Brauhaus Sion

This guide to Brauhaus Sion in Cologne opens on a modern comedy night in the old brewing hall, then reaches back to a tavern that has stood on this spot since 1318 and the Sion family who took it over in 1912. It follows Allied bombs flattening the building in 1942, and Hans Sion, a lawyer rather than a brewer, stepping in afterward with the occupying British authorities. You'll also hear about the barrels still riding down from the cellar on the old lift, and the Köbes in their black waistcoats who keep count the old-fashioned way.