Brü It Yourself | Inconceivable Rosemary IPA

Author: Steve Thanos

When thinking about how to utilize the rosemary we planted in our backyard earlier this year, my mind naturally drifts to food– Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing, a plethora of potato dishes to accompany grilled burgers and chicken, or perhaps a tasty casserole to warm the soul during the cold Chicago winters. Indeed, this aromatic evergreen herb proves to be quite versatile in the kitchen, imparting foods with sweet piney, herbal, and tea-like characteristics.

The evolution of IPA has been quite remarkable. Whether you prefer it bright and bitter or hazy and pillowy on the palate, there’s a version for everyone these days, and it’s become a style that offers plenty of room for experimentation. After reading Dick Cantwell’s book, Brewing Eclectic IPA, in which he talks about using various non-traditional brewing ingredients to amplify certain flavors in IPA, I was inspired to use the rosemary in my backyard for more than just cooking. It occurred to me many of the descriptors for this pungent herb are also associated with hops and could potentially compliment certain varieties when used in an IPA.

While it has been done, commercial examples of beers made with rosemary are very rare, which makes quality research prior to developing a recipe difficult. Having played around with rosemary once before, I relied on that experience when developing my Inconceivable Rosemary IPA recipe. It’s this type of risk taking I find so appealing about being a homebrewer!

| Making Inconceivable Rosemary IPA |

I went for more of a Midwest IPA grain bill for this recipe, as I thought the richer malt character would pair well with the rosemary notes. For hops, I opted for Simcoe and experimental variety HBC 586 to impart characteristics of pine and tropical fruit, respectively.

Inconceivable Rosemary IPA

I started this brew day by collecting the water and adjusting it to my desired profile before moving to weighing out and milling the grain.

With the water properly heated, I incorporated the grains then checked to make sure it was at my target mash temperature.

The mash was left to recirculate for 60 minutes, during which I occasionally stirred it.

During the mash rest, I prepared the kettle hop additions and snipped 25 grams of rosemary off the bush in my backyard.

When the mash was completed, I removed the grains and proceeded to boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding the hops and rosemary at the times stated in the recipe. Once the boil was finished, I quickly chilled the wort and took a hydrometer measurement confirming it hit my target OG.

After racking the wort to a sanitized fermenter, I pitched a pouch of Imperial Yeast A18 Joystick directly into it.

The beer was left to ferment for 2 weeks at 63˚F/17˚C before I took a hydrometer measurement showing FG was reached.

At this point, I added the dry hop charge along with another dose of fresh cut rosemary.

I let the beer sit for 4 days before racking it to a sanitized keg, which was placed on gas in my keezer and left to condition for 10 days before it was ready to drink.

| IMPRESSIONS |

Sharing many descriptors with certain hops, and despite being an herb not commonly associated with beer, rosemary seemed to me like it might be rather complimentary in an IPA where certain hop varieties were used. Having hopped my initial batch with Citra and Cascade, which contributed a strong citrus character, I opted for Simcoe and HBC 586 for this batch in hopes of the beer having more elements of pine and tropical fruit.

As a Midwesterner, I remain partial to IPA that possesses a more substantial malt backbone than those out west, and I felt the richer flavors contributed by Sugar Creek Ye Olde Pale Ale malt, Munich malt, Vienna malt, and a small dose of Crystal 20 would meld well with the rosemary and hops. I’m typically pretty light handed when it comes to hopping by beers, another indication of my regional preferences perhaps, as I enjoy a more balanced IPA and feel like overdoing it can ruin a batch. In thinking about hopping rates for this Rosemary IPA, I made sure to consider not only the flavor of the rosemary, but the potential impact on bitterness.

In sampling the beer soon after kegging, I felt the rosemary was a bit too strong and overwhelmed the other characteristics of the beer. Thankfully, after a couple weeks in the keg, the pungency subsided enough to make the beer surprisingly tasty. The aromatic rosemary was most prominent on the nose, though the fruiter aspects HBC 586 certainly came through, unlike my last batch where the Citra character stole the show. All in all, I really enjoyed this Rosemary IPA and definitely plan to continue using this herb in future batches.

If you have thoughts about this recipe or experience making something similar, please feel free to share in the comments section below!

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