EBG Rating: 7.7/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Export on draft with some seasonal specials from their brewery.

Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
A fachwerk town house with entrance into a Schwemme area, which is the part of Hebendanz which hasn’t been refurbished and retains a character. The Schwemme has an Ausschenk, hatch which opens for off-sales, which marks the history further.

Enter a small taproom, plainly furnished into what appears to be a 1970s style refit, lighter wood. A little twee in places. There are some hallmarks of its age and character to be found though – not least the crown glass pattern window behind the taps, a clear signifier of a battered old boozer in central Europe as you’ll ever find.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Pleasant patio terrace out front with the rhythms of the market town to view, while inside a fairly masculine cast of regulars, the stamgast, at the bar, something worth experiencing if you can handle the odd sideways glance.

Amenities/Events:
❤️❤️❤️
Light meals, snacks, outdoor seating, off-sales

Value For Money:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Good value for money.

Description:
Hebendanz ‘The Lifting Dance” is an evocative and quite genteel name for a brewery and pub that is fairly masculine in character.

Boasting a genuinely impressive history, they claim the brewery has remained within the family since its founding in 1579. Yes, this little operation is several hundred years older than many countries. Such occurrences are frequent enough in Franconia that they don’t receive the recognition they ought to.

Famously set right by another brewery, Neder, only two doors down, this is in the heart of Forchheim, a town which until recently boasted 4 breweries, but is still doing extremely will with the 3 in operation.

Enter a town house into a Schwemme area, which is the part of Hebendanz which hasn’t been refurbished and retains a character. The Schwemme has an Ausschank, hatch which opens for off-sales, which marks the history further.

Enter a small taproom, plainly furnished into what appears to be a 70s style refit. There are some hallmarks of its age and character to be found though – not least the crown glass pattern window behind the taps, a clear signifier of a battered old boozer in central Europe as you’ll ever find.

Hebendanz’s export on tap is typical German fare, bready, malty and robust, but keep an eye out for seasonal specials too. Pricing is cheap and another signifier you’re nestled deep in Franconia.

Forchheim’s market town size as well as an operation which doesn’t exactly scream to visitors to come in and sit in the Gaststube means that you’ll mainly find regulars in the bar room itself. This means a few stares, but mind your p’s and q’s and you’ll be served as well as anyone else.

As part of the Neder/Hebendanz duo, this has carved out its own little space in history and is an essential stop for anyone seeking to understand Franconian pub culture, etiquette and daily rhythms.