A Pub Crawl Through Cologne, Germany

Cologne-DomAerialIt's Kölsch in Köln. Kölsch is an ale rather than a lager. Virtually every brewer in Cologne makes one and serves it in small 200ml straight-sided narrow glasses for about 1.25 to 1.80€. It's a style that goes back 750 years. Actually most of the Kölsch in town is almost as indistinguishable from each other as Bud is from Miller - understandable since most are brewed in the same plant.

Almost all of these houses serve their Kölsch by gravity from a pseudo-wood cask. There's still plenty of carbonation since it was pressurized when filled.

Waiters (köbes) carry 12 200ml Kölsch glasses (stangen) in trays (kranz) for easier service. They'll just drop a fresh glass off at your table. If you leave your table for a minute with an empty glass you'll probably find a fresh beer there when you return. Leave your mat on the glass if you don't want any more.

They keep track of your tab by pencil marks on your mat. To avoid confusion, be sure to have a clean mat when you sit down. And remember, it's not fair to switch mats in mid session.

Another local term is schwemme (swimming area) that refers to the area directly in front of the tap. The main hard-drinking location for, say someone who has to catch a train. We suggest keeping your distance to preserve the shine on the top of your shoes. People are friendly of course and you'll find various strata mixing amiably. The only real taboo is asking for an Alt - that's from Düsseldorf, about 25 miles north.

Beer is the great equalizer here. Karl Marx is quoted as saying communism wouldn't work in Cologne because the bosses drink in the same pubs as the workers.

Here's a pub crawl through the Altstadt (downtown) that you can really crawl. Not even a mile between start and finish. Start at the Dom (the magnificent cathedral near the train station) and work southward. You can sample 9 different brewery outputs and at 200ml each, you may not really be crawling at the end.

Cologne got creamed during WWII and the Altstadt area is all new construction. Never mind; many of the interiors have been put back to olden days and even the new places now have 50 years of history.

 

Cologne-Fruh

Cologne-Gilden

Fruh occupies both of these buildings.
Dining rooms to the left, bars to the right.

Alter Morchi Treff

Cologne-Sion

Cologne-Pfaffen1
 

Zum Paffgen

   Cologne-Peters1 Cologne-Gaffel
Cologne-Kulisse Cologne-Walfisch Cologne-Malzmuhle

Früh am Dom - Closest to the Dom - Just across the square to the south. There are at least 10 rooms in this sprawling place, 5 of them down in the brick vaulted keller. Absurdly busy. Very fast and efficient food service. An overhead crane in the keller brings in new kegs - neat.

Brauhaus Sion - Just east on Am Dom. A hotel restaurant with a convenient stop-in-for-one spot at the serving station. Brewed by Kölner Verbund.

Peters Brauhaus - At the north end of the Alter Markt, this whole place looks like a dignified hotel lobby. The arched glass ceiling is magnificent and recreates the elegance of old German brauhaus interiors.

Gaffel Haus - On the Alt Market. A busy stop-in local with a stammstisch area (a table, often round, where the locals drink. They sell their normal Kolsch along with a light and a non-alcoholic version all served via carbon dioxide.

Alter Morchi Treff - A Gilden outlet just south of the Gafel Haus on the Alter Markt. It's fairly nondescript - very plain. Brewed by Kölner Verbund.

Kulisse - Dom Kölsch's Alter Markt house next to the Alter Morchi Treff. An older facade with German music at 80 decibels and a lot more people. Lots of laughing. 3, 5, and 10-liter towers on tables might explain why. Scene of a large incident during the 2005 World Cup. That pretty well explains this pub.


Cologne-MuseumTwo optional party stops on Buttermarkt

A block east of Kulisse is the Beirmuseum with 35 taps and rowdy German-language rock music, even on a Sunday afternoon. You won't be able to get in at night - too busy.

Next door is Papa Joes Jazz Lokal. New Orleans music and the highest Kölsch price (and biggest glasses - 400ml). Has a band all day and night.


Sünner im Walfisch - A block south. It has all the proper ambiance but it's all new inside from the 1960s when it was converted from a wine bar. Actually the whole building was moved here in the 1930s. The Kölsch tasted flat on our last visit. Very bitter. They also make a hefeweizen that is rich in banana - true Bavarian. Have a snack of Halve Hahn - a rye bread roll with cheese, butter, and pungent mustard.

Ausschank Zum Paffgen - In the Heumarkt just east of Walfisch. Their Pfaffen beer is served from the wood and is richer and fruitier than most. Stained glass and carvings have a humorous theme (below).

Brauerei Zur Malzmühle - The Muhlen (Malt Mill) is at the south side of the Heumarkt downtown. It's a 60s looking place with the brewery right next door. Clinton stopped here in 1999 for a beer as did the Visible Light tour. Our favorite so leave time for a meal.

Cologne-Pfaffen2 Cologne-Pfaffen3

Clowns have been a part of the Cologne scene since Shrove Monday carnivals began in 1823.

Humor inside the Zum Paffgen

Cologne-Peters2

Dictionary-Kranz

The magnificent ceiling in Peters Brauhaus.

Kranz with 12 Kolsch stangen plus 6 in the middle. Picture by Tim Bartel


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Papa Joes on Buttermarkt. Not to be confused with the one on the Alter Markt.

Dribs and Drams–Turkey & Gravy edition

Nope, no Gravy beer although the internet has lots of Beer Gravy recipes.

