Sahti, a Finnish Farmhouse Ale, Is the Most Interesting Beer You've Likely Never Had

This traditional farmhouse ale dates to the Viking era and is finding its way to the U.S.

If you’re a craft beer enthusiast and love zippy, musty, funky beers that go beyond the hop-forward style of India Pale Ales or the classic, malt-forward style of porters or stouts, you’ve likely heard of sahti. You may have even tasted it.

A traditional farmhouse ale, sahti is unique to Finland and one of the world’s oldest beers. There’s evidence of casks onboard a sunken Viking ship from the 9th century.

The beer is traditionally flavored with juniper in combination with, or instead of, hops. The historic vessel that sahti is brewed in is called a kuurna. This ancient lauter tun, made traditionally from hollowed-out wooden logs, separates the worts from the mash solids.

Related: Here's What You Should Know About Indian-Made Beer and How to Drink It

Sahti fell out of favor in the early 1900s. Prohibition wiped out many small, family-run sahti breweries in Finland. Commercially produced lagers became the popular style.

In the late 1970s, sahti enjoyed a small resurgence in Finland, as homebrewers revisited the centuries-old ale.

Sahti is considered one of the most traditional recipes in the Nordic country's history. It’s also one of the few indigenous products in Europe that falls under a protected designation of origin (PDO) like France’s Camembert cheese and Italy’s Parma ham.

"Sahti fell out of favor in the early 1900s. Prohibition wiped out many small, family-run sahti breweries in Finland. Commercially produced lagers became the popular style. "

The best and most authentic sahti is found in the Finnish countryside, located in the southern and western parts of the country. Farmers often make the brew for personal consumption.

The most popular commercial sahti producer in Finland is Lammin Sahti. Owner Pekka Kääriäinen makes close to 25,000 liters of beer per year in his parent’s old farmhouse, the same place where he brewed his first sahti at age 14.

Other brewers include Finlandia Sahti, known for a more fruit-forward style, and Pyynikin Craft Brewery, a producer of more hoppy styles. The breweries make sahti based on traditional recipes which typically include “[malted] grains, water, baker’s yeast, juniper branches and sometimes hops,” says Finland-based sahti brewer Marjokaisa Piironen.

Kääriäinen, also the chairman of the Finnish sahti society, acknowledges that the ale can be divisive.

“You either like it or you don’t. And most people don’t because they have bad memories of drinking not-so-good sahti,” says Kääriäinen. “The people who do like it, grew up drinking it and are used to the flavor.”

The distinct flavor of sahti

In contrast to commercial beers, sahti has little-to-no fizz.

“Unlike modern beers, sahti is flat, and there are no bubbles. This leads to a smooth and refreshing drink,” says Piironen.

Piironen says her brewmaking style is very clean and allows the fermentation to happen in “peace before being enjoyed in two weeks after the wort is made.”

Sahti is generally between 6-8% ABV and has a strong aroma of banana. Piironen says these fruity aromatics are intentional. “It’s a sweet, dark ale and you get a smell of bananas, which in many beers is an error,” she says. “But in sahti, it belongs.”

Some producers like Kääriäinen joke that they throw bananas into the kuurna along with the juniper branches. In truth, the banana notes emerge because of the use of baker’s yeast, rather than the commercial yeast commonly used in mainstream beer production.

Piironen says that sahti is known for its lack of bitterness.

“There are two reasons for this,” she says. “Sahti wort is not boiled at all, but just heated to about 80 to 85° Celsius (176°F). There is also a lack of hops, or at least it is used in a very minimal amount, to stop any bitterness from developing.”

Instead, fresh juniper helps sahti reach that required pungency.

How to try sahti

There’s a major barrier that keeps sahti from being exported outside of Finland. It has a very short shelf life. With its lack of pasteurization, minimal amount of hops, and the use of baker’s yeast, which can go sour if not consumed immediately, sahti is highly perishable.

“No one exports sahti to the U.S. or anywhere [in the world] because sahti is a fresh product that needs to be treated like fresh milk,” says Piironen.

Piironen says that freezing her sahti doesn’t compromise its taste, however.

While a trip to a Finnish farm to taste authentic sahti seems appealing, craft beer lovers in America can now try the style without traveling thousands of miles. In recent years, U.S. breweries have crafted versions of the traditional Finnish drink.

These breweries can’t replicate the exact recipe made in Finland. Most American consumers aren’t willing to give up carbonation in their beers entirely, and some Finnish ingredients just aren’t available Stateside. But these delicious, sahti-style brews are the closest we’ve found.

Barrel + Beam Sahti

Nick VanCourt, co-founder and head brewer of Barrel + Beam in Michigan started to brew a few “truly Nordic” beers in 2019, all of which fell under the sahti category.

VanCourt uses juniper boughs and either malted or raw rye, for a “malty, toasty and fruity ale with undertones of spice rye and woody juniper,” he says. Barrel + Beam ferments with its house yeast strain rather than bread yeasts, and it fully carbonates its sahti rather than offering the traditional still style.

Ale Apothecary Sahti

This fall, Bend, Oregon’s Ale Apothecary will release an aged sahti, a matured version of a previously brewed expression. Following the brewery’s ethos to focus on more obscure beers, head brewer Connor Currie says that it was a natural progression to brew sahti because of the “traditional and historical brewing techniques” involved.

A series of experimental brews led Currie to a modern spin on traditional Finnish sahti. Ale Apothecary Sahti is aged in oak barrels and carbonated, something that Currie says his clientele desires. The bottling includes malted barley and rye from their local grower and maltster, Mecca Grade Estate Malt. Currie says that the extended aging process and carbonation result in a drier, lighter beer with a pleasant mouthfeel, compared to a traditional still sahti.

Dogfish Head Brewery Sah’tea

Delaware’s Dogfish Head Brewery is one of the few U.S.-based operations that has a seasonal sahti beer in its rotation. Known as Sah’tea, the brew is a modern take on the traditional Nordic ale.

To replicate the medieval sahti brewing process, hot rocks are thrown into a steel tank that contains sahti wort, which is then boiled to give an earthy character. Black tea, cumin, and coriander are added to mimic the Finnish juniper flavors found in traditional sahti. The same “beautiful, banana bread-like” aromas can be found in Sah’tea.

Off Color Brewing Bare Bear Ale

Chicago’s Off Color Brewing admits that none of the traditional equipment found in a sahti farmhouse brewery is used to make its version, but passion for the style is still evident.

The sahti-style Bare Bear Ale is 7% ABV. Juniper berries and oak staves are added to the mash, which produces an especially tannic character. The brewery uses a saison yeast instead of the traditional baker’s yeast. Though the beer-making process may look different, the resulting brew is complex and delicious, with all the sahti notes and aromas.

Brewery Vivant Michigan Sahti

Michigan’s Brewery Vivant recently launched its own take on traditional sahti. By using corn mash and Simcoe hops in the body, and juniper berries in the whirlpool, the brewer was able to achieve the same Finnish botanical notes you’d find in the Nordics. The funky beer is slightly sweet, amber in color, and has a moderately heavy body with a 7.4% ABV.