EBG Rating: 7.5/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
His robust, but unsubtle Zwicklbier will delight anyone who is seeking depth and bitterness to their Zwickl. It worked well for us. Seasonal specials are usually available.

Style/Décor:
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The 1970s are alive and well in this twee net-curtained Gaststube behind a rather bland grey frontage. An open plan set up with wooden tables for communal socialising and dining.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Very much a primer for the typical Franconian brewpub experience. Rural market town trade, local life, elderly couples, hikers and bikers and a few larger tourist groups.

Amenities/Events:
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Food, snacks, limited outdoor seating

Value For Money:
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Great value for money all-round.

Description:
A Marktplatz pub in a market town, offering its own beer under the label Aichinger, a surname attached to the couple who run the place. Reviews mention Erwin’s wife being a particular character, while his robust Zwicklbier will delight anyone who is seeking depth and bitterness to their Zwickl. Seasonal specials are usually available.

As you arrive, the grey frontage with metal balcony doesn’t give much away, but the interior, something of a 1970s relic is intact, from the light wood, net curtains and old fashioned bar area with branded hanging lamp which is so typical of the region.

There’s a decent welcome and staff are happy to oblige, while the pub has a social scene rather than simply being a canteen, though that is predominantly due to it being a small town.

Whether this will be your thing or not misses the point, you will rarely find a more typical example of a Brauereigaststatte in Franconia. Prices are also low reflecting the particularity of the Franconian economy versus elsewhere in the country.

If you are heading east into Franconian Switzerland area for hiking or for more breweries, Heiligenstadt forms an essential public transport stop-off, allowing you to access further breweries at Aufsess, Heckenhof, Hochstahl, Breitenlesau, Nankendorf and Waischenfeld all within a days hike. Heading here for lunch first to help soak up those beers will therefore always be a wide move.

(Added May 2025)