Historical Beer: Sahti Sahti (Finnish Juniper Ale) -- 1st Place Cat. 23, 2nd place Best in Show

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Reno_eNVy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2008
Messages
6,039
Reaction score
235
Location
Reno
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast 1272 -- American Ale II
Yeast Starter
YES
Batch Size (Gallons)
4
Original Gravity
1.054
Final Gravity
1.012
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
14
Color
13
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21
Tasting Notes
See Below
I've posted about this brew before but I felt that I should put it in the recipe database after I found out it won 1st Place in Category 23 and 2nd Place in "Best in Show" at the local Brew Basin Brew-Off competition this weekend.

This is not a traditional Sahti. I've refrained from using Finnish bread yeast and multiple-rest mash. I've also added a tiny amount of hops to make it actual beer.



The Recipe:

5# US 2-row
2# Rye Malt
1# Munich Malt
0.75# Crystal 120L

0.5oz Cascade (6.9%) 60min
0.25oz Juniper Berries 60min
0.25oz Juniper Berries 15min
0.25oz Grains of Paradise 5min

1.5L starter of Wyeast 1272 Am. Ale II



The Process:

- Go to the hills and collect a backpack full of juniper branches

- Boil the majority of the branches with some berries in cheese cloth in your mash liquor... 15-30 minutes is sufficient (VERY IMPORTANT)

- Dough-in with the juniper liquor, mash 60min @ 154* F

- Take a couple extra branches and push them down onto the manifold so you lauter through fresh branches as tradition dictates

- Sparge with juniper liquor

- Follow 60 min boil schedule



Brewing Notes and Advice:

- This year I didn't do salt additions and just let the juniper liquor chemistry dictate the balance. It seemed to work out well.

- If you're collecting juniper be sure you know whether or not they're sprayed with pesticides. Best bet is to get it from the wild.



Tasting Notes:

Appearance: There is no way this guy is going to clear out considering all of the sappy, barky goodness the juniper added to the water. But the orange-brown hue is a nice color.

Aroma: Intense aroma of juniper but with plenty of malty, nutty, breadiness to accompany (man I love Wyeast 1272.) Zero hop aroma.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, no bite from alcohol or CO2 since it's supposed to be low-carb.

Taste: Initially as you're sipping you get the blast of juniper aroma, but then as soon as you take a sip you get a good amount of spiciness from the rye malt and grains of paradise. At mid-palate there is a fantastic chewy malt flavor. And finally, you're refreshed with a bit of juniper at the end. Not at all like drinking a Christmas tree (like people associate with gin and other juniper stuff.)
 
Backpack full of branches littered with berries
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Picked berries, boiling branches in mash liquor
51781d1331323322-its-time-year-sahti-2012-forumrunner_20120309_120153.jpg
51782d1331323337-its-time-year-sahti-2012-forumrunner_20120309_120211.jpg


Lautering through fresh branches
51818d1331331895-its-time-year-sahti-2012-forumrunner_20120309_142449.jpg


The spoils
2012-04-03%2012.45.31.jpg
2012-04-03%2012.55.14.jpg
 
Congrats on the awards. This looks great. Thanks for the nice write-up. I'm mostly Finnish and have been thinking of trying this for a while. It will be nice to have a winning recipe to start with.
 
Thanks for the props!

Give it a shot. Do you live in an area that has juniper? I wonder what different regional subspecies would taste like....

I'm also willing to ship some branches :D :D
 
Nicely done. I made one a while back, but waay overdid the juniper. I do think it's funny that you'll lauter through branches for tradition, but use hops and standard yeast. :D

I'm going to try mine again with a bit less juniper branch and some belgian wit yeast (I understand the Finnish baking yeast has a distinct clove note when used for Sahti).
 
dwarven_stout said:
I do think it's funny that you'll lauter through branches for tradition, but use hops and standard yeast. :D

Well I have to make concessions somewhere ;)

When I have my own house and have space to hollow out a log of aspen for a lauter tun I'll use the bread yeast :D
 
I'm gonna give Seppo and Eero (my uncle and uncle's brother) a few of these when I brew it so I want to be able to pronounce it correctly:

You know what I think is funny about my Finnish ties? A relative Matti married a woman a few years back and her name is Sonna. Pronounced like most Americans pronounce Sauna. She doesn't like to be called Sauna! Just thought I'd share...

http://www.forvo.com/word/sahti/#fi
 
Huh... my compy is acting weird, can't get the pronunciation thing to play.

I'm assuming it's "Saw-TEA" right?

Also, where do you live? I've found some awesome distribution maps for different juniper species.
 
