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What awaits inside is an atmospheric, historic-feeling traditional beer hall venue, tarred black and stained with smoke, portraits on the walls that hark back centuries. There are enormous medieval style candelabras with tiers of lamp lights attached (better that than wax dripping on your head), and several rooms and ante-rooms all of which are consistent with the theme, some of which look like they have hosted some grand municipal occasions. That sense of importance accentuated by a rather patrician rhythm of service elevates the place from the get go.

Plenty of the Sion experience relies on the food, and while there are some mixed reviews about this, dining in Germany requires careful thought, as the wrong choice can often sit poorly with you afterwards. Our own experience was impressive, with a delicious seasoned half-metre sausage presented on a wooden block virtually the size of a snooker case.

The beer service is much like all the others, a time-honoured and efficient method of making you drink far more than you had ever intended to. The 0.2l glasses disappear in a few minutes flat and very soon they are replaced with another, and so on and so on, delaying the pain on your wallet until the end.

If Fruh is the modern epicentre of Kolsch in the known universe, and Peters is the understated, plucky purveyor of the ultimate Kolsch beer itself, Sion deserves a place in this trilogy for the historical atmosphere that more than the other two brings to life the heritage of pub going in central Cologne.

It’s a little bit more of a restaurant than a pub, but nevertheless qualifies and there is an Ausschank/drinking room after all, so there you have it. I submit this plea for you to visit and go drinking there on that basis.