Ton van Zutphen, searching for Koelsch type beer in the Cologne-Bonn area (Feb.March 14)

Ton van Zutphen searching for Koelsch Beers in Cologne-Bonn area / Feb./March 2014

 

 

A sort of silly, bohemian, irrelevant but curious note from Ton van Zutphen (not an expert himself!).

I vaguely remember two references to this particular beer: 1. My father Franz mentioned it to me in the early seventies, when he talked about German beer (which he rarely did / he never drank adult beverages). Men and women drank ‘KOELSCH’ in Koeln/Cologne…though not in Duesseldorf-Neuss where he himself was born. One drinks ‘Altbier’ there…and it is difficult to find Koelsch because of the open animosity/competition between Cologne and Duesseldorf. It is said that ‘what the people from Cologne throw in the gutter..the people from Duesseldorf drink as ‘Altbeer’ / not very nice indeed… (both cities are along the Rhine) 2. I once went to the RosenMontag carnaval in Cologne with my study friend Gerd Leers, I recall it must have been in 1971 or 72? I now somehow remember the small, thin glasses (0.2 litres) and the cheap price for a ‘Koelsch’. I wasn’t impressed about the taste. We Dutch (and in fact most Germans as well) prefer the more ‘herbiger / Pilsener type beers’.

So what is this Koelsch beer all about? Locally brewed, geographically limited to particular districts inside the city of Cologne; A clear color, bright, sort of straw yellow, articulate hoppiness, but less bitter than the German lagers that most people know. It is warm fermented at around 13-21 degrees C (55 to 70 degrees F); and finally kept in cold circumstances to create its specific taste. The latter is essential and defines the specific smell, flavor  and aftertaste. Only those ingredients are used that are allowed by the German Rheinheitsgebot from 1516:  Beer is made of water, barley and hops

Now that I live and work in Germany in the Bonn- Bad Godesberg area as of November 13, I am giving it a lot of effort to learn how to appreciate Koelsch.  And it ain’t that easy. Many people I meet in the ‘Kneipe’ prefer the dominant regional beer ‘Bitburg’ to the various Koelsch types… I started off with the wrong one ‘Gaffel’ not one that I rate high at all (see below). Reminds me of a fine marketing concept to produce a beer that accommodates to the average taste of the man in the street…a bit like our Dutch ‘Heineken’. As a general rule now I start with a Koelsch or a Hefeweizen (which is something different altogether) and then finish with a Bitburg-‘Bitte ein Bit’. Now readers, don’t get me wrong here…a few glasses a day would remain below the average drinking standard and habit of normal Germans. I now have seen how the Germans carry away the beer in crates and in small barrels (Faesschen of 5 upto 50 litres) from special ‘drink supermarkets’  to enjoy at home or fuel up a party. And…beer is cheap at half a USD a pint in the supermarket!

As far as I am aware Germany is about the only country that has dealt properly with the issue of empty bottles and cans. On all glass and pet bottles and all cans throughout the country is quite an interesting deposit. An empty can will fetch you back 25 eurocents/35 dollarcents at any supermarket; same as for a pet bottle. So in one stroke the Germans turned a problem into an opportunity: it is not unusual to see the ‘unemployed’ looking for these empty cans and pet bottles in public places. You throw one away..and you can be sure someone will pick it up within minutes. Streets are completely clean of bottles and cans. In fact the value of a can could be half the price of the value of the beer inside!!  

There is an interesting website:  koelschfuehrer.de which argues that there a 13 permanently operating  breweries  in Cologne. There is another list which gives you a total number of 87 known names of Koelsch beers enumerated sofar. Doesn’t mean you can buy these beers…  A rough estimate from me is that some 30 Koelsch types can be found on and off. The big commercial Koelsch breweries are: Gaffel, Reissdorf, and Frueh. Followed by the smaller ones Gilden, Peters, Muehlen, Dom, and Sion. You can look these up in downtown Cologne and drink at the brewery (with Sausage, Kraut, Potatoes etc.) Definitely recommended! I spent one hour at Paeffgen Brauhaus in the Friesenstrasse / simply perfect.
And today 30th March I visited the premises of the now more or less commercially closed Ganser Koelsch brewery in Leverkusen...Hey this place is not in Koeln  but is a large city by itself. It is also said that a brewery could use the name 'Koelsch' if from its site one could see the world renowned Cathedral in Cologne. Perhaps that was the case in 1879 when this brewery started. At present the brewery is surrounded by tall buildings as it sits in the commercial district. Nevertheless..the Kroatian restaurant 'Zagreb' (very good food, Preiswert) next to the brewery served me a wonderful Ganser Koelsch in a large 0,3 litres glass with a gold rim and the pretty logo. The beermat says: die Liebe der Familie GANSER gehoert seit 1879 ihrem Bier und seiner rheinischen Heimat. Wow...a family that lived through generations with the objective to brew ever better beer. How great a profession and job that is! Live it up with Ganser Koelsch.
Finally there is close to Bonn and annually during the summer (July-August) the largest beer tasting outdoor event in the world.  All the Koelsch beers that are being brewed will be presented. I hope to attend if not this year, but certainly before I get old.

I have tasted so far 20 different types of the approx. 30 types one could possibly find…and rated the taste from 1 to 5 stars (*…..*****) / please note that of all these types I drank at least 2 glasses..or more!

Dom  3-4                            Sion  3                                 Gaffel  2-3                          Sester  3                  Gilden  3-4

Frueh  4                               Muehlen  4-3                     Hansa  3                              Richmodis  3          Hellers  3-4

Reissdorf  3-4                    Kueppers  3                        Giesler  3                            Suennen  3             Paeffgen  4-3

Traugott Simon  2-3         Schreckenskammer 3       Peters 3-4                           Zunft   3     Ganser 3-4

Frueh (Alkoholfrei) very tasty nevertheless 3-4 (rare to find!) 

So ‘Frueh’ Koelsch is at present my favourite; which is what I drink at my apartment in the G-Hotel in Bonn – Friesdorf.             

And in Bonn, during the carnival, I had a few  dark ‘Boennsch’…same sort of brew like  Koelsch…and rated it with 3 stars. And more recently with Stefan and Florian...a 'Boennsch' hefe und trueb...terrible stuff, undrinkable...rating less than 2! 

This note was written specifically to advise beer drinking connaisseurs and friends:  Gerard van der Meeren (amateur beer brewing champion Netherlands 1980), Dwayne Sedig. Mark Neeson, Liz Satow, Mark Janz, Harry Donsbach, Nicole Peter, Cor van den Hurk, Gerd Leers, Keith Buck,  Biya Han, Joerg Heinrich, Gerard Verstappen, Steve Hailey, Wolfgang Jamann and many others who may prefer not to see their name mentioned here…haha!

And of course in the USA on the West Coast my friend Dwayne says 'Koelsch' is being brewed by the micro breweries...Love to taste it as well!

Viele Gruesse von der Anton, Antonius, hic…Ton

Bonn – Bad Godesberg 5^th March 2014