{"id":2236,"date":"2017-11-11T17:59:23","date_gmt":"2017-11-12T01:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hellbach.us\/blog\/?p=2236"},"modified":"2017-11-11T17:59:23","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T01:59:23","slug":"sahti-related-ancient-farmhouse-ales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hellbach.us\/blog\/food-drink\/beer\/sahti-related-ancient-farmhouse-ales\/","title":{"rendered":"Sahti and Related Ancient Farmhouse Ales"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:224,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.brewingnordic.com\\\/farmhouse-ales\\\/history-farmhouse-ales&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20250710045041\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.brewingnordic.com\\\/farmhouse-ales\\\/history-farmhouse-ales\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-18 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19:36:13&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:196,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.garshol.priv.no\\\/download\\\/lithuanian-beer-guide&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20250917143003\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.garshol.priv.no\\\/download\\\/lithuanian-beer-guide\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-18 19:33:11&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-18 19:33:11&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:238,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.brewingnordic.com\\\/farmhouse-ales\\\/ancient-homebrew-sahti&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20250826075733\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.brewingnordic.com\\\/farmhouse-ales\\\/ancient-homebrew-sahti\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-18 19:36:14&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-18 19:36:14&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/koduolu-vats.jpg?resize=768%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<strong>This is an introduction to ancient\u00a0homebrewed\u00a0farmhouse ales of northern Europe.\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Finnish Sahti is the best known of them, but similar beers exist in the Nordic and Baltic countries:\u00a0<em>kodu\u00f5lu<\/em>\u00a0in Estonia,\u00a0<em>gotlandsdricke<\/em>\u00a0in Sweden,\u00a0<em>malt\u00f8l<\/em>\u00a0in Norway and\u00a0<em>kaimi\u0161kas<\/em>\u00a0in Lithuania.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once upon a time there were farmers who brewed beer from their own grains. They malted the grains, picked seasonings from the nearby forest, and fermented the brew with their house yeast. These farmers were not professional brewers, but they passed on their craft, word of mouth, from generation to generation.<\/p>\n<p>Today farmhouse ales are not always brewed exactly this way, and the term refers to the origin of the tradition. For many the designation brings instantly Belgium and France to mind, but it is a much more generic term. Once most beer in Europe was farmhouse ale.<\/p>\n<p>What confuses people is that, unlike Belgian and French farmhouse ales, the Nordic and Baltic traditions are still largely domestic brewing practices, an ancient way of homebrewing. That\u2019s why these traditions are unique within the beer cultures of Europe. That is also why these beers are rarely exported, can be hard to find even in their own countries, do not store well, and unlikely will become commercial hits. \u00a0Admittedly, there are some commercial farmhouse breweries in the Nordics and Baltics, but basically they have just scaled up the old domestic techniques.<\/p>\n<p>In this text I will concentrate mostly on the ancient ales that have survived to the present day:\u00a0<em>sahti<\/em>\u00a0in Finland,\u00a0<em>kodu\u00f5lu<\/em>\u00a0in Estonia,\u00a0<em>gotlandsdricke<\/em>\u00a0in Sweden,\u00a0<em>malt\u00f8l<\/em>\u00a0in Norway and\u00a0<em>kaimi\u0161kas<\/em>\u00a0in Lithuania. These traditions stem\u00a0from the same origin and have much in common.\u00a0It is not certain when these traditions took shape, but likely they developed during the Iron Age, before the principles of modern brewing were established in the Middle Ages. See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/history-farmhouse-ales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">History of Farmhouse Ales<\/a>\u00a0for details.<\/p>\n<p>In all Nordic and Baltic countries the word for beer derive from the same origin as ale:\u00a0<em>olut<\/em>\u00a0in Finland,\u00a0<em>\u00f5lu<\/em>\u00a0in Estonia,\u00a0<em>\u00f6l<\/em>\u00a0in Sweden,\u00a0<em>\u00f8l<\/em>\u00a0in Denmark and Norway,<em>\u00a0alus<\/em>\u00a0in Lithuania and Latvia. Hence I like to speak about ales, but I do not intend to refer to the ale-beer or ale-lager classifications.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Geography<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Nordic refers to the countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway. Baltic countries are formed by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All these countries are linked by the Baltic sea, and throughout the history there has been immigration and flow of culture between these countries. Northern Germany has been influential to the history of this area as well. Finland and the Baltic states have received Finno-Ugric and Slavic influences from the east. Through the expansion of the Vikings during 750\u20131050 AD, the Nordic influence is seen for example in the British Isles.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_86\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-86\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map-1024x1024.jpg?resize=768%2C768\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map.jpg?w=1171&amp;ssl=1 1171w\" alt=\"Nordic and Baltic farmhouse ales on a map\" width=\"687\" height=\"687\" data-attachment-id=\"86\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/ancient-homebrew-sahti\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map.jpg?fit=1171%2C1171&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1171,1171\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nordicbaltic_farmhouse_ales_map.jpg?fit=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Areas of alive Nordic-Baltic farmhouse ale traditions are shown darkened. Likely some areas of living traditions are yet unknown to me (mainland Estonia?). Modified from Map of Europe with countries \u2013 single color by freevectormaps.