Rosemary And Vanilla IPA is not a complicated beer to brew, but it rewards attention to detail. Pilsner malt forms the base of the mash here, and the hop schedule carries the hop character through to the glass.
Recipe at a Glance
Recipe at a Glance
| Style | Rosemary And Vanilla IPA |
| Batch Size | 5 gallons (19L) |
| Boil Time | 60-90 minutes |
| Original Gravity | 1.056-1.070 |
| Final Gravity | 1.010-1.014 |
| ABV | 5.8-7.5% |
| IBU | 50-70 |
| SRM | 6-14 (gold to copper) |
| Difficulty | Intermediate (all-grain) |
Brew Day, Step by Step
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1
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Mash · ~60 min Mash the grain bill, led by Pilsner malt, at a steady temperature to build the fermentable sugars this style needs. Sparge slowly so you do not lose efficiency. |
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2
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Boil · ~60-90 min Bring the wort to a boil and work through the hop schedule, starting with the hop schedule. This is also where you will add any fining agent for a clearer finished beer. |
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3
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Ferment · 22C (72F) Pitch Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier once the wort has cooled to fermentation temperature and hold it steady. Primary fermentation is the most active week, do not rush it. |
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4
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Condition · 2 weeks at 10C (50F) Rack to secondary (or leave in primary if your recipe calls for it) and let the beer round out at a cool, steady temperature. This step does more for the final flavor than people expect. |
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5
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Package · 1 day, then wait Bottle or keg once gravity has held steady for a few days in a row. Give it time to carbonate and, for bigger styles, additional time to mellow before your first taste. |
That’s the shape of brew day and the weeks after it. For the exact grain bill, hop schedule, and full step-by-step instructions with amounts, use the recipe card below.
What You Will Need
Sourcing your own ingredients locally is always fine, but if you want to skip a homebrew store trip, here is what’s in stock in our shop right now:
- Base and specialty grain: Grains & Adjuncts (e.g. Weyermann Chocolate Rye Malt 1 Lb)
- Bittering and aroma hops: Brewing Hops (e.g. Chinook Hop Pellets 8 oz)
- Yeast: Brewing Yeast (e.g. LalBrew Nottingham Brewing Yeast (2 Pack) – Make Beer at Home)
- Secondary fermenter for conditioning: Fermenters & Carboys (e.g. 3 Gallon Clear Glass Italian Carboy)
- Priming sugar for bottling: Priming Sugar (e.g. Corn Sugar Dextrose Bottling Priming Sugar 1 lb Highly Fermentable N)
- General kit and tools: Homebrew Equipment (e.g. Deluxe Bottling Kit Craft a Brew Homebrew Bottler Equipment Home Bre)
- Pour it right when it’s ready: a tulip glass shows off the color and holds the aroma better than a straight pint glass
Serve It Right
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A Rosemary And Vanilla IPA is best served in a tulip or shaker pint, it fits the body and carbonation of this style better than a straight pint glass. Here is one from our shop: |
Ingredients & Gear for This Batch
Grain / Adjuncts |
Hops |
Yeast |
Fermenter FASTFERMENT Floor Stand for FastFerment 7.9 Gallon Conical Fermenter |
Priming Sugar |
Equipment |
Full Recipe: Grain Bill, Hops, and Instructions
Rosemary and Vanilla IPA
Equipment
- 1 Mash tun
- 1 Brew kettle
- 1 Wort chiller
- 1 Fermenter (e.g. carboy or bucket)
- 1 Airlock
- 1 Hydrometer
- 1 Thermometer
- 1 Auto-siphon
- 1 Bottling bucket
- 1 Bottles
- 1 Bottle capper
- 1 Bottle caps
- 1 Sanitizer solution (e.g. StarSan)
Ingredients
For the Mash – Liquor 13 Litres (23 Pints) – Mash Time 1 hr – Temperature 67°C (153°F)
- 10 lb Pilsner malt Quantity 4.5 kg
- 1 lb Wheat malt Quantity 500 g
- 14 oz Carapils malt Quantity 400 g
For the Boil – 27 Litres (47 1/2 Pints) – Boil Time 1 hr – 15 mins
- 1/4 oz Chinook 18.4% When to add – At start of boil (IBU 18.4)
- 1/4 oz Chinook 13.1% When to add – For last 10 mins of boil (IBU 14.0)
- 1/4 oz Chinook 13.1% When to add – At turn off (IBU 10.0)
- 50 g Rosemary Other – When to add – For last 10 mins of boil
- 1 tsp Protofloc Other – When to add – For last 15 mins of boil
To Ferment – 22°C (72°F) – Conditioning 2 weeks at 10°C (50°F)
- 1 Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier Yeast
- 1 3/4 oz Citra 13.8% When to add – After fermentation
- 1 3/4 oz Rosemary When to add – After fermentation
- 2 Vanilla beans When to add – After fermentation
Instructions
Mash:
- Heat 13 liters (23 pints) of liquor to 67°C (153°F).
