Old Dairy at the Old Fire Station

Tucked away in the maze of streets behind Tonbridge’s imposing 13th Century castle, the Old Fire Station saw its last fire engine depart back in 1986, when the Fire & Rescue Service moved to a modern and purpose-built facility on the town’s industrial estate. After standing empty for three decades, and following extensive renovation work, the iconic building was given a new lease of life.

Two years ago, virtually to the day, the sensitively restored building opened its doors for the first time, and launched itself as the town's pop-up and event space. Since that day back in 2015, the venue has hosted various events, including fine dining evenings, its own cider festival and numerous “tap-takeovers.”

Rather fittingly Tonbridge Old Fire Station (TOFS), played host to Old Dairy Brewery this weekend, for a “tap-takeover” which showcased the best of the brewery’s beers. Friday evening was also a friend’s birthday, so half-dozen or so of us met up in the ground floor bar to help him celebrate.

A number of Old Dairy beers are on regular sale at TOFS, but in keg form only. On this occasion the brewery’s cask ales were highlighted alongside offerings from Old Dairy’s “craft range.” The latter beers have recently been launched under the name of the “Cattle-Shed Brewery,” a move which could be viewed as either a clever marketing trick, or just jumping on the craft-beer band wagon.

I stuck with cask, especially as Old Dairy had brought along three of their “Green Hop” ales. I was keen to get stuck into the latter, as having been away for the first half of “Kent Green-Hop Fortnight,” and also not attending this year’s Canterbury Food & Drink Festival – where virtually all of Kent’s Green-Hop Ales are exhibited, I felt I had missed out on my “Green Hop” fix.

There were two beers brewed at 4.0%, plus an additional one at 6.5%. All were brewed to showcase a particular variety of hop. I started with the Challenger, before moving onto the slightly more “earthy” Bullion. Both were really good, well-balanced as well as refreshing. They certainly slipped down a treat.

The bar area was relatively crowded, with the sort of discerning people one has begun to expect at these events, and most were getting stuck into the excellent beers. The majority of our party had arrived earlier than me, so they’d been able to grab a table. It was good to catch up with friends, and to swap tales of recent holidays as well as discussing arrangements for the forthcoming Spa Valley Railway Beer Festival; an event most of us are involved with in one form or another.

After two very good pints of hoppy, resinous beer it was time to move onto the Green Horn IPA. At 6.5% it was perhaps a little risky going for a full pint, but I was glad I did, as the beer was excellent. It was well-hopped and this was balanced by sweet, chewy malt, combined with thick resinous hop oils which coated the inside of the mouth. Priced, like all the beers, at £3.50 a pint or £2 a half, this superb Green Hop beer represented real value for money.

As mentioned earlier I stuck with the cask, and that was the advice a couple of my friends said they would pass on to Old Dairy. There was a feeling that whilst the brewery “do” cask extremely well, the same could not be said of their Cattle-Shed range. I didn’t try any of them, so can't really comment, but it might be that the brewery are still finding their feet when it comes to "craft-beer".

Towards the end of the evening,  most of our group drifted off to Fuggles. Two of us stayed though, thinking that Fuggles would be crowded and noisy. We both had things we wanted to do the following morning, so we wisely decided that one more beer at TOFS would be a better idea than several more strong ones at Fuggles. I restricted myself to a half of that old favourite from Old Dairy, the 4.8% Blue Top IPA.

I called back to the Old Fire Station briefly this afternoon, primarily because I wanted to take some photos in daylight, but also to grab a rather nice cup of coffee. Mid-afternoon, the place was rather quiet, but I suspect things will lived up this evening.

The “tap takeover” ends later tonight and I’m sure it has been a great success for both “oldies.” We can no doubt look forward to many similar events; such is the beauty and appeal of this flexible "pop-up" and event space.

Regensburg in late September

Our holiday in Regensburg, at the end of last month, was the third visit to the city for my son and I, and the second for my wife. The lad and I made our first visit back in 2008. Matt was only just legally old enough to drink beer in Germany; sixteen being the age when citizens can enjoy a beer for the first time, with the full blessing of the law.

I look back on that trip with fondness, as left to our own devices we managed to pack one hell of a lot of beer exploration into the week we spent in Regensburg, managing  to sample beers from all of the city’s four breweries, as well as visiting a fair number of its pubs. One day, if only for the sake of completeness, I will write up the beery experiences of that first holiday.

