Brewing with sage
 

Anyone ever brewed with sage? I w thinking of doing a winter ale with it but not sure how much to use and when to add it.

I am probably going to add it to the secondary unless I hear otherwise.

Im doing one now.. I did the highland heather ale recipe from BYO.
http://www.byo.com/stories/recipeindex/article/recipes/90-american-amber-a-pale-ale/2271-highland-heather-ale
Did the original version with the heather tips and a second version with McCormick gourmet series sage leaves/rub.. I did the same time on the additions as the heather but did the .5oz(?) Bottle of sage as the replacement for the 2 additions(one in the boil and one secondary for 5 days).. its in the keg now force carbing but at transfer it was delicious and not overbearing.. fell in love with Epic's Utah Sage Saison..
http://www.epicbrewing.com/component/k2/item/268-utah-sage-saison-release-#1
Epic's website says thyme, rosemary and sage and I swear I saw on the McCormick bottle that it was actually a blend of thyme, marjoram and sage so honestly can't remember if it was the gourmet series rub or leaves cause I thought it would work perfect.. I'll come back to this thread when I tap and let you know how it tastes cold and carbed up. :mug:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bison-brewing-company-honey-basil-ale-clone-264689/

I saw this recipe in BYO and it looks interesting.

Dan B.

I haven't brewed with sage, but I've cooked with it a lot being a chef. The hardier herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage are almost never added late or incorporated into cold preparations. These herbs are always usually cooked with the food for a decent amount of time. Thus, I would assume you wouldn't get the best results from "dryherbing" with them. The delicate herbs like parsley, chervil, and cilantro however are best when added during the last 5 minutes or secondary.

I agree with you on flavor.. I did get allot more aroma from my dryherb though.. do you think the alcohol in there would pull more flavor out if left longer than 5 days?

Maybe the better bet is making a tincture with the hardy herbs prior to brewing, and then adding that to flameout AND secondary. Delicate herbs shouldn't require a tincture.

Yup, I actually do that allot. This being the first time with sage, I didn't.