Sage Ale No. 1: Dreamweaver
This ale calls on the four pillars of thought to weave a highly intoxicating spell that can be channelled to realise dreams, to manifest, and to fine tune personal reality: sage for wisdom, yarrow for purity, damiana for constancy and wormwood for dreaming. Elderflower ensures clear seeing in higher dimensions, hawthorn is for balance, and the juniper berries form synergistic relationships with the primary herbs, and draw forth their magical, medicinal and psychoactive properties. As well as being formulated to facilitate dreaming and expanded consciousness, the mix of herbs in this ale work together to offer magical and energetic protection, and to promote love.
55 - 60 g ( 2 oz) dried sage
15 g elderflower
8 g dried yarrow
7 g dried wormwood
3 g dried damiana
3 g dried hawthorn flower and leaf
13 juniper berries
Pinch of caraway seeds
1 kg (2 lb) of dark malt
100 g homemade pale malt extract
500 - 750 g (1/2 to 3/4 lb) raw sugar
8 litres (2 gallon) pure water
Yeast starter
Bring water to boil, add all herbs except half of the sage, a third of the elderflower, the juniper berries, and the caraway seeds, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and steep the herbs overnight.
Bring heat up to 70° C. Place the dark malt and the sugar in the fermenting vessel, then strain the liquid onto it. Stir until the malt and sugar are dissolved. Add the reserved sage, elderflower, and caraway seeds, stir in, and allow to cool. When the liquid is between 21-28° C, stir in the pale malt, then add the yeast and stir. Crush each juniper berry between the fingers while holding a desired outcome in your mind. Place the berries one by one in the liquid. Cover vessel and allow to ferment 7 – 10 days, until there are just a few scattered patches of foam on the surface. Before bottling, prime each bottle with 1 tsp of raw sugar, fill to just above the shoulder, place a juniper berry in each bottle (along with a little sediment if possible), then cap and store.