Wurzburg?

I've only ever driven through Wurzburg, sorry to say, but it is only an hour drive from Bamberg!

 

Wife studied undergrad there. It's pretty. But as you say, much more of a wine city. Was never a fan of the Wuerzburger Hofbrau beers...though the Julius Echter Weissbiere are decent (very soft and banana-y). One beer garden on the Rhein -- right there on the main section in the city center -- is nice enough.

 

Probably on the Main, but I just like to pick nits

Overnighted there twice on different bike tours and we took the path of lease resistance and just ended up doing a wine tasting

 

Yes...Main. Duh. Thinking of the canal (Rhein/Main/Donau). Good catch

 

In the end ANY German fest that you attend is one that most/all of us won't be able to attend, so please go and post shaky and hazy pictures from the event and enjoy.

 

Indeed.

@Dodger75 On my second trip to Würzburg we lucked in on a great little festival they were holding in the square around the big cathedral. I remember drinking wonderful Dunkelweizen -- probably the Julius Echter HerrB mentions above.

Sure, it's wine country, but I even found a spot near the river (along the Alte Mainbrücke) that offered Altbier -- only bottles, but it was fresh.

Oh yeah -- and the Würzburger HB Biergarten along the Main is beautiful too (if it's still there*) -- closed that on our first trip.

*Looks like it is, but not owned by WHB anymore.

 

I've been to Würzburg. I really love wine. And I would recommend you seek out a decent bottle of dry Silvaner of Prädikatwein level (Kabinett or Spätlese) and have it on the famous bridge. Franconian wine is something that really shakes the foundation of how german wine is usually viewed in other countries. While sweet stuff -does-exist, most franconians like their wines bone dry. There used to the legal term "fränkisch trocken" for wines with <4g residual sugar. Sadly, the term is gone, but some winemakers still produce very good stuff in that range... While Müller Thurgau/Rivaner and Riesling exist, I highly recommend seeking out Silvaner and Scheurebe. Sparkling wines out of those varietals tend to be amazing as well.

Beerwhise- yeah, it's not great, though I kinda think WHB isn't -that- bad, the Pils is better than a lot of industrial stuff you'll find throughout most of the country.

Still, even if you are not totally into wine, I'd strongly encourage you to try some. While fanconia is a small wine region, it has some unique and well regarded wines.

 

I stayed in a Schloss overlooking vineyards that stepped down to the Main. The restaurant in the Schloss always served wines made from the surrounding vineyards and they were highly enjoyable -- especially with the view.

 

Wow, you can see the Würzburger Stein from there, a quite renowned vineyard.
Great, now I am thirsty for franconian wine

 

Aren't there some good Heckenwirtschaften around that area? Those are always fun.

 

Was bedeutet "Heckenwirtschaften" ? I get Hedge Economize!

 

Private wineries. Similar to the Zoigl houses for beer, but for wine.

 

Basically...what herrburgess said. Heckenwirtschaften, or Straußwirtschaften ,as they are called in other wine regions of germany, are basically seasonally opened wine houses which belong to small family wineries and offer simple foods and wine, and a very rustic atmosphere.
http://www.heckenwirtschaften-franken.de/

 

It's been years since I've been to Würzburg, and I agree with all the above statements on the beer vs wine. The Julius Echter Weiss beers are good and the Wurzburger pils is nice. I was in the area for work up the Main (in Lohr am Main) in the spessart. Franconia is really a wonderful place to explore. (Take the romantische strasse if you have time and explore the countryside/ enjoy the regional beers/wines)

I'm not usually much of a wine drinker, but the Franzen wines are really very good and are (or used to be) recognizable by the bottle shape. Some wineries had started to use traditional bottles for export though. Most people will only drink the white, but I thought the red was quite good too. I was at a wine fest in a small town (the name is fuzzy for some odd reason). Watch out for the federweißer.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a nice visit for the walled city.

I really need to find a way to get back to the region. Enjoy your visit!

 

We would walk a pathway from the Schloss down to town -- it winded right through the vineyards and we passed a few small wine gardens on the way.

 

There is good beer to be found in Würzburg, but you need to know which source to find it in. The best way is to check out Pax Bräu's website of where to buy their beers.

OP, if you're not familiar with Pax, then I suggest you do some digging on this site, for they make world class beers that are super creative and probably some of the best representations of what old-style beers were in Franken.

First, caveat here, I've not been to Würzburg since 1984, but as a tourist town it's probably not changed much. Beer-wise, it has. The Würzburg Hofbräu, the biggest local brewery, sold out to the minor German conglomerate Kulmbacher Brauerie AG back in 2005, which means it's become a Fernsehbier and that's not good and the beer's not great either.

Now... to the places to find Pax Bräu, and thus great beer.

Bars:
Till Eulenspiegel Bierkeller... they have Bierkeller AND a hotel... looks and sounds perfect.
It's in the old Altstadt... the bottom circle of the three in the center of town.

Their website's only in German, so if you need help, I'm willing to help to make reservations.
Tripadvisor seems to like them.
Sternbar in Würzburg: (the upper of the 3 circles in the center of town)

The say something about Selbstbedienung "self service," but I'm not sure what that means.


Then there's Max Mundus, (the middle circle in the center of town) a craft beer bar. Their website is bare, but their Facebook page is worth looking at.




There are also Getränkemarkts or "Drink shops" but I can't find anything interesting about them. I hope these suggestions help.

 

"Selbstbedienung" in this context usually means you order at the counter (or a window), pay for your beers and then sit down. That is, no table service.

 

Würzburg is a beautiful city, the capital of Unterfranken. As noted in this thread, it is nowhere near the beer destination that Oberfranken is, but it is well worth a visit and the wine, food, and gemuetlichkeit are terrific. You'll find a good meal and a cold glass of whatever you like here:

http://www.wirtshaus-laemmle.de/ or here https://www.backoefele.de/main/index.php

And if there is a fest on, all the more reason to visit.

 

Before I got into beer and learned to picked sides between Weinfranken and Bierfranken, I used to confound Würzburg and Nürnberg all the time. Now I know better:

http://www.bierfest-franken.de/

Will be using Nürnberg as a gateway to a family-friendly Franken weekend in Hallerndorf, Buttenheim, Memmelsdorf & environs.

But I hear Würzburg has better Bocksbeutelwine.