Sünner Introduces a Pale Top-Fermented Beer

In 1906, the Sünner brewery in Cologne-Kalk added a pale, top-fermented beer to a product range that also included Bock, Export, and lager beer. Cologne had maintained a long tradition of top-fermented brewing, but pale bottom-fermented beers had become increasingly important. Sünner’s new beer combined the city’s established fermentation tradition with the pale appearance increasingly favored by drinkers. The beer became an important precursor of modern Kölsch, but it was not initially marketed under that name. Sünner began advertising its pale top-fermented beer as “Echt Kölsch” later, making the development of the beer and the adoption of the Kölsch designation separate milestones in the style’s history.