- Add 10 lb of Pilsner malt, 1 lb of wheat malt, and 14 oz of Carapils malt to the liquor.
- Stir the mash to make sure there are no clumps of grains.
- Allow the mash to sit at 67°C (153°F) for 1 hour.
- Drain the wort from the mash and collect it in a separate container.
Boil:
- Heat 27 liters (47 1/2 pints) of liquor to boiling.
- Add 1/4 oz of Chinook hops (18.4%) at the start of the boil and boil for 1 hour.
- Add 1/4 oz of Chinook hops (13.1%) for the last 10 minutes of the boil.
- Add 50 g of rosemary and 1 tsp of Protofloc for the last 10 minutes of the boil.
- Add 1/4 oz of Chinook hops (13.1%) at turn off.
- Allow the wort to cool to around 22°C (72°F).
Fermentation:
- Transfer the cooled wort to a fermenter.
- Add Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier Yeast to the fermenter.
- Ferment the beer at 22°C (72°F) until fermentation is complete.
- Once fermentation is complete, add 1 3/4 oz of Citra hops (13.8%), 1 3/4 oz of rosemary, and 2 vanilla beans to the fermenter.
- Allow the beer to condition for 2 weeks at 10°C (50°F).
- After conditioning, bottle or keg the beer and enjoy!
Get the fermentation temperature right on Rosemary And Vanilla IPA and most of the rest of the process takes care of itself.
What Makes Rosemary And Vanilla IPA the Style It Is
There is nothing exotic about the roots of Rosemary And Vanilla IPA, it grew out of practical brewing choices, local ingredients, and the tastes of the people drinking it.
What you get in the glass is a beer that leans on pilsner malt and the hop schedule, with a finish shaped by Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier. Get the fermentation temperature right and the rest of the process is mostly patience.
Style Characteristics at a Glance
- ABV: 5.8-7.5%
- Bitterness: 50-70 IBU
- Color: 6-14 (gold to copper)
- Serving temp: 45-50F (7-10C)
- Glassware: a tulip or shaker pint
- Food pairings: spicy food, grilled meats, sharp cheeses
Common Questions
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes, the grain bill and hop schedule scale linearly with batch size. Just make sure your equipment, mash tun and boil kettle both, can actually handle the volume you are scaling to.
What is the biggest mistake homebrewers make with this style?
Rushing the schedule. Pulling a beer off yeast too early or skipping conditioning time is the most common way to shortchange a recipe like this one.
Can I substitute a different yeast strain?
You can, but expect the flavor profile to shift. Stick close to the same yeast family (English ale, American ale, Belgian, lager, etc.) if you want a result close to what this recipe is aiming for.
Keep Exploring
Once you have this one down, here are a few more homebrew recipes worth trying next:
Browse the full homebrew recipe collection for more styles, or if you are just getting into the hobby, start with one of our homebrewing starter kits for new brewers.
This recipe is for adults of legal drinking age. Please brew and drink responsibly, and always sanitize your equipment thoroughly to avoid infection.
