EBG Rating: 8.5/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
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Zoiglbier, using a communal brewery in Neuhaus only 200 metres away. It’s an amber Kellerbier with good heft, hop, flavour and balance. Otherwise, you’ll find typical fruit brandies and soft drinks.

Style/Décor:
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A listed building restored after acquisition by the Futterer family in 1999. A complex of buildings up a short trail in a niche between the high street and castle tower. Inside you’ll find a network of cosy rooms, warmly decorated and lit in classical Palatinate style including recovered 200 year old floorboards, the glazed tiled Kachlofen from 1925 and an old bakery which goes back centuries. Chunky tables designed for communal socialising. Opposite the Zoiglstube is a more swish events venue set in what was an old threshing barn.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A warm glow in the evening of ease and contentment from locals and visitors of all ages, a true community social hub that’s casual and not specifically about serving food. The type of pub where conversation with someone on your table becomes very easy and where strangers become friends. Somewhat of a family feel too, your beer may even be poured by the owner’s young son!

Amenities/Events:
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Food, snacks, outdoor seating, events

Value For Money:
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As usual in the Oberpfalz, exceptionally good value for money.

Description:
Schafferhof first acquired brewing rights in 1415. Although fragments of its history remain, the venue has not served Zoiglbier uninterrupted. Indeed, in recent history a pause between the mid-sixties and millennium caused Zoigl culture on the premises to go silent. In the modern era, the Futterer family purchased the property in 1999, restoring the historic premises tastefully and restarting brewing.

Believe it or not, proprietor Reinhard Fütterer is a local chimney sweep and prizes the social value of his pub beyond any money he makes.

Schafferhof is a complex which includes a swish events venue the other side of the courtyard (don’t confuse that like we did at first) from the actual Zoiglstube and this is nestled betwixt the castle tower of Neuhaus and its high street, which is famously lined with Zoiglstub’n who open only a few days each month on rotation.

It is a considerable operation and feels fairly ‘big budget’, but retains a humble charm via simple rooms, a stripped back format and a family feel to the operation which on our first visit even included their young lad standing on a chair to pour the beer from the barrel.

Entering the pub there is a casual feel of the sort you will experience at most of the Zoigl pubs, a social focus rather than a food focus, and an operation that is serving a community.

Like most Zoigl pubs, Schafferhof opens only a few days each month and so, if you are planning a visit, consulting the Zoigl Kalendar is mandatory in order to avoid disappointment.

The limited opening means it is always a special occasion when it is their time to open their doors. This adds a celebratory element to every visit which not even the best pubs around Europe can really boast.

Schafferhof is a curious blend of patchwork history and tasteful restoration, from ancient floorboards, a century old glazed tiled Kachlofen to its Palatinate décor. In the evenings a glow of yellow and brown hues seem to radiate the ease and contentment of the customers. There are wry jokey beer slogans framed on the walls.

As a Zoigl pub, community socialising comes hand in hand, so when you’re seated at a table it is entirely usual to exchange pleasantries and maybe even make new friends.

The prices, as across the region are superb for food and drink. The food is something they take a little more seriously – you’ll find a broader range of cooked dishes unlike many Zoigl pubs which opt for cold cuts and perhaps a couple of warm dishes like meatloaf. However the atmosphere is too casual for it to veer into gastropub territory.

Their Zoiglbier is a reflection of the solidity and reliability of the place. Amber, well hopped but with a disciplined balance that encourages repeatability. Perhaps not as exciting as the wonderfully dry and bitter Kack’n Zoigl, or as reputed as Schoilmichl, but pretty damn tasty nonetheless.

As with other Zoigl pubs in Windischeschenbach and up the hill in Neuhaus, it truly deserves to be described as special. A weekend spent exploring the Zoigl scene is one you will never regret.