March 2026. Cologne. Germany.
With mild alarm I realised that our two lads had actually been to nearly all the Old Town pubs, having arrived a day earlier and stayed out after Monday’s Proper Kolsch Day Out. Never seen them drunk.
They recommended “Salzgasse”, but I needed to try the craft bar, which tellingly our boys had declared “dull”. I’ve said this before, young people will save Proper Pubs.
It was just gone 9pm, central Cologne always empties out quite quickly once the last pork knuckle is devoured, and Tipsy Monk (aka Delirium) wasn’t buzzing.
What a welcoming sight is Scottish sours at 6 euros a 0,25l pour (ugh).
“Anything German” I ask, and get a glass of Sudden Death’s “Divine Jobless“, gorgeous but indistinguishable from anything you’d get in Manchester from Pomona or Two by Two.
I expect a group of 20-something lads could have a good night in here with Lidl’s table ice hockey,
or sitting around discussing what’s the best Kolsch,
but we were in and out in 3 minutes.
retiredmartin 