The Fünf Seidla Steig: Beer Hiking in Bavaria’s Franconian Switzerland

“I’m heading off on the Fünf Seidla Steig beer hike next weekend,” I said to a friend back home last spring. “A beer hike?” he asked rather incredulously. “There’s such a thing?” Indeed, there is. And it’s a wildly popular pastime in the Alpine and pastoral regions of Central Europe.

What Is Beer Hiking?

Beer hiking is about exploring the breweries, taverns, and traditions of a particular place as part of the journey. The best of them combine adventure, varied terrain and scenery, regional food, and, of course, stellar local beer. Taken together, these elements provide a window onto the local culture, allowing the beer traveler to experience a region up close. A beer hike inserts you into the scenery and attunes you to the rhythms of rural life like no other beer-related leisure activity.

Franconia, with its network of trails connecting small-town breweries with village beer gardens, is particularly well-suited to strapping on the hiking boots. The region is well served by a bounty of inns, making it easy for you to stay in the area for a night or two. Nothing beats a bed near the place where you end your imbibing journey, especially if your bed is just upstairs from the tavern. One of my favourite beer hikes is the Fünf-Seidla-Steig®,* a well-marked ramble that takes you through the medieval towns, rolling meadows, and woods of Franconian Switzerland in northern Bavaria.

*A “Seidla” is a half-liter glass or mug of beer. “Fünf” (5) refers to the five breweries along this classic 18-km loop, which gives you an idea of how much extra time you’ll need to budget beyond walking in order to complete the journey in a day.

*Also of note: Fünf-Seidla-Steig® is a registered trademark used by the following breweries, all of which appear in this article: Elchbräu, Brauerei Hofmann, Lindenbräu, Brauerei Friedmann, and Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe.

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The Birth of the Fünf-Seidla-Steig®

Like so many Franconian regions, the combined area of Gräfenberg and Weissenohe is blessed with a prodigious density of breweries: five breweries for every 5,100 inhabitants. (The number five seems to lead a charmed existence in these parts.) And it’s a region blessed with walking trails that have been used by peasants and townsfolk for centuries. But it wasn’t until a decade ago that Georg Kugler, who opened Elch-Bräu in the historic Gasthof Seitz in 2002, convinced his fellow brewers in the region to connect the dots between their breweries. Unveiled in 2008, the Fünf-Seidla-Steig links the parish village of Thuisbrunn in the north with Weissenohe in the south via the hamlet of Hohenschwärz and the town of Gräfenberg. It became an immediate and resounding success. And there’s certainly no arguing with the logic of drinking beer fresh from the source, especially after having earned it with a hike.

*For more beer hikes in Franconian Switzerland, check out my “Will Walk for Beer: Franconian Brews Beyond Bamberg” and “Pottenstein: Beer Hiking in the Heart of Franconian Switzerland.”

The Fünf-Seidla-Steig: Route Notes

The village of Weissenohe with its cluster of half-timbered medieval houses is barely visible from the train station save for the onion-domed church steeple that beckons visitors to the brewery on the grounds of a former Benedictine monastery founded in 1109. At the height of its prosperity the monastery complex featured a library and its own print shop. After secularization during the Napoleonic era, the Bavarian state sold the monastery, brewery, and its grounds into private hands. The Winkler family purchased the building ensemble in 1827, and it has remained in the family ever since.

Weissenohe to Thuisbrunn

From the station, follow the signs for the Fünf-Seidla-Steig and pass by Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe in the shadow of the monastery church. Your route sweeps upward with an invigorating climb out of the village through shaded groves and past old-growth cherry orchards. The trail tops out among stands of woods interspersed with fields of grain rippling in the breeze before descending through meadows into Gräfenberg, an old market town that received its charter in 1371. It’ll probably be too early for a morning pint at Lindenbräu or Brauerei Friedman, but the bakery on the pretty square lined with pastel facades will be open. Grab a coffee and a pastry and enjoy the view of the fountain presided over by a statue of Ritter Wirnt, a local minstrel who lived in the twelfth century.

Take some time to wander the quiet backstreets in search of the many wall paintings that grace building facades throughout town depicting its history and the activities of daily life in rural Franconia. Like so many other outwardly quaint towns throughout Central Europe, Gräfenberg, too, has suffered its share of historical iniquities. In 1567, a fire destroyed all of the houses within the city walls, and in 1778 a massive storm unleashed a flood that carried several citizens to their deaths. Today, the economy rests on small-scale agriculture and forestry, but tourism is also important, as is brewing — which is why you’re here.