A hectic schedule like that is not really possible with a non-drinking wife in tow, as it would not really be fair dragging her around all those pubs and beer gardens, but we still managed to visit a fair number of places, and to enjoy some really good beers. We were, after all in Bavaria, where good beer, hearty food and a friendly welcome go hand in hand and where, even in the most basic café, it is possible to get a decent glass of beer.

The brewery whose beers are the most widely available in Regensburg is Bishofshof. The brewery itself is situated in the suburbs, a mile or so to the south-west of the city centre. The lad and I walked out there, on that first trip, and sat out in the small beer garden which forms part of the brewery tap. Unless you are a fully paid-up beer geek, there is no need for such dedication, given the widespread availability of Bischofshof beers in the city; although people obviously visit the Braustuben attached to the brewery to enjoy an out of town drink.

Bischofshof produce a wide range of beers, but as with many German breweries, some of these beers are quite hard to distinguish from others in the range. On the last two trips, we have drunk the company’s beers mainly in bottled form, and the brew which seems most widely available; certainly within the Altstadt, is Zoigl.

Those who know anything about German beer styles, will realise that a beer produced by a commercial brewery is not a true “Zoigl,” but the name seems to have been appropriated for any un-filtered, hazy beer, which is drawn fresh form the cellar tanks. The Bischofshof Zoigl was on the cloudy side of hazy, but nevertheless was a refreshing and tasty beer.

Beers from Brauerei Kneitinger can also be found all over Regensburg. Their brewery is on the edge of the pedestrianised Altstadt, just off Arnulfsplatz, and virtually next door to the recently restored Velodrome. The company have a pub fronting on to Arnulfsplatz at the front of the brewery. Matt and I went in on a couple of occasions, during our 2008 visit, but have not been back subsequently. From memory it was slightly on the basic side, and very much a locals’ place, but none the worst for that.

Alte Linde

Kneitinger also have a beer garden in the form of the Kneitinger Keller, on the other side of town, to the south of the station, which again remains un-frequented by members of the Bailey family; at least since that first visit. This time around though we enjoyed Kneitinger beer in the beer garden of the much more refined Alte Linde; which I mentioned in my introductory post.

Alte Linde was a real gem of a place, plus a real find, and with its shady beer garden directly over-looking the main branch of the Danube, I can think of few better places to spend a sunny, early afternoon. All three of us chose what turned out to be a rather filling Schnitzel which, at just €7.95 a throw, was also excellent value. The lad and I also had a couple of refreshing glasses of Kneitinger Edel-Pils, whilst Mrs PBT’s had a bottled Alkoholfreibier.

We took a look inside, on the way back from using the facilities. As in many German pubs, these were downstairs, but at Alte Linde there is a spacious dining room on the lower ground floor.  I imagine this extensively glazed and south-facing room is a real sun-trap during the winter months. Combine this with the views of Regensburg just across the river, and you have your own little bit of heaven.

Next on the list is St Katharinen Spital Brauerei (usually known as Spital Brau), who are the oldest brewery by far in Regensburg, with a history dating back to 1226. I wrote about the brewery and its lovely beer garden last year, and also described their new range of English-style beers, such as Pale Ale, IPA and  Chocolate Stout, which are sold under the Regensburger Spital Manufaktur brand.

My son and I called in at Spitalgarten on the Friday afternoon, for a spot of late lunch. This was prior to walking round to the Brewery Shop to pick up some more Spital Manufaktur bottles. The garden was the quietest I've seen it, but this may have been due to the renovation work taking place at the brewery and adjacent beer hall complex. The Spital Helles was as  good as we both remembered it, but the only new bottle I picked up was a 2.8% Summer Ale, which I've yet to sample.

This time around we didn't manage a visit to the Regensburger Weissebräuhaus;  a brew-pub close to the main shopping area. We also missed sampling beers from Thurn und Taxis who, up until 1996, were the fourth major brewery in Regensburg. 

The Thurn und Taxis dynasty were were once Germany's richest and most profligate feudal aristocratic family. Their fortune was built on the private postal service which they operated, as a virtual monopoly, across much of central Europe. The postal service ended in 1867, but the family had many other interests, including forest, banks and South American cattle ranches.

Death duties, following the death of the 11th Prinz von Thurn und Taxis, along with other debts, forced the sale of a number of assets, including the Thurn und Taxis beer brands. These were acquired by Paulaner of Munich in 1996, who continued production of the Thurn und Taxis beers. The company's  Regensburg brewery closed, and I remember seeing it, all sad and forlorn, in its location overlooking the Kneitinger Keller.

