Peters Brauhaus und Kölsch: What a Combo!

When you get to Köln (Cologne in English) and start strolling the cobblestones, your first stop should be Peters Brauhaus.  

Too early?  Yeah, ok.  Wander around; see one of the world’s great cathedrals, St Peter’s, often referred to simply as the Dom.  Beautiful.  Intriguing.  Historic.  NOT completely leveled in the Second World War – which sets it apart from 90% of Cologne. 

Ok.  Got all that.  Beer time yet?  No?  Good god, man, I marvel at your patience!  In the name of heaven, how long are you going to wait?

Right.  Roman museums.  Art museums.  Do your own research, except I will mention the Museum Ludwig and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, both of which have some wonderful 19^th -20^th Century art.  If you’re short of time, I’d pick the second.

An early Van Gogh, although there aren't any 'late ones.  He only painted for ten years.

Walk around the old town (Altstadt), cover the waterfront, and glimpse the placid beauty of the Rhine River.

Thirsty yet?  ‘Bout time.  Art and history have their place, but you have to pace yourself.  A man could die of thirst.  Never heard of anyone dying of art… although there is Van Gogh…but even he didn’t kill himself with the sharp end of a paintbrush.

Back to Peters Brauhaus.  In good weather, settle into a chair beneath an awning in the old market.  The tent-sized, red canopies say Peters Brauhaus, just to tip you off and allay any confusion.  Unusual to have the outdoor café on the market square when the restaurant is on an alley around the corner.  But, it makes sense. Gives a taste of tangy sunshine.

You won’t sit there longer than a blink before a waiter asks what you want to drink.  Simple answer:  Beer.  Before you can snap your fingers, another waiter waltzes by with a Kranz (wreath) of Kölsch.

filling a 'wreath' of beer

Kölsch comes in a slender cylindrical glass.  On the small side, but not to fret.  Before you can see the bottom of your glass, he’ll deliver another, until you lose the power of speech, or your wife gives the waiter a glance that could stop a galloping stallion.

What’s special about Kölsch?  I mean besides being one of the Germany’s most delicious species of beer?  First off, Kölsch can only be brewed within Cologne, according to the 1985 Kölsch Konvention.  Twenty-four Cologne breweries came up with the idea to resist outside brewers jumping onto the Kölsch brew-wagon.

Secondly, Kölsch is a top-fermented beer, almost as light colored as a pilsner.  Also by convention, it’s filtered, with a specific gravity between 11 and 15 percent.  Alcohol content sits at around 4.8%.

Thirdly, Kölsch has a smooth, rounded flavor, without the heavy bite of most German beers.  Goes down easy and in some instances sports barely sweet undertones.

Yes, you can get Kölsch bottled, but I prefer it straight out of the wooden barrels, a gravity beer.

Peters is one of the remaining real Kölsch brewers, though the Peters Brewery isn’t based in Cologne, but in Monheim, about 30 minutes up the Rhine.  The Konvention must have grandfathered the signers.

Beer isn’t the only thing on Peters menu.  They have great lunches. When I was there, it was asparagus season and time for Spargel Soup. Want to make your own? Here’s an earlier post:  http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2012/06/spargel-soup-too-delicious-for-all-but.html

Lots of other good stuff at Peters.  Extensive menu covering a host of local specialties, such as pork knuckle, and the ever-present schnitzel.  I’m convinced Germans are not allowed to open a restaurant without serving potatoes.  Peters is no exception.  Outstanding Bratkartoffeln. Slices of potato fried with bits of onion and bacon.

A bit chilly for you?  Feel like the full Brauhaus experience?  Go around the corner to Peters Brauhaus Restaurant.  

The building dates back to the end of the 19^th Century, but Peters has only been there since 1994. You’d never know it.  They’ve captured the dark, worn-wood atmosphere of an old-time German beer palace. Every time I’ve walked through the door, it’s been packed. Good mix of tourists and locals.

Ok, enough chit-chat.  Sit back and quaff a glass of Kölsch or six. Drink up!  Here comes the waiter with a full Kranz.  You need to prep yourself for the next museum.

Mühlengasse 1

Köln, 50667

Germany

phone: +49 221 2573950

There's More Than Cologne in Köln!

