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Moose On The Loose In Cologne!

 


Cologne’s combination of beautiful architecture and amazing Kolsch beer make it one of my all time favourite cities. Having failed to visit Cologne in 2024, I knew what my first trip of 2025 had to be. I was joined by Aaron and Liz for a very early flight out of Stansted Airport. I’d promised Aaron and Liz a quick tour of my favourite beer destinations of Cologne. 

Arriving in Cologne around lunchtime, we dumped our bags in a very reasonably priced locker and headed towards our first beer destination. We took a moment to admire the beautiful of Cologne Cathedral, almost hidden behind the frozen fog. 



A short walk behind the cathedral leads to:


Früh has never been my favourite Kolsch, but I wanted to show the others this amazing venue. I believe it is the only historical Cologne beer hall to completely survive the bomb attacks of the Second World War. Though don’t google that, as I may be wrong! 

Prost! 
I normally find Früh Kolsch too sweet, but I actually really enjoyed the couple of glasses I drank on this visit. Maybe I’ve been converted…

From Früh we made the short walk to Pfaffen Brauerei to drink beer and admire the bizarre glass window art.

I won’t say how I described this, over a beer


To be honest, this isn’t the place I was aiming for. One reason for doing this blog is to remember where I’ve been and what was good, for when I return! I meant to take the group next door, never mind this could be a hidden gem I thought. It wasn’t. The beer was from a keg, rather than the wooden casks the best Kolsch comes from, and wasn’t great. Pfaffen Original Kolsch is dry but the over carbonation from the keg killed the taste. Swing and miss. 

With my tail between my legs, I led us next door to Bierhaus Salzgass. 


This is one of my favourite Cologne beer houses. Fresh Kolsch from a wooden cask and a classic interior it’s a showcase of everything I love about this city. 

Beer was Päffgen which is one of my favourites. This beer straight from the cask was beyond fresh, smooth and a tiny bit sweet. Sehr lecker!

You can almost taste the freshness!

Next we decided to visit Lowenbrau and have a walk along the River Rhine. 

The frozen fog was really starting to descend by the time we made it to the river! 

Lowenbrau is a really pretty venue that features pictures and photographers covering each wall, but I can’t recommend it for beer. I made the mistake of getting a Gaffel Kolsch, my favourite Kolsch, but forgot it was keg. You can’t drink keg Kolsch in this city! 

My second sin was getting a 0.5L Kolsch

Whilst at Lowenbrau we realised that we didn’t have as much time in Cologne as we thought. We had to get the train to Brühl, where we were staying for a few days, and the last train was approaching. We decided to head back to Früh for food, as the food looked amazing there! We headed back towards the cathedral. The fog had really descended now! 


Spot the cathedral!

Back at Früh I had one of the best meals I’ve ever had in Cologne! 


Mash, pork, sausage and meat loaf with onions and sauerkraut that was covered in pork gravy! Delicious! 
With all of the that consumed, washed down with a few more beers, we headed to Brühl. 

I always love visiting Cologne! I already want to go back and visit the beer places I didn’t manage this time! 

Why Brühl? Stay tuned to find out! 

Thanks for reading! 



























 





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Location: Cologne, Germany

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