Sahti

Finlandia Sahti, Finnish sahti label

Sahti is a traditional beer from Finland made from a variety of grains, malted and unmalted, including barley, rye, wheat, and oats; sometimes bread made from these grains is fermented instead of malt itself. Traditionally the beer is flavored with juniper berries in addition to, or instead of, hops; the mash is filtered through juniper twigs through a trough shaped tun called a kuurna in Finnish. Sahti has a distinct banana flavor due to the production of isoamyl acetate by the yeast. Sahti is a top-fermented brew (ale), and while baking yeast has been used traditionally, ale yeast may also be used in fermenting.

The end product is a cloudy, mildly alcoholic beer with yeasty and phenolic flavors and distinct taste similar to banana. Sahti is traditionally homebrewed but in recent years commercial versions have become available. Commercial Sahti usually has around 8 percent ABV. Due to its higher percentage of alcohol Sahti is only sold in pubs or state-owned Alko stores. Sahti has to be stored cold until consumption and is therefore not available in all Alko branches.

The etymology of the word sahti is not certain, however, experts believe that a likely root could be the Germanic word saf, which later on evolved to the Scandinavian word saft, meaning juice.

Finnish Sahti

Within Finland, sahti has differing characteristics depending on which part of the country it is from. It is often known as Tavastian beer (well-known sahti areas, such as Sysmä and Lammi, are in Tavastia) but it's also made in Finland Proper and some parts of Central Finland. There is also related a beer on the Swedish island of Gotland (known as "Gotlandsdricke", "Gotlandsdricku" or "Dricku") and the Estonian island of Saaremaa (known as "Koduõlu" or "Taluõlu"). Every couple of years, there is a Juniper Beer-Brewing Championship for homebrewers of these three countries^{[citation needed]}.

Sahti in other countries

Finnish Sahti has Protected Geographical Status in Europe. In the United States, Sahti has been the subject of recent interest by homebrewers and microbreweries; in 2008, Dogfish Head Brewery released a beer called Sah'tea, a collaboration with Finnish brewer Juha Ikonen, that was a hybrid of traditional Sahti and Chai tea. New Belgium Brewing Company of Colorado is now brewing a Sahti Ale .

Brewing process

Traditionally, Sahti is brewed using a long step infusion mash that may last up to six hours, after which the wort is lautered through the kuurna. Unlike most beers, traditional Sahti wort goes straight from the lauter tun to the fermenter without boiling. This gives it a relatively short shelf-life and may cause some characteristic sour flavors to develop from Lactobacillus bacteria.

Commercial Finnish sahti brands

• Panimoravintola Beer Hunter's: Muffloni Sahti (From Pori)
• Finlandia Sahti and Finlandia Strong Sahti
• Hartolan Sahti, known as Krouvin Sahti and Punakallion Sahti.
• Hollolan Hirvi Kivisahti
• Huvila sahti (From Savonlinna)
• Joutsan Sahti
• Lammin Sahti
• Tiinan Sahti (From Sysmä)
• Stadin Panimo: Stadin Sahti (From Helsinki)
• Sahti Ale - New Belgium Brewing Co. (Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.A.) http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=b3fe1756-9dcf-4e2a-97d0-37542800aa09