First Kölsch Beers

First, a note about what Kölsch beers are exactly.
In order to properly be called a Kölsch beer in Europe, a beer must be made in the metropolitan area of Cologne. That is to say, this is a protected denomination beer, at least as far as Europe is concerned. It's quite light, a bit effervescent, pale in color, and top fermented.

I thought I knew a lot about beer, but the PDO bit and the top fermented bit surprised me. Basically, every beer made in Cologne is 4.8% alcohol. That's the way they do things here. Another fun thing here is that most Kölsch beers are served in little 0.2L glasses. If you want another, do nothing. If you want to stop, simply put you coaster on top of your glass. If you get another, the waitstaff will simply make a mark on your coaster. At the end of the night, they pick up your coaster, count the marks and multiply by €1.50.

As far as the beers go... I have to admit, Kölsch is probably my least favorite style of beer, whereas I really like Alt beer. Alt beer, it should be noted is from Düsseldorf, and the two cities really hate each other, despite being only 40 km apart.

Quick aside, Düsseldorf plays in the second league of Bundesliga, and Köln in the premier division. For a few years Köln was relegated and Düsseldorf was on their schedule. For the first match, the stadium completely sold out (a paltry 55,000 fans) and Köln had to hire 10,000 police on for the match specifically. Yoinks!

Anyway, back to the beer. I've only had a few true Kölsch beers in the states and they are all kind of bland. So I found that in Cologne there are over 50 different Kölsch beers brewed. I've been making my way through them kind of slowly. After less than a week, I'm kind of tired of them again, but I have found a few surprises.
Sion, is a bit sweet, but goes down nice and easy. I suppose on a hot day it would be even better. Mühlen is really shocking. It has light hints of tobacco and earthy flavors despite being as purely golden as the rest. Päffgen, is only served at the brewery, to my knowledge, and it the most highly rated Kölsch beer. I liked it, but it tastes a touch sour. Früh is too sweet, Reissdorf is too boring, Gilden is rather plain as well. There are several more and I will try them slowly but surely. At least they are light and served in small portions. If I don't really like it, I don't have much suffering and I also don't spend much money.

I will admit, however, that Kölsch beer is far better on tap, and I really want a hot day, so I can knock a couple back and experience them properly.

Other interesting Kölsch beer facts:
As I mentioned before Kölsch is top-fermented, technically making it an ale. It is then lagered for a short time to clean it up. So it's a bit of a hybrid style. Knowing that, it's exciting since it clearly predates the lager style brewing that has completely dominated germany for a couple hundred years. Also, a few Kölschs are brewed with wheat. This has only been allowed in Germany since 1913 when the Reinheitsgebot was revised (unmalted barley no longer allowed, yeast officially added to list of ingredients, cane sugar, and wheat are also allowed additives).

If a good hot day comes, I'll come on down to the brewing area and enjoy a few cold ones I hope.