Viktoria Köln and Craft Beer

Finally I've managed to make another Bundelisga & Beer trip to Germany - the first since Mannheim and Hoffenheim in 2019 - I'm somehow still blaming the pandemic for the gap.
This time around it's Budesliga 3 side Viktoria Köln and Kölsch beer.

So without further ado...let's get on with trying to enter the ground through the wrong turnstiles and stickering the toilets.

With a 13:15 departure from Heathrow I'd figured I would have loads of time for a leisurely saunter to the stadium, which was a miscalculation on my part.  Not helped by the S19 crawling on a stop-start trip to the from the airport to the hauptbahnhof in three-times the time it usually takes.  Then being defuddled by the transport maps after dropping my bag at the hotel and trying to leave Neumarkt underground station by every exit except the right one to catch tram 1.  The sight of a couple of football scarves reassured me I was heading the right way.

Sportpark Höhenberg, in the east of the city, is a short - very dark - walk from the tram stop of the same name.  I purchased my €15 stehplatz ticket from a portacabin and proceeded to try and enter through the wrong gate - which has become something of a tradition on these trips.

Once in the right gate, the rather alarming Gillingham-style stand greeted me...

I would have been slightly nervous had everyone decided to bounce in unison.
And slightly unhappy had it decided to pour with rain.

Behind the scaffolding holding the stand up was a merchandise hut, a bratwurst counter, and a beer stall.  I procurred myself a Früh kölschand settled on found myself a good spot.

The handful of Ingolstadt fans were situated on the (more stable looking) terrace at the half-way line.  The team from Bavaria spent a couple of seasons from 2015-17 in the top flight but have bounced between 2nd and 3rd tiers since.  I figured they may have brought more fans until I realised their journey had been a longer one than mine from Oxford.

The game was mostly dominated by Viktoria, despite the two sides sitting next to one another - 10th and 11th - in the league and Ingolstadt having had better results in the past few matches.
And yet...against the run of play...Ingolstadt opened the scoring on 16 minutes, driving a long ball down the pitch which was cooly slotted in.

It took until ten minutes into the second half for Köln to make their possession count, David Otto tapping in a long throw that landed handily at his feet in front of goal.  I celebrated with another Früh.

Viktoria seems like a very friendly little club to visit.  I was comfortable on the terrace behind the goal with the drum-banging, flag-waving support - a wide range of different folk around me.  There were a few English voices to be heard, including those of a gang of Merseysiders who were spilling more and more of their beers from the cardboard carriers as they kept on topping up supplies.

Lex Tyger Lobinger (Lex Tyger? Have I really got that right?) gave Viktoria the lead on 68 minutes, then sealed the 3-points on the 78 minute mark with a superb volley, ensuring the majority of the 3,612 crowd went home happy.

I made a quick trip to the surprisingly well-maintained toilet block where the ceramic tiling provides an impressive gallery of Viktoria Köln stickers...

 

How did that get there?....

I returned to the city centre on the same tram line - this time an uncomfortable squash in the carriages with lots of people seemingly heading for a ghoulish night out, some inventive make-up and costumes donned for Halloween.
Time for post match craft beer for me...

Craft Beer Corner (Martinstraße 32, 50667 Köln, Germany)
Confusingly not really on a corner - it's only currently the last building on the street due to a building site next door.
This was a pleasant bar with several rooms, hops hanging from the ceiling, a decent Friday night crowd in, and a cracking beer list.

A mostly German-Belgian line-up from which I had no idea what to pick at first glance.
Hence I ended up conceding to halloween and ordering the Strabenbrau 'Pumpkin Ale', a 6% brown concoction from Berlin.

Then I was slightly foolish and grabbed myself the Hop Hooligans 'Apple Pie Lullaby'.  A 14% beast of a sweet chewy imperial porter from Romania's big craft brewery.  And - wow! - it was good.

I was in danger of getting no further than Craft Corner on my first night in Cologne.
So I made a concerted effort to catch the metro to the suburb of Ehrenfeld and tick off the second of the 'must-do' beard-stroking craft beer spots. 

Braustelle (Christianstraße 2, 50825 Köln, Germany)

Now this one is on a corner - in a bustling neighbourhood - looking not dissimilar to a pub you might find in north or west London.  It's open-plan within: an L-shaped layout with a section to the back containing brewing kit.
I took the easy option and grabbed a stool at the bar, ordering myself a 5% brown ale: 'Auturn Leaves', costing €4 for 0.3l.
Okay, not the best place to grab a picture of the place...

The Braustelle beers were chalked onto the beam nearby - the Triple Bock shouting out "go on, you know you want me!"
After a day travelling, racing across town to the football and forgetting to eat tea, a 9.4% beer at midnight probably wasn't ideal.  
What harm could it do?

With the beneft of hindsight, it'll make getting started the next day twice as hard as it should be - lying in bed eating cold Ditsch pizza slices whilst glued to Christmas movies dubbed in German.
I'll leave with a late night shot of the Braustelle brewing kit, before finding more German craft brews in Aachen in the next post.