EN Official Journal of the European Union C 254/12

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2008/C 254/09)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

AMENDMENT APPLICATION

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

Amendment application pursuant to Article 9 and Article 17(2)

‘KÖLSCH’

EC No: DE/PGI/117/0655/10.05.2004

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

Amendments(s) requested

Heading(s) in the specification

Name of product Description of product Geographical area Proof of origin Method of production Link Labelling National requirements

Amendment(s)

Description: A pale, highly attenuated, strongly hopped, polished top-fermented beer with uniform quality requirements:

— low-alcohol Kölsch: 2,1-2,8 % Vol.,

— alcohol-free Kölsch: < 0,5 % Vol.

The beers from which low-alcohol and alcohol-free Kölsch beers are made meet the same quality requirements as under points 1 to 6.

Grounds: Up to now, the quality requirements under points 1 to 6 indicated the average figures for the Kölsch beers made by all producers, in some cases without tolerances, which was misleading. This has now been replaced by ranges, which have also been adapted to technical requirements and/or changes in consumer taste.

In the case of low-alcohol and alcohol-free ‘Kölsch’ beers, which are only made by producers of Kölsch, some or all of the alcohol is subsequently removed from the finished, fully fermented Kölsch, leaving all other ingredients unchanged, i.e. the quality requirements under points 1 to 6 still apply. The ‘lighter’ taste is due solely to the subsequent reduction in the alcohol content. Low-alcohol and alcohol-free Kölsch beers are still ‘full beers’. In line with consumer interests, they already existed before 26 January 1994, although no mention was made of this when the original application was made. Low-alcohol and alcohol-free Kölsch enjoys the same reputation as Kölsch beers.

Geographical area: City of Cologne and the towns of Bedburg, Bonn, Brühl, Dormagen, Frechen, Leverkusen, Monheim and Wiehl outside the City of Cologne.

Grounds: The reference to the geographical location of the breweries currently producing Kölsch is deleted. The description of the geographical area as such remains unchanged.

Proof of origin: All purchasing documents such as order forms, delivery notes and waybills, together with all supplier and client invoices, are filed and/or registered on computer. In this way the immediate suppliers of all raw materials — brewing malt (barley and/or wheat malt), ground or pelletised hops or hop extract, brewing water, top-fermenting yeast — and the immediate commercial purchasers — are documented and traceable. In addition, when each batch/lot is bottled, canned or kegged samples are retained and each sales unit bears a reference to the producing brewery and the batch/lot number.

Grounds: The previous description under the heading ‘Proof of origin’ is transferred unchanged to the heading ‘Link to geographical area’. The heading ‘Proof of origin’ now contains a description of the measures ensuring the traceability of the final product ‘Kölsch’ back to its place of production in the geographical area.

Method of production: Produced in accordance with the German ‘beer purity’ laws (Reinheitsgebot) using a top-fermenting single-strain yeast.

All Kölsch beers, including the low-alcohol and alcohol-free varieties, have always been brewed in accordance with the German purity laws. Accordingly, the only raw materials used are brewing malt (barley and/or wheat malt), hops, brewing water and top-fermenting yeast. Brewing malt and hops are bought in from suppliers, as is, in some cases, brewing water where the brewery does not have its own source, and top-fermenting single-strain yeast in the rare cases in which it is not grown in or by the brewery itself in the geographical area.

Incoming brewing malt is stored in silos. It is then taken from the silos and milled. The ground malt obtained from milling is mixed with water, which may also be from sources outside the geographical area, and the starch contained in the malt is broken down by enzymes in the mashing process. Following mashing, the wort is extracted by separation. The wort is then mixed with hops and boiled. The solids produced are separated from the wort in a clarification process, and the hot wort is cooled by a heat exchanger. Top-fermenting yeast is then added to the cooled wort, which is then aerated and fed into the fermenter. In the fermenter, the carbohydrates produced in the brewing process are converted into alcohol and CO2 by the top-fermenting yeast, which then flocculates and rises to the top of the wort. The resultant immature beer is then cooled, conditioned and filtered. The filtered beer is then stored in pressurised tanks before going on to the various types of filling process, which may also take place outside the geographical area.

For low-alcohol and alcohol-free Kölsch beers, the alcohol content of the finished, fully fermented beer is reduced, mainly by vacuum distillation and vaporisation or reverse osmosis through semi-permeable membranes or dialysis. All these operations also take place in the geographical area.

