The name is not the only curiosity about Brauhaus Schreckenskammer. We are delighted to introduce you to this traditional and unusual brewery.
First of all, the special name must be clarified. The brewery does not have a ghost train in the back yard and to date there are no known ghosts that haunt the brewhouse. So where does this unusual name come from? There are two theories about the name. One explanation goes back to the brewery's neighborhood: opposite the brewery there used to be the training institute of the Franconian-Marchian Railway. Space in the institute was limited, so the exams of future railway workers were partly outsourced. The candidates took their exams over in the brewery. An excellent place for such exertions: beer is a miracle cure for jittery nerves and also helped if you messed up the exam. According to legend, one day a new state examiner walked into the brewery and asked the landlord "Where is the chamber of horrors?" By this he meant the examination room and at the same time invented a curious name for the brewery. The second theory is a little darker: the brewery is located between the former courthouse and the place of execution where criminals were hanged in the dark Middle Ages. The brewery served the damned their last meal and this could be why it is called the Chamber of Horrors. Nowadays, no one is executed in Cologne and the candidates for the railway are put through their paces elsewhere, but the name has stuck.
The Schreckenskammer brewery was first mentioned in documents in 1487 as a brewery. Back then, beer was already being brewed here, albeit under a different name. The brewery has changed hands countless times and was even destroyed in the Second World War. Brewing continued after it was rebuilt and continues to this day. The Schreckenskammer's specialty is Kölsch . The brewery has its own house recipe, which is passed down from generation to generation of brewers. A special thing about this recipe is that the brewers do not add any carbon dioxide. The result is a gentle beer with a soft aroma, character and taste. Tradition is very important at the Schreckenskammer, and you notice this when you enter the inn. The rustic atmosphere invites you to linger, a delicate aroma of food fills the air, and the oak floorboards crunch underfoot. Crunching? A look at the floor confirms the crunching and raises the question: Why is there sand here? Sand is the traditional way of maintaining untreated oak floors. The fine grains scrub the wood and extend its lifespan through their cleaning and hardening properties. That's why sand is used here.
