Franconian Beer Message Board
Hamburg |
| Posted by DonS on 2010-04-30 11:03:36 |
| If you refuse to drink Holsten or Beck's (or Jever or Flensburger or Astra/Ratsherrn or other big-brewery product), you're going to go thirsty. There's the Gröninger brewpub, which advertises itself as a "Braukeller," but if you're thinking Franconican-style Kellers in the great outdoors, um, no. Hamburg is most assuredly not in Franconia (or anywhere south of the Ruhr, ftm). There's the Kölsch & Altbier Haus (Sion Kölsch, Schlösser Alt) for a wee bit of variety, and it, too, pours more big-brewery stuff (Paulaner, Radeberger, Jever). There are also a few "imports" from Munich, and if you must, there are Oirish pubs too. Cities like Hamburg (and the surrounding region) are reminders that German beer culture is, in some places, a weak shadow of its former self, especially if you seek variety. There are some nice enough drinking venues, but you'll just have to make do with what's on offer (three kinds of Pils on tap! Joy!). Hamburg is not alone in this regard; I was in the Eifel a couple of months ago, and the beer selection there is nearly relentlessly dull (Bitburger, Gaffel, Köstritzer, repeat), especially by comparison with the likes of Franconia or the Oberpfalz (or even Thuringia). Willkommen in der norddeutschen (und saupreissischen ;-)) Bier-Wüste. |