Now here comes the strange part. Several months ago, on my last visit to Beers of Europe at Kings Lynn, I picked up a couple of bottles of Thurn und Taxis Pilsner. The address on bottle was given as Fürstliche Brauerei, Am Kreuzhof 5, 93055 Regensburg. A look on Google Maps reveals this as an industrial location to the east of the city centre.

It is unclear as to whether  the building shown on the map is a brewery, or just a distribution centre, but it would be good news if Thurn und Taxis beers were once again being brewed in in Regensburg.

Whatever the situation, this brief summary of Regensburg's brewing scene, should point the thirsty traveller in the right direction, and  assist the beer lover to track down the best the city has to offer.

Monday night in Tonbridge

Photo by Jon Collins - West Kent CAMRA

I wasn’t really expecting to be going out pubbing the night after returning from holiday, and the night of my first day back at work, but things sometimes have a habit of turning out differently to what's been planned.

A couple of WhatsApp messages from my local CAMRA branch alerted me to a hastily arranged night out in Tonbridge, so keen to catch up with a few of my friends I decided to bite the bullet and show my face.

It was an early start, but I assured my wife that an early kick-off would mean an early return home. As I walked towards the front door she had that look which said “I don’t believe you.” She obviously knows me rather too well, which is hardly surprising after 32 years of marriage, but she also knows that I am unlikely to arrive back home three sheets to the wind; especially on a “school night.” I told her I would see her later, and headed off towards the Forester’s Arms; our pre-arranged meeting point.

Forester's Arms

The early start meant a 7pm meet-up; far too early for someone like me who doesn’t leave off work until 5pm, and then likes to enjoy and digest his dinner in peace, but it was for a good cause, as the branch was due to present an award to the Forester's for the season’s "Most highly commended pub."

This is a new award, which recognises the work and enthusiasm put in by licensees in order to improve the pubs in their charge, throughout the West Kent CAMRA branch area. In the Forester’s case, landlord Tyson Marshall has turned around what was once a pub to be avoided. In the space of just over a year he has transformed the pub into a very pleasant place to drink in and socialise at.

I was the second to last of our group to arrive, and I found the rest of the party sat at a long table in front of the window. I ordered myself a pint of Whitstable Bay Pale and went over to join them. Not long afterwards Tyson came over with a couple of delicious-looking,  pizzas for us to share. I reluctantly declined, having just had a quite filling meal, but I was sorely tempted.

I think Tyson knew we were coming, but wasn’t aware of his award, as come presentation time he'd disappeared upstairs, and had to be called back down by one of his bar staff. Branch chairman, Craig Beesom handed over the certificate to Tyson, and outlined the reasons why the Forester's had been the first pub chosen to receive this award. Tyson was genuinely pleased to see his efforts and hard work rewarded in this way, and after posing for the obligatory photo shoots, stayed to chat with us for a while.

The pub was reasonably busy, with a good mixed crowd, and for a Monday night this was good to see. The beer too was in good condition and I was particularly impressed with the Whitstable Bay Pale; scoring it at 3.5 NBSS. For those who fancied something a little different, Spitfire Gold and Woodforde’s Wherry were also on sale.

At around 8.15 pm we moved on to the second pub of the evening; the Gate House, at the other end of Tonbridge High Street. This lively outlet was holding a “Meet the Brewer” evening, which is why it had caught our attention. The brewer in question was from Kent Brewery, and there were a couple of the company's beers on sale.

I gave the 4.0% Black Gold a miss, as I am not a fan of Black IPA's, but can report that the 4.5% Citra Single-hop Ale was excellent, pale in colour and bursting with flavours from this wonderful aromatic hop (3.0 NBSS). I didn't get to chat to the brewer, who had driven over specially from West Malling,  but several members did.

Fuggles - Tonbridge

Apart from the eight CAMRA members making up our group, there didn't seem to be much interest amongst the pub's other customers. This was a shame, considering the lengths the Gate House had gone to in order to host the meeting, but perhaps it was asking a bit too much for a Monday night?

A group of us moved on to Fuggles after, but I only stayed for one beer; a 3.6% Green- Hop Ale called Thirteen Pale Ale, from Downlands Brewery. I  left shortly after 10pm, and true to my word was back indoors by 10.30pm. Despite my early homecoming, Mrs PBT’s still hadn’t waited up for me and instead was tucked up fast asleep in bed.

