Franconian Beer Message Board

Sandkerwa: newbie report

Posted by mike004 on 2005-09-05 03:28:15

Just back from my first visit to Bamberg. My visit coincided with the last two days of the Sandkerwa festival -- the streets in the town centre were full of beer stalls from Bamberg and some surrounding breweries (Hummel, Sunne, others I can not recall). It reminded me of a more compact version of the Oktoberfest... In one way this was a good introduction to Franconian beer, but on the other hand, because I spent so much time at the fest, I didn't get to visit as many breweries as I had intended. Also, the beer gardens on the hill were all closed during the fest. Spezial was closed for renovation and had no beer stall at the fest -- hence I never got to taste the Spezial. Some thoughts: * Fassla. Very popular with local workers. Pils and lagerbier on tap were good "session drinks". * Mahrs. Had a stall at the fest. Beer garden at brewery in Wunderburg was open. * Klosterbrau. Impressive brewery and location. Pils was very good. * Keesmann. Stall at the fest. Also visited brewery. Herren pils is excellent. * Spezial. Closed for renovation. No stall at fest. * Maisel. Had stall at the fest. Unimpressed by the beer. * Schlenkera. A bit too strong for my tastes! Packed out with tourists. * Griefenklau. Did not visit. * Kaiserdom. Big presence at the fest. Quite a good lagerbier. * Ambrosium. Did not visit. * Cafe Abseits. Good beer range. Had the Stoffla. * Drei Geldt Kronen (or similar), near Cafe Abseits. Locals pub serving St. Georgen kellerbier. * Bamberger Weissbierhaus. Had the Dunkel. Average. Conclusions: I would recommend visiting Bamberg during the Sandkerwa festival. Maybe a trip to Annafest next year? A good first trip; I now know the locations of most of the breweries. On the minus side, Spezial was closed. Also, I did not see many pubs/bars in Bamberg, apart from the brewery taps.

Sandkerwa: newbie report by scott on 2005-09-06 00:42:53

Sandkerwa: newbie report by mike004 on 2005-09-06 01:21:43

Sandkerwa: newbie report by Uncle Jimbo on 2005-09-06 12:56:21

Sandkerwa: newbie report by mike004 on 2005-09-07 00:39:28

Sandkerwa: newbie report by Scott on 2005-09-07 03:08:02