Kölsch

1. A dialectal adjective meaning 'of or pertaining to Cologne, Germany'.
2. The very special beer brewn in Cologne and nowhere else. Kölsch is very light on the alcohol, is loved by millions for its refreshing taste, and hated passionately by at least as many people, who generally deride it as being just water with a twist. If you happen to drink Kölsch in Cologne, you'll notice the glasses are very small (just 0.2 l as opposed to the usual 0.3, 0.4 or 0.5), which has caused people to nickname them 'test tubes'. You'll also notice that the waiter will take replace every empty glass with a refill without asking you. The secret to make the waiter stop bringing you new Kölsch is covering your glass with your beer mat.
3. The strange German dialect spoken in Cologne and nowhere else, pretty similar to the language of the nearby Netherlands and Belgium (in my book at least -- they say it's not all that influenced by Dutch, but it sure sounds like it). Very hard to understand even if you understand German. For some reason, Kölsch rock music is quite popular in Germany (BAP/Wolfgang Niedecken, Brings).

A style of ale fermented with ale yeast at regular ale fermentation temparatures then lagered at low temperature. Kölsch is a protected appelation and may only be used for beer brewed in this fashion in the city of Cologne (Köln).

This style is amber in colour, and has light body and a medium alcohol content (4-5% ABV). Kölsch has a fruity flavour with low hop bitterness due to the use of noble hops.

Incredibly impressive beer only allowed to be brewed within Cologne and a couple of kilometers outside the city. Considered a "Lady's Beer" in the rest of Germany due to its relative sweetness, it is served in tall, thin 0.2 litre glasses and is only supposed to last for a couple of minutes in your glass. Contrary to Mawa's belief, Kölsch actually has an average alcohol content of 5 %. It just tastes quite easy on the tongue.

If mixed in an unfortunate Combination (i.e. Gaffel with Peters) it can produce a hell of a hangover. Only really to be enjoyed in Cologne. Currently existing breweries are:

• Peters
• Gaffel
• Dom
• Muehlen
• Suenner
• Rats
• Frueh
• Gilden
• Kueppers
• Reissdorf
• Severins
• Zunft
• Sester
• Paeffgen
• Giesler
• Garde
• Maximilian
• Sion
• Richmodis
• Buerger
• Heller's

...and remember: that's a lot of breweries for ca. 1.2 million people

www.koelsch-net.de