The Beer Barons bring news about Scarlet Lane in McCordsville. Simon Sothras has joined as head brewer. He comes from Nnikasi Brewing of Oregon. article

Flat 12 has opened an outlet in Jeffersonville. Grand opening party Dec. 6. info

Following Bank Street Brewery’s lead, “Sun King launches silly menu to follow the law” article

Headline: Speaker Bosma opens the door to Sunday liquor sales article

Indianapolis Monthly has done a 10-part look at a list of “Best New Breweries”.

Black Acre (Indy east side)
Cutters (Avon)
Indiana City (Indy downtown)
Outliers (Indy Mass. Ave)
Quaff On (Nashville)
Scarlet Lane (McCordsville)
Taxman (Bargersville)
Tow Yard (Indy downtown)
Twenty Below (Indy Broad Ripple)
Union (Carmel)

Other recent Indianapolis Monthly articles:

Trickle-Down Economics: A Local-Brewers Family Tree. A look at the moves of brewers and equipment as they have moved. From Indianapolis Brewing Co. through Twenty Below. Click your View Image to see the chart. article

Is Indy Really A Craft-Beer Boomtown? article

Headline from Eric Strader: Canned beer is making a comeback, thanks to popularity with craft breweries article


Headline: 11 Ways Hard Cider Shaped American History article

Headline: Kentucky Bar Selling Rare Bourbon In $10 Jell-O Shots Because Why Not? article

Headline: Dogfish Head to Debut a Beer Full of Breakfast Food. It’s flavored with scrapple and will debut Dec 5. article article2

Headline from Boston: State investigates brewers, others on pay-to-play allegations article article2

Headline: Pabst Blue Ribbon Remains American, Wasn’t Actually Purchased By Russian Brewing Company article

Headline: Is Seattle Seahawks Stadium Watering Down Fans’ Beer? For instance, Bud is4.4% instead of 5.0%. article

Headline: Weird alcoholic beverages from around the world (10 Photos) article

Headline: This Woman Is on a Quest to Have a Drink in Every ‘Red Lion’ Pub in the UK. She’s already been to over 500 of them. article

Oktoberfest saw 6.3 million visitors in Munich. They drank 6.5 million mass (1-liter mugs)

Police recorded a drop in crime this year to 1,290 offenses, down from 1,525 in 2013. The incidents included at least one attempted heist of a trolley full of beer mugs and the destruction of a ‘monster’ in a fairground ghost train by a visitor who had taken offense at being spooked. The lost property office declared it had received, among other items, 230 pairs of spectacles, two wedding rings, a set of dentures, a French horn, and a ball and chain.

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Northeast Indiana Girls Pint Out - Press Release


Press Release - Girls Pint Out Announces a New Chapter in Northeast Indiana

Girls Pint Out is happy to announce that Northeast Indiana is the newest Girls Pint Out chapter.

Northeast Indiana Girls Pint Out will be holding their first event on November 20, 2014 at 6:00 PM. It will be a Ladies Choice Tap Takeover hosted by JK O’Donnell’s Irish Ale House in Fort Wayne, featuring 10 taps from breweries where women are brewers, owners, movers and shakers.

Girls Pint Out originated in Indianapolis, Indiana in early 2010. The Girls Pint Out movement quickly spread to Arizona and Texas. Today Girls Pint Out has more than 50 chapters in over 30 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Our mission is to build a community of women who love craft beer and who are an active, contributing part of the greater craft beer community.

Through social media, blog posts, and local events hosted by chapters, Girls Pint Out offers a forum for discussion, education, and fun. Events are educational, charitable, and/or social. The majority of events are women-only, but sometimes men are invited.  Events are as diverse as the chapters that plan them and the ladies that attend them!  There is no secret code to get in the door. It doesn't matter if you have just ventured into the world of IPAs and stouts, or consider yourself a craft beer drinking pro. Unless the event information states otherwise, to “join Girls Pint Out” you merely show up for a pint.

Girls Pint Out, a non-profit corporation, has filed its application to become a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

If you are interested in more information, hosting or sponsoring an event, please contact Rebekah Bailey rbailey@girlspintout.com

Social Media Contacts:
Website:          www.girlspintout.org
Facebook:       www.facebook.com/girlspintout (national)
                       www.facebook.com/NEIndianaGirlsPintOut (local)
Twitter:            @girlspintout (national)
                        @NEIndianaGPO (local)



Drims and Drabs, Early snowbird edition

Todd Antz has moved Keg Liquors to a new store down the road. 4304 Charlestown Road, New Albany.

Another brewery is looking for a variance to open in New Albany. Charles Halwerk is looking to open the Wrecker Brewing Co. at 1419 E. Market Street next February.

The question of cold beer in convenience stores is going to come up again. Headline: Cold beer fight heating up again, Indiana convenience stores file appeal article

Headline: Villagers enjoyed impromptu party after beer truck overturned. article

Headline: Heroism during Ottawa shooting leads to free beer for Alain Gervais article
Facts. The Molson rep and the House of Commons bought him “several hundred” bottles of Molson and Coors (his choice). Favorite quote: "We just need to constantly make sure that that person never has to pay for a beer at any pub in the country for the rest of his life."

Headline: Minneapolis firm awards beer to workers who fill out their timecards article

How to turn a pumpkin into a beer keg (although you’ll have to put those eyes and mouth back in. video

Mike Atwood has reminded us that Nov 25th is the birthday of Carrie Nation and Dec 5 is the birthday of Prohibition’s demise.

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