Cologne is in mourning: cult brewery Zur Malzmühle stops production!

Cologne is in mourning: cult brewery Zur Malzmühle stops production!

The traditional Cologne brewery “Zur Malzmühle” has stopped producing Mühlen Kölsch, a bitter blow to the local beer culture, which has had a permanent place in the city's offerings since 1858. In a surprising turn of events, the Gaffel brewery and Malzmühle have entered into a strategic partnership to take over the brand and production of Mühlen Kölsch. In the future, Mühlen Kölsch will be produced in the Gaffel brewing halls, as Bild reports.

Gaffel shareholder Heinrich Philipp Becker described Mühlen Kölsch as one of the most popular brands in the Kölsch market and sees the takeover as strengthening the industry. Malzmühlen boss Melanie Schwartz also commented positively on the partnership and explained that the future focus of the Malzmühle would be on its own restaurants.

Merger on the beer market

The contracts between Gaffel and the Malzmühle Brewery were signed on Monday, and employees received the necessary information on Monday and Tuesday. In addition to taking over production and sales, Gaffel also plans to collaborate on events as well as in purchasing and logistics. The two breweries hope to counteract the decline in the Kölsch market, which fell to 1.37 million hectoliters last year, as the Rundschau reports.

The history of Mühlen Kölsch is long and esteemed, but the surreality is that more and more large breweries, like the Dom-Brauerei, have given up their breweries. The Dom Brewery stopped listing in 2010 and since then production has been carried out using the contract brewing process. With the takeover of Mühlen Kölsch, Gaffel and Malzmühle can avoid further losses in the Cologne beer landscape.

Looking into the future

The recipe for Mühlen Kölsch remains unchanged and was retained in coordination with the master brewers at the Mühlen Brewery. Only the design is supplemented with the addition of “fresh from the malt mill”, which will remain a familiar sight for many.

In addition, the Sünner brewery in Cologne-Kalk continues to operate and produces its beer specialties, including Sünner Kölsch. This development shows that, despite challenges, the Cologne breweries are dealing creatively and entering into innovative partnerships to promote and preserve Cologne's brewing culture. For the Kölsch market, which was affected by a decline in sales last year, this is a glimmer of hope, as Brauer-Bund summarizes.