Session IPAs are typically lighter and less hoppy. This leaves room to add some fun flavors like herbs. We decided to try a session with notes of rosemary and sage. The base session IPA was a kit from Northern Brewer.
I didn't document the initial brewing too much, so here's the basic recipe.
Recipe
- 0.75 Caramel 40 Specialty grains
- 6 lbs Gold LME
- 1 lb Gold DME
- 1 oz Centennial hop pellets
- 2 oz Cascade hop pellets
- 2 oz Citra hop pellets
- Wyeast 1272 American Ale II
- Herbs: 2 oz fresh rosemary, 1 oz fresh sage, 1 oz dried lemongrass
At 60 min, we added 0.5 oz Centennial. At 30 min we added 0.5 oz Centennial with 1 oz fresh Rosemary, in a hop bag. At 20 mins, 1 oz Cascade hops, then another 1 oz Cascade at 10 mins. Right after flame-out we added 2 oz Citra and soaked 0.5 oz sage and 0.5 oz dried lemongrass in a hop bag. The hop bags were removed after steeping for a few minutes. All herbs were cut slightly to intensify flavors.
To intensify the herbs flavor after initial fermentation, we put 1 oz rosemary, 0.5 oz sage, and 0.5 oz lemongrass to soak in vodka for about 1 week. After which, we added the vodka directly to the brew.
This brew turned out pretty well. It wasn't too intense in rosemary flavor...which I was a bit worried about. When you get a full oz of fresh rosemary together it looks like a lot! The aroma though, that's where this beer shined. The rosemary and sage both come out strongly in the nose.
