Rogue Farms Honey Kolsch (7/10)

Rogue Ales of Oregon has been producing craft beer since the late 1980s.  Their product line has expanded over the years to include mead, cider, sodas, distilled spirits, and a very wide variety of beers.  Rogue's beers are generally known for being hop-forward and unusual.

Their Honey Kolsch is brewed with malt grown on their own farm and honey from their own hives - along with a variety of ingredients from other sources.

Honey Kolsch pours a hazy yellow with thick white head that lasts a while as a thin disc on top of the beer.

The aroma is a mix of what seems to be noble hops and honey.

Flavor is a fairly balanced mix of citrus, honey, and hops bitterness. There is a slight imbalance toward hops, expected for a Rogue Ale product.  Finish is mildly bitter and lingering.

All things considered, it's a nice Kolsch.  The addition of honey offsets to a degree the typical hop-forward nature of a Rogue brew.  I'm giving it a 7 out of 10.  Beer Advocate rates it an 84 or "good" and RateBeer gives it a 70 overall.

The Rogue web site says it's a 5% alcohol by volume beer with 26 IBUs of bitterness and a 12 Plato starting gravity (1.048 SG). This makes the beer's BU:GU ratio 26:48 or approximately 0.54.

I found this particular bottle at The Andersons General Store near Sawmill Road, and have also seen it at Kenny Road Market when in season.