The trail out of town passes Lindenbräu before rising above the rooftops of Gräfenberg and disappearing into the forest and past a loud quarry operation. From Gräfenberg, your way winds past rock outcroppings and thatch-roofed houses, through eerily silent wooded areas that recall the Grimm fairy tales, and into the hamlet of Hohenschwärz. After a few twists and turns past timbered farm buildings and houses, you’ll traverse a clearing and come across a set of buildings that look rather plain from the outside. Don’t let the modest, unassuming appearance fool you: the wood-fired Brauerei Hofmann serves up some of the best Bavarian Dunkel beer in the region in an airy Wirtshaus with bright pine accents and plenty of carved wood. I’d have kept drinking here, but alas I needed to push on. (Beer notes are at the end.)

Not long after leaving Hohenschwärz, you’ll pass a Christmas tree farm and round a bend skirting wheat fields before coming across a romantic castle ruin presiding over the parish village of Thuisbrunn. If you haven’t already eaten at Brauerei Hofmann in Hohenschwärz, now’s the time to load up on hearty regional fare at the well-appointed Gasthof Seitz with its white stucco walls offset by chestnut and mahogany-hued wood. You could also opt for a lighter dish prepared with fish from the nearby streams and lakes — the trout is particularly tasty.

Gasthof Seitz is also the home of the award-winning Elch-Bräu, which takes its name from the larger-than-life elk head trophy mounted on the wall. The origins of Elch-Bräu are bound up with the opening of the Fünf-Seidla-Steig, but the history of brewing on this site goes back centuries. After a prosperous golden age during the nineteenth century, the brewery was shuttered in 1920. The Wirtshaus remained a fixture on the local scene, though, and was acquired by the Seitz family in 1924. Hans and Margarete Seitz took the reins in 1964, selling it to brewmaster Georg Kugler in 2002 when they were ready to hang up their aprons. (Herr Seitz still makes the rounds to visit with regulars.) You can’t go wrong with any of the beers on offer, but I was particularly smitten with the unfiltered Dunkel.

Gasthof Seitz also affords you the opportunity to relax in their pleasant and popular beer garden before setting out back in the direction of the breweries of Gräfenberg for afternoon pints. If you have time, you can explore the castle above Thuisbrunn or check out the unique flat-ceilinged nave and tilework of the Church of St. Catherine (Katharinenkirche zu Thuisbrunn).

Of note: When Georg Kugler opened Elch-Bräu in the historic Gasthof Seitz in 2002, he became only the second male brewer in the Gräfenberg region, joining Urban Winkler, fifth-generation owner of regional powerhouse Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe in a district dominated by women brewers. Irene Brehmer helms Lindenbräu, Barbara and Sigi Friedmann run the eponymous Brauerei Friedmann, and Elfriede Hofmann is brewmaster at Brauerei Hofmann.

Thuisbrunn to Weissenohe

Head back in the direction you came into Thuisbrunn and keep an eye out for the sign that says “Variante.” Rather than returning through Hohenschwärz, this route passes through the picturesque farming hamlet of Neusles before plunging into a lime green forest that’s much less brooding than the seemingly gnome-filled woods before Hohenschwärz. The trail then hugs the edge of the forest, with beautiful pastoral vistas opening up to the right before rejoining the main trail to Gräfenberg.

Back in Gräfenberg, stop off at Lindenbräu for a glass of the best Weissbier for miles around. The hop-bedecked tavern with its green Kachelofen makes for a cozy respite from the trail, but if the sun’s shining, grab a spot in the courtyard shaded by the brewery’s majestic namesake linden tree. When you’re done there, head over to Brauerei Friedman’s Bräustüberl for a quick pint of Fränkisches Landbier, then climb the narrow path to Friedman’s Biergarten zum Bergschlösschen for a Sigi’s Lager and a spectacular view.

You have two choices to complete your trek back to the beers awaiting you where you started this morning in Weißenohe. The quickest way is to descend past the Gräfenberg train station and into Weißenohe, but it’s more enjoyable to return the way you came into Gräfenberg in the morning. Return along the main street, cross the highway, and look for the stairway that conducts you up into a residential area with panoramic views of Gräfenberg. After your climb peaks in the midst of verdant farmland and descends through shaded groves into Weissenohe, you’ll round a corner with some beautiful views into the valley that you may have missed this morning.