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Farmhouse traditions are alive also in Latvia, but Lars Garshol\u2019s travel story\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.garshol.priv.no\/blog\/345.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stone brewing in Latvia<\/a>\u00a0seems to be about the only information in English. In Denmark the traditions have faded relatively recently, and there are still people remembering the time. Some farmhouse brewing has survived in Russia as well, especially in the Chuvash republic.\u00a0See also Lars Garshol\u2019s view on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.garshol.priv.no\/blog\/305.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Farmhouse ales of Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Daily and Feast Ales<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Farmhouse ales have been made in different strengths for different purposes. Low alcohol small beers have been part of the diet and drank by everyone, children included. In the feasts ale was expected to be rich in taste and strong in alcohol. For example, sahti should have at least 6 % ABV.\u00a0Besides alcohol content, this division has also a distinct effect on ingredients and brewing techniques. Daily ales should be easy to brew on a weekly basis, while the feast ales should be the best the house has to offer.<\/p>\n<p>There are also medium strength ales of 5\u20136 % ABV which put smile on lips, but do not stop the work. In Finland and Estonia traditional ales seem to be mostly either small beers or feast ales, but medium strength ales exist in Norway, Sweden and Lithuania.<\/p>\n<p>The ales of alive traditions mentioned earlier are either feast or medium strenght ales. The traditions of small beers seem to be largely extinct, but there might be some well-preserved remnants in the Baltic states. Several modernized versions of traditional small beers are still brewed and sold in northern Europe, like\u00a0<em>kalja<\/em>\u00a0(Finland),\u00a0<em>svagdricka<\/em>(Scandinavia),\u00a0<em>gira<\/em>\u00a0(Lithuania) and\u00a0<em>kvass<\/em>\u00a0(Russia). \u00a0Read\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/small-beer-called-kalja\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Small Beer Called Kalja<\/a>\u00a0for details on\u00a0historic low alcohol farmhouse beers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_87\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-87 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web-1024x1024.jpg?resize=768%2C768\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" alt=\"Drinking gira at Snekutis\" width=\"687\" height=\"687\" data-attachment-id=\"87\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/ancient-homebrew-sahti\/gira_snekutis_web\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web.jpg?fit=1280%2C1280&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,1280\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Nexus 5&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1468338721&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.97&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;223&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0248473840876&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"gira_snekutis_web\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/gira_snekutis_web.jpg?fit=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quenching the thirst with gira at \u0160nekutis bar in Vilnius, Lithuania. When ordering, I was reminded that this beer does not contain alcohol. Photo by Mari Varonen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Ingredients<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Malted and unmalted grains, juniper branches, hops, and yeast are the basic ingredients of these ales. Malted barley is the most common base, but also rye, oats, and wheat are used in both malted and unmalted forms.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, traditional home malting has mostly disappeared, and now most brewers use commercial malts. In Norway and Lithuania, some brewers still malt in the traditional way. In Finland, some farmers have revived home malting, but to my knowledge, nobody malts in the most traditional way in smoke saunas or drying barns.<\/p>\n<p>Juniper is the most important brewing herb in the Nordic and Baltic farmhouse ales. Traditionally the juniper flavor comes from the branches laid on the bottom of the lauter tun filter (see image below) or from juniper infusion (branches infused in hot water). \u00a0The taste of branches is needle-like and woody, somewhat different than the flavor of berries.\u00a0Hops are used fairly often, but usually in minor quantities. Sahti is often unhopped.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania is a notable exception to what I just said. Their farmhouse brewers generally do not use juniper, but slightly more hops. Nevertheless, Lithuanian kaimi\u0161kas is typically malt-forward, but some versions can be even described as hoppy.<\/p>\n<p>House yeasts are rare these days, but some brewers in Norway and Lithuania are still fermenting with their traditional heirloom yeasts. In the past, some houses made both bread and beer with the same yeast, and hence it is natural that many traditional brewers use now baker\u2019s yeast, though commercial. Some use also brewer\u2019s yeast, but in sahti, only traditional house yeast or commercial baker\u2019s yeast are allowed. This rule is written in the EU Traditional Specialities Guaranteed appellation of sahti.<\/p>\n<p>Other than aforementioned ingredients have also been used, but during the last hundred years, it has been surprisingly rare. The most notable exception is the use of honey (or nowadays sugar) in gotlandsdricke. See Lars Garshol\u2019s take on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.garshol.priv.no\/blog\/324.