The history of beer brewing in Erlangen is closely connected to the Burgberg, a hill in the city of Erlangen. In the course of the centuries more and more 'Keller', cellars, were driven into the sandstone at the southern slope of the hill, where the beer was kept cold in order to ripen. The first cellar dates back to the year 1675. In 1718 the 'Erich Keller' was driven into the hill, and in 1770 Erlangen's 12 breweries counted 13 cellars in which they could store up to 30 000 barrels of beer.
The largest cellar, which belonged to the Henninger brewery, was soon no longer profitable as it did not pay back the invested costs. Some years later Mr von Linde invented the ice machine, a cooling system, which enabled the breweries to keep their beer cold and store it at street level. This was the end of the beer cellars. Today only the foremost part of the cellars is in use, because during the time of the Bergkirchweih lorries arrive daily to fill up the tanks and supply the festival with beer. What is left of the old days are the picturesque cellar pavilions of sandstone, which are favourite motifs for photographers.