Huh... my compy is acting weird, can't get the pronunciation thing to play.

I'm assuming it's "Saw-TEA" right?

Also, where do you live? I've found some awesome distribution maps for different juniper species.

I'm in Iron County. About central Michigan upper peninsula. Just a few miles from Yooper!

It sounds pretty much like its spelled. The "h" is kind of gutteral at least the way that guy says it.

A map would be cool. The last time I saw any was in Keweenaw County way up North.
 
Hmmm.. well it's not Juniperus virginiana, those don't grow that far North.

I have to run out for a bit but when I'm back I'll find the map that intersects your area.
 
I talked with Seppo today...he has not seen juniper around here. Maybe it was ornamental, the stuff I saw up north. I'll pay for shipping and your time Reno. When is best for harvest?

I plan to harvest some wintergreen this fall. Not sure if you have/want that but...trade?

*edit* Seppo told me a Sahti party story from the old country when I brought it up. Sounds like they drank it flat and amongst many well endowed rather loose women. Does that match your experience?
 
lschiavo said:
I talked with Seppo today...he has not seen juniper around here. Maybe it was ornamental, the stuff I saw up north. I'll pay for shipping and your time Reno. When is best for harvest?

I plan to harvest some wintergreen this fall. Not sure if you have/want that but...trade?

*edit* Seppo told me a Sahti party story from the old country when I brought it up. Sounds like they drank it flat and amongst many well endowed rather loose women. Does that match your experience?

Well SWMBO is well endowed and loose for me but we don't drink it flat. Just low carb, just more than it would be naturally when they would drink it young at weddings.
 
So, is it best to wait until fall to harvest the juniper, or is it fine to go at it in the spring?
 
In my experience the juniper is awesome late-winter through spring. And being in Boulder I'm sure you could find some good looking ones no problem.
 
I am thinking of brewing a Sahti for my holiday brew this winter. However I wanted to try and use the Finnish bakers yeast. Problem is, I can not seem to find anyplace online to buy it. Has anyone every tracked this stuff down? Where can I get it?
 
I am thinking of brewing a Sahti for my holiday brew this winter. However I wanted to try and use the Finnish bakers yeast. Problem is, I can not seem to find anyplace online to buy it. Has anyone every tracked this stuff down? Where can I get it?

That's a good question. I believe this is one of those incredibly hard to find ingredients. Maybe if you know any Finnish families who like doing traditional dishes? Or a Scandinavian store (seems more probable if you live in the midwest.)
 
Good luck searching it. I tried to find it from the finnish webstores, but there just isn't any, because you can get your bakers yeast from every store around here.
I should probably start doing business and selling cheap bakers yeast for high price abroad.

Actually I'd suggest that you guys first try to brew it with your local baking yeast with traditional methods including: very short to none boiling, multirest and long mashing and no carbonation. Juniper branches are ok, some brewers use them and some doesn't. Same goes with the ryemalt.
Remember to drink it young and keep it cold, it goes infected very, very easy.
Oh and don't forget to build your own "kuurna", here's some pictures (yes it's finnish I know) http://sahti.vuodatus.net/blog/category/KUURINA+MALLEJA
 
Thanks for the info, Arska! I've given consideration to using bread yeast, multirest mashing, and no carb. The issue there for me is that my batches never go fast. It takes a while to go through 5 gallons unless I give a ton away so infection would be a near guarantee. Maybe I'll try a 1 gallon side batch next time.

And yes, I most certainly plan on making a kuurna once I have a place to work on it and store it. I'm currently in a townhouse apartment, so that's not happening. :D
 
Hey Reno, I'd love to take you up on the offer to ship juniper boughs. How much would it cost? I'm Swedish and I want to try brewing this.
 
watersr said:
Hey Reno, I'd love to take you up on the offer to ship juniper boughs. How much would it cost? I'm Swedish and I want to try brewing this.

Hmm it might be too late. I noticed when it gets hot the berries get tiny and shriveled.

But I will certainly check.
 
Yeah I've checked all over the valley as I passed different regions and all of the berries are either gone or all shriveled up. Let me know if you're still interested in December/January/February and I'll be sure to go searching!
 
Well, I just harvested a bunch of fresh juniper the other day. I picked up all the ingredients from the shop I need and will be brewing tomorrow. Unfortunately, the LHBS was out of 1272, I picked up California V (WlP051) as a substitute and have it spinning on the stir plate as I type this. Any comments on the yeast substitution?
 
