Sahti
Propolis Brewing

In honour of the Kraken drafting Fin Julius Miettinen! Convenient that I had it on hand, ha.
I've never had a sahti before, though that kind of surprises me as it's a style I remember being curious about for a while, so I thought I would have picked one up at some point along the way. Huh.
Anyway, on to this one.

Big foam. Even a relatively mild pour I had to stop after ~1/2 the glass was full because the head was expanding at a rate outpacing any liquid delivery. Not a full on gusher or anything, just a very exuberant head. Turbid completely opaque body that's kind of a brownish orange-y... I would compare it to a mid hue leather, maybe? Decent haed that even after it's initial swell and dissipation likes to stick around in a more reasonable form, and leaves lovely lacing along the sides of the glass.

The nose is very fragrant even with the glass sitting off to the side. As I'm typing this I can still smell a bouquet of light floral and herbal notes that is really fresh and inviting. Bringing it up to my nose and digging in a little deeper, the light floral notes give way to a deeper grainier and woodier character. There's some light caramel sweetness under that, but it is primarily spicy grains. There's a little bit of deep dank weed hiding under there as well.

The flavour is a fairly unique mish mash of different directions. I'm actually having some trouble getting a good bead on things for some reason. There's some low earthy malts, some herbal bitter, some of those same toasted grains, a bit of wheat sourness and a very light honey sweetness just to bring it all together. It's well done and it all comes together to make solidly enjoyable if somewhat subtle concoction.

It's very drinkable with some sharp carbonation that doesn't distract. The fin(n)ish carries some of that tart high notes that could be from the wheat, could be from the hops depending on what it was dry hopped with, or could potentially even have a little bit of yeast influence. There's also a bit of herbal bitterness that could again be either hops or juniper, it's not clear.
Speaking of which... I was kind of hoping for more of a distinct juniper presence. Part of this is because that's my daughter's name so I'm biased, but part of it is I like the taste of trees, ha (juniper, fir, spruce... pine-y IPAs, etc).

Overall I dig it and look forward to continuing to explore the style.

 

 

1 pint 9.4 ounce bottle poured to wine glass
Sight: dark brown, not clear, off white foam, minimal lacing
Smell: very fruity, malty aroma
Taste: slightly sour
Feel: dry
Overall very good beer

5yo (2016) bottle: metallic, oxidized, dead.

750ml bottle into a tulip. 2016 release so 4 years old.

Looks very nice in the glass. Reddish brown body shows clear burgundy when held up to the light. Decent carbonation. Creamy off white head persists in very good form throughout, leaving some lacing.

Mildly funky aroma, a little boozy somehow, and a touch of dark fruit.

On tasting, fairly tart and sour, and a good amount of berry fruit flavor. No spruce, possibly due to the age. A little wood though. No funk, which is okay by me. Seems to drink higher than the abv.

Mouth a little above medium, finish berries and a touch tart & winey. Warming finish.

Overall, a hard to find style, but I've liked all that I've tried.

Bottle Date: 2016
Palate Contaminants: none

I didn't think this had been in my fridge that long.

Look is a muddy brown with a very light tinge of red. Lots of very fine head, and a good bit of lacing. Points for uniqueness.

Smell has pureed berries, vanilla, moderate sweet malt, and light bitter hops. There's also an herbal tilt to the proceedings. Could stand to be a little stronger, overall.

Taste has most of what's on the nose, but it's re-arranged. The hops and barley hit first, but they're soon overtaken by the raspberries and blueberries. They're a bit sour, but nothing overwhelms. Still, the sum of the parts is only that, so it's good, but not quite great.

Medium weight. Well integrated carbonation. Only slight alcohol. Aftertaste unfortunately doesn't have much of the berries.

 

 

Pours amber with a thumb of tan head. Faint lacing & head retention

S: Musty & jammy, some cherry as it warms

T: Follows the nose, white grape up front, plus figs & cherries. Leafy hops, pears, & dryness, plus figs. White Wine & barrel flavors mix with dryness, plus pear. Fininishes oaky dryness, figgy & with Chardonnay characterisitics

MF: Medium body, lively carbonation

Okay as a Saison, not on style as a Sahti. As expensive as these beers are, I am not impressed

2015 vintage.

Pours a murky orange-brown with a foamy tan head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is slightly sour with grain, earth, spice, fruit, and slight funk and acidic aromas. Taste is much the same with sour fruit, earth, spice, herb, and funk flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of acidity on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with an interesting set of aromas and flavors that work well with the slight sourness.

Serving type: bottle.

 

 

18/14 Bottling; corked and caped; (cork comes out with a huge "champagne pop!)

Pour a copper brown clear with a fast fading white head. Smells very true to style with lots of spices and herbs but light on the juniper in the smell (which for me is a good thing)

Tastes very different than what you expect. Thin bodied and fizzy but with a bold tart unsweetened lemon tone that at first is off-putting and then really grows on you. Lightly sour; tart but full of green herb (celery, green pepper, light green onion tops) and earth tone spices.

Fresh clean green herb finish. This one has really grown on me as I taste it and I like it. Please, let it warm up a bit before you judge it. Much better as it approaches room temperature. Like it a lot as it warms.