Beer of the Week: White Sage

From the Beer Writer: With so many beers being produced in San Diego, it’s pretty tough for upstart ales and lagers to gain traction. Typically, when I start seeing a new beer mentioned all over social media or catch word-of-mouth wind, it’s something brewed with Strata, Nelson, Mosaic, Nectaron or some other “it hop”, some saccharine barrel-aged behemoth or a collab with a celebrity (or a “celebrity”). So, it’s been fun to watch a new brew from a small, start-up brewery gain a visible following relying on little more than indigenous plant life. Enter this week’s featured beer, White Sage IPA from family-run Blue Fire Brewing. The brothers behind this San Marcos operation’s brewing program utilize white sage foraged from nearby Oceanside in a higher-ABV IPA with early-2000s appeal. Though it’s added extremely sparingly, the sage’s herbal, earthy characteristics burst through, intermingling with bittering hops for a pungent sensual experience on the nose and taste buds. Blue Fire’s fans are not only loving it but sharing their affection for White Sage IPA with their beer-loving friends. Proof of that came at the recent San Diego Beer News Awards, where the beer came just a few votes shy of first place in the Niche IPA category. The winning beer was Societe Brewing’s The Coachman, a session IPA that’s won two Great American Beer Festival gold medals, has been in production for eight years and is available at most grocery, big-box and liquor stores across the county. For a tiny beermaker with less than nine months under their belts to nearly pull the upset says a ton. Cheers to a beer that’s anything but an also-ran! 

From the Brewer: “We, the people of San Diego County, are fortunate to have resinous and aromatic herbs that grow wild on our hills and in our canyons. I grew up trekking these sage-covered lands, and I hope my appreciation for the local flora is represented in this beer, which is simply called White Sage IPA. On the higher end of the ABV (alcohol-by-volume) spectrum at 7.7%, this beer can be appreciated by the sniff, sip or gulp due to its subdued bitterness and smooth mouthfeel. Herbaceous and earthy while retaining its beer nature, we hope you try our White Sage IPA soon and enjoy it in good company. Cheers!”—Tommy Gordon, Co-founder & Head Brewer, Blue Fire Brewing