Breweries in Franconia
Photo: Benreis, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This guide lists breweries, brewpubs, beer cellars, brewery museums and other attractions related to beer and beer culture in the southern German region, Franconia. Franconia is the northern end of the Bavarian state, and offers stark contrasts with the state's southern end, which is dominated by Munich, where the Oktoberfest happens early each autumn. Being administratively part of the state of Bavaria is a sore point with the locals, so you are wise to avoid calling people "Bavarians" or assuming too much of an overlap between the region and Munich, as they are about as distinct from one another as "Bavaria proper" and its western neighbor Baden Württemberg.
UnderstandFranconia is sometimes divided into Beer Franconia (Bierfranken), which is the Upper Franconia and Middle Franconia regions, and Wine Franconia (Weinfranken), which is most of Lower Franconia, where the wine culture is…
TalkWith few exceptions (mostly Bayreuth and Bamberg) the towns and villages on this list receive few to no international tourists and the breweries mentioned here are by and large still family-owned traditional businesses.
Get inIf you're not already in the area, the best entry points are Nuremberg and Bamberg, which are both served by long distance trains run by Deutsche Bahn as well as Intercity buses.
Get aroundAll modes of transportation have their downsides here, so it depends on where exactly you're going what the best option for you is.
Upper FranconiaSince the brewing pans used to be made of wood, they were heated from the inside with hot stones. After the invention of the boiling pans made of metal, this went out of fashion.
Lower FranconiaWhile wine has historically been more prominent in this area, beer is brewed here as well.
Middle Franconia
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Breweries in Franconia" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Benreis, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons