Legal Notice
The following pages are available only to members of this site, and then only to those members who accept the terms of this agreement. Some of these terms are based upon our own convictions, while others are at the request of the Kölsch
Brewmasters who let us in on their secrets.
Kölsch Konvention
The Kölsch Konvention - signed by 24 breweries in 1986 - is a document turned
law which legally protects the name "Kölsch" throughout the European community,
and culminates well over 1000 years of solid brewing tradition in the city
of Cologne. As I think most home-brewers are aware, this means that
only breweries in and around the city of Köln can call their beer "Kölsch".
Afterall, the word "Kölsch" itself is an adjective which means "of or pertaining
to Köln". Not only does the beer brewed in this city bear the name, but also
the language spoken there - a dialect of German with a healthy smattering
of Dutch - is called "Kölsch" as well. And though most folks use the term
"Kölner" to refer to the people who live there, I have read that this term refers
to anyone who resides in the city, no matter where they come from, whereas
the term "Kölsche" (plural) is preferred for those residents who have a long
family history in Cologne.
Although the Konvention is not binding in North America and elsewhere outside of Europe, in my survey of Kölsch Braumeisters, they overwhelmingly agreed that home-brewer or micro-brewery alike should not be using the name "Kölsch" to describe their beer. In the past I've argued these points in a number of
electronic forums, and have always encountered the opinion that perhaps
the brewmasters in Köln are actually flattered at our attempts to mimic them.
Well, those people are 100% correct - they are actually flattered all to hell about
it, to be honest. In fact, when I mentioned to one Braumeister who has
been brewing Kölsch for over 20 years how popular a style it was among
beer-geeks in North America, he quite literally blushed like a baby and had
to turn away from me for a moment he became so flush. But as he shone
his reddest, he reminded me very sternly that
"they still shouldn't be calling [their beer] 'Kölsch'".
To me it's quite clear that I shouldn't be calling my beer "Kölsch". I personally choose to honour the traditions I try so hard to emulate, and call my beer
'Kölschy' (or most recently 'Koelsch-eh'. Others I've seen use the term pKölsch, or even Kölsch-Style.
You can choose what you want and I honestly will not think any more or less
of you one way or the other even if you do call your beer 'Kölsch'.
All I ask is that you to put some thought into it first ...
My Terms
Permission is granted to use this information for your own use only. You agree not to copy or forward this information in whole or in part to non-members of this site. If you know someone else who would be interested in this information, simply send them to this site and they can retrieve it themselves. If you are a commercial brewer (defined as : if beer you have brewed has been bought or sold) then you further verify that you do not call any of your beers 'Kölsch'. If you do call a beer 'Kölsch', then change the name and you
are welcome to come in. Until then, permission is not granted to enter further
into this section of the website.
Brewmaster's Terms
This information is not available to anyone in Europe. If you are in Europe then you do not have permission to proceed further and do not have permission to use the information contained in this section of the website in whole or in part.
I agree
I have read the above in full. I verify that I am not in Europe, and agree to put some thought into my use of the term 'Kölsch', and if I am a commercial brewer as defined above, I verify that I do not call any of my beers 'Kölsch'
Last Updated 2006.07.20 @ 08:12
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