Schell's Stag Series: Sahti
August Schell Brewing Company

 

 

Crystal clear pour, light and rapidly fading head. The aroma is earthy and herbal - must be the juniper berries. The beer has a very unusual taste which must be the style of the beer. The hops are quite muted and the malts are likewise hard to discerne. An interesting effort by Schell's.

I'm hardly a Sahti expert but this seems to have some characteristics of a hefe weizen (banana,cloves) and some of a saison (spicy). Yeasty and slightly tart....finishes dry....interesting.

 

 

This beer pours a clear bronze with a minimal head. The aroma is bright, a very Belgiany, with green banana, clove, and a hint of dust. The flavor again leads with green banana, clove, bubblegum, and a dusky earthy finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a crisp finish and large bubble carbonation. Overall a fun little beer, but not really what I was expecting from my previous experience with this style - very like a lighter Belgian offering.

Pours a translucent straw with a finger of white foam. Head is more fizz than foam and disappates quickly. Aroma is herbal, floral, piney hops and biscuity, bready, pale malts. Big emphasis on the hippy garden smells. Flavor profile is herbal and floral hops with hints of piney, resiny, citrusy hops, but the bulk is herbal and floral. Biscuity, bready, pale malts add a little extra substance. Yeast esters cling to the back-end, softening it up a touch. Mouth feel nearing still, with only a slight crispness at the back end. It has a medium-thin consistency. Overall, very herbal and floral forward, but otherwise a clean, enjoyable beer.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 12oz bottle.

Poured from 12oz bottle into glass. Best by date stamped on bottle's neck is '031519'.
Clear, pale amber colored body. White head quickly reduces to scattered islands and bubble fed ring. No lacing.
Aroma is malt and juniper, with unidentified spices.
Taste fleshes out the spices to be banana and cloves, along with the malt and juniper. Has rather an abrupt end to the taste profile of each sip.
Medium mouth feel, with a little syrup. Good carbonation.
U.S. brewed Sahti beers are each their own, and this is Schell's take on the style with abundant spices (banana and cloves) along with the juniper.

Clear golden color. Eggshell white head.

The banana and clove show a lot so it kind of reminds me of a hefe. Doesn't taste like the Norwegian a Sahtis with all the juniper berries and spices. Earthy hops. Floral. Light bodied. Drinkable.

 

Schell's Sahti, 5.99% ABV. Pours golden, with a one finger white head that mostly dissipated by the time I got a decent picture. Nose is malt and pine, taste is malty and unidentified spice, almost no bitterness. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

Fair warning: I have no experience with this style, so my ratings will be based only on whether I like the beer. Aroma is bready, with the juniper aroma also coming through behind, getting stronger over the following minutes resulting in a refreshing "north woods" aroma. Tall thick white head, creamy, receding slowly. Clear golden amber with rising bubbles. Taste follows the aroma; bread with juniper, but with the addition of mild fruit and slight spice. I don't get the banana mentioned by the brewer, but there is definitely a fruit component to the taste. Very slight bitterness begins in the middle and continues through to the aftertaste. Mouth feel is moderate, but a bit flat. I found this beer to be easy-drinking. Malty with a touch of hops, with the juniper adding an open-air touch. As I said at the beginning, I have no idea how it is to style.

Completely clear golden color. Smells and tastes very Belgian-y. Juniper is very mild but adds a touch of fruitiness. About the most un-Sahti, Sahti I have had.