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The brewing technology had developed through inventions, such as the Kühlmaschine von Linde (cooling machine), by the end of the 19th century to such a high level that even with the large amounts of people moving into the city all could be supplied with good quality beer, "The glass of Kölsch for a groschen", which was nearly affordable for all.
Maybe this is why this period is remembered as the good old times. Starting in 1923 there was a drastic change in beer production. The occupation of the Ruhr territory by the French Allied power caused a stop to the supply of hard coal. The hard coal was needed by the brewers to power the steam boilers. Due to this breweries had to switch over to electrical motors. The brewing pen was able to be run by brown or hard coal, depending on which fuel was available at the time. Everything did not go as smoothly as described during the "Good Old Times".
World War I and the social unrest of the Weimar Republic were already having a negative effect on Cologne but nothing could prepare them for World War II. The Reissdorf Brauerei was bombed seven times during the war, the worst impact being on March 2nd 1945. Carl Reissdorf died on the last day of World War II. The Reissdorf Brauerei was 90% destroyed and the brewpub on the Severinstrasse was burned to the ground. Hermann Josef Reissdorf returned to Cologne on June 15th 1945 from detention by the Allies and began immediately with the reconstruction of the brewery.
Picture: The ruins of Brauerei Heinrich Reissdorf after World War II
Along with his father Friedrich Reissdorf, uncle Heinrich Reissdorf, brother Karl-Heinz (starting in 1946) and some former coworkers they managed to reconstruct the brewery. They started by recreating a water supply from the surrounding wells in the town. Then they were able to procure electricity with some American "Kabel-Hilfe" from a transformer station on the Ohm Strasse. The fermenting cellar had survived the war and was made functional again with boilers and pans, the simplest means possible. Hop and malt originated from residues under the rubble and normal yeast was cultivated to become the brewing yeast. The old unused beer barrels were scrubbed clean with water. The rebuilt Reissdorf Brewery finally brewed its first Sud Bier on July 15th 1945. It was a 6% Shankbier.
