A brewer in white rubber boots standing ankle-deep inside a stainless steel brewing tank, scrubbing its walls with a blue brush

Brewery Story No. 06

Braumanufaktur Hertl

Welcome to Braumanufaktur Hertl, where brewing beer is serious business — although, judging by some of the scenes inside, it doesn't always look that way.

Join us behind the scenes at one of Franconia's smallest and liveliest breweries, where the work is hands-on, the characters are unforgettable, and making good beer sometimes means getting your feet wet.

Spent grain falling from a stainless steel chute in the brewery wall into a large grey container, while a man leans on the sill of an upstairs window watching it — When the brewing gets out of hand.

A brewer in blue overalls standing on tiled steps beside a large stainless steel brewing kettle, stirring its contents through an open hatch with a long wooden paddle, bowls of hops lined up beside him — A little stirring. A lot of character.

A smiling brewer tipping an inverted stainless steel bowl to pour green hop pellets into the foaming wort of a brewing kettle, a control console and wooden mash paddle behind him — A handful of hops. A whole lot of character.

A smiling brewer in a black BREWMASTER t-shirt standing beside a large stainless steel brewing kettle with its hatch propped open and steam rising, holding out his open palm to show green hop pellets, a control console to his right and a long wooden mash paddle leaning against the blue-tiled wall behind him — A closer look at the ingredients behind the brew.

A brewer in blue overalls tipping a large stainless steel bowl of green hop pellets into the foaming wort of an open brewing kettle, blue-tiled walls and a bright window behind him — The ingredients that shape the beer.

A brewer leaning between two large stainless steel fermentation tanks with his eyes closed, sipping from a tulip glass of beer topped with a thick white head — Research is thirsty work.

A man crouching on the brewery floor beside a large stainless steel tank, holding up a stemmed glass of Hertl beer to the light to inspect it — Quality control. Someone has to do it.

A brewer crouched between large stainless steel fermentation tanks, turning the handle of a sample tap and holding a stemmed glass filling with golden beer under a thick white head — Checking the beer, one tank at a time.

A brewer in blue overalls and olive rubber boots bending over heavy-duty hoses beside a small stainless steel tank in a yellow-tiled brewery room, liquid trickling from the coupling in his gloved hand — Every hose has a purpose.

A brewer in a black jacket and rubber boots standing among large green brewing tanks in a tiled cellar, holding a transparent hose that runs down toward two dark kegs on the floor, a glass of beer resting on a tank behind him — Among the green tanks, the work goes on.

A brewer in a black t-shirt, dark work trousers and olive rubber boots leaning over the rim of a pale blue tiled brewing vessel with a riveted copper dome, resting his hand beside an open hatch as he looks down into it, a copper flue rising to the left and a coiled red hose on the tiled wall to the right — Checking in on the copper.

A wide high-angle view of a split-level brewhouse: a brewer in blue bib overalls bends over a blue pipe fitting with red hoses on the tiled lower floor while a second brewer in a black jacket rests his hands on the brass handrail of the raised walkway and looks down at him, a stainless steel brew kettle to the left and a domed copper vessel to the right — Two brewers, working in tandem.

A wide view of a large shallow rectangular copper coolship in a timber-roofed attic brewery as a bent stainless steel pipe fed by a red hose pours a stream of hot pale wort into the basin, concentric ripples and white foam spreading across the copper and steam drifting toward a bright window at the right — The brewing process in motion.

A brewer seen from behind in a black HERTL BRAUMANUFAKTUR jacket, dark trousers and rubber boots, standing with his hands on the rim of a large shallow copper coolship filled with steaming wort in a timber-roofed brewing room, a set of wooden steps beside the basin and bright windows glowing through the steam ahead — Where the brewing process meets tradition.

A brewer in blue overalls and white rubber boots standing in a large shallow copper coolship, scrubbing its bottom with a long-handled brush so that soapy water and foam spread across the copper, exposed roof beams and skylights above — Not every brewing job happens in a tank.

A brewer in a black BREWMASTER t-shirt standing at the far edge of a large shallow copper coolship in an attic brewery, spraying water across its surface with a hose, exposed roof beams and skylights above — A copper-sized job.

A smiling brewer in a black BREWMASTER t-shirt standing behind a large grey pallet box heaped with spent brewing grain outside the brewery, a second bin of grain in the foreground and white walls with weathered wooden barn doors behind him — Nothing goes to waste.

Hand-painted caricature portraits of a man and a woman, each holding a glass of beer, on black wooden sliding barn doors outside the brewery, labelled PAPA BERND and MUTTI VRONI in white script, a bottle store sign at the top left — Every brewery has a story — and a family behind it.

Two people standing side by side in the brewery shop, one raising a stemmed glass of golden beer, the other a Hertl bottle with a yellow label, wooden shelves of bottles and teal crates around them — Behind every good beer, there are good people.

Two people moving a large grey container heaped with spent grain across the wet brewery yard, one guiding it from the front and the other pushing from behind, wooden barn doors and a white van in the background — Brewing is a team sport.

Two men raising stemmed glasses of beer in a toast beside a large shallow copper coolship in an attic brewery, one standing inside the vessel with a long-handled brush at his feet, exposed roof beams and skylights above — Good beer. Good people. One copper-sized story.

A turquoise Hertl six-pack carrier of beer bottles against a dark background, two bottles standing in front with their illustrated labels, reflections visible beneath — A family of beers, each with its own character.

A Family Affair

“Every family has its own story. At Hertl, that story finds its way onto the bottle labels, with Mutti's Sonnenschein and Opa's Liebling celebrating the family behind the brewery. Two beers, two personalities, and a reminder that behind every brewery are the people who make it special.”

Two Hertl beer bottles, Mutti's Sonnenschein and Opa's Liebling, standing against a dark background, their reflections visible beneath them