Glad I found this thread. My ancestors are also Finnish (I've got a Finnish last name) and how could a homebrewer of Finnish ancestry NOT brew this? I live in NYC, so there's no backpacking out into the wilds to get branches and berries for me. Put me in line to have some shipped, or otherwise is there a place online that ships?
 
Well it's starting to cool down in the Truckee Meadows so fresh branches with berries probably aren't far away. I will start shipping some out as soon as they are available.

Funny... I was just looking around yesterday at old threads that hadn't been posted on in a while and this one caught my eye and I was looking forward to posting in it again when the weather is sahti weather. And now it has activity again the next day :D
 
Well it's starting to cool down in the Truckee Meadows so fresh branches with berries probably aren't far away. I will start shipping some out as soon as they are available.

Funny... I was just looking around yesterday at old threads that hadn't been posted on in a while and this one caught my eye and I was looking forward to posting in it again when the weather is sahti weather. And now it has activity again the next day :D

I believe I was first in line when you start shipping;)

I am going wintergreen harvesting soon when the berries come out. If anyone wants some of that, I found a place where I could easily pick bushels.
 
I put together a Sahti recipe of my own back in 2003, way overdoing it on the juniper also (I put the berries in primary, which was a mistake, though I did use branches in the mash tun). It was great (if way resinous) until it went infected.

I'm about an eighth Finnish (kippis!), and sadly my only grand-uncle who might have been able to source some authentic yeast died this Spring. Ah, well. I do have a friend with similar Finnish roots. If I get lucky I'll post here.

Until then I'm reformulating my own recipe with a strong nod in the direction of this one. I live in Alabama, so it's unlikely I'll be able to find any juniper branches worth using, but berries are no problem.

-Rich
 
Nice. Be sure to let us know if you find a source for Finnish bread yeast!
 
Reno_eNVy said:
Well it's starting to cool down in the Truckee Meadows so fresh branches with berries probably aren't far away. I will start shipping some out as soon as they are available.

Funny... I was just looking around yesterday at old threads that hadn't been posted on in a while and this one caught my eye and I was looking forward to posting in it again when the weather is sahti weather. And now it has activity again the next day :D

I'd be in the market for juniper branches as well. I probably won't be making my Sahti till November though. If you would be able to ship my branches in mid-November let me know.
 
Just doughed in.

HOLY CRAP does this ever smell great. The juniper liquor is ridiculously fragrant. I couldn't keep my face away from the water as it was heating up. I'll follow up with how everything turns out!
 
Excellent! I'm very surprised you could find juniper this time of year. I hope it turns out amazing!

Piece of advice: clean your equipment ASAP afterwards. The juniper sap turns to liquid cement real quick.
 
Does this require true juniper (juniperus species)? I am a Finn and my dad would love this. He is going to Finland next year... Maybe I can convince him to bring back yeast. What is the best yeast for the recipe?
 
Well you're supposed to use Finnish bread yeast.... but I just went with something neutral.

Also, there's fake juniper?
 
Reno_eNVy said:
Well you're supposed to use Finnish bread yeast.... but I just went with something neutral.

Also, there's fake juniper?

Not necessarily fake juniper, but common names of trees and shrubs are very misleading at times. I am curious about the actual species used since all I've seen so far is "juniper" from multiple sources. It could be juniperus virginiana or something else entirely.
 
Wikipedia says that this stuff traditionally has a strong banana flavor. Would a wheat yeast be more appropriate than a neutral one?
 
forstmeister said:
Not necessarily fake juniper, but common names of trees and shrubs are very misleading at times. I am curious about the actual species used since all I've seen so far is "juniper" from multiple sources. It could be juniperus virginiana or something else entirely.

There are quite a few species in the genus juniperus, all of which are actually juniper. My species is californicus. East-coasters have virginiana. Wikipedia has all the species and growing regions.
 
D-Hutt said:
Wikipedia says that this stuff traditionally has a strong banana flavor. Would a wheat yeast be more appropriate than a neutral one?

Sounds good to me if you want to try it. Maybe I'll do a split-batch next time.
 
What kind of Finnish bread yeast do you use? I'll be in Finland from 10/14 to 10/29 and if I find the stuff you're all looking for I'll bring some back and mail it to whoever wants me to. Tell me what it is (I'll look into it too) and when I find it there and tell you the cost you can send money to my PayPal to cover the yeast and postage to you and I'll mail it out when I get back to the USA.
 
Sounds good to me if you want to try it. Maybe I'll do a split-batch next time.

Might give it a shot then. W3068? Maybe try and push those esters to the max with a high temp. Sounds like a fun experiment to me. I'll try to start planning it out.
 
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