Follow the church steeple back to Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe where more hearty Franconian food and a plethora of classic German and craft-style beer await the weary traveler. Maltheads are particularly well served here. The Eucharius Märzen, the Export Dunkel, the Bonator Doppelbock — all will have you singing with newfound friends.

Postscript: Beers along the Fünf-Seidla-Steig®

I’ll mention it right off the bat so that I don’t end up sounding like a broken record at the end: many of the beers you’ll taste along the Fünf-Seidla-Steig are outstanding.

Brauerei Hofmann

Naturtrübes Helles (4.9%). Brauerei Hofmann’s delicious Helles shimmers golden, with a fine cap of ivory foam crowning the hazy liquid beneath. Gentle aromas of meadows in bloom waft out of the glass along with freshly crushed grain, light country bread, and acacia honey. A twist of citrus glides along on top, and a very light sulfur minerality adds a layer of complexity. Delicate cinnamon/spice and citrus tea mingle with a dusting of pepper to round out the satisfying country bread maltiness, leading to a crisp and gently bitter finish. A classic and eminently drinkable Helles with an immense depth of flavour, rich and mouthfilling in that bready way that only a decocted beer can be. Two Tankards.

Dunkle Hofmannstropfen (5.2%). This hazy copper-mahogany Dunkles is among the best in a region that seems to have a lock on dark lagers. Malt takes center stage with cascades of freshly sliced dark bread, malted milk, dark cherry, and a dusting of cocoa, while an elegantly perfumed and spicy hop aroma manages to buttress the heft. Creamy with a pleasant effervescence, the beer’s rich malt character is tempered by excellent attenuation and a fairly pronounced bitterness reminiscent of baking chocolate, all of which invites sip after sip. It’s in the same vein as Weißenohe’s Dunkel but not quite as malty, and a touch more bitter. Two Tankards.

Maifest Festbier (5.5%). If you’re passing through during May or are holed up in Hohenschwärz in November and December, this intensely hued chestnut brown Festbier is an absolute treat. It’s a Festbier that looks and talks like a Doppelbock, yet another testament to how German brewers manage to pack a mountain of flavour into beers with a relatively low alcohol percentage. If cascades of malt aromas describe Brauerei Hofmann’s Dunkel, torrents of malt capture the essence of this beer. The usual suspects make an appearance, but there’s even more. A touch “earthier” than the Dunkel thanks to a higher percentage of roasted malt, the Festbier also offers up notes of licorice, maple syrup, cocoa-dusted figs, and a hint of aged saké. A panoply of sweet, spicy, fruity, and bitter flavour sensations unfold on the palate. Residual sweetness and creamy carbonation lend the beer an unctuousness balanced by a background minerality and refined hop flavours reminiscent of pepper and gingerbread spice. A complex yet harmonious beverage that finishes just about dry with a persistent aftertaste of spice and cocoa. Three Tankards.

Gasthof Seitz, Thuisbrunner Elch-Bräu

Elch-Bräu Pils, naturbelassen (4.9%). Light haziness aside, this unfiltered Kellerpils is surprising for a completely different reason: ethereal aromas of American hop gardens. Elch-Bräu Pils delivers pungent, brambly hop aromas that border on “dank.” Lemon rind, tangerine, and grapefruit follow in quick succession, trailed by floral-peppery aromas. Unlike other attempts to infuse German Pilsners with American hops (which often end up tasting more like an ultra-clean American Pale Ale), this compelling take on a German classic has enough bready and graham cracker malt “chewiness” to balance the judicious use of American hops. The result is a crisp, spritzy, citrusy, and pleasingly bitter Pils. One Tankard.

Dunkles Kellerbier (4.9%). Another unfiltered and hazy offering, this mahogany-copper Dunkel pairs surprisingly well with the pan-seared trout on Gasthof Seitz’s menu. Chocolate and mocha lead off, followed by dried dark cherries dusted with cocoa powder. Malted milk joins the symphony of malt aromas and flavours, followed by Schwarzbrot and hints of milk caramel, all underpinned by delicate hop spice. Well attenuated, this malty beer finishes on a pleasantly dry note reverberating with bitter chocolate. Another classic Franconian Dunkel, but also reminiscent of U Fleků’s chocolatey dark lager. Two Tankards.

