For uwe steinmetz, the morning is already dominated by beer. In an adjoining room of the "sternla, not far from the brew kettles, the quality of the brewery’s own products has just been tested. All the values were right, and when you walk through the brewery, everything seems textbook: the temperature in the mash tun is now just over 70 degrees, and the enzymes in the malt convert the loose starch into fermentable sugar. And in the so-called whirlpool the root swirls until the particles are deposited at the bottom.
Steinmetz has been brewing at "sternla" since november 2019, the oldest bamberger pub (which has existed since 1380), in addition to the regular varieties zwickel, export and marzen also seasonal beers. This includes the bock, of which 20 hectoliters are already in the starting holes and. Wait for the barrels. The export is the most popular among the guests. "It is not available everywhere and I like to order it elsewhere, too, when I see it on a menu." like the last half year, the bockbier tapping will also take place under corona conditions: the guests must reserve in advance and will then be served at the table, also on such days no more than two people were allowed to go to the toilet at the same time.
Despite the difficult conditions, steinmetz is very satisfied with the brewery’s first year of operation: "like everyone else, we naturally had two and a half months of lockdown, during which time we then shipped out the beer with our truck." but after that it went well again, so that the sternla brewery came to a total of 750 hectoliters of beer. And next year the thousand mark is to be cracked. Most of the beer is sold through the guesthouse, but in the meantime, five-liter kegs and various bottle sizes are also on sale. "But I have no desire to sell in the retail trade", says steinmetz, who employs a brewmaster and two apprentices. From tuesday to thursday, brewing takes place on the "hopfensau" brewing courses are also offered.
Six weeks of export and marzen, four of the zwickel. During this maturing process the beer clears up. When it is ready to drink, the beer runs directly from the tanks through pipes cooled to 2.3 degrees down to the tap in the pub. So at the beginning of october the beer is on tap downstairs that was produced upstairs in august.
According to the "naturalness requirement brewed
Before brewing his own beer, steinmetz successfully served his favorite bamberger beers at the "sternla" for many years poured out. "The decision was the right one, we have developed further", sums up the "sternla-chief. "I am not a member of the illustrious circle of old brewers, but we all like each other. There’s no one who won’t accept me."
Anyone who meets kris emmerling in the hop garden in zollnerstrabe also encounters a mixture of beer knowledge and enthusiasm. The scion of a 400-year-old family of gardeners went from his passion for hobby brewing to growing his own hops five years ago to becoming bamberg’s smallest brewery, which produces 3.5 hectoliters per double brew. "But we have also become a starting point for many breweries and, for example, work together with the keesmann brewery for the hop dome." in brewing courses, the hop garden also wants "the most beautiful hobby in the world brewing is like cooking: if you have a good recipe and use it correctly, you can get a good result."
Kris emmerling is also enthusiastic about the bamberger brewing tradition and the resulting beers. The hop garden focuses on lager beers, but is otherwise quite creative: in addition to hops and malt, the emmerlings contribute a lot of good produce from their own garden, such as herbs, cucumbers and tomatoes. That’s why some bottles don’t say "beer", but "alcoholic malt beverage". But emmerling refers to historical herbal beers, among other things, and says, "we brew according to the naturalness principle." and in the end all products have to pass the "funf-seidla-test" they insist: "if someone drinks five silkies of it, he still has to be fine the next day."
He is pleased when guests try something new and end up being fans of his chili bock, for example: "there are 50 of our chili varieties in there, and even those who always wanted it even spicier were then satisfied for once."
The hop garden is also well networked in bamberg and has many supporters, he says. Not least because of a basic ingredient that thrives at the emmerlings: "hops are essential for beer", kris is convinced.