Ooops I got ahead of myself here, up next is actually a pale ale for early summer; the pilz should show up in July.
The early-summer seasonal beer and follow-on to the Kolsch is a Czech Pilsner.
You beer history lesson is that Pilz is the result of repeated failure with standard ale-style brewing in Pilsen, Bohemia. Fed up with their traditional technique, they (purportedly) smuggled yeast from a Bavarian monastery and hired Josef Groll to bring bottom-fermented beer to Pilsen. Combining that style with locally available Saaz noble hops and you get Pilsner, which was first served on 11 November 1842. In gratitude of Groll's contributions to the beer world he was then fired.
I should be bottling the Pilz as soon as I have enough empties from the Kolsch to fit it.
So, this year I had three seedlings (Better Boys) all thrive (and by thrive, I mean, not die). I bought three tomato plants (one better boy, a brandywine, and one other varietal) from the farmer's market which had the benefit of a better upbringing and are already beginning to fruit.
The first brew of the season was a leftover from fall, a relatively dark Vienna Lager. I added some extra honey to sweeten it up a bit. It turned out as an excellent beer for a crisp autumn day, but was drinkable in the early spring as well.
Carbonating and conditioning right now is Kolsch, an ale that masquerades as a lager, native to Cologne. It has a mild aroma of dried banana (seriously), and took quite a while to get ready for bottling, so I'm hopeful for a complex taste.
I planted seeds for the garden this year. It'll be a scaled-back version of the 2 previous years of gardens, as I lack the huge yard of the NutHouse. I intend to grow 2 varieties (or more) of tomatoes, cucumber, and a mix of hot peppers, as well as some herbs (basil, chives, and mint). I might try sunchokes from the some shriveled roots from last year just to see if they come up.
This week we're focusing on using up food and supplies we already have instead of being spendy (last week's fresh seafood-laden N'awlins menu ended up on the expensive side).
But we're resourceful, so we won't be eating poorly this week.
The first brew of the season was a leftover from fall, a relatively dark Vienna Lager. I added some extra honey to sweeten it up a bit. It turned out as an excellent beer for a crisp autumn day, but was drinkable in the early spring as well.
I planted seeds for the garden this year. It'll be a scaled-back version of the 2 previous years of gardens, as I lack the huge yard of the NutHouse. I intend to grow 2 varieties (or more) of tomatoes, cucumber, and a mix of hot peppers, as well as some herbs (basil, chives, and mint). I might try sunchokes from the some shriveled roots from last year just to see if they come up.
