Food & Beer Culture

What do you eat with Hofer Bier? On Schlappentag, the Hofer Bratwurst takes center stage—and for good reason: its fat and seasoning call for a beer with bitterness and carbonation to refresh the palate. A Hofer Pils does the job just as well as a dry Helles.

In the region's pubs, this is typically served with dumplings and sauerkraut, much as throughout Upper Franconia alongside roasts and sausages. Dunkel pairs well too, since the malt's roasted notes echo the browned crust. Wheat beer suits lighter dishes better, including the classic Weisswurst breakfast.

Beer culture in Hof begins at the places where it's brewed and served. Meinels Bas in the Vorstadt district is the Meinel family's traditional brewery tavern, where beer was once sold directly on site. The brewery also runs a venue in the town center, the Biersalon Trompeter.

The town's biggest ritual is Schlappentag. A festive procession moves from the town hall to the Schießhäuschen, with guests of honor, apprentices, shooting clubs, and representatives of the brewing trade and other guilds taking part. This is when the first sips of the specially brewed Schlappenbier are poured. The name comes from "Schlappen," the wooden clogs, and has been documented since 1904.

Travelers exploring the region will also find pubs beyond the town itself, where brewer and innkeeper are often one and the same person. Frankenwald Tourism maintains a list of breweries as well as the Frankenwald Sonnen Bierstrasse (beer trail). The Frankenwälder Brauhaus in Naila closed in 2022, but the town's communal brewing tradition lives on in memory.