One of the newer Oberfranken breweries, having opened in 2013, Drossenfelder Bräuwerck offers technical and mostly clean renditions of Helles, Dunkles, Weizen and Bockbier in a polished old world atmosphere, complete with full kitchen.
Neudrossenfeld certainly requires travel by car if you're based in Bamberg, out some 50 km to the east along the Bundesautobahn 70, and roughly 12 km north of Bayreuth.
I wouldn't suggest making the trip simply to try the beer, because while 3 of 4 were of decent quality without flaws, they were not what I could call inspired or mesmerizing drinking experiences, which is kind of what you're going for in a place like Upper Franconia.
So if you do visit, make sure to also visit Brauerei Haberstumpf in the nearby village of Trebgast, and you would be foolish to not stop by Brauerei Gradl on the other side of Bayreuth if you're in the area.
On to the reviews.
(3.1/5)
Expressively malt nose shows Pilsner malt well as baked bread and honey pastries, very rich aromatically and clean as well, and from the first smell it shows the goodness of lightly toasted Pilsner malt like few other beers do, though with warmth there’s a creeping note of grain husks. Medium-light body, lightly sweet with noticeable caramelization, and unfortunately it tastes extremely grainy and husky as well, closer to the character of grain bag than the aroma suggests, and not as enticing as warm-steeped milled grain (which to me smell and taste like Grape Nuts cereal). Aroma hops are minimal, and bitterness is mild but complimentary as the sweetness is low as well. Carbonation is low and acidity low as well, so it does sit flabby on the tongue. The maltiness in the mouth is burnt and over-kilned and the huskiness becomes unpleasant as it warms. Seems pretty close to being good, if they could polish up the husky malt.
(3.4/5)
Draft at the brewery in Neudrossenfeld. Hazy dark brown with a fine tan colored head. Rich aroma of dark malt suggests chocolate, crusty bread, pastries, nougat and almonds. In the mouth there more of an over-toasted effect, nearing the point of roasted malt which is uncommon in this part of the world. It’s medium-light bodied, lightly sweet with low bitterness and some faint yeast silt / vitamin roughness, though the whole effect still works, it’s nicely nutty and bready and just a little bit fruity. I want to say they’re some fruity higher alcohols in there because there is a resemblance to cognac, or amaretto, or those liqueur-filled chocolates. But like the Helles it lacks acidity so it sits flabby, and could benefit from more of a mineral water quality, and/or higher carbonation. Still a nice easy drinking Dunkles, but seems close to next-level.
(3.8/5)
Strong and pleasant weizen yeast nose is banana bread and clove and touches of salt and pepper; malt is toasty and bready while hops are herbal and earthy with a faint bit of lemon zestiness. High carbonation is bracing in the mouth, sugar level is medium-low and bitterness seems medium to high. Pleasantly bready and lemon-y and acidic and salty in the mouth, though malt depth is shallow and hops are mostly bittering with not much in the way of flavor. Very fresh and lively, and seems closer to Amberweisse or Ur-weisse than Helles hefeweizen.
(2.3/5)
Now called KraftWerk Aroma is malt-dominant with notes of honey, grain husks, plastic bags, band aids and faint ethanol; lemon-y hops sit in the background. Medium-full body with moderate sweetness and medium to low bitterness. It’s overly carbonation and overly acidic and rough, while the malt is syrupy and doughy. Pretty sloppy bockbier that smells disappointingly dirty after the first three were enjoyably clean.