Saturday, September 22, 2007

An Island of Paradise in Köln

Last Sunday I made a remarkable discovery. I found what possibly could be a grocery store which sold non-German beer. Now I'm not saying that German beer is bad, but it is sad that a grocery store in Köln sells a few varieties of kölsch and, if your lucky, maybe some pilsner, weizen or even a schwarzbier (all other German varieties), with other countries (like Belgium) so near by. (One might recall that on our trips to Belgium, we always had to bring back a few souvenirs). So Monday we were off to this grocery store near the Volkhochschule, where Chris takes his classes. This store is part of a chain owned by a Belgian company, and sure enough they had a vast selection of Belgian beer! The variety was such a welcome discovery, and I think I might have even proclaimed that "I would never have to drink a kölsch again" (though that is impossible in this city). The selection isn't quite as large as a Belgian grocery store, but there were at least 20 different varieties and the price was the same. The store also stocks a wide variety of dutch cheese and other goodies.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

What was the name of this store and where was it exactly? I've been here for months and have said the same thing about only being able to buy German beer. I'd love to know where you found good Belgian beer in Koln!!

karlene! said...

hi chris and kelly,
i came across your blog when i googled the phrase "belgian beer in cologne." i have been here for four months now and after having some good belgian beer in the netherlands last weekend, i remembered what i am missing out on in the land of kölsch... i also saw that you lived in the marienburg guesthouse at some point - that was where i was living when i first arrived here, and i was oh-so-glad to move to sülz...if you are interested, feel free to check out my blog on life in köln: http://nodeutsch.blogspot.com/
cheers,
karlene

Doogz said...

Hey Chris! Great to hear the good news bout the Belgian Beers!

Can u please tell me where to find this place? or what it's called? :D

Basically u'll be a 'God' if u do!

I'm moving there from Australia, to live and pick up more of the language to then teach it later. BUT! i won't survive on just German beer...

Do they have a 'Belgian Beer Cafe' over there? we have a cafe chain of them here.. they sell all kinds of Leffe, Hoegaarden, Duvel, Bellevue Kriek and of course Stella.

Have you found any nice pubs that sell it on tap? vom faß lol sehr wichtig!

also... what are u doin as a job / why did u even decide to live in Köln?

Jarryd

Kelly Jabbusch said...

So sorry not to reply to earlier comments - I only now saw them all.

The grocery store is Delhaize (www.delhaize.de). There is one in between Neumarkt and Heumarkt on Pipenstr, and they also have recently opened one on Aachner Strasse (though we have yet to visit that one).

As far as bars that serve Belgian beer: there is one cute cafe in Nippes that serves bottles of Orval, Westmalle and a few others, but I don't know the name.
Despite it's name, "The Bier Museum" in the Altstadt lacks really any good variety of beer, but they usually have a Leffe Blonde on tap.

Good Luck!
-Kelly

Anonymous said...

(I too found your blog by googling "belgian beer cologne".)

The cafe in Nippes is called Cafe Einhörnchen, slow service but quite lovely.

I see that Delhaize is now closed. Do you know of any other places where one could buy Belgian or international beers?

Kelly Jabbusch said...

We no longer live in Köln and found out two days before visiting this summer that delhaize had closed. Sad, sad times, and unfortunately we didn't get across the border into Belgium on that trip. Sorry not to have any other suggestions.
-Kelly

Anonymous said...

You can get Belgian beer in one of the best Kiosks in town: Brunne von Kölle. Go to the tram stop Moltkestrasse, then head north on Brüsselerstr less than one block.
The Kiosk owner is super nice and is very accommodating for special orders.

http://brunne-vun-koelle.de/