Bamberg advice

Just be aware that the Wednesday afternoon tour is in German.

 

That picture is making me foam at the mouth!

 

Going there in October. What are the main styles of beer Bamberg is famed for, if any? Keller, Hefe...?

 

Really? Flying blind? Hope you like Rauchbier.

 

Indeed I do.

 

Consider yourself golden.

 

Oddly enough, just about any bottom-fermenting style. Most places offer a wheat beer (or two), but most are apparently outsourced.
Here's a quick rundown of what each place is known for:

Mahr's: Kellerbier, Weiss, and a whole slew of others
Keesman: Pils
Faessla: Pils, Lagerbier, Strong Dunkel/Schwarz
Spezial: Several kinds of Rauchbier, Kellerbier
Kaiserdom: Pils, Schwarzbier
Shlenkerla: Several kinds of Rauchbier
Ambraeusianum: Untraditional versions of Helles, Dunkel, Weiss
Klosterbraeu: Brown lager, Schwarzbier
Greifenklau: Lagerbier

 

It can't be said any better than @Domingo 's post, but, er...Kaiserdom doesn't really count.

Schlenkerla's Märzen is probably the most well-known outside of Bamberg, but Spezial's Rauchbier Lager vom Fass really is something special as well, no pun intended.

 

This old thread, a write up of my final weekend Bamberg visit, has some good photos as well!

cc: @gavinbrooksbank if he hasn't already seen it. Thar be some good Bamberg threads hidden around here someplace.

 

BTW - yesterday there was a large fire at Kaiserdom - half a million Euro damage.

 

Maybe they'll finally have a decent Rauchbier.

 

Is their Rauchbier even still in production? I thought they just had pils, weiss, schwarz, and kellerbier. Well, those and a bunch of N/A stuff they export to the middle east.

 

That's Spartan's point -- it is now -- all their beers are Rauchbier now!*


(*I know -- bad form to laugh at misfortune, but the irony is too easy)

 

I was just curious if they even still made one...before yesterday at least.

 

In the Retired area of the Kaiserdom listings. Was the first Rauchbier I ever tried (note, I didn't say finished. ).

 

Yeah, I never had the "joy" of tasting that one. Wasn't sure if they randomly resurrected it. Greifenklau was experimenting with one when I was last there, so I wasn't sure if that was a new thing.
Based on my memory of German forum posts, the one from Kaiserdom was freakishly potent in the smoke department....yes?

 

My memory tells me so, but it could be that it seemed so because I'd never had a Rauchbier before that one. Made my trip to Bamberg pretty tentative... until I had that first Schlenkerla!

 

It was the first one I ever had too. It was many years before I would try another.