Home > Kölsch (beer)

It should be served cold (but not near freezing). It is usually served in long, thin, cylindrical 0.2 litre glasses. This glass is known as a Stange, but is often derisively called a Reagenzglas (test tube). Recently though, many bars have moved to satisfy their more thirsty customers by offering larger, less traditional glasses (0.3 l or 0.4 l) of the same shape. Since 1936 Kölsch has also been available in bottled form. Kölsch is often accompanied by simple Cologne delicacies such as the Halve Hahn (a roll with cheese) or Blootwoosch (blood sausage).

Beer has been brewed in Cologne since 874, but the term Kölsch was officially used for the first time in 1918 to describe the type of beer that had been brewed by the Sünner brewery since 1906. This type of beer developed from the similar, but cloudier variant Wiess . It never became particularly popular in the first half of the twentieth century, when the most popular beer was bottom-fermented. Until World War II, there were over 40 breweries in Cologne, but in the aftermath of the devastations wrought by the war, that number was reduced to two.

In 1946Events January January 4 Theodore Schurch becomes the last person to be executed for offences committed under the Treachery Act of 1940 January 7 Allied recognize Austrian republic with 1937 borders the country is divided into four occupation zones Januar however, many of the breweries managed to re-establish themselves. During the 1940sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Events and trends Technology First nuclear bomb First cruise missile, the and 1950sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Years: 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. Kölsch still couldn't match the sales of bottom-fermented beer, but beginning in the 1960sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around it rose in popularity and achieved hegemony in the Cologne beer market. From a production of merely 500,000 hectoliters in 1960Events January-February January 1 Independence of Cameroon January 9 Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt January 11 Chad declares its independence. January 14 Ralph Chubb, the gay poet and printer, dies at Fair Oak Cottage in Hampshire. January 23, Cologne's beer production peaked in 19801980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. Events January-February January 1- April 1 National steel strike in United Kingdom January 1 Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother January 5 He, when 3.7 million hectoliters were produced. Due to recent increases in price, consumption has decreased causing economic hardship for many of the traditional corner bars ( Kölschkneipen ) and for smaller breweries. Today, the annual consumption of Kölsch is about 3 million hectoliters.

Around thirty breweries produce Kölsch in and around Cologne, the most important ones being Dom , Früh , Gaffel , Gilden , ReissdorfThe brewery Reissdorf was founded in 1894 by Heinrich Reissdorf in Cologne. It produces a top fermented beer called Reissdorf Kolsch. External links (German) Brands of beer Brewers and Breweries. and Sion and the trend is towards consolidation. Kölsch is the only beer that may not be brewed outside the Cologne region, as determined by the Kölsch convention of 19861986 is a common year starting on Wednesday. Events January January 1 Spain and Portugal enter the European Community January 1 Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands and is separated from the Netherlands Antilles. January 9 After losing a pa. There is a grandfather clause for a few breweries in the larger area, for example in Bonn, that were already established in 1986. However many brands are illegally brewed abroad on a small scale - especially in the US and Japan.

Kölsch stands in direct competition to Altbier, the production of which is centred around Düsseldorf, but which is ironically also produced by all the major breweries in Cologne. The rivalry between the cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf is often expressed by the preference of one of these types of beer, and ordering the wrong kind in the wrong city has in fact resulted in abuse and even violence in the past, although this is not common (but joking about it is). Another interesting sociological point concerning Kölsch is that its consumption is deemed acceptable by women to a much greater extent than other beers in Germany, and also that it is often drunk in groups of rather mixed social standing -- exclusivity is frowned upon by the Kölsch drinking culture, and there is a deal between the breweries that no Kölsch will be sold with any extra titles like "Premium", "Special", "Extra high quality" or some such. Karl Marx once famously remarked that his revolution couldn't work in Cologne, since the bosses went to the same pubs as their workers.

In 1999, during a G8 summit, President Bill Clinton paid the brewery Zur Malzmühle (The Malt Mill) a surprise visit, coining his own version of John F. Kennedy's homage to German cultural identity with the phrase: "Ich bin ein Kölsch (I am a Kölsch)"