later.

In Forchheim: 1 by Nick B. on 2013-09-07 04:15:02

In Forchheim: Hebendanz Closed? by Nick B. on 2013-09-08 04:07:40

Calling Frank Wetzl ! :-) by Uncle Jimbo on 2013-09-08 07:37:02

In Forchheim: Hebendanz Closed? Or Betriebsurlaub? by Fred Waltman on 2013-09-08 07:45:54

In Forchheim: Hebendanz Closed? Or Betriebsurlaub? by Nick B. on 2013-09-08 08:04:52

In Forchheim: Hebendanz Closed? Or Betriebsurlaub? by Barry on 2013-09-08 10:52:39

In Forchheim: Hebendanz Closed? Or Betriebsurlaub? by Nick B. on 2013-09-09 01:57:52