Escape from the Maβ

So, in the early hours of this morning, the family and I arrived back safely from our trip to Bavaria, having escaped from the city of Munich which, yesterday, seemed completely over-run with Oktoberfest revellers.

By way of  contrast, the sedate, medieval city of Regensburg, with its ancient, winding cobbled streets and splendid situation on the banks of the Danube, provided the perfect setting for some much needed rest and relaxation, plus the odd spot of beer sampling, of course.

We made a fleeting visit to Oktoberfest (it would have been rude not to!), on the first full day of the holiday, before travelling on to Regensburg, and arriving early (shortly before midday), is obviously the best thing to do; especially if you want to avoid the crowds!

A full report will follow in due course, but in general we all thoroughly enjoyed our brief visit; even the non-beer drinking Mrs PBT’s. With some really scary fairground rides (we chickened out of course!), some good old-fashioned side shows (haunted houses, shooting galleries), plus enough food stalls to feed an army, there was plenty to keep everyone amused. We all bought silly hats, and came away pleased to regard ourselves as no-longer “Oktoberfest virgins!”

Strong 6% Festbiers, served only in one litre Maβ Krugs, might be fine for the 3 million odd visitors who flock each year, to Oktoberfest, but for those of us in search of gentler pursuits, Regensburg was fine. Apart from the recently re-established Thurn und Taxis Brewery and the Regensburger Weissbräuhaus, we sampled beers from the city’s main breweries of Bishofshof, Kneitinger and Spital, alongside “imports” from other parts of Bavaria. 

In fact exploring the maze of back streets and alleyways in the heart to the old town, gives chance for the “beer-hunter” to stumble upon often totally unknown breweries; such is the appeal of this ancient and attractive city. For example, the Italian restaurant, next to our hotel, served beer from Erl Bräu, who are based in Geiselhöring to the south-east of Regensburg, and Kuchlbauer beers were also quite common. The latter are primarily a wheat-beer brewery from Abensberg; a small town to the south east of the city.

However, it wasn't just a case of ticking off unusual beers, as the highlight, for me was discovering Alte Linde, a lovely old pub set on what is essentially an island in the Danube, with an equally fine beer garden to match. Smaller, and more intimate that the much better known Spital-Brauerei, just across the other arm of the river. With Kneitinger beer, and good, well-priced food, Alte Lind was, for us all, well worth stumbling upon.

So lots of detail to follow, and much to interest both beer and travel enthusiasts alike.

In holiday mode

It’s highly appropriate that on the eve of our departure to Regensburg, I should be finishing off the last of the bottles I brought back from our previous trip to the city. The beers I am referring to are part of a range produced by Regensburg’s oldest brewery; St Katharinen Spital Brauerei (usually known as Spital Brau), founded in 1226.

Sold under the Regensburger Spital Manufaktur brand, and packaged in attractive-looking, long-necked 330ml bottles with a definite “craft” look to them, these are definitely some of Spital’s more unusual beers. Several are English-style beers, such as Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Summer Ale and Chocolate Stout which, for a German brewery,  really is stepping outside your comfort zone.

Last year we spent a most enjoyable lunchtime at Spitalgarten, which adjoins the brewery, just off the end of the centuries old Steinernen Brücke (Stone Bridge).  With its setting next to the River Danube, and its views of old town Regensburg and its imposing cathedral, Spitalgarten ranks as one of my favourite German beer gardens. I wrote about our visit here.

On the way back I made a detour to the brewery shop to pick up some bottles from the Spital Manufaktur range, and ended up bringing four back with me. They all are attractively packaged, with stylish and modern-looking foil labels. One of them is Spital’s standard Pils, repackaged under the new brand, but the other three are very much in the Anglo-American tradition. My impressions of them are detailed below.

Pils 5.5%.  Like all the beers, the Pils is presented in a stylish, long-neck bottle which glugs nicely as the beer is poured. A very pale beer, slightly sweet and possibly more like a Helles than a Pils. There is a slight hop-bite lurking in the background.

Refreshing in character, this beer would be nice enjoyed under the shade of the chestnut trees in Spital’s lovely beer garden, next to the River Danube, in Regensburg.

Pale Ale 6.5%.   Best described as a Pale Ale with a "Bavarian twist."  Medium orange in colour with a  frothy, clean white head.  The beer has a nice hoppy aroma, with some citrus notes present, and has a full bodied malty taste. Again, some fruit flavours are noticeable.

