Tasting the Sage Pale Ale

The Sage Pale Ale I brewed a while back is at peak drink-ability right now, so I figured I'd write up tasting session notes for it, like I did for my Poi Wheat Ale back in March.



Aroma: Floral hop notes mixed with an apparent sage smell, and, inexplicably, a hint of "soap."

Appearance: Rich yellowish orange color. Clear enough to see the rising bubbles sharply, but not clear enough to read through. Copious frothy head that fades to a loose-packed, big-bubble cap.

Flavor: Pronounced bitterness initially, with sage kicking in halfway through, and sage and bitterness lingering long afterwards. Malt flavors are definitely taking second-seating to the hop-bitterness and the sage. And the sage flavor brings poultry dishes to mind, though of course there isn't any chicken/turkey taste to the beer. (This flavor-association phenomena reminds me of a tasting I attended at the Alaskan Brewing Company in Juneau. The standout beer on tap was, by far, their Smoked Porter, which features grains smoked with alder wood. Alder wood is commonly used to smoke salmon, too, and the alder flavor present in the beer made some people think the beer had fish in it.)

Mouthfeel: Very light in body (a successful result of my low-mash-temperature approach to this brew). Despite the flowing bubbles, the beer doesn't have any serious carbonation tingle. When you get most of the way through the glass, the hop and sage oils start to make the tongue feel a bit pickled.

Overall Impression: Pretty good! Provides the crisp, herb-oriented satisfaction of a Pale Ale, but it's definitely a unique experience because of the sage. I also appreciate the fact that it offers that herb-fix without the weight of an IPA (OG = 1.044, FG = 1.006; 5% estimated abv).

Other Info: I'm pretty happy with how this beer turned out. In fact, I'm happy enough to feel like it's worth sharing. If any local Homebrewing in Hawaii readers are curious to see how culinary sage fits into a Pale Ale style, feel free to send me an email at: mf.soriano (at) yahoo (dot) com. We can do a homebrew bottle trade!