Sahati
The Ale Apothecary

SahatiSahati
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From:
The Ale Apothecary
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Sahti
Ranked #1
ABV:
10.5%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,756
Avg:
4.28 | pDev: 8.18%
Reviews:
34
Ratings:
185
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 13, 2023
Added:
Jul 01, 2013
Wants:
  141
Gots:
  29
SAHATI is our interpretation of traditional Finnish sahti. Starting with a 200-year old Engelmann spruce tree felled on brewery property, we created our own kuurna (an ancient Scandinavian lauter tun) to separate the wort from the grain during brewing. The bottom of the kuurna is layered with spruce branches; the needles act as a natural filter and impart resinous oils into the wort. The hollowed-out trunk of the tree also contributes spruce essence and structure from the raw wood. The beer is made of barley & rye malts along with a sparing addition of Goschie Farms Cascade hops and is brewed just a few times per year.
 SAHATI is in many ways the very definition of The Ale Apothecary, where complex flavors arrive from the very methods used for production…the result is the process impacts the flavor profile at least as much as the ingredients themselves.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by HuskyinPDX:
Photo of HuskyinPDX
Reviewed by HuskyinPDX from Washington

3.98/5  rDev -7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Bottle split with friends on 6.29.13

A - Pours a hazy medium orange with a fizzy white head that sticks around for a long time.

S - Tons, I mean tons of spruce/pine/trees scents. Hard to pick up much else.

T - Again lots of Pine-like flavors from all the spruce tips. Acidic wood, some lemon. Really hard to get past all the pine, but it wasn't a bad thing.

D - Good carbonation with a lighter body.

O - A ton of pine flavors form the spruce tips that were used in brewing this. Very refreshing, and even with all of the pine, I would have this one again. I wish I had another bottle to age and see how this one develops.
Jul 01, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of Roy_Hobbs
Reviewed by Roy_Hobbs from Connecticut

4.08/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Bottled September 17, 2020

Fairly appealing beer in both appearance and aroma. Pours a rusty red / brown. The carbonation wasn't crazy on the pour, but there's a very persistent thing cap and thick ring. Aroma is really tart with clear wine notes.

Taste is really, really interesting. It's tart with an interesting sweetness (presumably from the honey), but what really stands out to me is the spruce needles and how deftly they have been incorporated into this beer. They show up mid-palate and linger on the finish, and add a great dimension to the beer. Add that to the wine barrel notes, and this is wonderfully complex, balanced and tasty,

Overall, very well done. I've had spruce in beer before, but not this expertly executed.
Aug 13, 2023
 
Rated: 4.47 by not2quick from Missouri

Jul 23, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by GeorgeAKeim from Oregon

Nov 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by GClarkage from California

Oct 10, 2022
Photo of Harrison8
Reviewed by Harrison8 from Missouri

4.26/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours a rustic copper with a mild fog to the translucency. There is a finger or less of off-white foam formation, which bubbles away quickly. Aroma is minor spruce and fir with an cutting roar of lactic sourness. Dark fruit, grass, cellar stone, and mild melon dew for the rest of the nose, with the most emphasis on the first two notes. Flavor profile is mild spruce again, but it's a backdrop to the twangy sourness. Mild dark fruits, cellar stone, and grass help form the rest of flavor profile. Mouth feel is medium in thickness with a very still effervescence. Texture is driven by a very light silt at the back, but not much else. Overall, a pretty unique beer. It's plenty sour with just enough spruce to make it a little more intriguing.

Served in a 15.5oz Spieglelau tulip from a 375mL bottle. ABV: 9.62%. Bottled: June 27, 2019. Consumed/reviewed: October 9, 2022.
Oct 09, 2022
Photo of Captain69
Rated by Captain69 from Illinois

3.11/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
too much wine like than an ale very sour
Aug 04, 2022
Photo of BubbleBobble
Reviewed by BubbleBobble from New York

4.77/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Pours a dark amber from the bottle, slightly cloudy, foamy 1" head with light lacing. Nose is super expressive - pine and spruce needles, menthol, lemon peel and oil, orange, musk, deodorant, Bengay, Icy Hot. Taste is also very complex - sour Brett and lemon, peppery pine and spruce, light malt sweetness; a bit tacky; long finish, sour and musky. Mouthfeel is crisp and clean, no heaviness. Overall, this is an exceptional beer regardless of style with a great amount of depth and evolution.
May 29, 2022
Photo of BBThunderbolt
Reviewed by BBThunderbolt from Kiribati

3.94/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
I believe I owe this one to Sharpski. Corked 750 (dated June 8 2017, 9.06% ABV) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a beautiful, clean, clear, bright copper color with a half-inch of white head that quickly dissipated and left no lacing. Just gorgeous.

As soon as the cork popped free, a wonderfully delightful funk burst out.Sharp, bitey, and slightly Brett-like. The base had light, soft grains, supporting the funk, yeast, wood, and floral tones.

Similar on the tongue, with the addition of a notable sourness, especially at the back of the palate. The wild Bend yeastbugs still dominate, but that tang sure got your attention.