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nordic brewing herbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_90\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lautertub_juniper_web.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-90\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lautertub_juniper_web-1024x682.jpg?resize=768%2C512\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lautertub_juniper_web.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lautertub_juniper_web.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lautertub_juniper_web.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lautertub_juniper_web.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" alt=\"Lauter tun with juniper filter\" width=\"687\" height=\"458\" data-attachment-id=\"90\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/ancient-homebrew-sahti\/lautertub_juniper_web\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lautertub_juniper_web.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,853\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 5D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1467461580&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Copyright 2016 \\u00a9 Sami Brodkin&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;32&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1600&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0166666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"lautertub_juniper_web\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lautertub_juniper_web.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lautertub_juniper_web.jpg?fit=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traditional lautering tub with a filter formed from juniper branches. Photo by Sami Brodkin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Brewing Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For those unfamiliar with brewing, I review shortly the essential brewing terms. With very few exceptions, a modern brewery is operated as follows: first malts are mixed with hot water. This procedure is called\u00a0<em>mashing<\/em>\u00a0and the mixture\u00a0<em>mash<\/em>. Then, the sweet liquid of malt sugars called\u00a0<em>wort<\/em>\u00a0is drained from the mash in the process of\u00a0<em>lautering<\/em>. Finally, the wort is boiled with hops, cooled, fermented and packaged.<\/p>\n<p>Accordingly, a modern brewery has always a big kettle for boiling the wort with hops. In the old times, farmhouse brewers could not afford big kettles, and their methods evolved around wooden brewing gear. The most traditional farmhouse setup involves two large wooden vessels: A tub for mashing, and another tub or a trough-like vessel, known as\u00a0<em>kuurna<\/em>\u00a0in Finland, for lautering.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-brewing-kivioja.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-224\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-brewing-kivioja.jpg?resize=640%2C480\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-brewing-kivioja.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-brewing-kivioja.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w\" alt=\"Sahti brewing \" width=\"627\" height=\"470\" data-attachment-id=\"224\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/ancient-homebrew-sahti\/sahti-brewing-kivioja\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-brewing-kivioja.jpg?fit=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;FinePix A500&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1145933730&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.4&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;808&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.013333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"sahti-brewing-kivioja\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-brewing-kivioja.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-brewing-kivioja.jpg?fit=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traditional sahti brewing setup: a wooden tub for mashing and kuurna (behind) for lautering. Photo provided by Veikko Kivioja, the brewer himself.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Wooden vessels cannot be heated externally, and an old trick is to drop hot stones into the concoction. However, with hot stones, long boils would be awkward, and hence the ancient farmhouse brewers skipped the wort boiling step altogether.<\/p>\n<p>This lack of wort boil has a tremendous effect on the beer and is one of the major traits of Nordic-Baltic farmhouse ales. A beer from a non-boiled wort has a short shelf life, but when fresh, has an exquisite taste of malt and cereals. Due to retained proteins, it also feels nutritious, smooth, and full-bodied. An ale completely devoid of boiling steps is called\u00a0<em>raw ale<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Today many farmhouse brewers use stainless steel equipment, but their brewing process is inherited from ancestors as if the brewers still had only wooden tubs and a thermometer had not been invented.\u00a0Some present-day brewers boil the mash instead, which is most likely a remnant from times when the mash was heated up to a boil with hot stones. There are also farmhouse brewers who boil their wort, but the boil time can vary wildly from one minute to five hours, again something completely different to modern commercial breweries.<\/p>\n<p>Typically these ales are fermented warm for a day or two and then transferred to a cool cellar.\u00a0With house yeasts, the traditional fermentation temperature is milk-warm (35\u201340\u00b0C).\u00a0Often a considerable amount of residual sweetness remains and a slow secondary fermentation keeps yeast active, protecting from staling and souring. These ales are usually served within 1\u20133 weeks from the brew day.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-fermentation-kivioja.