Thursday 29th May 2014

Bob Thompson

This is a huge brewpub located in the suburbs of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. As can be concluded from its name this town is in the wine growing area of Pfalz that cultivates grapes that are broadly similar to those from the Rhein area. I have been here in the past in the autumn when there is a festival to celebrate the first tapping of the previous year’s harvest. The wine, often known as Federweisse, is cloudy, of medium taste, and is served in quarter or third of a litre glasses. It is quite a spectacle.

We were here because of a celebration to recognise 25 years of the Transport Authority of the State of Rheinland-Pfalz. It sounds boring but it really wasn’t, as it involved the operation of over a 100 special steam-hauled trains over five days.

This was the third brew pub we had visited on this day and we had arrived at and departed from them all on steam trains apart from this one as we were stopping the night in this town.

I was with Steve, Carol and Russell and because there were four of us it was convenient to go to the pub by taxi. It is a mile (1.5 km) from the main railway station and not especially easy to get to by public transport.

We were greeted by a beaver. Not a real one but a rather fat cartoon version that is the symbol of the pub. From the outside the building appears as if it is a very large barn or warehouse.

Inside it surprises also. The first thing I noticed was the shining copper brewing equipment on the left of the large room.

In front of this is the bar and service area. The bar-back and the actual bar itself are made highly varnished wood and are in a traditional style. The bar winds its way around several corners and there are plenty of stools.

The remainder of the furniture is a mixture of loose and fixed, all made of wood. The separate seating areas are sub-divided by small fences and some are on raised levels. There are a number of side rooms which are decorated in a more rustic style than the large room.

At the far end of the main hall there is a broad staircase that takes one up to the balcony. This goes around three sides of the building and accommodates even more seating areas. The facilities are to be found here and there are more side rooms including one named the “Malz Stube”.

The fourth wall, on the left of the entrance, is decorated to make it look like the outside of an old half-timbered house. This is kitsch as one can clearly see that it is nothing more a painted wall. Also very unconvincing is the chandelier-type street lamppost in the middle of the room.

The brewery normally supplies around 1,500 hl of beer per annum and supplies this pub only. The lot was opened in 1999. There are three core beers offered and these are: Hell (Light) (4.5%); Dunkel (Dark) (4.5%); Weizen (Wheat) (5.0%). There’s a seasonal beer sometimes and it’s often Bock Bier (6.5%).

A full menu is offered that includes a number of Pfalzer specialities. See below for kitchen opening hours. Should you be in the area it is well worth getting out here.

Important Information:

Neustadter Brauhaus, Martin-Luther-Strasse 60, 67433 Neustadt an der Weinstrasse
Tel: 06321 18 5155

Open 365 days per year: Monday-Sunday 11.00-24.00
The kitchen is open: 11.30-23.00

The pub is around one mile (1.5 km) from Neustadt an der Weinstrasse Hbf (Main station), located in an industrial suburb. It is possible to get a bus fairly close to the pub. You will need to travel any of them that call at Martin-Luther-Strasse. The pub is near the Lidl supermarket. It is also around a half mile (750m) from the suburban station of Neustadt (Weinstrasse)-Böbig. Of course, this has a reduced service compared with Hauptbahnhof.