On my first visit to Prague - way back in the early 1980's - I arrived early. Very early. Some ungodly hour like 7 am. The trains were very considerately timed to hit the German-Czech border at 2 am. Border guards then spent four hours going through the train stamping passports. What fun that was. But my early arrival did mean that, after quickly dumping my bags at the hotel, I was in U Fleku not long after opening time, about 08:30. Where I had my first emotional meeting with Czech beer. I've never looked back. (Though that could be due to a neck problem. My mum once had to wear a stiff collar for something similar.)Forchheim has excellent breakfast drinking options. Well two at least. Hebendanz and Neder. Both are brewery taps. Both offer gravity-served Export. A pair of outstanding everyday drinking beers. (What's the opposite of "extreme" or "innovative" beer? Moderate beer? Retrogressive beer?) In terms of customers and atmosphere, they couldn't be more different. For early-morning craziness, Hebendanz is a world-beater. Ghostly figures, wrapped in smoke gaze blank-eyed over litre steins and shot glasses. It could put you off alcohol forever. Not me. I find it weirdly uplifting. A triumph of human will over physical frailty. In contrast, the early-retirement breakfast club in Neder is an exercise in frugality and restraint. I wonder if there's any crossover in clientele between the two?
Fässla in Bamberg falls somewhere between Hebendanz and Neder. There's a slight air of alcoholism that gives it an edge I love, but which makes some uneaasy. I've fond memeries of sinking a few Lagerbiers next to a tableful of firemen. They looked like they'd just finished their shift. I hope they had, given the rate at which they were getting through beer. I wouldn't like to think it was just a break.All the above experiences filled my heart with joy. But to uplift the soul, you need a religious element. You can probably guess where this is leading. Being up on a hill helps, too. Already halfway to heaven. At Andechs, three early-morning half litres of Doppelbock lifted me into the clouds. At least until early afternoon.
My best breakfast beer is somewhere in amongst that lot. But, as with children, you should never reveal your favourite.
"“Hebendanz in Forchheim is a world beater” – indeed it is. The last time I was in there, one of the local old boys was actually yellow, presumably because his liver was about to shuffle off this mortal coil. He was (disgustedly) drinking some kind of lemonade, and when a crony came in and asked in astonishment what (presumably on doctor’s orders) he was drinking, he replied “Gift” ie “poison……
ReplyDeleteFaessla, in Bamberg, is also a favourite – one of its endearing features is that on Sunday, it closes at midday. What’s the effing point in that, you may ask, as I did. I discovered the point when I came down to the bar for my breakfast (staying in spartan rooms above the pub) – the locals were well into their stride, with the bar opaque with fag smoke, before 8 o’clock………
A few months ago we dealt with this topic among the Spanish beer blogs. Interesting the different range of beers people chose for their breakfast.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite, though, would be a dark beer from Chýně or my own Strawberry Weizen that came out pretty sour, lovely to wash down a greasy breakfast.
My favourite breakfast beer would be a toss up between the weizen I had in Berlin (not a Berliner Weisse), or the many pints of stout I have had - the shot of becherovka of course is entirely optional for breakfast!
ReplyDeleteMostly though, cider is my breakfast drink of choice.
Trout fishing up at Taunustein with my late cousin Karl-Heinz, in a mountain lake of ice-cold water, crystal clear, with the sun just coming up over the pines above us on the slopes. Bottles of Licher Export up to their necks in the chilly water. Griiling the fish on the bank for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteWith another Licher, of course......
I have combined beer and breakfast, but only a few times. The first time was in Copenhagen a few years ago. I had a half litre of draughted Tuborg with a portion of eggs and bacon. Afterwards I treated myself to a shot of Danish aquavit.
ReplyDeleteThis year I tried a Primator weizen after my breakfast at a pub in Prague. That was a nice ending to my breakfast.