Kölsch (beer)


Kölsch is a style of beer originating in Cologne, Germany. It has an original gravity between 11 and 14 degrees Plato. In appearance, it is bright and clear with a straw-yellow hue.
Since 1997, the term "Kölsch" has had a protected geographical indication within the European Union, indicating a beer that is made within of the city of Cologne and brewed according to the Kölsch Konvention as defined by the members of the Cologne Brewery Association. Kölsch is one of the most strictly defined beer styles in Germany: according to the Konvention, it is a pale, highly attenuated, hoppy, bright top-fermenting beer, and must be brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot.
Kölsch is warm fermented with top-fermenting yeast, then conditioned at cold temperatures like a lager. This brewing process is similar to that used for Düsseldorf's altbier.

History

Bottom-fermented beer started to appear in the Cologne region in the early 17th century and its popularity threatened the business interest of the brewers of Cologne, who only produced top-fermented beers. In response, the town council of Cologne in 1603 forced young brewers to swear an oath "that you prepare your beer, as of old, from good malt, good cereals, and good hops, well-boiled, and that you pitch it with top-yeast, and by no means with bottom yeast." In 1676 and again in 1698, the council again tried to legislate against bottom-fermented beer by forbidding its sale within the city walls. However, by 1750, Cologne brewers were competing against bottom-fermented beers by using a hybridized brewing process, first brewing their beer using top-fermenting yeast but then aging the beer in cold cellars like bottom-fermented beer.
This type of beer was first called Kölsch in 1918 to describe the beer that had been brewed by the Sünner brewery since 1906, developed from the similar but cloudier variant #Wieß. By the start of World War II Cologne had more than forty breweries; only two were left by the end of the war.
In 1946, many of the breweries managed to re-establish themselves. In the 1940s and 1950s, Kölsch still could not match the sales of bottom-fermented beer, but in the 1960s the style began to rise in popularity in the Cologne beer market. From a production of only in 1960, Cologne's beer production peaked at in 1980. In the 21st century, price increases and changing drinking habits caused economic hardship for many of the traditional corner bars and smaller breweries, and by 2005 output had declined to.
In 1986, the brewers of Cologne agreed upon the Kölsch Konvention, which set out the brewing process that had to be used, and restricted the use of Kölsch to breweries that were within of Köln. In 1997, Kölsch became a product with protected geographical indication, expanding this protection to the entire EU. Currently thirteen breweries in and around Cologne meet this convention, anchored by Früh Kölsch, Gaffel Kölsch, Reissdorf and . Smaller brewers include Mühlen-Kölsch and.
Exports of Kölsch to the United States, Russia, China and Brazil are increasing. Exported Kölsch does not need to strictly comply with the Provisional German Beer Law, the current implementation of the Reinheitsgebot.
BreweryEstablishedAnnual output in hectolitres
Heinrich Reissdorf1894650,000
Gaffel Becker & Co1908500,000
Cölner Hofbräu Früh1904440,000

Serving

In Cologne, Kölsch is traditionally served in a tall, thin, cylindrical glass called a Stange. The server, called a Köbes, carries eleven or twelve Stangen in a Kranz, a circular tray resembling a crown or wreath. Instead of waiting for the drinker to order a refill, the Köbes immediately replaces an empty Stange with a full one, marking a tick on the coaster under the Stange. If the drinker does not want another refill, he or she places the coaster on top of the empty Stange and pays for the number of beers marked on the coaster.

Wieß

Wieß is a cloudy, unfiltered version of Kölsch.

Outside the EU

As noted above, Kölsch is a product which has a protected geographical indication in the EU. This protection is not recognized outside the jurisdiction of the EU, and many breweries outside the EU produce and market beer as "kolsch" or "kölsch" with varying degrees of authenticity.