2022 was a breakout year for Beerwanderers with both locals and travelers trying to get back to normal after what seemed an eternity of COVID-induced hesitation. Germany ushered in a 9€ Ticket for each summer month and I took advantage of it to expand my horizons into a big chunk of Franconian Baden-Württemberg. Beerwanderers got to 26 new-for-us beer places (13 breweries, 6 restaurants featuring beers on tap from breweries with no pubs, 5 Bierkellers and two bars) and sampled 237 beers we’d not had before.These are strictly places in Franconia. I did a lot in Bavaria too. Obviously, there were lots of bottled beers in the mix. Some friends helped out with car excursions and bringing back beers from their beery exploration as well. I sure couldn’t have covered so much ground or tried so many new beers without them. To help make all this new information on Beerwanderers more easily found and to commemorate the momentous year, we’re giving out virtual awards to the best finds of the year. Please note, to be considered it has to be a beer or place we’ve not had or been to before 2022. In instances where a beer was had on tap when it had previously been only sampled in bottled form, it was considered a new “beer experience” and included. Links go to the entries on the site for further elaboration. Here goes:
Top 5 Restaurants (not a brewery but a pub featuring a particular brewery’s beer when that they have no pub of their own):
1. Manns Bräu (Becher Bräu brews a range of beers for a defunct brewery and great cozy pub)
2. Gasthof Zum Goldenen Lamm (alternate to Wettelsheimer Keller with full range of Strauss beers)
3. Zur Schleuse (unofficial tap of Stefansbräu and great little Biergarten)
4. Gasthaus Adler (unofficial tap of Brauerei Schmetzer in neighboring town)
5. Gasthaus Sindel Buckel (unofficial tap of Fischer Bräu in neighboring town)
Top 5 Bierkellers:
1. Geyer Felsenkeller
2. Zeckerner Keller
3. Gambrinus Keller
4. Höhnskeller (had been there in previous years but never took pics or added to BW)
5. Zum Einhornskeller (a former Keller for the Einhorn brewery, now more a restaurant with a contract beer)
Top 5 Breweries (ones with pubs next to or with official brewery taps/beer, food and pub all considered):
1. Forstquell
2. Den Wilden Mann
3. Spall Brauerei
4. Hofbräu Oberle
5. (tie) Distelhäuser Brauhaus
5. (tie) Herbsthäuser Brauerei
Top 5 bottled beers:
1 Schüffer Fastenbock
2. Lindenbräu Fritzle
3 Schlenkerla unfiltered Märzen
Top 5 Weizens:
4. Haller Löwenbräu Hefeweizen
Top 5 Bocks:
4. Hofbräu Oberle Fastenschluck
Top 5 Best Looking Beers:
1. Haller Löwenbräu Meistergold
2. Hausbrauerei Altstadthof Das Rotbier
4. Hausbrauerei Altstadthof Das Schwarze
5. Schlenkerla Heinzlein Helles
Top 5 light colored beers:
Top 5 dark colored beers:
4. Fischer (Wieseth) Das Spezial
Beerwanderers were busy not only exploring new beery locations but also showing people new to the area the wonders of our beer hiking paradise. I won’t even try to pick a Top 5 of the wonderful groups I’ve had the pleasure to get to know but I will post a few photos to show the good times we had:
Want to learn more about Franconian beer styles: Try ABeerC.
Heading to Bamberg. Don’t leave home without The Pocket Guide to Bamberg’s Best Beer.
Looking for someone to take you there? How about me?
So many beers! Lol
It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it, Anna. I forgot to mention these were just the new Franconian beers too!
Lol god there is more?! Hahaha. A lifetime of beers it seems! At least someone is drinking them all! 😀
Doing my best, girl, doing my best. Two new new ones this weekend! haha
Rich, the Beer Wanderer is a role model for Thebeerchaser in the US. Congratulations for your ambitious exploits in 2022 and I hope 2023 is off to the same robust start.
Thanks, Don. I try my best. I have had three new for me beers this year. I don’t see as robust a year in 2023 but I do see myself breaking the 1000 beers on Beerwanderers mark! Wish me luck.
It was a great year, Don and this year is starting off strongly. I’ve set my sights on Lower Franconia. There’s quite a bit I’ve missed up there!
There are so many great beers out there, but I’ll stick with my usual Pils alkoholfrei, such as Krombacher or Bitburger.
Do any of the smaller breweries produce alkoholfrei?
They do, Don. That segment of the beer market seems to be growing steadily. I bought one by mistake in Forchheim and thought it was pretty good. I believe it was by Brauerei Greif. There are also more and more low alcohol beers popping up, in the 2.5% range. I’d like to see some around 3.5%, which seems a perfect strength for those who enjoy the feeling of alcohol but want to drink quite a few beers over the course of and day.
Congrats on the stellar year, Rich! Looking forward to sharing a few more beers with you in 2023.
Thanks, Franz. We’ll have to plan in advance on your next trip over. We should get as many in as we can and hopefully manage a hike. It’s been a long time since Pottenstein!