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<\/a><\/span><\/div>\nApologies if this post looks somewhat familiar, as this isn’t the first time that it’s seen the light of day. I’m re-publishing the article, with the odd tweak here and there, because the last week in July <\/b>is when one of the world’s best beer festivals takes place. I’m talking about\u00a0Annafest<\/b>; In the\u00a0summer Annafest<\/b> is quite unlike any beer festival I have The event takes place at the Kellerwald, <\/b>a Although pilgrims had been journeying to a nearby chapel With seating for around 30,000 people<\/span><\/b>, the On each occasion we visited three different Kellers<\/span><\/b>, Of the beers drunk, Hebendanz<\/span><\/b> and Neder<\/span><\/b> (both The beer I was least impressed with was Wolfsh\u00f6her<\/span><\/b>,
\na\u00a0folk festival,\u00a0that\u00a0attracts\u00a0around
\n500,000<\/b> visitors each year over the course of the\u00a010-day event.<\/b> Despite its popularity, Annafest<\/b> is\u00a0 relatively little-known outside the region of northern Bavaria,<\/b> known as\u00a0Franconia<\/b>, and yet, providing the weather holds, there are few better places\u00a0 know of in which to enjoy some excellent\u00a0 locally-brewed beer, in a wooded hillside setting over looking the town of Forchheim.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
\nof 2013,<\/b> son Matthew<\/b> and I enjoyed a week\u2019s holiday in this\u00a0picturesque town\u00a0of some 20,000 <\/b>souls. Forchheim <\/b>is\u00a0situated\u00a0
\nand Nuremberg<\/b>, and apart from Annafest,<\/b> is a town that is well worth visiting at other times of the year, as we did five years later. (Forchheim<\/b> has\u00a0four breweries, plus some characterful and atmospheric pubs).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\never been to before; but then German beer festivals<\/b> aren\u2019t the same as those in the UK.<\/b> For a start they\u2019ve been running a lot longer than home-grown
\nevents; sometimes by as much as a couple of hundred years. In addition, whilst British beers
\nfestivals<\/b> are about sampling as many different beers as
\npossible, German
\nbeer festivals<\/b> are about having a good time, with some serious
\ndrinking forming an essential component. This is how I would best describe Annafest.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
\nwooded hillside on the edge of Forchheim,<\/b> where there are a series of natural
\nrock cellars cut into the hillside. These cellars were originally constructed
\nfor the storage and maturation of bottom-fermenting beer, in the days before
\nrefrigeration was developed. Today there are two dozen such \u201cKellers\u201d<\/b><\/i>,
\nthe majority of which are just open for Annafest<\/b>, although a handful remain open all
\nyear.\u00a0 During the summer evenings the Kellerwald<\/b> is the perfect location
\nfor a cool beer in the shady woods. \u00a0The event is held over a 10-day<\/b>
\nperiod around the 26th<\/sup> July, <\/b>which is the feast of St Anna<\/b>
\n(Anne), the mother of the Virgin Mary<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nconsecrated to St. Anna <\/span><\/b>since the early 16th<\/sup> Century,
\nAnnafest<\/b> in its present form began in 1840,<\/b> when the Forchheim
\nshooting club<\/span><\/b> moved its main shooting ground from the \u201cshooting
\nmeadow\u201d <\/span><\/b><\/i>on the river Regnitz<\/b><\/span> to the Kellerwald.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0
\nAs well as plenty of beer drinking there are other attractions such as
\nfairground rides, various stalls, plus six stages which feature a wide range of
\ndifferent musical acts. The local Forchheim<\/span><\/b> breweries Hebendanz,
