While Bamberg is irrefutably the choice for a base when exploring Franconia if beer is a driving force, Nürnberg acts as the gateway town to Franconia for many visitors, especially if traveling from southern Bavaria. While Nürnberg may not be an amazing beer destination in itself, it’s tough to argue with its allure as a tourist town with many charms. It’s historical significance in WWII is perhaps its biggest draw for tours. Though largely reconstructed due to devastating bombing during the war, it is a spectacular medieval walled town with a hilltop castle that looms over its cobblestone streets. No doubt you’ll get thirsty with all this sight-seeing bu finding the best beer in Nuremberg can be tricky.
stunning Nürnberg
Though not as beerily blessed as Bamberg, there are plenty of places to quench your thirst. This is particularly so if you like a more modern quirky flair to your pubs. As the unofficial capital of Franconia, it’s bigger and more cosmopolitan than its neighbors with regard to food and comes with a variety of venues to choose from. The Pocket Guide to Nuremberg’s Best Beer is meant to help you navigate to the best of its many options.
Rather than list them by favorites, entries are grouped by category. There’s an asterisk those I found best. Everyone has their own tastes and most of the places have food so you may be choosing by that criteria over beer sometimes. Entries are hyperlinks to full reviews of the place, beers and often the food.
Actual breweries are limited, Tucher reigns supreme so support these:
Hausbrauerei Altstadthof * (longest running of current brewpubs, beer varies, worth a try)
Schanzenbräu * (best of the current brewpubs, best Rotbier, worth the short U-Bahn trip)
orca.bar
Pseudo breweries (have beers made for them by other larger breweries):
Bierwerk * (house beers by Dreykorn, good guest beer selection, late night)
Wirtshaus Hütt’n * (house beers by Rittmayer, good value food and good guest beers)
Zeltner Bierhaus (former brewery, beer now by Tucher with two guest beers)
Tucher Mautkeller (formerly Barfüßer) (touristy location owned by Tucher/own beer)
If Rotbier is your focus, my in depth comparison of them should prove useful:
Nürnberg Rotbier Roundup: What is the best Rotbier in Nuremberg?
Non-brewery restaurants/pubs/Biergarten:
Restauration & Biergarten Kopernikus * (best in summer, five regional beers on tap w/ Pirogi)
Palais Schaumburg * (eclectic menu with Vegan options/four regional beers on tap)
Bier-Amt/Café Wanderer * (great location for people watching, tap selection varies)
Landbier Paradies Wodanstraße * (neighborhood pub with simple food & wooden barrel beer)
Landbier Paradies Sterzinger Straße (nice Biergarten with barrel beer & simple food)
Balkon (very close to the main station, two rotating regional beers, sometimes a gem)
Kloster-Nürnberg (quirky pub with eclectic menu, all vegetarian/vegan with two beers on tap)
Bratwurstglöcklein (touristy location but tasty Bratwurst & one tough to find beer)
Schnepperschütz
Wirtshaus Tucherbräu am Opernhaus (full menu Tucher outlet)
In nearby Fürth, another pseudo brewery, beer from Tucher:
Please enjoy this interactive map of the best beer in Nürnberg:
I hope The Pocket Guide to Nuremberg’s Best Beer helps make your trip to Franconia a great one. If it’s helped you find some new places, please consider buying me a beer 🍺!
Going to Bamberg for the first time? Don’t leave home without The Pocket Guide to Bamberg’s Best Beer.
Haven’t done the Fünf Seidla Steig®? The most famous of beer hikes just outside Nuremberg? Join me for this great beer hike to five countryside breweries outside Nuremberg. Book online now!
Prefer a different guided beer experience into the Franconian countryside:
