Cologne - Kölsch Explorations

After three posts waffling on about craft beer bars, rotten weather in Aachen, and lower league football in Siegen, let me return to my base in Cologne and sample a few varieties of the local brew.

Kölsch has protected geographical indication status, meaning it has to be brewed within 50km of the city.  It also has to follow conventions set by the Cologne Brewing Society and brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot.

I was under the impression there were loads of different versions of Kölsch to try, but it turns out not to be the case.  There are 15 brands, eight of which are brewed in the same place (Früh), two of which are smaller brewers in satellite towns of Cologne, and one which is brewed for supermarket chain REWE.
Brewing giants Radeberger own six brands, but as they aren't able to outsource brewing to wherever the German equivalent of Burton-on-Trent is without losing that protected status, they've struck up a deal with Früh to contract brew for them within that 50km limit.

This post sees me knocking back 7 of the brands in the city centre at the venues below...

Früh and Sion are the obvious ommisions on my central map - both skipped on this occasion as I've visited previously and realised there was only so much Kölsch I could drink during one trip.

Let's start at the bottom of the map with a lunchtime visit to Malzmühle.
If I can get there in one piece...
From the Heumarkt you're the wrong side of a tricky road layout - there were no less than 7 sets of traffic lights to tackle, tram lines to cross, and buses swinging into a layby to present one extra traffic hazzard before reaching the front door.

Brauerei zur Malzmühle (Heumarkt 6, 50667 Köln)
Malzmühle was rebuilt after the war, the grey stone doorway being all that was standing of the original building.  A revolving door whisks you into a pleasant interior of dark wood panels and traditional-looking rooms spread over a couple of floors.

Drinker-only, I was directed to a high table near the stairs and provided my first 200ml stange of Mühlen Kölsch...

€2.40 a glass, the beer mat marked with each one delivered to the table.  The small measures are supposed to ensure your beer is always fresh, the expectation being that you'll stay and chalk up a few of those marks.
Mühlen was somewhere I was happy to have a few - their interpretation of the style has a malty touch, which makes sense being as they're named after a grain mill which once used to stand on the market square. 
Very smart loos in the basement, too, with a nice bit of bottle top decoration...

Next up, Gilden, at the impressive gabled building on the market place...

Gilden im Zims “Heimat kölscher Helden" (Heumarkt 77, 50667 Köln)
This is the same thing that caught me out in Aachen - wonderful looking exterior tempting me in...dubious modern interior.  Malzmühle's revolving door was good.  Having to push aside a heavy curtain that drapes around the door is ideal.  Automatic sliding doors, as experienced here, are a feature that don't belong in pubs or bars.
This is somewhere that has recently had a hi-spec refurb making it all very smart whilst keeping to the trad layout of tall casual tables near the bar and dining rooms beyond.  Fake wooden barrels dispensing the beer stood on an immaculate stainless steel bar counter with neon signage on the front of it.
Oh well, at least I got to try another brand of kölsch, this one now part of the Radeberger empire.

The Gilden was priced at €2.40 a glass again, although I wasn't as keen on this one as the Mühlen - a bit too carbonated and indistinguishable from a pils for my liking.  A couple proved enough sat in this touristy place with a disco pop soundtrack, the cover version of Coldplay's 'Clocks' signalling it was definitely time to move on.

It's just a short walk through the altermarkt to reach the next venue: past the wedding parties taking photos in front of the unphotogenic modern side of the town hall, and the workmen laying cables in the first prep for the Christmas market.
A right turn down Mühlengasse took me to Peters.

Peters Brauhaus (Mühlengasse 1, 50667 Köln)

Not the friendliest staff encountered in the city, the person by the front door deciding shuffling a pile of menus was more important that paying me any heed.
So I took myself to the taproom to exactly the same spot I propped myself almost 10 years ago when I was last here.  This area has one giant table in front of the bar counter with huge 1.FC Köln flag hung above it.  A good spot if you want to watch the barman filling the circular kranz carriers in which the kobes whisk eleven or more beers around the bar, replacing any empty glasses.

This site has brewing history, being the home of Brauhaus zum Kranz until 1898, before spending most of the 20th century in different guises.  It looks traditional within, but Peter's only took over in 1994 and created their version of a brauhaus.
No denying they've done a pretty spectacular job, especially the back room...

Next up, one of the handiest trad kölsch outlets in the city.
Gaffel am Dom is directly opposite the towering spires of the cathedral - the view from the seats around the barrels in the front window are a stunner.  It's also very handily a couple of minutes from the railway station contributing to the fact that it always seems to be busy.

Gaffel am Dom - Brauhaus (Bahnhofsvorpl. 1, 50667 Köln)
Gaffel trace their history back to a brewery on Eigelstein which was first documented in 1302.  At the beginning of the 20th century, the Becker brothers purchased the brewery and started concoting ales under the name Gaffel, turning this into one of the cities best-sellers.  They're  currently the second biggest Cologne brewer in terms of output.
Not that any of it is brewed in the 'brauhaus' - the shiny coppers are just for show...

I went into this place with little expectation and found I really like it.
Characterful rooms bsutling with trade, plenty of casual drinking tables at the front.
I had a couple of the Gaffel kölsch, then switched to their Wiess, a cloudy unfiltered wheat beer, weighing in at 5%.  It was a joy to nurse a large mug after a succession of 200ml glasses.  And it was oh so drinkable. 

Time to call into what's now the only remaining brewpub in the centre of town.
It's a bit of a trek through the eastern streets of the innerstadt to reach Päffgen, but most sources tend to agree that this is an essential visit.

Brauerei Päffgen (Friesenstraße 64-66, 50670 Köln)

Unfortunately, I have no pictures to justify how nice this pub is within.  The main room is a long beerhall-like space with wood panels part-way up the walls, plentiful coat pegs, some stylish lighting, and grand old pictures on yellowed walls.

As the solo drinker though, I grabbed a table along the central corridor, which in the past would have provided access from the street for the carts ferrying beer from the brewhouse at the back out to the street for deliveries.

So, another good spot for watching the beer being poured from the 10l barrels - note also the pulley system to winch the next ones into place.
I found the Päffgen by far the most drinkable kölsch - light and fruity with a subtle spicy flavour - those 200ml glasses seem to empty themselves remarkably quickly.

Next up was a Kölsch brewer that I almost missed, despite their tap being just a couple of minutes from my hotel.
The Brauhaus zur Schreckenskammer is located north of the station, next door to the Basilica St Ursula - a church which is well worth visiting but which keeps limited and challenging opening hours.

The pub hours aren't that straightforward either - I'd had to wait until the 4:30pm opening time.

Schreckenskammer (Ursulagartenstraße 11-15, 50668 Köln)
Rather worryingly, the name translates as 'Chamber of Horrors' although there is nothing to justify this ghoulish moniker within the 1950's bar.
The brewery dates back much further and was once located on the route to the cities execution site.  So legend has it that the condemned were ushered into the bar for a last meal, which may just be where the name comes from.  Or maybe not...

To the right of the front door is a homely dining room with decor that gives it a lot more character than you'd expect on first glance outside.  Turn left on the way in and there is a vertical drinking area with several high tables and propping spots adjacent to the bar counter.

The Schreckenskammer kölsch is another good'un.
They may be small measures but were adding up and I was at that stage where photographing the WC signage seemed essential.
And, more worryingly, it took me a second glance to work out which was which.

 

Finally, with dark descending on the city frightfully early on these short November days, I called in to Sünner, right in the centre of town.

Brauhaus Sünner im Walfisch (Salzgasse 13, 50667 Köln)
I've saved the one 'til last from which the name kölsch appears to have originated.  The top fermenting pale beer they'd been brewing since 1906 was first referred to as kölsch in 1918.

It's possible to drink it at source in the brewery in Kalk in the west of the city (where they also brew Mühlen) although I never quite timed it right to make the trip out there.

That said, this building on Salzgasse is a striking one and their 1996 makeover has created pleasant and cosy rooms within - not a sliding door or neon sign in sight.

To the right of the front door is a drinking area with a one large communal table with bench seating surrounding it and a graveyard of tall 5-litre drinking vessels on the windowsill behind.  (I once watched those being filled in a bar in Mainz - a tricky operation that makes the collection of cracked and broken tops no surprise).

I think that the Sünner kölsch was the priciest I encountered at €2.50 a glass, although it seemed worth it to be drinking in the characterful old building.

And with that I'm declaring: Quite enought Kölsch, thank you very much.

More Craft Beer on Malta

Our base for a week sweltering in Malta was Buġibba, on the north-east of the island.
Architecturally, it's a nightmare of modern apartment blocks and busy roads, with a barren area of scrub-land in the middle of the peninsula, home to the town's cats.

On the plus side, you get sunsets...

An authentic megalithic temple in the grounds of the Double Tree hotel...

And a great crest for the local football team...

But, it has to be said that Buġibba isn't really a great destination for the artisan beer enthusiast. 
Cisk is the dominant beer, strangely preferred in bottles or cans in some of the bars.  We saw a fair bit of the Farsons range, from the same brewing conglomerate as Cisk, as well as lots of Guinness, Stella, Heineken, and - the oddly prolific - Charles Wells 'Bombardier'.

Our best local bar turned out to be the Craftsman Tap...

The Craftsman Tap (Triq Il-Port, San Pawl il-Baħar)
An interesting first visit on a Saturday evening found the place thriving with all tables taken in the cool air-conditioned interior, and a gentleman entertaining the masses.
Apologies, I can't credit either the singer in his snazzy suit, nor the owner of the grizzled elbow in my picture. 

