Pottenstein: Beer Hiking in the Heart of Franconian Switzerland

~Three short hikes punctuated by lunch at Brauerei Mager, a beer in the Bruckmayer beer garden, and dinner in the courtyard of the Brauerei Hufeisen.~

A rare day it was when I woke up on that glorious May morning in the “before times” after completing the 5-Seidla-Steig. Sunshine two days in a row after a week-long stretch of getting soaked and even snowed on. An auspicious start to the day. I caught the first train out of Gräfenberg along the 5-Seidla-Steig via Nürnberg through rustic villages, emerald fields, narrow chasms, and the occasional hop farm. The bus from Pegnitz plunged even deeper into the forest before emerging in Pottenstein, where I met up with Rich Carbonara, beer wanderer extraordinaire, for a day packed with hikes.

Pottenstein is located in the heart of Franconian Switzerland (Fränkische Schweiz), a region of northern Bavaria famous for dramatic rock outcroppings that once attracted poets and artists of the Romantic era. Add in the charming pastel facades and half-timbered houses lining Pottenstein’s streets, two breweries, and a shaded beer garden, and you have the makings of a beer hiking paradise. Following are sketches of three short hikes ranging in length from 3.5 to 5.5 kilometers.

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Hike 1: Hasenloch (Rabbit Hole)

This beautiful hike takes you past rock outcroppings north of town and climbs through dense woods past spooky caves before dropping down to a small lake with views of Burg Pottenstein. Follow the green dot and the sign for the Hasenloch.

The cave that gives the trail its name is the star of a gruesome morality tale. You can’t miss it. (To me it looks a bit like Jaws.) As legend has it, a few boys skipped mass one fine Sunday and snuck into the forest to play cops and robbers. A snow-white hare dragging its hind leg caught their attention. The boys stopped chasing each other and rushed after the injured hare. Deeper and deeper into the forest they plunged, until they were standing in front of the dark and foreboding entrance to a large cave into which the hare had disappeared.

One of the boys plucked up his courage and clambered in. Nothing stirred for what seemed an eternity. Suddenly a pitiful scream punctured the silence. The boys ran back to the town village in a panic and alerted their parents. The father of the missing boy came a running with other townsfolk, but it was too late. They found the boy lying mangled on the ground. The hare had been none other than the Höhlenpöpel, a grisly shape-shifting inhabitant of the cave who had transformed itself into an injured rabbit to lure the boys to the cave.

Lunch at Brauerei Mager

Once you’ve outrun all the shapeshifters lurking along the trail, head to Brauerei Mager, one of two breweries still operating in this small town, to refuel. Lunch offerings at this classic wood-paneled Wirtshaus are hearty. The Sauerbraten in a Lebkuchen sauce is particularly notable, and the beers are top notch.

Mager’s Pils makes for an excellent aperitif. Spicy and floral hop notes layered over white nougat and acacia honey give way to a peppery effervescence that counters the meadow-like malt. Despite the reticent aromas, the beer finishes dry and snappy, with a mildly astringent bitterness reminiscent of northern German Pilsners. Follow that up with the yellow-gold Helles, a refreshing and peppery beer that’s almost Pils-like in its spiciness.

If the Pils and Helles are fine beers, it’s the majestic Dunkles that really shines — sparkling mahogany, richly malty, and laced with plenty of chocolate. The subtly bitter finish cuts the residual sweetness down to size. This is the beer you want with your Sauerbraten. (Two Tankards).

Hike 2: Teufelshöhle (Devil’s Cave)

Return in the direction of the lake, where the trail sweeps up past the Devil’s Cave, so named because of the livestock that kept disappearing in its vicinity. When the cave was thoroughly explored in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the spelunkers found not just the remains of livestock, but also of deer and bears. Turns out it wasn’t the devil that got them. Rather, these unlucky creatures had fallen through holes and into the cave. At any rate, this spectacular cave is the largest of its kind in Franconian Switzerland, offering a shady respite on a hot day amid its stalagmites and stalactites.

Once you’ve explored the cave and reached the crest at the Erlebnispark (amusement area), arc through an old cherry orchard and back into Pottenstein along wooded ridges affording spectacular views of the castle perched high above the town.

