Sage / Gruit

[lexuschris]

Hey all,

I am thinking about doing another gruit, and I really want to incorporate some sage. I've had 3 sage beers in the past 12 months, and they were all delicous... however, I know that any spice in beer can be overdone. Anyone have some thought on how much sage in a 5 gallon batch, and at what time to add to the boil?


--LexusChris

[backyard brewer]

If I were considering a spiced beer, especially something with such a strong herb like sage, the first person I'd reach out to is LexusChris.

[Maltose Parrot]

The sage we used was .6 oz @ 30 min, and .5 oz at flameout. It seemed like it was going to be too sagey at the time, but it mellowed out REAL nice.

[lexuschris]

If I were considering a spiced beer, especially something with such a strong herb like sage, the first person I'd reach out to is LexusChris.

I was going to say that snarky commentary is reserved for only those who have brewed in the past 10 years! But, I see that you've recently earned back your homebrewing badge!

Congrats on your brewday BTW!!
--LexusChris

p.s. Thank you Tony for your 'sage' advice!

[lexuschris]

Side note: While looking up my most recent gruit (March 2015), I started to wonder what happened to 5 gallons of gruit? While I do enjoy my gruit, its not really a sessionable beer, and I don't recall having it on tap and going through it all. In fact, I couldn't remember having much more than a growler or two at a meeting back in '15.

Yesterday, while going through my supplies looking for my gruit herbs, I found 24 unmarked bombers. Could it be? I don't remember bottling the gruit, but it would make sense... gruit is always better after long aging!

Popped a cold bottle tonight, and it was indeed my 2015 gruit!! And it is really tasty!!

Ok, maybe not everyone enjoys hopless beer, but the spices have blended and mellowed, and the wormwood is now a pleasant bitterness behind the lemony yarrow flowers. I'll bring some to the next meeting, but right now, I'm chasing a green fairy ... gotta run!


--LexusChris

[bwarbiany]

Popped a cold bottle tonight, and it was indeed my 2015 gruit!! And it is really tasty!!

Maybe bring a few bottles to SCHF this year?

[backyard brewer]

If I were considering a spiced beer, especially something with such a strong herb like sage, the first person I'd reach out to is LexusChris.

I was going to say that snarky commentary is reserved for only those who have brewed in the past 10 years! But, I see that you've recently earned back your homebrewing badge!

Congrats on your brewday BTW!!
--LexusChris

p.s. Thank you Tony for your 'sage' advice!

Not meant to be snarky at all... I don't know anyone with experience using herbs and spices like you do.

Thanks. Didn't have my glycol source ready so couldn't control temp. Simple Pale Ale, fermented in about 48 hours so might be a little rough.

[lexuschris]

Just joking around I appreciated the irony of it as well!

Yes, I will bring some bottles to SCHF. Both the 2015 gruit, and the one using Sage & Mugwort that I made today.

BTW, as I was at the market looking for cheap sage leaves, I realized Tony used fresh wet leaves ..right? Anyways, I found some affordable live sage in the produce section, and used 1oz as recommended. The smell was really great, and I hope the batch will be as enjoyable as the saison.

Thanks all!

--LexusChris

[brahn]

BTW, as I was at the market looking for cheap sage leaves, I realized Tony used fresh wet leaves ..right?

Yup, we picked them from the garden while the wort was boiling!

[BrewMasterBrad]

Looking forward to trying both of those Chris.

I had the sage pale ale from Dogfish Head yesterday - Pennsylvania Tuxedo. I am normally not a fan of DFH beers, but this was pretty tasty.

[lexuschris]

Sampling more of the 2015 gruit ... very nice. It will make a great addition to the campfire at SCHF!

My sage gruit is ending primary fermenation, and I'm keen to add some light toast oak chips. Anyone have thoughts on how long to let the chips float in there? Do I need to weight them down in a bag or something, or can I just float them.

A little bit of oak character should go well with both the Old Ale version, and the gruit....
--LexusChris

[Megastout]

In the past, I have soaked them in spirits to absorb and weigh them down a bit.
I liked the the spiral cut oak stave the best. (with monofilament fishing line after drilling a hole)