Kekri Sahti
Brewery Vivant

Kekri Sahti from Brewery Vivant. Purchased on 17/3/21 from Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids, MI. Had on tap and picked up a crowler. At whatever temperature they serve and stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 9/4/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated but marked on label “Try to drink within 14 days”. Served at 47 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 56.3 degrees.
Appearance – 3.75.
First pour – Pale Gold (SRM 4), clear.
Body – Gold (SRM 5), hazy. When rear-lite, same.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.5 cm, aggressive center pour), white smoke, medium density, and somewhat fizzy, short retention, diminishing to a two mm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Slightly sour with a hint of maple. No hops, no malt, no yeast, no spruce. The sourness is transitory and quickly disappears.
Flavor – 3.5 – Begins with a weak maple backbone and no spruce. No hops, no malt, no yeast. No alcohol (7.7 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, slightly syrupy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 Oh so many questions! Are the spruce tips used in addition to or in place of hops? The same for spruce and juniper. Is this more like a gruit like a traditional sahti or a modern brew with/without wildflowers/herb? The mere fact that BV may have tried to produce a sahti counts heavily in their favor. As primarily a farmhouse ale producer one shouldn’t expect extreme brews with massive flavors, a fact I frequently have trouble remembering when I drink their products.