Rot am See sounded like such a lovely place and I figured it just had to be on a nice lake but there’s no lake and aside from one small picturesque church and a few scattered half-timbered houses, there’s not much to hold your interest here. Thankfully, the few places to stay were pricey so I wound up spending the night in far more convenient and interesting in comparison Crailsheim. So, why did I come here in the first place? It has one restaurant and as chance would have it, they are the only place that serves three beers from the Adlerbrauerei Carl Schmetzer in nearby Michelsbach a.d. Lücke. That small brewery has no brewery tap and this is about as close to one as you are going to find.
the church is truly the one sight in town
Gasthaus Adler
Hauptstraße 27
74585 Rot am See
Tel: 07955448
www.adler-rotamsee.de
Opening hours:
Daily from 17:00
Thursday & Sunday also for lunch but with a pause before dinner
Closed Wednesday
This small unassuming village restaurant would be a welcome relief if you happened to be driving through the hamlets which dot the pretty enough landscape. The locals surely love it. As a destination in itself you really have to be into beer to warrant making the 20-minute train trip from Crailsheim, another place you’d not likely be if you weren’t a hunter of off-the-beaten-path beers. I only found out about it by corresponding with the owner of the Adlerbrauerei who apologized for not having their own beer on tap at the brewery. He let the “secret” slip that there was a place in Rot am See with not just one but three of their beers on tap.
a rich malty Export on the deck
I went right up on the deck as it was a stunning afternoon and when I asked what was on tap, the owner unexcitedly offered up the generic bland choice of Helles and Dunkles. I felt like I was back in Munich, wondering exactly why I’d come all this way. On drinking the Helles, I thought it was an Export and later when I asked for the Export, I was told that was what I’d had earlier. Looking around the patio, I then spotted a chalkboard with those available: an Export, their Schwarzer Adler and a new one called Hefepils. I ordered one of those and saved the dark beer for last.
chalkboard & Hefepils
They had a limited menu which obviously rotated daily. I went for the Hackbraten (think meatloaf) with green beans and potatoes and it was lovely. I finished up with the Schwarzer Adler. It was quite warm and must say the Hefepils was hitting the spot.
great meal made the trip worthwhile
Service was swift and friendly enough in a reserved way. The food, while limited, was quite good. The Hefepils was by far my favorite and very refreshing. The dark one might have been sitting a bit. I didn’t see anyone drinking it and as much as I love dark beer, it really wasn’t the weather for it. The Export was good if you like malty beers. Of course, I had to have a second Hefepils. Who knows if they’ll ever brew it again. The brewery had explained it wouldn’t be bottled due to a short shelf life.
Easily reached by train from Crailsheim so worth the trip for lunch or dinner if there.
Beers: Michelsbacher Export, Schwarzer Adler and seasonal on tap.
Beer calendar:
Hefepils in summer
Bock in winter?
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