Before he opened KC Bier Co, founder and managing owner Steve Holle wrote a lot about bier. We’ve started pulling some of our favorite excerpts from his articles and books and sharing them here for all of you who want to dig deep into bier science and history. First up is an excerpt* about Kölsch and Altbier from Steve’s 2012 book, Beer Steward Handbook: A Practical Guide to Understanding Beer. Enjoy!

*Headings and photos were added for readability

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Germany is widely known for its lager and wheat ales, but several other important ale styles are produced in Germany. Kölsch from the city of Cologne (Köln) and Alt from the city of Düsseldorf are two top-fermenting beers from two northern cities that elected to hold onto the old tradition of brewing ales, albeit employing cooler fermentation and cellaring conditions than do the English and Belgians. While these two cities share a close geographical proximity and cling proudly to the old tradition of brewing ales, the two styles are distinctively different and patriotically championed within their respective cities.

Kölsch

Cologne is an ancient Roman city that grew into a major mercantile center as part of the Hanseatic League of free cities in the Middle Ages. Since a free city was granted considerable independence from the feudal laws of the time, Cologne thrived along with its sister cities in the league as centers of commerce, including the brewing and exporting of beer. Free enterprise and market competition helped brewers in Cologne and other northern cities surpass their southern German neighbors in the quality of their beer. In fact, to retain its brewing identity, the city of Cologne actually forbade the brewing of bottom-fermenting beer in 1603 in response to the Reinheitsgebot, which established the dominance of bottom-fermenting beer in Bavaria. Almost 350 years later, Cologne brewers would again establish by law their unique identity as top-fermenting beer brewers with the Kölsch Konvention.

The spread of pale lager brewing also reached Cologne in the nineteenth century. While lager beer grew in popularity, the brewers of top-fermenting beer did not totally abandon their traditional brewing but rather modified it to create a new type of beer. Probably in recognition of the popularity of the clean, refreshing, bitter Pils, certain top-fermenting beer producers began using pilsner malt, fermenting at the lowest temperature limits (e.g.,60°F/16°C) to produce a less fruity taste and finishing the beer with a long, cold maturation period. Essentially, Cologne began producing Pils but with top-fermenting yeast, which they named Kölsch, after the city where it was brewed. Kölsch is also the name of the local Low German dialect, making it the only language that can be both spoken and enjoyed!

Kölsch Kovention

Nevertheless, Pils became the dominant beer style in Cologne after World War II. In 1948, an association of local breweries created a formal agreement called the Kölsch Konvention to preserve their local beer style and protect it from outside imitators and even against local producers that switched to bottom-fermenting yeast. The main tenant of the agreement states,

“The designation ‘Kölsch’ may only be used for pale, highly-attenuated, hop-emphasized, top-fermented ‘Vollbier‘ (i.e.,11-14% extract) that is produced according to the Reinheitsgebot within the Kölsch area of origination.”

Their efforts proved highly successful since Kölsch overtook Pils in popularity in Cologne, and in 1986, the German government adopted the Kölsch Konvention as federal law, giving legal status to the Kölsch name. This meant that only the two dozen or so member breweries in and around Cologne could call their beer Kölsch, thus creating an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. In 1997, the European Union also recognized this same appellation. Therefore, in the European Union, only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France can be called champagne and only pale, top-fermenting beer brewed in Cologne can be called Kölsch.

Kölsch Characteristics

Kölsch is a very pale, refreshing beer with distinct noble hop bitterness. The beer resembles Pils in many ways but may have a hint of fruitiness to indicate that it is still an ale. Because it is top-fermented, other malts besides barley are permissible ingredients, and on occasion, some brewers may include up to approximately 15% pale wheat malt in the grist. Authentic German examples are not widely available in the United

States, but craft brewers frequently offer the style for their customers who prefer light golden lagers. Although not legally required to recognize the Kölsch appellation in the United States, respectful brewers labelthese beers “Kölsch-style” beer to indicate it was not brewed in Cologne.

Notable Examples: Reissdorf Kölsch, Gaffel Kölsch, Früh Kölsch, Küppers Kölsch, Sünner Kölsch

Alt

Alt in German means “old” in reference to the older traditions of brewing with top-fermenting yeast. The city most associated with Altbier is Düsseldorf in northern Germany, a mere 45 kilometers north of Cologne. Like Kölsch, Alt brewers use low fermentations temperatures and long, cold conditioning times to mellow their brews, but unlike their brothers in Cologne, they did not embrace the new pale malt but instead retained the traditional copper color through the use of Munich and caramel malts. A small portion of wheat malt may also make up part of the grist.

Passion for Tradition

Both Cologne and Düsseldorf have lively pub cultures that include serving Kölsch and Alt in a narrow, straight-sided glass called a Stange (“pole”).  Kölsch glasses are a mere 20 centiliters (~6.75 ounces) which the waiter brings to the table in a special tray carried by a handle. If the waiter sees an empty glass, he simply replaces it with a full one until the patron says stop. The old section of Düsseldorf is known as the Alstadt or the “old city”, which hosts a dense number of pubs in a radius of a few blocks. Alt is served in similar fashion, but the Düsseldrof Stange is a bit larger than the Kölsch Stange.

Although the cities are close neighbors that share a passion for preserving an old tradition of brewing, they are quite protective of their individual interpretations of the ale. Cologne is proud of the clean, refreshing character of their pale Kölsch with its subtle nuances, while Düsseldorf views Kölsch as just an imitator of the ubiquitous Pils, with only the amber Alt and its assertive bitterness representing a true example of the old brewing traditions.

Altbier Characteristics

Alt is copper to brown with rich, toasted caramel malt flavor from the use of Munich malt. It has a firm bitterness but with little or no hop aroma. The body is medium in mouthfeel with a clean, well-attenuated finish and minimal fruity esters that may be found in other ales. While similar to English pale ale in color and bitterness, it lacks the assertive hop aroma and fermentation esters found in pale ale.

Notable Examples: Diebels Alt, Schlösser Alt, Frankenheim Alt, Uerige Alt, Füchschen Alt, Schumaker Alt, Original Schlüssel, Dry Dock Bismark Alt

 

KC Bier Co brews both a Kölsch-Style Golden Ale and an Altbier, available on draught and in bottles and cans throughout Missouri and Kansas for a limited time in 2025. Learn more here.