Kölsch Beer 🍻 Guide for Cologne, Germany
What You Need to Know About Kölsch
Kölsch is not only a beer in Cologne. It also refers to the entire local culture, including the dialect, the humor and people. There is a saying in Cologne that says “Kölsch is the only culture that you can drink.”
As such, there are a lot of traditions and rituals involved in drinking Kölsch and visiting a Kölsch brewery (brauhaus in German). If you are planning to visit one of the Kölsch beer halls, there are a few things you need to know ahead of time.
🍻 Kölsch beer is always served in small .2L glasses called a Stange. Due to the smaller serving size, the idea is that the beer will remain cold by the time you’re ready for the next one.
🍻Refills will come as soon as you near the bottom of your glass, (i.e. without reordering). To keep track of how many Kölsch you’ve consumed, the server will make a small tick mark or tally mark on your coaster.
🍻Servers carry around specially designed trays for the glasses called a Kranz. The Kranz usually has slots that hold around 16 Stange glasses, preventing them from tipping or falling over. With this handy tool, the Köbes are able to walk around the brauhaus, swapping empties for full ones and marking coasters as they go.
🍻 Signal that you're ready to pay the bill by putting the coaster on top of your empty glass.
