After leaving Wurzburg, we had another hour and a half to play a few more hands of Schafkopf before arriving at the Franconian Rome, Bamberg. Our first stop, apart from checking into our hotel, was Weyermann Malting, a family-owned maltster since 1879 that now specializes in malt for craft brewers. The vast, sprawling grounds of the company include some beautiful old brick buildings and one of the most modern warehouses I’ve ever seen. I’d met owners Michael and Sabine Weyermann in passing at trade shows but it was fascinating seeing their operation in person.

Inside the Weyermann Malting compound.

Our bus outside the main reception building.

Old roasters make for one quirky piece of art in the courtyard park.

That included its own mini-maypole.

Looking back across the street at the new, modern warehouse.

In between buildings in the labyrinth interior of the compound.

Sabine Weyermann gave us a short presentation about their malting operations.

Inside the reception room, every square inch of wall space was covered with breweriana.

There were beautiful signs everywhere you looked.

Not to mention beer trains, which would have kept my son Porter entertained for hours.

It seems like every brewery in Germany had their own logoed train car.

We ended our visit at the pilot brewery, where we got to try the first-ever example of a cask-conditioned bourbon-altbier made by their brewmaster, Oliver Honsel.

Our interpid host and tour guide, Horst Dornbusch.