Ideal of Imagination

Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of imagination.

Immanuel Kant

I liked the idea of deriving names from quotes attributed to German contemporaries of my usual inspirations for names. Kant yielded this quote that I ultimately selected as a statement about how creativity, both its expression and satisfaction, often trumps reason. I think that is true of beer and life in general. Not everything can be explained and any explanation owing doesn't have to detract from our enjoyment. The first (and as of Spring 2020 only) batch of this recipe was a favorite at the malthouse's tasting center, both among the staff and customers.

Ideal of Imagination is the fourth recipe I originally created and brewed for Dark Cloud Malthouse. Ideal is a kölsch style German ale. I love the yeast character that I get using a traditional German ale yeast, it is delicate, not overpowering the malt, the real star of this recipe. Likewise, the hop schedule is light, adding a subtle floral contribution.

Recipe and Logs

I hit my usual sources for constructing this recipe. I am thoroughly happy with the results. I strongly believe the flavor of this beer relies mostly on the wonderful malts from Dark Cloud. If I brew this with other malts, I will debate whether to call it the same beer or brand it as something else. That is how much I believe my favorite local malt contributes.