On the strong side for a Pale Ale, but then the entire range gravitates towards the top end of the spectrum, and doesn’t take any prisoners.

India Pale Ale 8.0%. The beer is very much in the English tradition, rather than the citrus-driven, American interpretation of the style. It’s an attractive amber colour and pours with a nice frothy head which remains in the glass. It’s also a very malt accented beer, with a nice hoppy aroma and sufficient bitterness to counter some of the sweetness derived from the malt.

Strong Ale 9.9%. Definitely the grand-daddy of the range. Dark mahogany in colour, and very little head, despite the strong carbonation; this beer is like drinking pure toffee-malt in a glass.

Similar to a barley-wine, or other English-style Strong Ale. Harvey’s Christmas Ale springs to mind, but this offering from Spital is not as well-hopped as the Harvey’s beer. Still dangerously drinkable for a beer of this strength.

Weather permitting, we shall be almost certainly be visiting Spitalgarten, plus the brewery shop again. This time round I am looking to bring back some of the other beers from the Spital Manufaktur  range, such as the Maibock, Märzen, Summer Ale, Chocolate Stout and Weizenbock

Greyhound update

Just a quick update regarding the Greyhound at Charcott, which reopened just over two months ago. I have been popping in most Fridays, as part of my normal lunchtime walk, and am pleased to report that the pub is continuing to do well.

There are usually three cask ales on the bar; Larkin’s Traditional plus two guests. In recent weeks we have been treated to beers from Dark Star, Gun, Pig & Porter, Kent Brewery plus Old Dairy. I opted for the Dark Star American Pale on Friday, and seeing as the weather was unexpectedly fine, sat outside to enjoy it along with the surprisingly warm autumn sunshine.

Several other customers had decided to do the same, and I noticed several tucking in to the charcuterie and cheese selection the Greyhound is currently offering, until the kitchen is ready.

On that subject, I asked landlord Richard last week, how the kitchen was progressing. He told me that the area will soon be ready for fitting out, but sensibly declined to offer a date for its opening. It will be good when it does though, as I know several local people who will be glad of an alternative place to dine out at. It should also provide a further welcome boost to the Greyhound’s trade.

 

Finally, and not wishing to name-drop, I noticed two members of a local brewing family sitting outside enjoying their lunch, along with the beer they supply to the pub. Nothing like doing a bit of first hand, quality control!

Hot and cold in Nuremberg

The following article is a bit of of a filler really. I started writing it a couple of years ago, following on from my visit to the Fränkisches Bierfest, in June 2015. I came across it whilst looking for something to post before I depart for Regensburg, next week, and decided that this brief article about Nuremberg, fitted the bill.

In previous years the third weekend of September has seen me visiting the Canterbury Food & Drink Festival, in order to sample some of the Kentish Green Hop Beers on sale there. A group of friends (the same crowd who have attended for the past few years), went along along today, and following a day of warm sunshine, I wish now I had joined them. However, with the need to clear my desk before going away, and also not wishing to use up too much annual leave, I reluctantly went into work. You will therefore have to read about Nuremberg, instead.

I have been to Nuremberg several times. Most of these visits were when I was passing through, as I have used the city’s airport as a convenient gateway to several destinations in Germany; most notably Bamberg, but also Forchheim and Regensburg. I have also visited Nuremberg’s famous Christmas Market, whilst on a coach tour.

My visit at the beginning of June  2015 though was the first time I had actually stayed in the city, and I have to report that I really liked what I saw. My family-run hotel was conveniently situated just a short walk away from the Hauptmarkt and just slightly further from the massive Imperial Castle which towers over the city. The latter, of course, was the venue for the Fränkisches Bierfest; which was the main reason for my visit to Nuremberg.

The weather was fine throughout my stay, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures peaking at around 30˚ on the Saturday. Like most German cities, Nuremberg has a fully-integrated public transport system, meaning that with a valid ticket it is possible to transfer easily between trains (both over-ground and underground), buses and trams. Day tickets are available, covering several different zones which radiate out from the city centre.

Nuremberg is the second largest city in Bavaria, but it is also the capital of Franconia; a region which was once a separate state, until Napoleon came on the scene. Its inhabitants, like those of the rest of Franconia, see themselves as Franks rather than Bavarians and tend to disapprove of the macho image portrayed by their southern neighbours. Interestingly though, many Franconians (Franks) will support Bayern Munich when it comes to choosing a football team!

