German Beer Vignettes: A Kölsch at Früh in Cologne

Kölsch is part of the very fabric of Cologne, an element of the city’s cultural heritage as important as Carnival. Kölsch is a relatively young style, and it wasn’t until after WWII that Kölsch cemented its status as the premier beer in the city. Things developed quickly from there. By 1986, Cologne’s brewers had come together to sign the Kölsch Convention, an agreement that turned Kölsch into a protected appellation.

A Kölsch at Früh am Dom

Like any major city, Cologne is worth several days in its own right, but you’re also in luck if you’re just passing through. Not only is the Dom (cathedral) located just outside of the train station, so, too, are a handful of taverns serving up Kölsch. If you have an hour or so, stop off for a peek into the Dom followed by a Kölsch or three within half a kilometer of the train station.

One such place is Früh am Dom. And what a tavern it is! — a rambling collection of discrete spaces that are almost like beer galleries. Some are dark, some lit by daylight streaming in from large windows, others lit by skylights.

It all seems familiar at first, like a Bavarian beer hall in places, but also like drinking establishments in Belgium. The dark wood paneling and well-worn floors are there, as is the lively buzz of conversation and the clinking of glasses. Yet many of the design features of the main beer hall are different: high wooden ceilings with decorated inlays, grand chandeliers, stained glass windows, and — in place of the trophies of the hunt — paintings and etchings that depict Cologne through the ages.

Früh Kölsch Then and Now

Not long after opening his top-fermenting brewery in 1904, Peter Josef Früh secured himself a place in the history of Kölsch. Früh was among the first brewers in Cologne to filter his beers. He is also reputed to have dialed back the hopping rate of his beers to set them apart from the indigenous hoppy-bitter Wiess beers (not to be confused with Weissbier). This latter move arguably ushered in a trend in the direction of softer, rounder beers.

Over a century on, and Früh’s beers are still on the unassuming side, even for a style as delicate as Kölsch. The reticent bouquet yields up subtle aromas of apple and peach followed by a slate-like minerality and neutral malt notes that suggest hay and cream of wheat. Light and refreshingly effervescent on the palate, the beer is clear as a bell. All in all, Früh’s Kölsch is not as expressive as, say, the Kölsch from Reissdorf or Malzmühle, but you’ll very likely drink more than one.

Once you’ve settled up with your Köbes, it’s only a few hundred meters till your next Kölsch adventure. That’s the beauty of tasting Kölsch in Cologne.

Drinking Culture in Cologne

A Köbes, you ask? The Köbes is the server in Cologne’s Kölsch establishments. The name is a local variation of Jakob. As the story goes, the Köbesse were folks who worked at the Rhineland inns along the Jakobsweg (Way of St. James) pilgrimage route, earning extra income by providing hungry and thirsty pilgrims with food and beer. Today, the Köbes makes his rounds with a Kranz (wreath), a carrier with a handle in the center and a thicket of Stange (glasses) ranged around the handle. He puts a mark on your beer mat whenever he drops off a fresh Kölsch.

The cylindrical Stange holds 200 milliliters and is the glass of choice for Kölsch. These miniscule glasses trifle in comparison to the mighty Maß (one-liter tankards) of Munich, but the theory behind the small glasses goes something like this: the size keeps the beers from becoming too warm or going flat too soon after they are poured. Read another way, the small sizes keep you drinking. And drink, you probably will, especially since the Köbes will always be at the ready with a fresh glass of beer.

Signal when you’re done drinking by placing your mat atop the glass. The Köbes then totals up the marks, you pay up, and then you head to the next Brauhaus. It couldn’t be more simple. Prost!

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Images by Franz D. Hofer

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