Würzburg is primarily a wine city but has its own brewery: the Würzburger Hofbräu, founded in 1643 and the oldest surviving business in the city. Today it belongs to the Kulmbacher Brauerei AG. Its best-known beer is the Würzburger Hofbräu Pilsner.
Würzburg at a Glance
- Capital of Lower Franconia, on the Main river
- Primarily a wine city — but with its own beer culture
- Würzburger Hofbräu: the city's main brewery
- Beer cellars and gardens along the Main and on the Stein hillside
- Starting point for trips north into beer country
Beer in a Wine City
Würzburg is wine first. The Würzburger Stein and surrounding hillside vineyards produce some of Germany's best dry whites — Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Riesling, in the egg-shaped Bocksbeutel bottle that is specific to Franken wine. In the restaurants and wine bars of Würzburg, wine is the default. Beer is available, but it competes with a strong local wine culture in a way that it doesn't further north.
That said, Würzburg has been brewing beer for centuries. The Hofbräu dates to the 17th century. Beer gardens along the Main and on the slopes of the Stein offer views of the city and the river that few other places can match — and they happen to serve local beer alongside the wine.
Würzburger Hofbräu
The best-known brewery in the city, with a history stretching back to 1643. The Hofbräu beers are widely distributed across the region. Solid bottom-fermented lager — the Hell and the Märzen are the main products. Not exceptional by the standards of Fränkische Schweiz, but the honest city beer of Würzburg and a reasonable benchmark for Lower Franconian lager.
Beer Gardens on the Main
Würzburg's beer gardens are often positioned with unusual advantage: on the Stein hillside above the city, along the Main riverbank, with views of the Marienberg fortress opposite. The setting is better than the beer in most cases — but on a summer afternoon, with a glass of local Helles or Frankenwein, the setting is very good indeed.
Würzburg as a Starting Point
Würzburg makes sense as the beginning of a Franconian beer itinerary for anyone approaching from the south or west. From here, Fränkische Schweiz is about an hour by road through the Steigerwald. Nuremberg is 80 km north. Bamberg is 90 km. A day in Würzburg — wine, the Residenz, the Marienberg — followed by a week travelling north through the brewing regions is a natural arc for a longer trip.