Visitors unfamiliar with Cologne’s unusual brewhouse etiquette may find themselves confused by the system. On this brewhouse tour, find out how the ordering process works and—crucially—how to indicate you’ve had your fill. Visit four traditional brewhouses with a guide, savoring a glass of kölsch—Cologne’s signature beer style—at each.

Compare and contrast kölsch from four different producers
Learn about local beer-drinking customs from your guide
Socialize with fellow beer aficionados
Get tips on other spots to try after your tour

What's Included

Exclusive insight to our favorite brewhouses

Alcoholic Beverages

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

The Kölsch Crew - Brauhaustour
Heumarkt 39, 50667 Köln, Germany
The meeting point is in front of the small corner store ("Kiosk") between the tram tracks and Ice Cream United

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Brauerei zur Malzmühle

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Gilden im Zims “Heimat kölscher Helden”

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Brauhaus Sünner im Walfisch

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Bierhaus en d'r Salzgass

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 6 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

CRAIG_D

This tour was very fun and informative. Our guide Micheal was alot of fun and knew his way around. I'd recommend this tour for anyone who loves beer!

Reviews

5.0

266 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 266 reviews

Fun afternoon!!

boundlessfoxx, May 2023

The tour was a perfect way to end our day. Alicia led a great tour with a lot of great info! I'm not exactly a beer fan but I still had a great time and really enjoyed trying all the local beers. It was a lovely tour!

Kolsch appreciation

Adam_T, May 2023

A fun tour led by Alicia with a great summary of customs, the beer and history of Cologne, including the history of the brouhaus, and carnivale.

Fun afternoon!

Diana_S, May 2023

The tour was excellent! Jade was a terrific guide and the group (Italy, UK, and USA) was so fun! The brewhauses were beautiful and interesting and had great beer!

Fun Beer Tour!

CRAIG_D, May 2023

This tour was very fun and informative. Our guide Micheal was alot of fun and knew his way around. I'd recommend this tour for anyone who loves beer!

Good beer, average tour.

Adrian_C, May 2023

Beer was better than the tour to be honest. Guide wasn't a natural public speaker but had a good knowledge of the city and local beer. Fellow participants were good fun also. Guide didn't partake in the beer which seemed a little unusual.

Good beer and info

Stacy_K, Apr 2023

Awesome tour, our guide was hilarious and very informative. It was great to hear about the history while enjoying some delicious beer. The stops we went to were great, we went back to one 3 more times on our trip.

Fun and interresting tour.

Jakob_N, Apr 2023

Fun and interresting tour. Visited 4 places and got an introduction to each place. Worth it, both for the beers and the histrory teaching. Good guide.

New Friends and Good Beer

Kelly_W, Apr 2023

We met Zoe, our guide, and she made us feel instantly welcome and comfortable with her warmth and sense of humor. She purposefully took us to four establishments, each of which had an interesting story and a place in Köln's history. She helped the group instantly bond so we were drinking beers with new friends, not strangers...albeit the Kölsch helped break the ice.

Kolsch!

Peter_G, Apr 2023

Ross knew a lot about Köln and Kolsch! And he’s a great guy and guide. Would definitely recommend the tour to others.

Great time in Cologne

Andrew_A, Mar 2023

Our guide Mel was a fun and engaging guide to the history and customs of Colognes korsch beer. It was a great time!

Kolsch with a laugh!

RobinY, Mar 2023

Max was a great guide! Lots of stories and a lot of jokes. He moonlights as a standup comic. But he explained that not all humor survives translation. Great visit to four brew houses.

All around excellent tour

John_O, Mar 2023

Max was very knowledgeable and entertaining. Great choices for stops and the beer was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour.

The history of the city...

Trent_P, Feb 2023

The history of the city along the tour was very interesting. The 4 beers were very good as well. The tour guide was great also.

Amazing tour. Highlight...

