Reichold Hochstahl

Sadly, the decline in pubs is taking hold here too – the pub closed its doors for good in 2020. However, the brewery itself is still going strong, and visitors can still enjoy a freshly tapped beer in the beer garden. The guesthouse and motorhome site are also still in operation.

History

There is documentary evidence of a brewery with an inn in Hochstahl dating back as far as 1801 – so beer has been brewed here since at least the early 19th century. The brewery has been in the Reichold family since 1906.

The first member of the family to own it, Johann Simon Reichold (born 1864), acquired the brewery together with his wife Margarete Thaler from Burggrub. Just three years later, in 1909, he was killed in an accident on his way home. Margarete took over responsibility for the brewery and their five children – and kept the business running.

The current brewhouse dates from 1960 (built by Felix Reichold). The fermentation, storage and filtration cellars were completely rebuilt in 2002, whilst the bottling plant was modernised between 1997 and 2000 – it has a capacity of 2,600 bottles per hour.

Since 1 January 2025, Jörg Reichold has been running Brauerei Gasthof Reichold GmbH, having taken over from his parents, Hilmar and Katinka.

The beers

• 🍺 Hochstahler Lager – not too sweet, lightly hopped, very easy to drink
• 🍺 Zwick’l – an amber-coloured, unfiltered cellar beer

• 🍺 Dunkel – well-hopped with dark notes

• 🍺 Hefe Weizen

Aufseß – the world record-holding municipality

Hochstahl is part of the municipality of Aufseß, which, with four breweries for just 1,500 inhabitants, has the highest density of breweries in the world – a record enshrined in the Guinness Book of Records since 2001. Reichold is one of the four.

Brewery Trail

The brewery is situated directly on the 14 km-long Brewery Trail, which runs from Aufseß via Sachsendorf, Hochstahl and Heckendorf back to the starting point, connecting all four breweries. Anyone who completes the route (and the beer stops) receives a certificate as an ‘Honorary Franconian Beer Drinker’.

Practical information