Früh Alcohol-Free Beers

Früh is a family-owned Kölsch brewery in Cologne: Peter Josef Früh opened FRÜH am Dom, by the cathedral, in 1904, and his descendants still own it. Its alcohol-free Kölsch, which it says was the first on the market when it launched in 1992, is now 0.0%.

Who are Früh?

Peter Josef Früh came from a brewing family in Brühl and founded the Aposteln-Bräu in 1895, the brewery says. In 1904, at Am Hof 12, he opened the brewpub FRÜH am Dom, with a brewery for top-fermented beer. After the war Hermann Müller Senior and Eduard Rolff led it, and from 2000 the fifth generation, Alexander Rolff and Philipp C. Müller, it says.

After 26 years, Alexander Rolff handed the management to Frank Höhler, who joined from Franken Brunnen at the turn of the year as managing director and partner of Philipp C. Müller, about-drinks reported in September 2025; Rolff stays on as a shareholder and adviser. Höhler isn’t from the family, but the families still own the brewery and we found no drinks-group stake, so we list it as independent.

Früh in Cologne

FRÜH am Dom is right by Cologne Cathedral, with a beer garden, a historic cellar and a standing-room beer hall; Früh calls it its main house (Stammhaus), with more than 120 years of Früh history. It also runs Em Golde Kappes in Nippes, a pub since 1913, Em Veedel on Chlodwigplatz, since 1979, Em Tattersall at the Weidenpesch racecourse and Em Jan von Werth, with a skittle alley, plus outlets at Cologne/Bonn Airport and the main station, it says. We found no brewery tours.

In the mid-1980s it built a new brewery on the northern edge of the city, it says (PerfectDraft gives 1987). Since 2019 its Feldkassel site has also brewed for Haus Kölscher Brautradition, part of the Radeberger Gruppe, without any purchase or stake, about-drinks reported.

What Früh brews

FRÜH Kölsch, 4.8%, is brewed to the original 1904 recipe, using the Slow Brewing method, the brewery says, and it claims to be the only Kölsch brewery holding the Slow Brewing seal, since 2014. Its Kölsch carries the Kölsch protected geographical indication seal, and Früh has signed the Kölsch Convention. It comes in 0.33 l and 0.5 l longneck bottles and a 0.5 l can. Früh also makes a NaturRadler, which James Clay lists at 2.2%, and FRÜH Sport Fassbrause, a mix of lemon soda and its alcohol-free Kölsch, which isn’t a beer and isn’t in our directory.

How big is Früh?

Its output first passed 100,000 hectolitres in 1976, the brewery says, and its brew kettles now deliver just under 400,000 hectolitres a year, a line its timeline places around 2000. PerfectDraft calls it the largest brewery in Cologne. Früh says it has around 400 staff; about-drinks reported nearly 600 in 2025. It’s sold from Heligoland to Munich, and in more than 30 export countries, it says.

Früh’s alcohol-free Kölsch

Früh says it brought out the first alcohol-free Kölsch in 1992; we found no independent check of that. It later took out the remaining alcohol, but its own pages differ on when: one says since 2007, the other 2008. Früh Kölsch 0.0% is labelled 0.0%, and Früh removes the alcohol only after the beer has fully matured, it says; it doesn’t name the method.

It’s still top-fermented, at an original gravity of 11.3%, and in taste it’s a real Früh, the brewery says. Früh gives 16 kcal (68 kJ) per 100ml, about 53 kcal in a 330ml bottle (our sum), and doesn’t publish its ingredients. It sells it in 0.33 l and 0.5 l returnable bottles; The Alcohol Free Co also lists a 500ml can, which Früh doesn’t. The UK trade supplier James Clay lists it in 24 × 33cl bottles. The Alcohol Free Co’s spec line and Wise Bartender give 0.5%, which doesn’t match the brewer. We found no awards for it.

How Früh Kölsch 0.0% compares

Alcohol-free beers from German breweries in our directory: Früh’s Kölsch and four pilsners. Calories as published; checked 31 October 2026. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

The Früh beer in our directory

Checked October 2026. Calories are from Früh’s website. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

Where to buy Früh Kölsch 0.0%

On 29 October 2026 The Alcohol Free Co had six 330ml bottles for £14.11, Dry Drinker six for £13.77 and Wise Bartender 500ml singles at £2.50; those are affiliate links. For more German alcohol-free beers, see our guide to the best German alcohol-free beer.

Facts checked against Früh’s own website, about-drinks, PerfectDraft, James Clay, The Alcohol Free Co, Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender, 31 October 2026.