Gaffel Becker & Co

Gaffel Becker & Co is a brewery based in Cologne, Germany, best known for producing Gaffel Kölsch, a traditional top-fermented beer associated with the city and its brewing culture. The company traces its modern history to 24 May 1908, when the Becker brothers took over a brewery and inn on Eigelstein in Cologne. They renovated the premises and renamed the establishment “In der Gaffel,” drawing on the historical Cologne term “Gaffel.” The name refers to the Gaffeln, the guild and merchant associations that played a major political role in medieval Cologne. Under the city’s charter of 14 September 1396, 22 Gaffeln gained control of the municipal government and participated in the appointment of Cologne’s mayor, aldermen, and judges. The term “Gaffel” was an old Cologne-dialect word for a two-pronged fork, reportedly connected with objects brought back from Venice by Cologne merchants in the eleventh century. The historical reference gives the brewery’s principal brand a distinctly local identity rather than a generic German beer positioning. The brewery site had a much older brewing and hospitality tradition. A predecessor establishment known as Zum Leysten was documented as early as 1302. The site was described in Latin as “braxatoria supra Monticulum,” meaning a brewery above a small hill. In the nineteenth century, the operation was reopened under the name Zum Brüsseler Hof by Gottfried Joseph Schumacher in 1822. Schumacher operated it until 1857; after his death, his siblings managed the business until its sale to Reinhard Joseph Appel in 1859. Appel’s widow continued operating the Brüsseler Hof until 1874. The building subsequently functioned primarily as an inn, with a temporary house brewery run by brewer Adam Lenzen, and later as an inn and beer-trading business under the name Glückauf Brauerei AG. After the Becker brothers’ acquisition in 1908, the inn was renovated and renamed in reference to Cologne’s Gaffeln. Further renovation took place in 1918, when the interior was redesigned with historical motifs from the city. This combination of beer production, hospitality, and Cologne heritage became central to the identity of Gaffel Becker & Co. The company’s principal offering, Gaffel Kölsch, belongs to the Kölsch tradition: a pale, top-fermented beer style strongly identified with Cologne and its surrounding region. The available reference material does not provide a complete account of the company’s ownership structure, management, production volume, export footprint, current facilities, or recent commercial developments. It does, however, establish Gaffel Becker & Co as a historically rooted Cologne brewery whose brand identity is built around local history, traditional brewing, and Kölsch beer.

The brewery’s site has a documented brewing and innkeeping history reaching back to at least 1302, when an establishment called Zum Leysten was recorded. The site was identified in Latin as “braxatoria supra Monticulum,” or a brewery above a small hill. Its later history connected brewing with hospitality and beer trading, a pattern that remained important to the identity of the eventual Gaffel operation. In 1822, Gottfried Joseph Schumacher reopened the brewery and inn under the name Zum Brüsseler Hof. He managed the business until 1857. Following his death, his siblings ran the establishment until selling it to Reinhard Joseph Appel in 1859. Appel’s widow continued operating the Brüsseler Hof until 1874. The premises then served mainly as an inn. Brewer Adam Lenzen operated a house brewery there for a period, after which the location functioned as an inn and beer-trading business under the name Glückauf Brauerei AG. On 24 May 1908, the Becker brothers acquired the brewery. They renovated the inn and changed its name to “In der Gaffel,” a reference to the historic Cologne Gaffeln. The Gaffeln were guild and merchant associations that became the political institutions governing Cologne under the city charter of 14 September 1396. The term “Gaffel” itself was an old Cologne-dialect word for a two-pronged fork and was associated with the city’s medieval merchant culture. The premises underwent another major renovation in 1918. The interior was redesigned with historical motifs representing Cologne, reinforcing the relationship between the brewery and the city’s cultural identity. The name and visual setting connected the business not only to beer production but also to Cologne’s historic inns, civic institutions, and local traditions. Gaffel Becker & Co is principally associated with Gaffel Kölsch. Kölsch is a regional German beer style produced by top fermentation and traditionally linked to Cologne. The brewery’s identity therefore rests on a combination of geographic origin, historical continuity, and adherence to a local beer tradition. The supplied reference material does not document the company’s complete subsequent corporate history, changes in ownership, current management, precise production sites, or international distribution. Those areas require additional authoritative sources.

1. 1918Historical interior renovation

   The building was renovated again, with interior decoration incorporating historical motifs from Cologne.

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2. 1908The Becker brothers take over

   On 24 May, the Becker brothers acquired the brewery, renovated the inn, and renamed it In der Gaffel.

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3. 1859Sale to Reinhard Joseph Appel

   After Schumacher’s siblings had managed the business, the establishment was sold to Reinhard Joseph Appel.

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4. 1857End of Schumacher’s management

   Gottfried Joseph Schumacher’s management of the brewery and inn ended after his death.

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5. 1822Reopening as Zum Brüsseler Hof

   Gottfried Joseph Schumacher reopened the brewery and inn under the name Zum Brüsseler Hof.

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6. Early record of the predecessor brewery and inn

   The site later associated with Gaffel was documented as Zum Leysten, a brewery and inn.

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A Cologne-rooted regional brewery positioned around traditional top-fermented Kölsch beer and the city’s guild, merchant, and hospitality heritage.

• Gaffel KölschBeer

  Gaffel Kölsch is the brewery’s signature beer and is associated with Cologne’s regional brewing tradition. It is a top-fermented beer in the Kölsch style, a pale beer category strongly identified with Cologne and its surrounding area. The product provides the clearest expression of Gaffel Becker & Co’s local positioning and historical connection to the city.

1. Gaffel Becker & Co