Cologne's Brauhäuser

Map of 10 locations in Cologne, Germany

Kölsch is defined by a convention and served by a man called a Köbes, in a 0.2-litre glass he will replace without being asked until you put the coaster on top. These are the houses where that happens in Cologne: some still brew on site, some brew a brand whose kettles moved elsewhere decades ago, and a few occupy cellars and listed walls that predate the beer style entirely. The brewery behind each glass is named, because in Cologne that is the fact people argue about.

Places in this collection

  • Schreckenskammer — A plain, hard-wearing brauhaus by the Ursulaplatz with a long history and a name that translates as the chamber of horrors. Its Kölsch is b…
  • Peters Brauhaus — The Mühlengasse room is the argument for this one: stained glass in the side and ceiling windows and historic murals on the walls, which ge…
  • Päffgen — One of the few Cologne brauhäuser where the Kölsch is not only tapped fresh but brewed in the same building, which puts Brauerei Päffgen am…
  • Hellers Brauhaus — In the second generation of the Heller family for over 25 years, and the local in the Kwartier Latäng student quarter rather than a stop on…
  • Gilden im Zims — Number 77 on the Heumarkt gives nothing away from the pavement, and then you are inside walls more than 550 years old, with the Schwemme an…
  • Gaffel am Dom — Carnival and 1. FC Köln keep their Cologne living room here: fans assemble before matches to walk to the RheinEnergieSTADION together, or w…
  • Früh am Dom — Founded in 1904 as a Hausbrauerei beside the Heinzelmännchenbrunnen, in the cathedral's shadow, and still run personally by the fifth gener…
  • Brauerei zur Malzmühle — Brewing on the Heumarkt since 1858, and the former home of Mühlen Kölsch, which was sold to Gaffel in 2025 with Sünner Kölsch kept back. Bi…
  • Brauwelt Köln — The taproom sits in the former ice cellar of the Sünner brewery, the oldest in Cologne, with Mühlen Kölsch and Sünner Kölsch poured from th…
  • Brauhaus Sion — The house "Unter Taschenmacher" has served guests for more than 700 years, and the Sion family turned it into what the brewers' association…

Related collections