The body was light, crisp, smooth, and had a tart finish that was very, very dry, and then dried out even more after a few moments.

Drinkability was great, one of those rare beers where drinking the bottle alone was easy, no getting bored with this one.

Overall, a wonderful brew. An absolute must grab if you ever see it.
Feb 06, 2022
Photo of gandres
Reviewed by gandres from Philippines

4/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 9:08 PM
12.7 ounce bottle poured to wine glass
Sight: amber liquid, appears clear, no foam, some lacing
Smell: Very Fragrant- woody
Taste: Very good, high sourness, low bitterness, some sweetness
Mouthfeel: Very good, lively carbonation, long follow through, good finish, aftertaste stays in the palate very long
Overall: Very good beer, ok to repeat not to look for
Sep 22, 2021
 
Rated: 4.33 by BAsbill from California

Aug 01, 2021
Photo of RaulMondesi
Reviewed by RaulMondesi from California

4.42/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Hands down, this is the craziest beer I’ve ever had. Bar none and all that stuff. I think it tastes like Bigfoot after he showered. Yeah... My god is it foresty/piney, but not like a dank IPA - this one is straight liquid forest. Wow. Umm, what am I supposed to do now? I’m, like, lost in wonder. I dunno if I want the entire bottle, but I think the entire bottle wants me. So I’ll have at it. Damn, it is super clean... Ok, I’m just going to live in the moment like with that girl on Catalina Island in 2000.

Peace!
Jun 05, 2021
Photo of Zythophile
Reviewed by Zythophile from Washington

4.31/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottle Date: 6/14/18
Palate Contaminants: other beer

Cloudy and medium brown. Good amount of fine off-white head, but little lacing. It just looks thick.

The scent seems to have every part of a tree, cedar specifically. Definitely the "needles" (or whatever you call them on a cedar tree) and definitely the sap. The wood seems to have a little bit of sharp (but not overly) acidic astringency. It's fair to say there's something between apple cider and apple vinegar. Points for coming off as fresh, too. Wild stuff.

The initial taste is definitely with the apple cider/vinegar. It's like it runs up to the border of overbearing, then stops. The cedar "needles" are next, although there's not much of any other part of the tree. (Some sips it actually hits me more as wood, but still there's only one component I can pick out.) Sneaky sweet.

Carbonation takes a bit of agitation to bring out, but it's foamy. Alcohol barely detectable, yet I feel it after a few minutes. Medium-heavy weight. Aftertaste is still mostly apple cider, but other fruits (sour cherry and pear specifically) do show up after the astringency abates.
May 30, 2021
 
Rated: 4.74 by Cashbail from New Hampshire

May 11, 2021
Photo of SushiSakeBeer
Rated by SushiSakeBeer from Oregon

4.29/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Sweet, sour, and nice...
Apr 03, 2021
 
Rated: 4.12 by dansmcd from Australia

Nov 29, 2020
 
Rated: 4.73 by Dillpickle315 from Colorado

Sep 28, 2020
 
Rated: 4.18 by Houborg1 from Denmark

Sep 10, 2020
Photo of just1cho
Reviewed by just1cho from California

4.3/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
*Poured into a Teku glass from a 375mL bottle*

*Bottled on 6/27/19*

*Drank on 7/15/20*

This beer poured a cloudy amber color in my glass. The head, or lack thereof, was white and left a thin lacing around my glass. There really wasn't any head to speak of, which is pretty common for a lot of farmhouse ales.

On the nose, I generally got prominent notes of sourness, pine notes, and a bit of an apple like sweetness throughout. Upfront, I definitely got notes of funk in the front and notes of resin, pine, and honey in the back-end.

The taste was sour-forward as expected. The beer also brought a nice complexity to it, giving me prominent notes of pears, apples, resin, and oak upfront, with a bit of a wine undertones throughout. The apples and pear notes were more prominent in the middle and the beer finishes with a pronounced lemon sourness.

For a 10.5% ABV beer, this was crazy drinkable. I actually didn't get any notes of alcohol in this. With a low carbonation and light body, this was very drinkable and good. There was no bitterness to this, and no lingering aftertaste. This was probably the best farmhouse ale I've had up to this point.

Overall, I found this beer to have a nice complexity to it while also having a nice sour-forward taste without being completely overwhelming on the palate. The nice notes of pine, apples, pear, and honey in this beer without any bitter or alcoholic taste to it made this beer ridiculously easy to drink. Very nice, very good.
Jul 26, 2020
Photo of Sabtos
Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio

4.02/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Acorn brown with a tiny khaki head that instantly fizzles out to a bubbly, noisy surface.

Smell is crabapple, red wine barrel, and an herbal potpourri mint-like yet resinous evergreen forest.

The medium round body is crisped up by an effervescence that immediately introduces tangy lemon-limeade accented in short order by spruce resin and even a sort of mint julep character that includes a touch of oak that dries to a semi-bitter, lightly toasty, charred finish. It even becomes a little smoky and hammy after introducing a bite of redskin peanuts to the palate.

A very unique brew that makes me wish I was camping in the redwoods right about now.
Jun 26, 2020
Sahati from The Ale Apothecary
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 185 ratings