Grounds: All the individual steps of the production process are now described with reference to the geographical area, as was already done in the summary sent to the Landesamt für Ernährungswirtschaft und Jagd Nordrhein-Westfalen on 19 May 2004. The details of individual quality requirements previously given are now under the heading ‘Description’ and the average figures have been replaced by ranges in some cases.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘KÖLSCH’

EC No DE/PGI/117/0655/10.05.2004

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Bundesministerium der Justiz Address: Mohrenstraße 37 D-10117 Berlin (Postanschrift: D-11015 Berlin) Tel. (49-18) 885 80-0 or (49-30) 20 25-70 Fax (49-18) 885 80-95 25 or (49-30) 20 25-95 25 E-mail: matzner-an@bmj.bund.de

2. Group:

Name: Kölner Brauerei-Verband e.V. Address: Lungengasse 48-50 D-50676 Köln Tel. (49-221) 240 38 28 Fax (49-221) 921 80 19 E-mail: — Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3. Type of product:

Class 2.1: Beer

4. Specification:

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1. Name: ‘Kölsch’

4.2. Description: A pale, highly attenuated, strongly hopped, polished top-fermented beer with uniform quality requirements:

— low-alcohol Kölsch: 2,1-2,8 % Vol.,

— alcohol-free Kölsch: < 0,5 % Vol.

The beers from which low-alcohol and alcohol-free Kölsch beers are made meet the same quality requirements as under points 1 to 6.

4.3. Geographical area: City of Cologne and the towns of Bedburg, Bonn, Brühl, Dormagen, Frechen, Leverkusen, Monheim and Wiehl outside the City of Cologne.

4.4. Proof of origin: All purchasing documents such as order forms, delivery notes and waybills, together with all supplier and client invoices, are filed and/or registered on computer. In this way the immediate suppliers of all raw materials — brewing malt (barley and/or wheat malt), ground or pelletised hops or hop extract, brewing water, top-fermenting yeast — and the immediate commercial purchasers — are documented and traceable. In addition, when each batch/lot is bottled, canned or kegged samples are retained and each sales unit bears a reference to the producing brewery and the batch/lot number.

4.5. Method of production: Produced in accordance with the German ‘beer purity’ laws (Reinheitsgebot) using a top-fermenting single-strain yeast.

All Kölsch beers, including the low-alcohol and alcohol-free varieties, have always been brewed in accordance with the German purity laws. Accordingly, the only raw materials used are brewing malt (barley and/or wheat malt), hops, brewing water and top-fermenting yeast. Brewing malt and hops are bought in from suppliers, as is, in some cases, brewing water where the brewery does not have its own source, and top-fermenting single-strain yeast in the rare cases in which it is not grown in or by the brewery itself in the geographical area.

Incoming brewing malt is stored in silos. It is then taken from the silos and milled. The ground malt obtained from milling is mixed with water, which may also be from sources outside the geographical area, and the starch contained in the malt is broken down by enzymes in the mashing process. Following mashing, the wort is extracted by separation. The wort is then mixed with hops and boiled. The solids produced are separated from the wort in a clarification process, and the hot wort is cooled by a heat exchanger. Top-fermenting yeast is then added to the cooled wort, which is then aerated and fed into the fermenter. In the fermenter, the carbohydrates produced in the brewing process are converted into alcohol and CO2 by the top-fermenting yeast, which then flocculates and rises to the top of the wort. The resultant immature beer is then cooled, conditioned and filtered. The filtered beer is then stored in pressurised tanks before going on to the various types of filling process, which may also take place outside the geographical area.

For low-alcohol and alcohol-free Kölsch beers, the alcohol content of the finished, fully fermented beer is reduced, mainly by vacuum distillation and vaporisation or reverse osmosis through semi-permeable membranes or dialysis. All these operations also take place in the geographical area.

4.6. Link to geographical area: The quality and reputation of Kölsch are based on the thousand-year history and tradition of beer-brewing in Cologne and the surrounding area. The brewing of beer there goes back to the ninth century. The first authentic mention of brewing in Cologne and the surrounding area is in a foundation document for the Monastery of Gerresheim, which refers to breweries in Cologne. The brewers' guild in Cologne was formed around 1250. Up to the start of the 20th century only top-fermented beers were made, when competition from bottom-fermented beers led to the latter being banned for a while by the city council and the municipal beer and brewing office in order to protect the traditional trade. Ultimately Kölsch has withstood this competition because of constant improvements to its quality.

Low-alcohol and alcohol-free Kölsch beers have been made, exclusively by producers of Kölsch, since January 1994. Low-alcohol and alcohol-free Kölsch beers are still ‘full beers’. To produce them, some or all of the alcohol is subsequently removed from the finished, fully fermented Kölsch, leaving all other ingredients unchanged. Low-alcohol and alcohol-free Kölsch enjoys the same reputation as Kölsch beers.

4.7. Inspection body:

Name: Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein-Westfalen Address: Leibnitzstraße 10 D-45659 Recklinghausen (Postanschrift: Postfach 101052, D-45610 Recklinghausen) Tel. (49-201) 15 90 22 33 Fax (49-201) 79 95 14 46 E-mail: christiane.ratsack@lanuv.nrw.de

4.8. Labelling: Varies depending on the Kölsch brand of the individual brewery, possibly including a reference to protection of the name Kölsch as a ‘geschützte geographische Angabe’ or ‘g.g.A.’ (protected geographical indication).

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.