Beer House Walking Tour (Self Guided), Cologne

In Cologne they say, "Kölsch is the only language you can drink." Brewed only here and nowhere else, Kölsch – a light beer, slightly bitter, bright yellow in color, and made of top-fermented yeast – is forbidden for production in any other part of Germany.

Each licensed brewery in the city makes its own variation of Kölsch, served traditionally in a tall, thin, cylindrical 200-ml (6.8 US fl oz) glass called a Stange ("pole" or "rod"). In keeping with the local ritual, the server, called a Köbes, carries eleven or twelve Stangen in a Kranz ("wreath"), a circular tray resembling a crown or wreath. Instead of waiting for you 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 you don't want another refill, you can cover the glass with the coaster, which means "enough for me."

The most logical place to start a pub crawl in Cologne is Gaffel am Dom, a fairly well-known beer-house located at the foot of the Cathedral, which has been making Kölsch since 1908. From here, you can make way to the famous Brauhaus Früh am Dom, the second largest brewery in Germany after Munich's Hofbräuhaus, established since 1904. Here, Kölsch is still bottled from the original wooden barrels, which hold 90 liters or 450 glasses.

Also notable, further down the road, are the Sion Brauhaus – the maker of signature Sion Kölsch; the Brauerei zur Malzmuehle – renowned, among other things, for being visited by German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and US President Bill Clinton; and many other prominent beer-houses.

To explore them all in more detail whilst sampling the freshest and diverse varieties of Kölsch, take this self-guided walking beer tour of Cologne and enjoy yourself!