EBG Rating: 8.5/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Zoiglbier, this is one of the Echter “Real” Zoigl houses who brew beer once a month in a communal brew house. It’s an amber kellerbier with a natural variation due to the size and manner of the brewing. Locally sourced fruit brandies.

Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Attractive frontage with stone arch and colourful entrance. Inside casual, modestly sized pub rooms with painted walls furnished with chunky tables.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Highly casual and informal, a pub not a restaurant. Somewhere to socialise and at some point order something to nibble on. Chatty, friendly, noisy, alive with village life and excited visitors.

Amenities/Events:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Outdoor seating, occasional events + private hire, food, snacks.

Value For Money:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Real Zoigl, so some of the best value beer you’ll ever buy. Fair value for food too.

Description:
One among the constellation of the Oberpfalz region’s Zoigl pubs. ‘Echter’ Zoigl, like here at Beim Gloser is an arcane culture derived from Medieval brewing rights. There are many great pubs to explore who are involved either in brewing or the pub trade, but only a handful truly compete with Gloser visited at its peak.

Here is a truly casual operation which epitomises the community and social function of a pub. This is not a diner, a restaurant, a fooderie, a Wirtshaus or even a Gaststatte, but a casual meeting place where the locally sourced food plays a supporting role only. There is no pressure to order anything particular. You are here to gather together, chat, have a laugh and be merry, perhaps even meet new friends – very possible as you gather around large communal tables, often with only a handful of spaces available.

It’s a great place to do this all in. You’ll find a covered outdoor area and attractive, homely interior that is roomy enough to feel spacious but compact enough to feel intimate.

Gloser is situated in the heart of Windischeschenbach opposite the White Swan Inn and visiting on a weekend when it is closed feels almost like the town has lost a limb.

However, as with other Zoigl pubs bear in mind these open only a handful of days each month. The owners brew their own beer, sell it in the pub until its gone, then pack up and wait their turn. This particular quirk feels inconveniencing, and requires careful planning, but it does ensure that each visit is busy, vibrant and lively, something even some of the best pubs can’t manage.

The reviews attest to this.

As for the Zoiglbier, this is brewed at the Kommunbrauhaus and delivered to the pub on a converted milk float.

You will find natural variations as the quality control of these homespun outfits is not what you’d call exacting, but at its best you’ll find a very enjoyable, repeatable amber Kellerbier that stands up to a second, a third and so on.

Keeping an ancient tradition alive while running what is in its own right a special pub makes Beim Gloser worthy of high praise.

We strongly recommend it.

(Added October 2024)