Quentin_G, Feb 2023

Amazing tour. Highlight of my trip. Michael was amazing and told us so much history about beer and cologne. He is friendly and so knowledgeable. After the tour a few of us and Michael went to another bar for more beer. Absolutely a must do, great way to meet others visiting cologne.

Meh

Tanya_L, Dec 2022

Somewhat disappointing, guide was too quiet and with a large group there were no bookings and we couldn’t hear her. Forced to stand too long in hot bars. Considering the cost, I’m not thinking I got value for money.

Excellent tour to give...

Kevin_K, Dec 2022

Excellent tour to give you an insight on some of the best kolsch in cologne! You get to try kolsch from 4 or 5 different brauhauses and learn quite a bit about the history of cologne. Highly recommended. Susa was an excellent guide.

On a drizzly afternoon, I...

Wilma_v, Dec 2022

On a drizzly afternoon, I briefly hesitated whether to go. Fortunately, I did. Zoë immediately brought a convivial group atmosphere, which made it nice to drink some beers with an unfamiliar group of people while hearing a lot of stories behind the kölsch

Good use of time in the city

Antonie_D, Dec 2022

Friendly guide with lots of Good stories, good way to explore. Could do with a designated table in each bar for the tour so that your not wondering round trying to find somewhere with space. But all round a Good thing to go and do.

A fun tour of Kölsch beer through Cologne.

9jcbq5hwjj, Nov 2022

A fun tour of Kölsch beer through Cologne. This was our first trip to Cologne (Köln) and we’re glad we took the tour. The beer culture there is different from other cities in Germany, without the tour, we would’ve felt a little lost. We visited 4 different beer houses all within a close walk of each other. We also learned some stories about cologne and carnival. It was worthwhile and I’d recommend. Don’t forget to bring euro cash for the beers.

Great Beer Tour

Deirdre_O, Nov 2022

We really enjoyed this tour with Zoe, the tour was 2 hours and we got a lot in the time. We would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting Cologne for sure.

Really fun evening

Steve_H, Nov 2022

Great tour on Friday, 25 November. Guide was very knowledgeable and outgoing. We were able to meet fellow travelers and learn the history of Koln and Kolsch. Great way to spend a couple of hours.

Fun, Casual, Informative

Benjamin_B, Nov 2022

Ross was so knowledgeable about Cologne and was funny and kind. Highly recommend! Taught us about history and beer at the same time!

Felix was a super great...

Steven_M, Oct 2022

Felix was a super great guide. He kept my attention the whole time and I learned lots. I could not have asked for more. Thank you so much

Mel was an Excellent Tour Guide!

Gary_P, Oct 2022

Our guide Mel was fantastic! She definitely deserves a raise for her wonderful hosting of our group. Highly recommend the tour, great price and lots of knowledge gained. Prost!

Drink and learn, a great and fun tour

Rafael_C, Oct 2022

We drank and we learned. The guide talked from Roman empire to the ww2, really helping you to understand and appreciate more all the places you visit

The stroll for beer

Mike_P, Aug 2022

Loved hearing the stories and traditions of an old way of life. And the beer. Long may they last... Great time meeting people from all over

Great intro to Koln with excellent guide

jonathanadair73, Jul 2022

Zoe was a great host. We went to four contrasting beer halls and tried different Kolsch. Recommended way to spend an evening in Cologne and meet different people. Wish we had time to go back for food in the first place. It looked incredible.

Great way to find some nice places for a kolsch!

Grant_F, Jul 2022

Really lovely afternoon. Zoey the guide was brilliant and really knowledgeable about the history of kolsch in koln. Definitely worthwhile!

Recommended

Alain_S, Jul 2022

I was solo traveling. I enjoyed the tour. The guide was good and the group was friendly. I recommend it

Great brewery tour in Cologne!

Dina_S, Jun 2022

Super fun time and reasonably priced. We stopped at four breweries and enjoyed a glass of kolsch at each. We learned about the customs surrounding the beer scene in Cologne and enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the city. Our guide, wish I could remember her name, was fantastic. She answered every question asked and was funny and friendly. Would highly recommend this tour.

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