Next Batch: Honey Kolsch

I'm missing this month's meeting of the Blue Ridge Brewers Association out in Luray, so I thought I would write up another brewing post.  In Friday's post, I mentioned bottling the honey porter...usually that is an activity that I couple with brewing, and last night I did: a honey kolsch.

Unfortunately, I was out of Luray honey and had to use the Minnesota variety that was provided in my kit.  I consider this one an experiment anyway, since I've never been a kolsch enthusiast.

Now here's the description of the honey kolsch, taken from the Northern Brewer instructions that were provided with the kit:




A variation on our extremely popular Kölsch recipe with 
the addition of honey and a new yeast strain for a lighter 
body and flavor. Like our original Kölsch kit, this recipe 
features a pale color, light body, and smooth mouthfeel. 
Honey adds subtle floral character and lightens the body 
by fermenting to dryness. Really nice as a summer brew 
for barbecues and picnics, or to wean your friends off 
watery mass-produced lagers. 

I did brew it as a summer brew; it should be in the bottle around May 1, and then ready for drinking in late May.  I have a few more recipes queued up for later - including a Saison and a Brown Ale.

Final note on the brewing topic for the day - I ordered some hops rhizomes to try and start in the backyard - two each of Golding, Williamette, and Centinnial.  Maybe I will have some home-grown hops to use in this winter's brewing!