My wife's family on her mom's side are all Estonians and Sahti (it's nominally Finnish, but not surprisingly common in traditional Estonian village and rural traditions as well. In Estonian, known as Koduõlu) is extremely close to their heart, my wife especially. Interestingly, my son had a course in college where he took on the project of parsing out a Sumerian beer. We dug to the extent we could and made it, interesting process, nasty beer.
So, I intend to try and replicate traditional practice here as much as possible. The one sticking point is yeast. I know we can't even get close commercially, and that traditional Sahti brewers of Finland and Estonia are almost more shamans than brewers, with their acquired wisdom and practices. Absent getting ahold of true Sahti with vital yeast, I'll have to turn to a commercial yeast. Phenolics/cloves, esters. High OG, going to shoot all the way to 30 P. Suggestions?
So, I intend to try and replicate traditional practice here as much as possible. The one sticking point is yeast. I know we can't even get close commercially, and that traditional Sahti brewers of Finland and Estonia are almost more shamans than brewers, with their acquired wisdom and practices. Absent getting ahold of true Sahti with vital yeast, I'll have to turn to a commercial yeast. Phenolics/cloves, esters. High OG, going to shoot all the way to 30 P. Suggestions?