We left Miltenberg for an hour and a half bus ride to Würzburg, a small town (@ 130,00 pop.) on the northern tip of Bavaria in the Lower Franconian region. It’s on the Main River, the same Main River that runs through Frankfurt, whose full name is “Frankfurt am Main,” but about 70 miles downstream. We didn’t get see any of the city, unfortunately, apart from what we could see out of the bus windows during the drive to our second brewery of the day, the Würzburger Hofbrau. although most of the trip was spent trying to learn the Bavarian card game Schafkopf, but that’s another story. Würzburger Hofbräu AG was founded during the Thirty Years War in 1643 by the Main-Franconian prince bishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn and is the oldest brewery in town.

The brewer’s star or Brauerstern forms the central part of Würzburger’s logo, featured here outside the hofbrau in the ornate signs typical of German breweries.

Würzburger Hofbrau is also a modern production brewery and so there are newer flag-style signs lining the entrance.

The gate to the biergarten and the entrance to the hofbrau itself.

Inside the biergarten, visitors are treated to a traditional Bavarian maypole, a miniature of the kind found in the town square of many German villages.

As is common in civilized countries outside the United States, beer is a part of family life and the Würzburger biergarten includes a children’s play area.

The “sudhaus” in the Würzburger Hofbrau.

We started with the wonderful Jullius Echter Premium Weissbier.

Which was paired with a traditional Bavarian lunch that included the ubiquitous dumplings.

And some delicious Apfelringes, deep fried battered apple rings — which I had with their Schwarzbier. Yum.

The gate to the production facility around the side of the hofbrau.

The warehouse and other buildings around the back where the Würzburger beer brands are bottled and stored.