I grabbed a Huskie 'IPA', Huskie being the country's lesser-seen craft micro.  

The bar also served two beers from the Sliema brewpub, somewhere we planned to visit ourselves.  But, bizarrely, the handful of English customers served whilst I waited at the bar all opted for cans of Skol.  

The crooning was too loud and drove us outside to the terrace within a couple of songs, darts from Blackpool providing the entertainment on the outdoor TV.

When we returned mid-week, the bar was much quieter, although had a steady succession of locals trotting in to say hello to the staff and sink a couple of beers.
Hits of the 80's on TV proved easier to handle than the live entertainment and we sat inside on uncomfortable cocktail bar stools, back on the Huskie IPA and the same breweries 'Chaos' stout from the bottle fridge.

We needed to travel a little further afield for some more adventurous beer finds.
On Thursday afternoon we caught the bus for the 45 minute ride south, through St Julian's, and on to Sliema.
36°C is probably enough to deter even the most committed of persons on a Curated Cisk Pub Crawl.  It wasn't long before I was grumbling about the sweaty patches engulfing my shirt and my annual summer holiday sunburn incident.

Still up in the thirties in the evening: it was really too hot for wandering around bars, but we tried our best.

The first point of call, on the Sliema waterfront (as long as you ignore the four lanes of road between the buildings and the sea) is Malta's brewpub.

 

The Brew Grill & Brewery (74 The Strand Tas, Tas-Sliema)
Everyone had gravitated towards the seating on the covered terrace out front, although I have no idea what makes people intent to sit outside when it's so hot.  We were initially the only customers inside, where it was a little cooler in the basement room, although it filled up nicely whilst we were there.

Here's the beer list, a couple of the ales unavailable on our visit, although we made light work of making our way through everything else that was on offer.
In fact, we nailed the beer list and finished on Dry Hard Cider (an unwise 8%) and IPArol Spritz (just unwise in general).

My favourite was the APA, although kudos for a quality Bourbon Stout, the bourbon flavours making it taste more like an imperial than the (still quite hefty) 7% that it was.

Hey, I haven't included a shiny brewing equipment picture on the blog for some time...

Making an exit from the brewpub, we branched off into the narrow streets of Sliema to a pub with an exotic-sounding name.

The Salisbury Arms (81 Triq Il-Kbira, Sliema)
Yep, it's English run, will show you Premier League football, and serve you an English breakfast and pint of John Smith's Smooth.

Mrs PropUptheBar splashed out on the grilled swordfish whilst I went for the budget friendly €9.50 Maltese cottage cheese pasta.  An authentic Maltese dish, apparently, and about the only traditional dish I'd be likely to have with the others being very rabbit-orientated.

The TV screens showed local football team Ħamrun Spartans tackling Armenian side Pyunik in a Champions League qualifying match.  Oh, I might have made the effort to go to the ground had I known that was happening.  Although it was stupidly hot to be watching football. Let alone playing it - no idea how they managed to run around in such temperatures.

Right, just time to bring you an unnecessary picture of the WC signage... 

And to search those football scarves hung from the ceiling for one from a decent team.
Ah, there you go! 😊

We had one more pub on our short list to visit on this hot evening.
Which was probably just as well, as all that beer and cider at The Brew had gone to my head. 

Hole in the Wall Bar & Cafe (31 High Street, Sliema)
This building was originally a stables before it was sold and converted to a bar in 1922.
It's certainly a smart and interesting place, proffering coffee, cake, craft beer, and arts and music events.  The Hole in the Wall gets mentioned in most lists of beer places on Malta, although I didn't think it was great as a beer bar.  No taps, just a small selection of cans and bottles in the fridge.

I picked a Stretta 'Pale Ale' in a can, one of the Maltese breweries that had eluded me until this point.
We took our drinks and sat on a table next to the free, multi-game arcade machine and before I knew it I was hooked.
Lots of joystick wiggling trying to remember those special moves on Tekken.

And that proved to be quite enough, thank you very much.
We caught the next bus back to Buġibba - welll...jumped in front of it as it tried to speed past our stop, is more accurate.

Somehow, my capacity for beer regenerated on the bus ride and I thought it was a good idea to pop into Fat Harry's Pub for a nightcap. 
On the busy main square of Buġibba, this was a reasonable English pub, bedecked with all the necessary olde worlde pub tat within, and selling the decent Red Mill Brewing Co IPA on draft.

Here it is in the daytime...

And here it is inside of an evening - all the custom preferring the terrace to the back room with its Bass breweriana and Cisk flags.

 

We had an enjoyable week in Malta, battling the heat to complete a packed itinerary of churches, catacombs, air-raid shelters, megalithic stones, and the odd dip in the sea.
And I think we did a fair job of sampling a few craft beers alongside the Cisk, before catching out flight home.

Cheerio, Malta.