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-226\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-fermentation-kivioja.jpg?resize=640%2C480\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-fermentation-kivioja.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-fermentation-kivioja.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w\" alt=\"Fermenting sahti\" width=\"627\" height=\"470\" data-attachment-id=\"226\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/ancient-homebrew-sahti\/sahti-fermentation-kivioja\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-fermentation-kivioja.jpg?fit=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;FinePix A500&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1146042632&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.4&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;808&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.003125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"sahti-fermentation-kivioja\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-fermentation-kivioja.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-fermentation-kivioja.jpg?fit=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sahti brewer\u2019s trick: after mashing, clean the mash tub and use it as a fermenter. Photo provided by Veikko Kivioja.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As you may have noticed from the photos, these farmhouse ales are made in surprisingly big quantities, though still homebrews. See for example the very old looking, but still actively used wooden tubs in the header image. Paavo Pruul, a fine kodu\u00f5lu brewer from Hiiumaa, Estonia, inherited those tubs from his grandfather. The tubs are designed for producing 100\u2013200 litres (26\u201353 US gallons) of ale, which is a fairly typical farmhouse batch size.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to brew sahti yourself, read\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/sahti-recipe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Sahti Recipe and Farmhouse Brewing Tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Tasting Experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>These ales have survived from the arrival of distilled alcohol, the onset of cheap industrial beer, the temperance movement in the Nordics, and the Soviet reign in the Baltics. Without rich and unique taste these traditions would surely be dead by now. The taste is so different from modern beers that the first-timers may have difficulties to judge if the pint is as it supposed to be. Here is a briefing what to expect.<\/p>\n<p>There are some regional preferences, sort of sub-styles, but the distinction is not always very clear, as the variation from brewer to brewer is often\u00a0enormous. For this reason, these traditions are not exactly defined beer styles in the modern sense. Besides, even the same ale can taste different every time, particularly due to differences in age and storage. Although these ales may go sour when they age, sahti in particular, sourness is usually considered a flaw.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_227\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-competition-lahti2016.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-227\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-competition-lahti2016-1024x498.jpg?resize=768%2C374\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-competition-lahti2016.jpg?resize=1024%2C498&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-competition-lahti2016.jpg?resize=300%2C146&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-competition-lahti2016.jpg?resize=768%2C373&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-competition-lahti2016.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" alt=\"Sahti competition in Lahti 2016\" width=\"687\" height=\"334\" data-attachment-id=\"227\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/ancient-homebrew-sahti\/sahti-competition-lahti2016\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-competition-lahti2016.jpg?fit=1280%2C622&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,622\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Nexus 5&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1463235510&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.97&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00636942675159&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"sahti-competition-lahti2016\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-competition-lahti2016.jpg?fit=300%2C146&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.brewingnordic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sahti-competition-lahti2016.jpg?fit=768%2C374&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Even a local sahti competition show a wide variation. Some candidates are young and hazy, while some have aged and cleared in the cellar. Some prefer dark and sweet, while some like to emphasize paler qualities of malt. These samples are from a sahti competition in Lahti, Finland in April 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The appearance is often turbid, but haziness is more related to high protein content, rather than yeastiness. Some yeast are may be suspended, but the obvious sensation of yeastiness is a flaw. Due to proteins, the mouthfeel is typically smooth, and sometimes highly viscous and milkshake-like. In the Nordics, these ales are typically served still or with slight carbonation, while in the Baltics farmhouse ales are more often served clearly carbonated. Color ranges from yellow to dark brown. In the Baltics, paler examples are more typical, but in many parts of the Nordics reddish brown color is sought-after.<\/p>\n<p>Most examples taste sweet with rich fresh maltiness and graininess. The paler ones are more honeyish and grassy, while the darker ales express dark bread and toffee. Many Lithuanian ales have a unique hay-like taste from local malts. Taste of juniper varies from none to pronounced, more inclined to the needle-like taste of branches than berries.