Franconia is blessed with 100s of great breweries, many of them in small villages outside the big towns. The pocket guide to the best Schwäbisch Hall & its Countryside Breweries will help you pick out which breweries outside Schwäbisch Hall to visit. Guided tours to breweries outside Bamberg available if you would like to head into the Bamberg countryside with a Franconian beer expert.
Check out the Top 5 Beer experiences of 2023 and make plans to enjoy your beer dreams in 2024!
Is Franconia in Bavaria? The simple answer is no but as with all complicated things, it's never so easy to explain. Häffner-Bräu is located in spa town Bad Rappenau, which is part of Heilbronn-Franken in Baden-Württemberg. The brewery hotel offers warm meals at lunch and dinner along with a full complement of their beers on tap.
Häffner-Bräu/Hopfenstopfer is a triple hopped double IPA (Comet, Taurus, Saphir) with a lovely black currant element to complement the citrus hops. The lingering finish is semi-dry. It’s a dangerously drinkable 6.8%, IPA.
Häffner-Bräu/Hopfenstopfer Incredible Pale Ale is a quadruple hopped IPA (Sauvin, Taurus, Cascade, Saphir) and their signature Incredible Pale This one is very juicy with a lovely citrusy palate. The lingering finish is dry and bitter but not overly so.
Häffner-Bräu/Hopfenstopfer Citra Ale is a single hop Ale in the piney/grapefruit mold of US IPAs. It's well made but nothing overly special though it's priced a lot better than its overseas competitors.
Häffner-Bräu/Hopfenstopfer Monroe 2.0 is brewed with Monroe hops and is a relatively low 20 IBUs but it’s fairly dry nonetheless. There’s a nice citrusy element to the balanced palate and the lingering finish is semi-dry with just a touch of bitterness. It’s ale like but has the definite smoothness of a lager too.
Häffner-Bräu Schwarzberger Gold is a balanced session Dunkel in the Altfränkisch mold with some roast in the malty palate along with Hallertau hops. The lingering finish is semi-dry and bittersweet
Häffner-Bräu Kur Pils is a serviceable nice fairly dry Pils with a clean, semi-dry, semi-bitter finish.
Häffner-Bräu Export is malty with a touch of butter and a lingering, sticky finish.