Afternoon Beers at Bruckmayers Biergarten

Chances are you’re pretty thirsty by now. Head back into town past the now-defunct Wagner Bräu to Bruckmayers Biergarten alongside a brook for a refreshing beer or two. If you visit in May, the horse chestnut trees of this expansive beer garden will be awash with salmon-pink blossoms.

Procure yourself a Höhlentrunk, a pleasant Helles brewed according to an old Bruckmayr recipe by Weismainer Püls-Bräu near Kulmbach. Even if the beer is a bit thin in the midsection, it exudes a medley of aromas entwining fresh summer meadows, cherry blossoms, spice, and fresh country bread. Finish up with the stunning-looking amber Kellerbier. Tea-like herbal hops meld with fresh German-style dark bread, toast, dried dark cherry, and a sprinkling of nuts, but as with its lighter counterpart, I’m left wanting a bit more malty oomph. No matter: Both of these beers are a perfect way to replenish the electrolytes before the next hike.

Hike 3: Up to the Castle and Across the Valley

Burg Pottenstein sits atop a dramatic mound of rock that commands a view in all directions. The subject of many a nineteenth-century engraving, the castle has also been the object of assault and plunder during a not insignificant number of wars. It was occupied during the Peasants’ War of 1525, attacked by the Swedes during in 1634 at the height of the Thirty Years’ War, and hosted a garrison of soldiers during the War of Spanish Succession. As if war weren’t enough, the castle fell victim to benign neglect after the Napoleonic Wars. Long since restored from its ruined state, the castle is now a privately run museum where prehistoric and early historical objects are displayed along with a collection of weapons and old books.

Your approach to this fortress involves a steep climb from Pottenstein’s main street past massive rock outcroppings. The trail sweeps past the castle and along a ridge with a vertiginous drop down to the road below. Resist the urge to chuck rocks over the ledge — apparently this is a thing, or there wouldn’t be a sign in both German and English forbidding people from doing just that — then descend back down into the valley and across to the other side. Drop back into town past religious shrines and a life-sized Stations of the Cross.

Dinner at Brauerei Hufeisen

The sun was already low in the sky when we found our way to Brauerei Hufeisen’s bustling courtyard garden wedged between the half-timbered inn and a high rockface, an ideal al fresco setting to end the day of hiking with dinner and a few beers. Hufeisen serves up all the hearty classics you’d expect, while also placing a strong emphasis on healthy dishes like the Fitness Teller with greens, pasta salad, curried lentils, and paprika chicken strips.

Now for the beer. Maybe it was a bad week at the brewery — these things can happen, and Hufeisen has received its share of praise in the past — but neither the Naturtrübes Dunkel nor the Kellerweizen were on par with the other beers of the day.

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Undeterred, we welcomed the rush of cool evening air coursing through the lively courtyard, finished our beers, and capped the evening down the road with a rare bird in these parts, a tasty honey-blond Märzen back at Mager. Not unlike an Oktoberfestbier, this fortifying beer with a dusting of spicy hops and aromas of white nougat and honey gently brought the day to a close.

Odds and Ends

Pottenstein is one of the most accessible beer hiking regions in Franconia. You can get there easily from Pegnitz on the Nürnberg–Bayreuth line or from Ebermannstadt, which is near Forchheim and Bamberg. Spend a day wandering the trails, take a dip or paddle a boat in the lake, or explore the Teufelshöhle (Devil’s Cave) along one of the hiking trails. Even better: Plan to spend the night in Pottenstein at Brauerei Gasthof Mager or Bruckmayers Gästehaus before carrying on with a multi-day hike.

The Pottenstein hiking routes were put together by my good friend and fellow beer hiker Rich Carbonara, author of Beer Hiking Bavaria. It’s a great resource for those in search of beer at the end of the trail.

Sources

For more on Burg Pottenstein, click here. Info on the Hasenloch is here, and info on the Teufelshöhle is here. For more on the various legends that animate the hikes, click here.

For more detailed trail info, see Rich Carbonara, Beer Hiking in Bavaria (Helvetiq, 2019). Bastian Böttner and Markus Raupach, 100 Biergarten Ausflüge für Familien und Entdecker (GuideMedia Verlag, 2016) is another fine resource. Graham Lees’ Good Beer Guide to Munich and Bavaria (CAMRA, 1994) is a classic if dated reference.

All images by F.D. Hofer

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© 2022 Franz D. Hofer and A Tempest in a Tankard. All rights reserved.