Lindenbräu

Naturtrübes Hefeweizen. I’m running out of superlatives for the beers along the Fünf-Seidla-Steig, but here’s another: best Hefeweizen you haven’t tried yet. (Lindenbräu’s Bernsteinfarbiges Vollbier was stellar, too, but I had put my notebook away and just had a drink for once.) Golden ochre in colour and crowned with an epic cap of mousse-like foam, Lindenbräu’s Hefeweizen delights the senses with a panoply of banana aromas ranging from banana custard and banana milkshake to banana and vanilla ice cream. Though banana shines through in this beer, it’s no banana bomb. A delicate background combination of allspice and clove along with vanilla beans gives this beer a multidimensionality lacking in most otherwise excellent Weissbiers. Mouth-filling with a cream-of-wheat richness, this wonderfully fruity and spicy beer finishes spritzy, with a hint of residual honeyed sweetness. One of the best beers of the hike. Three Tankards.

Brauerei Friedmann

Though perfectly good, the beers here were the only ones on the hike that didn’t immediately stand out. Opt for the Sigi’s Lager, a beer that would turn heads in just about any other setting than the lager powerhouse of Franconia.

Sigi’s Lager. This beer the colour of liquid caramel features spicy and peppery hops over malt aromas reminiscent of freshly mown meadows and country bread. Full bodied, creamy, and delicate on the palate, malted milk and spring meadows come together with high notes of pepper and spice, culminating in a gentle finish.

Helles Landbier. This crystal-clear golden beer has a similar hop profile to Sigi’s Lager, along with honeyed malt, floral meadows, and a hint of marzipan. Natural carbonation keeps the beer creamy and smooth, making it an ideal beer garden sipper.

Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe

Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe’s beers are the stuff malty dreams are made of. Not only do they excel at brewing rich and flavour-packed beers, they also do a fine job with the lighter beers, including a line of dry-hopped craft beers. See my “Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe: Where Malty Beers Fit For Monks Meet Dry-Hopped Ales” for notes on Weissenohe’s stellar beers.

Endnotes and Sources: Logistics of the Fünf-Seidla-Steig

The Fünf-Seidla-Steig offers a myriad of possibilities. You can begin in Gräfenberg and end in Weißenohe or vice versa, or you could do the entire loop from Weißenohe. Depending on the day of the week, you can also get a bus back to Gräfenberg from Thuisbrunn if you’re too tired or have accidentally overindulged. (These things happen.) And if the castle ruins in Thuisbrunn aren’t enough, you can also extend your trek another 2.5 km to the scenic and castle-crowned Egollfstein. The easiest way to get to the trailhead is by train from Nürnberg, but you can also take a train/bus combination from Bamberg via Forchheim.

Be sure to do some advance planning so that you know which breweries are open when. It’s not always possible to visit all five due to the notorious difficulty of getting all the stars of the Ruhetage (days off) and Betriebsurlaub (holidays) to align for you. The official website of the Fünf-Seidla-Steig has information on accommodation, route directions, and the breweries themselves. The website also has a useful description of the route in English.

You could do all of this (extension included) as an overnighter from Bamberg or Munich. The Fünf-Seidla-Steig itself is a (long) day trip from Nürnberg, but that would make for a taxing day. It’s better to plan on staying at least one night in Weißenohe, Gräfenberg, or even Thuisbrunn. Book ahead at Lindenbräu in Gräfenberg, or at a bed-and-breakfast in Weißenohe (Pension Windisch is a fine option), so you can either get an early start on your day or have a place to rest your weary limbs with a beer in hand. After all, it’s nicer to relax without having to worry about catching your last train to Nürnberg when you’re well into an enjoyable evening in a Wirtshaus swapping stories with the locals and your friends from the trail.

If you’re interested in a longer multi-day trek, check out the “Elf-Seidla-Steig” that Kevin Holsapple has cobbled together, or fashion your own long distance trek out of the twenty-odd hikes in Franconia that Rich Carbonara details in his Beer Hiking Bavaria.

On Gräfenberg: https://www.graefenberg.de/

On Thuisbrunn: https://www.thuisbrunn.com/de/

Related Articles about Beer in Franconia

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Beer: Bamberg and Its Breweries

Bamberg’s Storied Rauchbier: A Brief History of Smoke and Beer

Will Walk for Beer: Franconian Brews Beyond Bamberg

Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe: Where Malty Beers Fit For Monks Meet Dry-Hopped Ales

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