The Bergkirchweih is one of the best beer fests I have ever been to in Germany. The fest is held every year in Erlangen, Germany, beginning just before Pentecost (Pfingsten) and lasting for 12 days. It is not as large as Oktoberfest but receives thousands of visitors every day. This is a traditional fest in the sense that it has rides and games for the entire family, including the Ferris wheel that dominates the skyline. But there are a couple of things that differentiate this fest from all others: The first is that it is held on the side of a mountain, under the trees and open skies. The second: the beer kellers!

A keller is a cellar in English. This doesn’t mean that you drink beer underground! But the beer itself is stored year round in tunnels that run under the mountain and naturally keep the beer cold. There are 13 permanent kellers and each brews its own beer.

Beer is sold from the entrance of each kellar and by servers that can carry two-handfuls of beer just like you see in pictures of Oktoberfest. These massive ceramic krugs are called a maß, and hold a liter of beer.

Each kellar is surrounded by a seating area filled with tables and benches that can be reserved in the evenings and many kellars have live bands playing throughout the day and in the evening. We found an unreserved table in the Entlas Keller area late on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The beer was served in a gorgeous maß and was nicely chilled as it came directly from the kegs in the kellar. A maß of beer cost 7 euros plus a 5 euro deposit for the maß. You can take the maß home with you as a souvenir. A bargain at 5 euros!

The fest food at the Bergkirchweih is quite good as well. Naturally, there is standard fest food but we also sampled Franconian bratwurst with some of the best sauerkraut I have ever had, and roasted ox meat on a bun. The ox, named Theodore and the third oxen to be roasted at the festival this year, was rotating on a spit about 50 feet away from our table. It was a first for us and delicious!

The fest closes every evening at 11:00 pm. Be aware though that “family time” ends early in the evening. By 9:00 pm the party around the kellars has really gotten started. The bands are playing, the fest-goers have been drinking, and walkways are very crowded.

Getting there
Take the train! There are thousands of people at this fest each day. Rather than struggle with finding somewhere to park, and then have to worry about drinking and driving (you never know how much the guy in the next car has had to drink after all), take the Deutsche Bahn. There are fast trains that go through Erlangen, called an Inter.City or IC train. And there are even more and faster connections 20 minutes away in Nurnberg. Then take a regional train (RB or RE) from Nurnberg to Erlangen.

There is a free shuttle bus from the train station in Erlangen to the fest grounds or enjoy the 15 minute walk. Just head out about 50 meters from the main train station, turn left on the main pedestrian street and follow the crowds.

Where to stay
This is the second year we have gone to the fest and both times we chose to stay in Nurnberg. Our hotel cost 80 euros for two people including breakfast.

Regardless of how you get there or where you stay, I highly recommend visiting this one-of-a-kind beer fest!