So this beer hike was done with friends Rick, Isa, Juergen, and Elmar. Two Americans, two Franconians, and for good measure Isa from Hamburg. What could possibly go wrong?
The thing I loved about this hike, apart from the wonderful breweries along the way, was the variety of terrain. Rick, Isa, and I met Juergen and Elmar at the small train station at Bad Staffelstein about 30-40 minutes north of Bamberg and Elmar drove us out to Vierzehnheiligen and the hike started out at the rather impressive church/former monastery/brewery complex know as Vierzehnheiligen where the next door Brauerei Trunk bier garten provided a nice start to the day and a wonderful Helles and Dunkel lager biers to enjoy. Both beers were solid and I could have spent more time there but there was a lot of ground to cover so we moved on.
The path from Trunk first took us uphill through a forest where we then came out to a plateau and walked a few kilometers to a hill (with a church on top of it of course) called Staffelberg. Apparently this area was also some kind of ancient Celtic site and some ruins had been uncovered there.
Getting up to the top of Staffleberg was a bit of a chore and unfortunately the beer garden there was not open on that day due to some family issues for the owners. Nevertheless the view was spectacular and we could clearly see down below to the village of Loffeld where our next brewery awaited us. First we took in the views.
The walk down from Staffelberg to Loffed was steep and fairly long. My knees were aching by the time we got to the bottom and I fell behind on this part of the hike.
But alas we made it to the picturesque village of Loffeld and Staffelberg Brau.
I have to say I really needed the break at this point and I really enjoyed the beer and lunch (trout) here. I had visited this brewery with Juergen and Elmar in 2013 but the beer seemed better this time and they also seemed to have a larger selection. I had the Rauchbier and the summer beer (golden lager with some nice hoppiness).
The next stop would be Pferdsfeld and this would take us through a forest before emerging in a field on the other side where we would walk straight into a thunder storm. Now I lagged behind on most of this hike but the prospect of getting struck by lightning in a Franconian field had me quickly take the lead to reach the autobahn underpass on the way to Pferdsfeld. I suspect the lack of photos on this leg of the trip had something to do with fearing for my life but soon we'd reach the safety and hospitality of Brauerei Leicht in Pferdsfeld. Pferdsfeld is a tiny village that takes all of 5-10 minutes to walk through but they have a wonderful brewery there serving a classic Franconian Vollbier that is now one of my favorites. Juergen correctly pointed out that there is a hint of cane sugar flavor to the beer and I agree but the beer is not too sweet and cloying. I found it clean and refreshing and I really didn't want to leave. Really well brewed. I wish I had the skill (and the soft Franconian water) to homebrew a beer like this.
I also add that the people of Brauerei Leicht are very friendly. We felt welcome and you can tell it is definitely a locals hangout.
Next stop would be the village of Unterneuses to see if Brauerei Martin was open. Sadly the brewery was closed for renovations and they told us it wouldn't reopen until next year. Let's hope so. All too often this sort of closing is permanent in Franconia so let's hope for the best. The brewery tap was still open though and serving beer from the excellent Brauerei Hummel of Merkendorf so it wasn't a total loss.
After the beer in Unterneuses we parted ways with Juergen and Elmar and headed south to the train station in Ebensfeld while they trudged back north to their car. What happened next was a bit of a surprise and I regretted that Juergen and Elmar didn't walk to Ebensfeld with us as we discovered that the Brewery Tap for Schwanen Brau in Ebensfeld had reopened. We had tried to visit in 2013 and found the doors shut and thought it might be permanent but the place was open and lively and the beer was really quite good.
We stayed for three rounds in Ebensfeld and in hindsight should have stayed longer but we thought it might be a good idea to catch a train back to Bamberg. Next time as Ebensfeld is worth another visit and this hike is one I would do again.
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