\nGreif, Eichhorn<\/span><\/b> and Neder<\/span><\/b> all brew a strong Bock<\/span><\/b> beer especially for
\nthis festival, the so-called Annafestbier<\/span><\/b>, and a number of other local
\nbreweries also supply brews of their own as well.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nKellerwald <\/b>provides sufficient accommodation for the crowds.\u00a0 A regular shuttle bus service is provided from the town
\nand surrounding areas to the Kellerwald<\/b> and back again, so getting to the
\nfestival is not a problem. For those of a more energetic disposition, it is not
\nthat far to walk up from the town and many people choose to do this, working up
\na king-sized thirst on the way!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/span>We attended Annafest <\/span><\/b>on three separate days (Tuesday,
\nThursday, and Sunday)<\/span><\/b>, with breaks in between visits to allow
\nourselves a bit of a rest. I don\u2019t mean we overindulged, but with one litre (Ma\u00df)<\/span><\/b> mugs the only measures the beer was served
\nin, (unless one wanted a wheat beer that is), it can be quite easy to
\nover-indulge, albeit unintentionally! What\u2019s more, the beer on sale was the Annafestbier,<\/span><\/b>
\nwhich weighs in with an abv of around 5.7%<\/span><\/b>, or more! The day\u2019s in-between did afford a
\nbreak though from the festivities and allowed us to explore other parts of the
\narea. This was as much a part of our holiday as visiting Annafest<\/span><\/b>
\nitself.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nwhich meant three litres or nearly six pints each over the course of the day.
\nWe paced ourselves though and took our time, savouring the tasty, potent beer,
\nserved with one notable exception, in tall, ceramic stoneware mugs. For
\nthe record we visited the following Kellers: Tuesday – St\u00e4ffalakeller (<\/span><\/b>Wolfsh\u00f6her<\/span><\/b><\/i>),
\nSchl\u00f6slakeller (<\/span><\/b>Hebendanz<\/span><\/b><\/i>) <\/span><\/b>and Lo\u1e85enbr\u00e4ukeller (<\/span><\/b>Lo\u1e85enbr\u00e4u \u2013 Buttenheim<\/span><\/b><\/i>);<\/span><\/b>
\nThursday
\n\u2013 Greiffkeller (<\/span><\/b>Greiff<\/span><\/b><\/i>), Eichhornkeller (<\/span><\/b>Eichhorn<\/span><\/b><\/i>)<\/span><\/b>
\nand Wei\u00df-Tauben-Keller
\n(<\/span><\/b>Rittmayer-Hallendorf<\/span><\/b><\/i>)<\/span><\/b>;
\nSunday
\n\u2013 Hoffmannskeller <\/span><\/b>(Monschof-Kulmbach<\/span><\/b><\/i>), Nederkeller (<\/span><\/b>Neder<\/span><\/b><\/i>)<\/span><\/b>
\nand N\u00fcrnberger-Tor-Keller
\n(<\/span><\/b>Wolfsh\u00f6her<\/span><\/b><\/i>).<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nForchheim<\/b> brewers), stood out above the rest, although the beers from the
\ntown\u2019s other two breweries, Eichhorn<\/span><\/b> and Greiff<\/span><\/b> were also
\nvery palatable. The beer from Kulmbach<\/span><\/b> giant, Monschof<\/span><\/b>, was
\ndifferent from the other local beers in that instead of the darker, Kellerbier<\/span><\/b>
\ncommon in Franconia<\/span><\/b>;
\nit was a golden, Helles-style<\/span><\/b> beer, served in a glass Ma\u00df,<\/span><\/b>
\nrather than the stoneware ones used by virtually all the other breweries.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\na regional concern with expansionist designs, based in the village of the same
\nname, near Neunkirchen.<\/span><\/b>
\nThe company has an unduly large presence at the Kellarwald,<\/span><\/b> due to
\nits takeover, and closure of Forchheim\u2019s<\/b> fifth and largest brewery, Br\u00e4uhaus
\nForchheim<\/span><\/b>. The brewery buildings, standing empty and forlorn,
\nwere only a stone\u2019s throw from our rented holiday apartment, but at the time of our visit, there were signs that work was taking place on the site, to convert part of the brewery
\ninto residential accommodation.<\/p>\n