A pale, delicate beer served in small straight glasses in Cologne, where waiters keep replacing the 0.2 litre Stange until you put a beer mat over the glass. The 1986 Kölsch Convention restricts the name to brewers in and around the city.
The name is legally restricted to breweries in and around Cologne by convention, and brewing beer at home is licensed or restricted in much of the atlas’s readership.
What goes into it
- pilsner malt, sometimes with a little wheat
- German hops
- an ale yeast fermented cool
- water
How it is made
It is brewed like a pale ale but treated like a lager: fermented warm with an ale yeast, then cold-conditioned for weeks, which gives it the clean finish of a lager with a faint fruitiness underneath. It is filtered bright and served very fresh, in small glasses precisely so it never sits and warms.
How long it takes: three to four weeks from mash to tap
How it is eaten
From a 0.2 litre Stange, replaced without asking until you cover the glass, with Halver Hahn or Mettbrötchen.
History
The 1986 Kölsch Convention restricts the name to brewers in and around Cologne; waiters keep refilling the 0.2 litre Stange until you cover the glass.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kölsch?
Kölsch is a wine & spirit from Germany: pale, delicate beer served in small straight glasses in Cologne. The 1986 Kölsch Convention restricts the name to brewers in and around Cologne; waiters keep refilling the 0.2 litre Stange until you cover the glass.
How is Kölsch made?
It is brewed like a pale ale but treated like a lager: fermented warm with an ale yeast, then cold-conditioned for weeks, which gives it the clean finish of a lager with a faint fruitiness underneath. It is filtered bright and served very fresh, in small glasses precisely so it never sits and warms. It takes three to four weeks from mash to tap.
Can I make Kölsch at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The name is legally restricted to breweries in and around Cologne by convention, and brewing beer at home is licensed or restricted in much of the atlas’s readership.
What goes into Kölsch?
Pilsner malt, sometimes with a little wheat, german hops, an ale yeast fermented cool, water.
How is Kölsch eaten?
From a 0.2 litre Stange, replaced without asking until you cover the glass, with Halver Hahn or Mettbrötchen.
