Beyond the Reinheitsgebot

Ahh, festival time. While my friends and fellow ICBers are living the life in Copenhagen, financial, familial and temporal constraints made it impossible for me to join them, again! But there's some light at the end of the festival tunnel, as next week, May 15th and 16th, sees the first Festival der Bierkulturen in Cologne. A German beer festival might summon images of Oktoberfest-like bingefests, but this struck me as interesting, not least because it's strap-lined with the tag "Classic and innovative beer specialities beyond the Reinheitsgebot and Kölsch Convention". Now, like anyone, I like to have the occasional moan about the Reinheitsgebot, and love linking my German colleagues to Ron Pattinson's analysis of the gebot, and list of some extinct German beer styles, but unless I know there's a sympathetic ear, I won't waste my time; I reckon it's so deeply engrained in the beery subconscious of the average Josef Seife that it'd be pissing into the wind. So seeing a festival in the heart of Kölsch country that takes a trip outside of the norm for German beers, this has to be interesting!

The festival is being organised by Peter Esser, owner and Braumeister of Cologne's smallest brewery, Braustelle, who will be bringing along a Dunkel with Rosemary, an Imperial Stout with Rye as well as their regular range, and perhaps some of their monthly specials (a Triplebock and something called Pink Panther has been mentioned).

Highlights billed for the festival include Weyermann Maltings, who as well as presumably showcasing their malts, are bringing along a Rauchbier, Schlotfegerla, and a Raspberry Porter, brewed with East Kent Goldings and aged in bourbon casks for a year with raspberries from Franken, Definitely not Reinheitsgebot, and sounding strangely familiar.

Volker-Bräu, a resurrected brand from the 1930s, will be present with an oat and rye beer, both fermented with Kölsch yeasts. I have to say, I’ve not tried a proper German Roggenbier yet, so this might be a good opportunity, even if the yeast choice isn’t typical.

Swiss brewery, Biervision Monstein (warning, turn down your speakers before clicking that link!), will come down from their mountain, but no idea what they'll be bringing. Having mostly enjoyed the Swiss beers I had while visiting Brussels recently (yeah, I know) I'll be sure to give them a whizz.

A few of the interesting speciality beer shops from Cologne are listed, including Bier Zwerg which has a great selection for this part of the world, and Bierkompass which I will be browsing very shortly! I'll be taking a peek at whatever stand the Association of Home and Hobby Brewers of Germany, a 500-strong community, will have will have at the festival, mostly out of curiosity about what do German home brewers brew, and do they really use washing machines?

But of course, the highlight, or at least the one that I salivate about, is Mikkeller, listed as the special guest. 'nuff said.

Oddly enough, trying to get a posse to go to this gig is proving difficult, despite people saying they'd love to go. Family commitments make it tough for many, after all, it's not usual to take a 2 hour train ride at 10am on a Saturday just to get in 8 hours of drinking before turning back, or at least not for them. My wife has encouraged me to go all Saturday. She must be up to something... Anyway, if you're in the area, let me know :)

Festival der Bierkulturen
Location: Bürgerzentrum Köln-Ehrenfeld
Dates: Saturday 15th to Sunday 16th of May, 2010
Open from 12:00 to 20:00
Entry is 3.50 €, including a festival glass
Normal price for a beer:: 1 €/0.15 Liter
Speciality beers possibly more