Sahti

Last updated
Lammin Sahti, a Finnish sahti brand Lammin sahtia.JPG
Lammin Sahti, a Finnish sahti brand

Sahti is a Finnish type of farmhouse ale made from malted and unmalted grains including barley and rye. Traditionally the beer is flavored with juniper in addition to, or instead of, hops; [1] the mash is filtered through juniper twigs into a trough-shaped tun, called a kuurna in Finnish. Sahti is top-fermented and many have a banana flavor due to isoamyl acetate from the use of baking yeast, although ale yeast may also be used in fermenting.

Contents

The end product is a cloudy beer with phenolic flavors and a distinct taste similar to banana, balanced by the bitterness from the juniper branches. The carbonation level tends to be very low. Sahti was traditionally brewed as a farmhouse ale, [2] but commercial versions are now available. Commercial sahti is usually 8% ABV. In Finland, due to the higher percentage of alcohol in sahti, it is only sold in commercial sahti breweries, pubs or state-owned Alko stores, not in regular markets or grocery stores. Sahti has to be stored cold until consumption and is therefore not available in all Alko branches.

Within Finland, sahti has differing characteristics depending on which part of the country it is from. It is often known as Tavastian beer from Häme (well-known sahti areas, such as Sysmä, Joutsa, Kuhmoinen and Lammi, are in Häme) but it is also made in Finland Proper and some parts of Central Finland. Every year the Finnish sahti brewing championship is held on the first weekend in August. [3]

Brewing process

Traditionally, the most common sahti brewing process is 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.

However, this is only one of several brewing processes that have traditionally been used. Sahti has also been brewed as a stone beer, with infusion mashing, with variants of decoction mashing, by boiling the mash in the kettle, and so on. Some regions of Finland have called their farmhouse ale taari, and in these areas different brewing processes appear to have been used, such as fermenting in the mash, and baking the wet malts in bread-like shapes before lautering. [2]

Commercial sahti brands

In other countries

A farmhouse ale that in some cases is similar is brewed on the Swedish island of Gotland (known as Gotlandsdricka). An even closer relative in terms of flavour is a farmhouse ale known as koduõlu (lit. "home beer"), brewed on the Estonian islands in the Baltic.

In Estonia one commercial beer is sometimes described as "Estonian sahti", despite actually being an Estonian koduõlu:

Finnish sahti has protected status in Europe., [4] so that in order to be described as sahti a beer must be brewed following something close to the traditional process and ingredients. [5] Modern craft beer versions of sahti can be somewhat removed from the original style, because brewers may use more hops, might not use juniper twigs, could introduce more carbonation, boil the wort, and may not use Finnish baking yeast.

In many countries sahti has been the subject of recent interest by homebrewers and microbreweries who have brewed many takes on the style. It is not clear if any of them actually resemble the original Finnish sahti beers in any way, so in the EU most of these beers could not be marketed as sahti.

Other versions:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer</span> Alcoholic drink made from fermented cereal grains

Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks in the world, the most widely consumed, and the third most popular drink after water and tea. Beer is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the beer. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavouring agents, such as gruit, herbs, or fruits, may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, natural carbonation is often replaced with forced carbonation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brewing</span> Process in beer production

Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, at home by a homebrewer, or communally. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archaeological evidence suggests that emerging civilizations, including ancient Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia, brewed beer. Since the nineteenth century the brewing industry has been part of most western economies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kvass</span> Fermented cereal-based non-alcoholic beverage

Kvass is a fermented cereal-based low-alcoholic beverage of cloudy appearance and sweet-sour taste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homebrewing</span> Small scale brewing of beer, mead, ciders

Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed domestically for thousands of years before its commercial production, although its legality has varied according to local regulation. Homebrewing is closely related to the hobby of home distillation, the production of alcoholic spirits for personal consumption; however home distillation is generally more tightly regulated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mashing</span> Combining a mix of grains with water and heating the mixture

In brewing and distilling, mashing is the process of combining a mix of ground grains – typically malted barley with supplementary grains such as corn, sorghum, rye, or wheat – known as the "grain bill" with water and then heating the mixture. Mashing allows the enzymes in the malt to break down the starch in the grain into sugars, typically maltose to create a malty liquid called wort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adjuncts</span> Unmalted grains that are used in brewing

In brewing, adjuncts are unmalted grains or grain products used in brewing beer which supplement the main mash ingredient. This is often done with the intention of cutting costs, but sometimes also to create an additional feature, such as better foam retention, flavours or nutritional value or additives. Both solid and liquid adjuncts are commonly used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer in Norway</span>

Beer in Norway has a long history, stretching back more than a millennium. Until some 200 years ago, most farms where it was possible to grow grain south of the Arctic Circle, brewed their own beer. From the early 20th century brewing was industrialized and home brewing was restricted. Significant consolidation in the brewing sector reduced the number of major breweries to just a handful. With the exception of the farmhouse ales, most beer styles brewed in Norway trace their ancestry to central Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rye beer</span>

