brewing with sage and/or chestnuts

Anyone had the Nøgne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin/Stone Special Holiday Ale this season? I for one am ridiculously impressed with this beer and I want to create something close to it. I can probably put the grain bill together but what I'm more concerned about is the sage and chestnuts.

I guess what I'm asking is if anyone here has successfully brewed with either sage and/or chestnuts and if so, what amounts did you use?

Mammoth Brewing Company has a beer called IPA 395 that has a huge (at least I think it's huge) sage flavor. Personally I can't stand the beer, but they said it was their most popular beer. You can email them and see if they can give you a hint.

Wow, not a fan of the 395?!? That's one of my favorite IPAs, and Im always excited to come across it since the Mammoth distribution is so limited and I certainly don't get down that side of the Sierra very often... Anyways, I think the mountain sage and juniper berries add a great flavor that blends really nicely with the hops they're using... IMHO that is...

Back on the original topic, I just pitched and sealed the lid on my first chestnut brown, so i'll update in a few weeks with results...

Partial Mash Recipe:

Grains:
2 lb Maris Otter
1/2 lb Brown Malt
1/4 lb Crystal 30-37
1/2 lb Oats

Hops:
1/2oz Cluster @ 0min
1/2oz Cluster @ 30min (also Whirlfloc)
1/2oz Fuggles @ 45min
1/2oz Fuggles @ 55min

Extract and Additives:
6.5 lb LME
1 Jar Blackstrap Molasses
1.5 lb. Cracked Chestnuts (roasted@425, added last 10min of boil)

1.068 OG

I brewed up a clone of the Mammoth 395 with their help, here is the advice they gave for the sage....

"We use local sage we pick off of great basin sage plants. This is different than culinary sage. Not to say you can't make a nice beer using culinary sage, but it is a different flavor. So, I'm not sure what you have available to use:
Whichever you use, I would add it to the fermenter when fermentation is ending along with the juniper berries and hops. We crush the Juniper berries, put them and the sage into a hop sack, and add to the fermenter that way."

He recommended using .25 oz of sage per 5 Gallons. The beer I made actually came out really well, not as good as their 395 IPA, but still an interesting beer and definitely perfect for Thanksgiving!

395 is one of my favorites as well. Did they give you any recommendations on the amount of juniper berries?