Okay, I confess it's a little "out there" in left field, this idea of an herbal beer, but I have an excuse. It was brew day, I was in the middle of the mash cycle, and found that I had too little hops on hand. A quick tour around the garden for something to help "bitter" this amber ale, when I realized that Jan's lavender flowers might fit the bill just right. I clipped a snippet and crushed it into a small glass, drowned it in an ounce of beer, let it sit for a bit, then filtered it into another glass and tasted a delectable bouquet with a bitter bottom. Sold!
Having sampled a bottle three weeks out, I declare this Lavender Amber Ale to have been worth the risk of a ten-gallon batch of ale, and a worthy descendent of me ole' heather ale, last brewed as batch #103, in April 2010.
Here's to the local flora!