The World Renowned Dom in downtown Cologne

My wife and I took an overnight to Cologne, Germany.  Meeting old friends, seeing an old city for the first time.

I expected the usual:  old buildings, a cathedral, beer, sausages, and a view of the Rhine River.  What I didn’t expect was to be enchanted.  Cologne, or Köln (Kul-n) in German, sports the past like an old and favorite dress, yet has a young and vibrant feel.  People, young and old, stroll the cobblestone streets, stop for a beer at an outdoor pub, view the flowers and the majestic Rhine, and while away the time in some wonderful cafés.  The old city, Altstadt, is a walking wonderland of things to see and do.

Cologne is used to being both old and new and certainly adept at starting over.  An ancient tribe founded the city; then came the Romans in the first century and stayed for over four hundred years.  They built sewer systems, palaces, and baths, all of which are slowly being uncovered and displayed to the public.

The Roman World

Hard to believe this city was 95% destroyed in World War II.  On the night of 13 May, 1942, the first thousand plane raid hit Cologne.  90% of the population fled.

Between Roman times and the National Socialist era, a lot of folks took turns hammering this center of commerce that straddles the famous Rhine River.  Most, noticeably the French under Napoleon Bonaparte and later the French after the First World War, tried to make Cologne a permanent part of France.  The Brits had a lot to do with squashing both those misguided efforts.

Museums abound in this city, and two of my sudden favorites are the Ludwig and the Wallraf.  Art from every age, but I usually key-in on the late nineteenth and twentieth Century.  Impressionists.  Cubists.  Both museums feature names you’ll recognize, no matter your preference.  From Reuben and Rembrandt to Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso, and Pollack, you’ll find them here.

Picassos Inside the Ludwig Museum

The large painting is an Edvard Munch inside The Wallraf Museum

For me, viewing art is not only a question of time, but of the ability to mentally digest what I’m seeing.  A museum is such an elaborate banquet of designs, styles, colors, and subjects.  Seeing all of it in one fell swoop is like trying to eat your way through the full menu at a Michelin Three Star restaurant.

My brother has taught me well. For every hour in a museum, there must be an hour on either side at a pub.  Ale cleanses the mental palate and renews your spirit for living.

Thankfully, Cologne is dedicated to enjoyment of beer, as evidenced by a word found few other places in Germany:  Kölsch.  This pale beer, with a taste much like a smoother lager, has found its way down thirsty throats for centuries.  Even today, Kölsch is strictly controlled through an agreement between members of the Cologne Brewery Association, known as the Kölsch Konvention.

The thing to remember when you park yourself at a café and order a Kölsch, is that tall, slim glass in front of you will be refilled again and again, until you either mumble to the waiter that “I dink I gad genuf…,” as the beer dribbles down your shirt, or you put your beer coaster over the top of your glass.  In Cologne drinking beer is serious and the waiters carry special little trays (Kranz or wreath) of little glasses of beer, designed both to cut down on the spillage and to serve dozens of customers at the speed of slosh.

Ok, you’ve had your beer and your museums and taken a look at the mighty Rhine River, but there’s at least one thing left.  You can’t leave this famous city without a glimpse inside the magnificent cathedral.  You’re thinking, “This is my second week in Europe and if I see another freaking cathedral, all this beer is going to trickle its way down my legs and between the cobbles on the street!”

Slow down.  This is not just another cathedral, but one of the most famous and majestic in all of Europe.  It’s full name is Hohe Domkirche St Petrus, or in English, High Cathedral of St Peter.  Best known as simply the Dom.  I’m not going to spoil the fun by giving you a full rundown.  Besides, you need more beer to really appreciate this edifice that’s been around in one form or another since the 13^th Century.

Inside the Cathedral 

But, I will answer a couple of questions before you even ask:  Yes, the Dom was hit in World War II, but no it was not destroyed.  One reason is the suggestion that it made an excellent visual checkpoint for bomb runs into other parts of Germany.

And, who can think of speaking of Cologne without mentioning Eau de Cologne?  Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian, launched the citrus-scented original here in 1709 and the collective cologne business has flourished ever since.  Yes, there is a cologne museum and cologne shops galore.

Don’t’ know about you, but I think all this sightseeing calls for another beer.  Now, if that waiter would just hurry up!