Our sponsored breweries

How an old brewery from a franconian rock town moves to another rock town in the upper
palatinates and why there’s a spin-off of our Horseshoe beers in a new beer-oasis in the desert
of Arizona.

The Horseshoe in the Upper Palatinates

In 1990, was the stirring chef, host and distiller Richard Luber from Kallmuenz, on the road in the Upper Palatinates, searching for a small brewery for his picturesque in “Golden Lion”.

Richard Luber has been looking for a long time, when he finally found it in Franconia, because the news in the brewing industry were going around, that our existing brewery “horseshoe” was shutting down with the complete brewing equipment, due to construction work of our brewpub.

So we met each other, and came to a fast agreement. The brewery will be degraded as fast as possible and rebuilt in Kallmuenz. A bold plan!

As you can probably imagine, theory and reality are worlds apart, when it comes to a project like this one was. On top of this, an old brewery is as hardheaded as an old Franconian woman and a Upper Palatinate woman together.

The entire brewing system and equipment was decomposed into individual parts and freighted to Kallmuenz. All parts have been cleaned, sandblasted and reconditioned, before it was all rebuilt in the cultivation of the “Golden Lion”, true to the original.

Finally, in 1992 the brewery was brought back to life in the rock town Kallmuenz.

The first batch was brewed... - and sent right back into the sewer, reasons unknown, but as we all know by now, an old brewery is as stubborn as...

Thanks to God and our experience, we managed to handle the brewery and without any other accidents we were brewing the first “Kallmuenzer dark”.

Ever since then, the delicious “Kallmuenzer Dark” and the refreshing “Kallmuenzer White” is being brewed, according to horseshoe recipes.

The old Upper Palatinate inn is very well known for its kitchen, homemade fruit and berry wines, home-made schnapps and home-brewed beer and also for providing their guests with art exhibitions, poetry readings and music evenings.

Kallmuenz is a picturesque town and is about 25 km northwest of Regensburg.

The address for the brewery “Golden Lion” is:
Familie Luber
Alte Regensburger Strasse 18
93183 Kallmünz
Phone: 09473 380
Or online: www.vg-kallmuenz.de.

The Horseshoe in America

We have just completed the “Kallmuenzer brewing days”, when an American guy called Fred Kraus (we call him Fred’l) knocked on our door, with the idea in his head, he wants to learn how to brew beer with us. Fred’l has worked as an civil environmental engineer in Grafenwoehr Training Area, and he has heard a lot about German beer, during his long stay in Germany. Another idea he had stuck in his head, was to brew beer in the desert of Arizona.

For 18 months, Fred’l has spent every spare minute in our brewery and learned in theory and practice our way to brew beer. During this time we have of course visited many breweries and malt houses.

We even went to Munich, to visit the largest brewer exhibition in the world.

An exhibitor of this trade fair will remember Fred’l to this day, as he pushed a button, after indicating, that in America everything gets done by hand, and a complete assembly line set with bottles, landed on the floor of the exhibition hall.

While we were sitting with Fred’l and some friends in the Munich Hofbraeuhaus, we have realized, that Fredl’s traineeship can come to its end. Because, after some Americans at the table next to us have ordered a plate of Weisswurst ( Bavarian veal sausage ), Bratwurst and Sauerkraut, Fred’l shook his head in disbelief and said: ”It’s unbelievable, what these Americans all eat.”

In addition to a theoretical examination the brewer education in the “Horseshoe” culminated to a master brew. At the end, Fred’l has brewed a really good Lager which he gave away to his friends and work colleagues in Grafenwoehr.

With knowing the art of brewing German beer, Fred’l and his wife Rita went back to Sedona. Sedona is a tourist resort and located between Phoenix/Arizona and the Grand Canyon. The Red Rock of Sedona are well known, because supposedly you can contact aliens. If they eat Weisswurst (veal sausage) and Bratwurst with Sauerkraut too?

In February 1995, the Oak Creek-brewing Co. of Fred’l and Rita Kraus was put into operation. The U.S brewery creator however, has only brewed one brew of beer and left Fred’l forsaken with it. “Joe, it no longer bubbles in the Tanks”, hurried a call for help across the Atlantic. Immediately we left home and stove, to take Fredl’s Oak Creek brewing Co. in proper operation. New yeast was being organized and the Lager tanks were brewed brim.

Since 1995, Fred Kraus has been successfully brewing Bavarian dark beer, the “Horseshoe wheat beer” and also American ale, that goes good with veal sausage (Weisswurst) and Bratwurst with Sauerkraut.

If you travel to the USA, visit Fred and Rita Kraus in their Oak Creek brewing company.

The area is lovely and the beer almost like ours!

Address: Oak Creek Brewing Company
Fred und Rita Kraus
2050 Yavapai Drive
86336 Sedona/ Arizona
Phone 602 204 1300
or
www.oakcreekbrew.com