Brewery

The Brewery

The imposing brewery building on Kalker Hauptstraße, which is now a listed building, is the oldest industrial building in Cologne that has retained its original function.

Since 1830 we have been brewing specialty beers in the traditional open fermentation process using our own well water. With the takeover by the brewery zur Malzmühle in 2022, Mühlen Kölsch is also brewed in Cologne-Kalk in addition to Sünner Kölsch.

We use only the best raw materials in the brewing process for our beers : brewing barley from local cultivation, hops from the famous Hallertau, yeast from our own pure breeding and particularly soft brewing water from our own well.

The fountain is fed by an underground water vein that brings the purest water from the Bergisches Land to us. A precious treasure of excellent quality that benefits our products.

The brewhouse is a real highlight with the brightly cleaned copper kettles. Here you can also get your own impression of the lively brewing tradition.

We invite you to learn more about the traditional brewing process and our long history in Cologne-Kalk on a brewery tour.

To our beers

The Brewing process

At BRAUWELT Köln, the two oldest Kölsch brands use the craft brewing method - by hand and according to the German Purity Law of 1516. Find out here why our Kölsch is a character beer that still tastes of craft.

1.

Ingredients

Our own well water represents the basic ingredient of our products. In addition, according to an old family recipe from 1858, only natural raw materials of the best quality are used, such as barley malt and a small proportion of wheat malt, as well as high-quality aroma hops and yeast.

2.

Mashing

The malt is milled in the historic brewhouse. The husks are retained during this crushing and grinding process. The grist is mixed with 54°C water in a pre-mashing vessel and becomes the mash, which is heated again. During this process, the enzymes formed in the malt work at their temperature optimum and can thus convert the starch into fermentable sugars.

3.

Cooking

After mashing, the front wort is separated from the solid components, the spent grains, in the lauter tun. After sweetening the spent grains with water, we pass this on to our regional farmers as high-quality cattle feed. The wort is now boiled with three additions of aroma hops from the Hallertau region to give the Kölsch its natural tartness. Shortly before the end of the boil, the last hop is added to intensify the fresh, fruity aroma that first hits our nostrils when we enjoy a glass of Mühlen Kölsch.

4.

Main fermentation

During the subsequent three-day main fermentation, the top-fermenting yeast processes the sugar extracted in the brewhouse into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The beer is then transferred to the storage cellar for aging. There it is stored at a temperature of 0°C for at least 21 days to break down the base alcohols produced during fermentation, to bind the CO2 formed and to develop its typical taste.

5.

Filtration

During the final filtration, any last yeast cells and other turbid matter remaining in the beer are removed. The more you filter, the clearer the beer and the longer the shelf life. Our brewmaster's goal is to preserve as many flavorful ingredients as possible in the beer. In this gentle clarification of the beer, therefore, the beer is only filtered, and not tortured. This limits the shelf life of our Kölsch to 120 days - but creates the strong, malty and full taste that is unique and unmistakable for Mühlen Kölsch.