<\/p>\n<p>Usually, these ales have expressive fruitiness and spiciness from the fermentation. Quite often sahti has a prominent banana aroma, somewhat similar to weizenbocks. However, some brewers prefer their sahti malt-forward with no signs of banana. Some Lithuanian examples may have notes of butter.\u00a0The overall impression is extremely fresh, nourishing, smooth and drinkable.<\/p>\n<p>In the past, these ales would have picked some smokiness from the malting process, but today smoke aroma is rare, except in parts of Norway and Gotland where brewers malt themselves.<\/p>\n<p>These beers are rarely exported, but if you are visiting Finland, Estonia or Lithuania, check the availability of commercial examples from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/find-sahti-koduolu-kaimiskas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Where to Find Commercial Nordic and Baltic Farmhouse Ales?<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<p>In 2014\u20132015 I wrote the book\u00a0<em>Sahti: El\u00e4v\u00e4 muinaisolut<\/em>\u00a0(in Finnish) with Johannes Silvennoinen and Hannu Nikulainen, and the bulk of my research was done during that time. We\u00a0traveled 8000 km in Finland and Estonian islands, interviewing about 50 sahti and\u00a0kodu\u00f5lu brewers, and tasting more than one hundred examples of these ales. I also interviewed experts and scientists on malting, \u00a0yeast, archaeology, botany and\u00a0baker\u2019s yeast production. I have been homebrewing sahti since 2004, receiving numerous brewing tips from true farmhouse brewers. For the book, I made several brewing tests on farmhouse ingredients, techniques and recipes.<\/p>\n<p>The foundation for sahti knowledge have been laid by a\u00a0Finnish ethnographer Matti R\u00e4s\u00e4nen, surveys of Suomen sahtiseura (Finnish Sahti Society), and the thesis of Carl Niclas\u00a0Hellenius from 1780:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>R\u00e4s\u00e4nen, Matti (1975). Vom Halm zum Fass: Die Volkst\u00fcmlichen alkoholarmen Getreidegetr\u00e4nke in Finnland. Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistys, Kansatieteellinen Arkisto.<\/li>\n<li>R\u00e4s\u00e4nen, Matti (1977). Ohrasta olutta, rukiista ryyp\u00e4tt\u00e4v\u00e4\u00e4: Mietojen kansanomaisten viljajuomien valmistus Suomessa. Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4n yliopisto, Etnologian laitos.<\/li>\n<li>Asplund, Ulla (editor) (1990). Sahtikirja. Suomen Sahtiseura.<\/li>\n<li>Hellenius, Carl Niclas (1780). Finska allmogens bryggnings-s\u00e4tt. Doctoral thesis for the Academy of Turku. Digitized by The National Library of Finland.<\/li>\n<li>These have been the most important sources on other related farmhouse ales:<\/li>\n<li>Nordland, Odd (1969). Brewing And Beer Traditions In Norway: The Social Anthropological Background Of The Brewing Industry. The Norwegian Research Council For Science And The Humanities.<\/li>\n<li>Salomonsson, Anders (1979). Gotlandsdricka: Traditionell kultur som regional identitetssymbol. Press\u2019 F\u00f6rlag AB.<\/li>\n<li>Jakovlev, Tormis (1995). Olut Virossa. Tampereen museot.<\/li>\n<li>Markowski, Phil (2004). Farmhouse Ales: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition. Brewers Publications.<\/li>\n<li>Garshol, Lars.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.garshol.priv.no\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Larsblog<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.garshol.priv.no\/download\/lithuanian-beer-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Lithuanian beer \u2013 a rough guide<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>As a background material, I have used several books on Finnish folk culture, for example by Toivo Vuorela, Uuno Sirelius, Ilmar Talve and Satu Apo. These books are mostly written in Finnish, but one is also available in English:<\/li>\n<li>Talve, Ilmar (1997). Finnish Folk Culture. Finnish Literature Society.<\/li>\n<li>The references on history and archaeology are listed in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/history-farmhouse-ales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">History of Farmhouse Ales<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Update history<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This story was originally published as\u00a0<em>Introduction to the Nordic and Baltic Farmhouse Ales<\/em>\u00a0in August 2016. This story was very long, and I completely restructured and renamed it in January 2017. The section on history was moved to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/history-farmhouse-ales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">History of Farmhouse Ales<\/a>. The section on the availability of commercial examples was moved to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/find-sahti-koduolu-kaimiskas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Where to Find Commercial Nordic and Baltic Farmhouse Ales?<\/a>\u00a0I removed the section on shelf life and storage of sahti, which will be its own article later.<\/p>\n<p><em>source and comments:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brewingnordic.com\/farmhouse-ales\/ancient-homebrew-sahti\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">brewingNordic<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is an introduction to ancient\u00a0homebrewed\u00a0farmhouse ales of northern Europe.\u00a0Finnish Sahti is the best known of them, but similar beers exist in the Nordic and Baltic countries:\u00a0kodu\u00f5lu\u00a0in Estonia,\u00a0gotlandsdricke\u00a0in Sweden,\u00a0malt\u00f8l\u00a0in Norway and\u00a0kaimi\u0161kas\u00a0in Lithuania. Once upon a time there were farmers who &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hellbach.us\/blog\/food-drink\/beer\/sahti-related-ancient-farmhouse-ales\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[217,216],"class_list":["post-2236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beer","tag-farmhouse-ale","tag-sahti"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sahti and Related Ancient Farmhouse Ales - Hellbach blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sahti is an ancient farmhouse ale still homebrewed in Finland. 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