Rye beer is a beer in which rye is substituted for some portion of the malted barley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gruit</span> Herb mixture used for bittering and flavoring beer

Gruit is a herb mixture used for bittering and flavouring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. The terms gruit and grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit. Today, however, gruit is a colloquial term applied to a beer seasoned with gruit-like herbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer style</span> Differentiation and categories for different types of beer

Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sour mash</span> Fermenting material

Sour mash is a process used in the distilling industry that uses material from an older batch of mash to adjust the acidity of a new mash. The term can also be used as the name of the type of mash used in such a process, and a bourbon made using this process can be referred to as a sour mash bourbon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mash ingredients</span> Essential ingredients for brewing

Mash ingredients, mash bill, mashbill, or grain bill are the materials that brewers use to produce the wort that they then ferment into alcohol. Mashing is the act of creating and extracting fermentable and non-fermentable sugars and flavor components from grain by steeping it in hot water, and then letting it rest at specific temperature ranges to activate naturally occurring enzymes in the grain that convert starches to sugars. The sugars separate from the mash ingredients, and then yeast in the brewing process converts them to alcohol and other fermentation products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer in Finland</span>

Finland has a long history of beer dating back to the Middle Ages. The oldest still-existing commercial brewery in Finland and the other Nordic countries is Sinebrychoff, founded in 1819. The Finnish Beer Day is celebrated on 13 October to commemorate the founding of the Sinebrychoff brewery and the birth of Finnish beer. The largest Finnish brewers are Hartwall, Olvi and Sinebrychoff. Most of the beers brewed in Finland are pale lagers. As of 2022, Finland's standing is 23rd in per capita consumption of beer: Finnish people consume 70.2 litres of beer annually per capita, while the total annual consumption is 393 million litres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farmhouse ale</span>

Farmhouse ale is an ancient European tradition where farmers brewed beer for consumption on the farm from their own grain. Most farmers would brew for Christmas and/or the late summer work, but in areas where they had enough grain farmers would use beer as the everyday drink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brewery</span> Business that makes and sells beer

A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of beer has taken place since at least 2500 BC; in ancient Mesopotamia, brewers derived social sanction and divine protection from the goddess Ninkasi. Brewing was initially a cottage industry, with production taking place at home; by the ninth century, monasteries and farms would produce beer on a larger scale, selling the excess; and by the eleventh and twelfth centuries larger, dedicated breweries with eight to ten workers were being built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sour beer</span> Beer with a tart or sour taste

Sour beer is beer which has an intentionally acidic, tart, or sour taste. Sour beer styles include Belgian lambics and Flanders red ale and German Gose and Berliner Weisse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grodziskie</span> Style of beer from Poland

Grodziskie is a historical beer style from Poland made from oak-smoked wheat malt with a clear, light golden color, high carbonation, low alcohol content, low to moderate levels of hop bitterness, and a strong smoke flavor and aroma. The taste is light and crisp, with primary flavors coming from the smoked malt, the high mineral content of the water, and the strain of yeast used to ferment it. It was nicknamed "Polish Champagne" because of its high carbonation levels and valued as a high-quality beer for special occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotlandsdricka</span>

Gotlandsdricka is a traditional homebrewed alcoholic beverage made on the island of Gotland, Sweden. It is a kind of ale, closely related to the Finnish sahti, and Norwegian Maltøl with a smoky, bitter-sweet, spicy (juniper) flavor. It is similar to gruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer in Estonia</span> Overview of the beer in Estonia

Beer has been brewed in Estonia for over a thousand years. The first written reference to beer in what is now Estonia dates to 1284. In Estonian, beers are often described as hele (pale) or tume (dark).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stadin Panimo</span> Finnish microbrewery

Stadin Panimo is a craft brewery based in Suvilahti in Helsinki, Finland, founded in 1998. The brewery produces over 100 thousand litres of beverages per year. The brewery's products are widely sold in retail stores and in Alko stores.

References

  1. Peter Ovell, "Finland's Indigenous Beer Culture." Perinteisen Oluen Seura, Special Publications No 1, 1996. Helsinki. (accessed 2017-11-21)
  2. 1 2 Matti Räsänen, "Vom Halm zum Faß." Kansatieteellinen arkisto, Helsinki, 1975. ISBN   9519056181.
  3. "Sahtiverkko - SM-kilpailu". Sahti.org. 2019-03-08. Archived from the original on 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  4. EU Profile-Sahti (accessed 07/06/2009)
  5. "EAmbrosia".
  6. Brown, Michael (2014-04-14). "Gambling Man brews Scandinavian-style hopless Sahti beer". Canny Brew. Retrieved 2019-08-05.