It's that time of year: SAHTI 2012!!!

[Bradinator]

Can't wait to see some pics of this beer in its final form!

 

[Channel66]

I absolutely love sahti. Keep us posted!

 

[bwomp313]

I need to find me some juniper and do this

 

[Reno_eNVy]

BOOYA! It's probably fully carbed now, even with having to move it from my busted kegerator to a ferm chamber turned keezer pro tempore.


Tasting Notes:

Appearance:
The color in photo #1 is accurate, as is the haziness. There is no way this guy is going to clear out considering all of the sappy, barky goodness the juniper added to the water. Head and lacing don't last long, as you can see in photo #2.

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 I'm going 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.)

I think the key really is to boil the juniper in the brew liquor. The Finnish had it right :rockin:

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I entered this into a local competition. We'll see how it fared on Saturday!

 

[Bradinator]

Good luck! What category did you enter it under?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Good luck! What category did you enter it under?

23 seemed the best choice. It's even listed in "historic or local" varieties on BJCP guidelines

 

[Reno_eNVy]

UPDATE:

Sadly, SWMBO and I were not able to go to the actual competition event because SWMBO was sick but the results were posted:

WE GOT THE GOLD IN CATEGORY 23! On top of that we got 2nd place in "Best In Show"! First medal ever!

Yeah I'm going to have to post this one in the recipe database now :rockin:

 

[SenorPepe]

Wow! That is impressive, especially the Silver in BOS. Congratulations.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Thank you much! Gold in the weird beer category is very cool. But 2nd best of all beers, including established and popular styles? Never would have guessed.

Seriously, I'm buzzing with happiness right now.

 

[Bradinator]

Way to go on the medal!

 

[baddad]

Congratulations Reno. Whisk I could have been there too , and ill for sure have to try this one soon

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Thanks everybody! I've created a recipe page in the database so I can share the awesome with everybody! :rockin:

Congratulations Reno. Whisk I could have been there too , and ill for sure have to try this one soon

If you go soon (read: next month or so) you can probably still find some great branches. I always go to Hidden Valley Regional Park on the East side of the valley. When you get to the park you have to drive back into the hills as far as you can until you hit the gate. But then you do a quick half-mile hike along the off-road path until it opens up into a nice big valley plastered with juniper and other pines.

There's also a family of wild horses out there but they're usually only out really early.

 

[baddad]

Thanks, ill have to make time to get up there

 

[lowtones84]

Thank you much! Gold in the weird beer category is very cool. But 2nd best of all beers, including established and popular styles? Never would have guessed.

Seriously, I'm buzzing with happiness right now.

Nice, I would be too! Congratulations!

 

[SavoryChef]

Was this the Great Basin Brewery competition? I entered a few there.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Was this the Great Basin Brewery competition? I entered a few there.

Yessir it was. How did you fare? Did you go to the event?

 

[SavoryChef]

I didn't place. Waiting for score sheets. I did show up, not too many people showed up. They had 82 entries or so.
Congrats on your beer.
I will have to try this one, it sounds interesting.

EDIT: I just looked on Great Basins website and I did get 3rd for My Wheat IPA.

 

[digitalhifi]

Anyone have any tips on gathering any juniper branches in the Texas area, specifically Houston? Am I going to poison myself if I find a juniper tree somewhere and make beer from it?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Anyone have any tips on gathering any juniper branches in the Texas area, specifically Houston? Am I going to poison myself if I find a juniper tree somewhere and make beer from it?

Heh

Juniper plants don't make compounds harmful to humans, regardless of where they grow.

Chemicals sprayed ONTO the plants by humans, on the other hand, can be harmful.

Just don't get any from a city park.

 

[Rubes]

Is there a branch you could use instead of juniper? I've been wanting to make a version of Gotlandsdricka after reading about it a few months ago, and it also involves boiling juniper branches and berries in the brewing water first. I can get juniper berries but the bush doesn't grow around here..

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Is there a branch you could use instead of juniper? I've been wanting to make a version of Gotlandsdricka after reading about it a few months ago, and it also involves boiling juniper branches and berries in the brewing water first. I can get juniper berries but the bush doesn't grow around here..

I'm pretty sure it does. Here's a map of where it's very common to find Juniperus virginiana, which is only one of the many juniper species.

EDIT: And it looks very much like the kind we have in Reno

 

[Rubes]

Interesting, I didn't know that. I searched on google and didn't see anything about it growing in Ontario, but perhaps I should go take a look in the forest. I'm right in that green area in southern Ontario. Thanks, I shall investigate.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Just keep an eye out for those blue/purple berries.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

And just to help your hunt, juniper species are mostly shrubs and not tall trees. And it appears J. virginiana is the same blueish-green as our species, J. californica

 

[Rubes]

Cool, how tall is that? It's hard to tell in the picture. Is it a little shrub, or like the size of a person? Is it in season yet? Obviously our climate is a bit different than yours but we shouldn't be that far behind..

 

[Reno_eNVy]

No, I think the majority of North American juniper has the best berries late-winter to mid-spring.


And the ones in my region are between 5 and 10 feet tall. The one in the photo appears to be about a 6-footer.

That one is also trimmed, sorry. Here's what you're more likely to expect in the wild (looks about 7 or 8 feet tall):

 

[Rubes]

Excellent, thanks for the info. I'm going to hunt for these things.

 

[digitalhifi]

Thanks let the hunt begin!