Brauerei Spezial

Bamberg's other smoked beer, and the essential comparison to Schlenkerla: where the famous one goes full campfire, Spezial's lager keeps the smoke as a soft background note that sneaks up on you. The house has brewed since 1536, has been in the same family since 1898, and still malts its own regional barley over an open beechwood fire — almost nobody else anywhere still does this. Drink it in the plain, friendly Wirtshaus with a plate of Franconian cooking, then cross the street to Fässla to complete the pilgrimage. Note the annual summer break in mid-to-late August.