Oh, the nobel Köbes, how I miss you already. I don’t think I’ve come across a better experience as a consumer, as I did in Köln. As a person who appreciates beer, consistency and follow-through, the Kölsch houses in Köln were straight up my alley.

My time in the city was short, only a day, before heading back to the UK for a few days. I spent the time touring the magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Cathedral and indulging in several of the city’s magnificent beer cathedrals .

Similar to many cities in central Europe, Köln is known for a specific style of beer, in this case, Kölsch. This beautiful Rhine hybrid combines a pale malt bill, noble hops, and ale yeast. The golden nectar is then left to lager for a month or two, producing a sparkling elixir that is soft on the palate with just a hint of bitterness to round it out. The Kölsch is served in a style specific glass, the .2L, straight and narrow Stange. The Kölsch is served Stange after Stange by a Köbes until you place your coaster on top of your glass, indicating that you have tapped out. The Köbes then tallies up marks that they have placed on your coaster for each Stange and you pay! The beer style is so tied to the city that in 1986, the local breweries banded together to protect the style, limiting the use of the word Kölsch to the 50km surrounding the city. At this, “Kölsch Konvention” the brewing ingredients and processes were also agreed upon to maintain the legacy of the style. The style has further gained PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status.

Due to a bought of blustery weather (Storm Sabine was on the way), I decided to find dinner relatively close to my hotel. Luckily, I was staying very close to the train station and Cathedral, so I landed at Gaffel am Dom. The brewery, founded in 1908 and officially known as Gaffel Becker & Co, served traditional German fare and, of course, Kölsch. My glass was never empty for long, as my Köbes was always near with a fresh Stange.

I spent the remainder of the evening on a tour of the cities brew houses with “The Kölsch Crew.” I typically look for these types of tours when traveling without my other-half, as beer is a social drink and it just feels good to sip with a new friend. The tour did not disappoint. My guide, Michael (also the founder of the company), was lovely and provided very insightful history into the Kölsch style, the city, and the breweries that we were visiting. The stops included: Brauerei zur Malzmühle, Gilden im Zims, Brauhaus Sünner, and Peters Brauhaus.

My thirst was thouroughly quenched during the tour, meaning that it was time for more food! I found myself at Früh am Dom for a late night snack and maybe a few more Stangen of Kölsch before turning myself in for the night.