There is plenty to see in the city, including several museums (the transport and toy museums are particularly well worth seeing), art galleries and some fine old churches, but for me the most interesting, and also the most impressive, are Nuremberg’s fortifications.  These date back to medieval times and as well as the massive Imperial Castle (Kaiserburg) which over-looks the city, the old city walls are well worth a look.

I have walked along the north-west section, and there are two massive stone walls separated by a deep and wide ditch. I am not sure if this would have been filled with water during the medieval period, but the defences would have been sufficient to deter even the most determined of invaders. The inner section of wall is covered in places, to provide shelter for the defenders. A number of the old city gates remain, and these are fortified with various towers etc.

Up until the early 1945, Nuremberg had one of the best preserved medieval townscapes in Europe, but unfortunately around 90% of the old city was destroyed, in a devastating raid carried out by the RAF in February of that year. With the end of the war, just two months away, you have to wonder at the mind-set of men like Arthur Harris. This  surely was destruction, just for the sake of it; and if further proof was needed, "Bomber Harris" carried on his campaign of indiscriminate carpet bombing, almost to the end of hostilities.

After the war, much of the old city was rebuilt in a modernised version of the original style, with the most important buildings re-built true to the originals, but walking about it is still possible to spot the original medieval buildings which survived the raid.

I have only drunk in a handful of Nuremberg’s pubs, and on my most recent trip, only one.  I had singled out a pub called Hutt’n as the ideal place for a meal plus a few drinks on my first evening in the city. Not only did the pub offer one of the best ranges of beer in town, but the menu also looked enticing. The first thing I discovered was Hutt’n has moved to larger premises, near to the castle. The second though was it was absolutely packed; both inside and out, so there was no chance of a table. Not to worry, I wandered along to the beer festival instead.

I returned to Hutt’n the following day, whilst waiting for Fränkischerbierfest to open. I called in for a quick Rauchbier fix. Even at this early hour I had to sit outside; no problem under a shady umbrella in 30˚ of heat. I went for a smoke beer from Fischer.

Although perhaps not quite as smoky as that of Schlenkerla, the most famous and best known Rauchbier, the example from Fischer still packed in plenty of smokiness and certainly hit the spot so far as I was concerned. It was good sitting there under the shady umbrella watching the world go by, and seeing people struggling up the hill in the 30˚ temperatures, but tempted as I was to stop for another, I had a potentially heavy afternoon's supping ahead of me, so decided to call it a day.

I was due to meet up with local beer enthusiast Erlangernick, at the festival, as he had offered to act as my guide.  Nick is an American who has lived and worked in Germany for a number of years. He lives in the nearby town of Erlangen; hence his name. I had been put in touch with Nick by fellow blogger Tandleman, and after exchanging emails and text messages I had arranged to meet up with him at the festival.

You can read about my experiences of the festival here, but as  it happened  Hutt’n was the only Nuremberg pub I visited on that trip. The rest of my drinking took place at the festival, in Bamberg or as part of the excellent tour of some of Franconia’s finest Bierkellers which Erlangernick took me on.

I visited two other pubs on my first visit to Nuremberg, which took place in December 2007. The contrast in temperature could not have been more striking, as it was bitterly cold. I was  in the city, as mentioned earlier, as part of a coach party on a brief visit to Nuremberg's world famous Christmas Market; the Christkindlmarkt. 

It was too cold to spend time walking around the stalls, so I headed up the hill to the Schwarzer Bauer, which is the tap for the tiny Altstadthof Brauerei next door. It was nice and cosy inside the pub, and after enjoying a couple of mugs of the house-brewed beer, I was loath to step back out into the cold. However, I wanted to see Nuremberg's magnificent Imperial Castle, and can report that this massive structure, is well worth visiting.

On the way back to the coach pick-up, I just had time for a quick glass at Gasthaus Schranke; a fine old, half-timbered pub, just down from the castle's main gate and in the shadow of its imposing  walls. The place was packed and in view of this, people were drinking outside, standing at tables which had been converted from old wooden barrels. I joined them, in-spite of the cold, and waited for the waiter to come and take my order.

Gasthaus Schranke now appears to be owned by Augustiner of Munich, but 10 years ago it sold, amongst other beers, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier from Bamberg. Despite having enjoyed this magnificent "smoke beer", earlier in the day, at the Schlenkerla Tavern, in Bamberg itself, I just had to have one last glass, before rushing back to board the coach.

It seemed a fitting way to end this whistle-stop tour of Bavaria's second largest city.