Dogfish Head Sahtea
A modern update on a 9th century Finnish proto-beer.
Brewed with rye, we caramelize the wort with white hot river rocks, then ferment it with a German Weizen yeast. In addition to juniper berries foraged directly from the Finnish country-side we added a sort of tea made with coriander, cardamom, lemon grass, Indian Black Tea, and ramps leaves. The spicing is subtle and balanced and Sahtea is a highly-quaffable, truly-unique brew with a full-mouth feel.
[Not Sahti at all, only by name/TBone]
Brewed with rye, we caramelize the wort with white hot river rocks, then ferment it with a German Weizen yeast. In addition to juniper berries foraged directly from the Finnish country-side we added a sort of tea made with coriander, cardamom, lemon grass, Indian Black Tea, and ramps leaves. The spicing is subtle and balanced and Sahtea is a highly-quaffable, truly-unique brew with a full-mouth feel.
[Not Sahti at all, only by name/TBone]
3.6
689 reviews
Milton, United States
Community reviews
Tasted on 1/3/12 from a capped 750mL bottle. Pours hazy brassy golden with an average white head that leaves thin lacing. The nose is dominated by chai tea, with caramel malt and some cardamom spice. The flavor is quite sweet with tons of caramel and chai with some herbal bitterness. The body is medium and oily with light carbonation and a long caramel chai finish.
It’s strong, spicy, floral, sweet, kind of malty, with hints of tea. It is a good fermented beverage, just not my style, too spicy and fenolic.
"9% abv (not 6) so there is a kick. hazy tan-orange color. aroma is wonderful*. it’s been chilly here for the last few days and this would fit perfect as a late fall or winter seasonal. one taster said it smells like Christmas. The * is that wonderful in this sense is a well blended chai tea. if you’re a sucker for chai tea like me, you’ll love this beer. if not, there’s really no reason to drink a chai tea beer! body is full and feel is pretty smooth. flavor is great...black tea, spices, juniper, malt, yeast. very very good with a lasting impression. i wish this were more easily available."
Bottle:
Cloudy, tallow-gold with a small, white head.
Nutmeg, chai-tea aroma.
Sweet, honey, nutmeg, fruit syrup, banana.
Very tasty and unusual....excellent.
Bottle. Nutmeg, honey, chai, and light juniper aroma. Hazy golden yellow with small head. Sweet honey, banana, nutmeg and chai tea flavor. Very tasty.
Pours deep copper, very little head, slightly hazy. Smells of juniper, tea, caramel, clove. Tastes of tea, juniper, various spices. Medium malt body
Pours a light amber with a white foam head. Aroma is chai tea and berries. Flavor is the same, sweet, with a smooth, creamy mouthfeel. Very easy to drink and delicious.
Not my normal beer. Great change of pace. Perfect flavor aroma texture, etc. don't need to have again any time soon but nice chai tea flavored ale.
Bottle from total wine in fl. Hard to find a complaint. Beautiful aroma- spice.. cloves. Amazing flavor- vanilla chai. So easy to drink. One of my new favorites
Really good stuff, but you can’t call it "subtle and balanced." Turns out, I like not subtle and unbalanced. You get a big dose of spiced tea, then hints of lemon, spicy rye, and finally banana esters. Very unbeerlike. The alcohol content, 9%, is definitely subtle. Happy I can’t taste the ramps.
Cloves and bananas in this pale orangeish hazy brew with a small white head of tiny bubbles. I get a spicy flavor much like the aroma with a christmas flavor a medium body and decent carb.
Bottle (750ml): pours cloudy golden. Smells spicy. Wow this is different. Not bad but different. Spices are very strong, cinnamon and tea? not sure what juniper berries taste like. Not bad but too many others that I would rather drink
750mL bottle. Pours a pale golden, slight haze, big fluffy white head with killer retention and lacing. Nose is lots of spice (the chai blend come sthrough clearly with the cardamom, cloves and coriander) some banana, grass, daffodils. Mouth is medium bodied, medium sweet, rye coming through, a lot of the flavors that are in the aroma -- spices, florals, grasses, yada, yada, yada. The only disappointment is that I’m not getting the juniper berries -- which is what I was most looking forward to -- and I imagine it might be overpowered by the spices added in. Regardless, this is a very tasty beverage and would be exceptionally good during the late fall when the air gets chilly and damp here in Chicago.
750ml bottle purchased at Knightly Spirits in Orlando, Florida. Golden yellow, thin dissipating white head, very light patchy lacing. Aroma is of spice, some pepper, very floral with lots of perfume. Flavour is of perfume, spices and pepper, starfruit. Floral mouthfeel, medium/light body, moderate carbonation. Finishes long with some spice and flowers.
Another in the long line of interesting and little known styles from Dogfish. I’m glad they have the balls to do something like this.
Smell of ginger and spice. Appearance is golden yellow with off white head. Taste is sweet banana with clove spice and ginger.
Bomber from Supermarket Liquors. Appearance: two fingers white head, does not last too long, cloudy orange color, no lacing. Aroma: cinnamon, ginger, other spices, caramel, light chai. As beer warms up, chai is much more apparent and ginger dissipates. Palate: medium body, average to lively carbonation, oily texture, light spice finish. Taste: sweet caramel, into light Belgian yeastiness, then the spices come out; primarily cinnamon and a bit of ginger, these last until it eventually peters out. As beer warms, chai taste takes over and prevails. Overall, super very different and unique, drinkable, alcohol is hidden well, and well balanced. Very enjoyable.
Pours a deep golden with white head. Floral, herbal, tea, and spice on the nose; follows onto the palate. Finishes sweet.
Bottle from Mane Liquor. Pours clear orange with a tiny white rim around the edge. As Jackson pointed out, the nose is very close to banana bread. Broken down it has loads of spices - cinnamon and clove driven with HEAPS of banana, toffee, walnut and tea leaves. Kind of has similarities to banana and butterscotch with a lemon zest kick to it. Taste is rum ’n’ raisin like with heavy banana esters and cinnamon before the dark and tangy fruits finish it off, especially lemon grass. Has a very sticky sweet end to it like raisins, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon sticks. Quite earthy towards the finish as well. On the sweet side of things and quite decadent. Carbonation is soft. A very well put together beer
Bottle from Mane Liquor. Immediate aroma of banana bread, cinammon, juniper, ginger and tea leaves. The banana note is very stong. Light toasted caramel malts mixed in with lots of herbs and spices across the palate. Similarly, banana lollies and ginger are quite present. Maybe a touch too sweet for me. A sweet peppery fruit finish. Very soft carbonation. Cool beer!
Tap at Lazy Dog. Pours a hazy muddy golden with a nice layer of cream colored. Taste of lemons and malts. Aroma of spice and fruit.
750 ml bottle into signature tulip glass, bottled on 3/11/2013. Pours fairly hazy/cloudy deep gold color with a 1-2 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation retaining the head. Aromas of big juniper, black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, ginger, black pepper, herbal, grass, light banana, light caramel, bread, and herbal/yeast earthiness. Fantastic aromas with awesome balance and complexity of fruity/earthy yeast, spices, and bready malt sweetness; with great strength. Taste of big juniper, black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove, herbal, light banana, black pepper, grass, light caramel, bread, and herbal/yeast earthiness. No bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of juniper, black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove, light banana, herbal, grass, light caramel, bread, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity and balance of fruity/earthy yeast, spices, and bready malt sweetnesss; with an awesome malt/spice balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a very smooth and fairly creamy/slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with only a light warming present after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic Sahti style. All around awesome complexity and balance of fruity/earthy yeast, spices, and bready malt sweetness; and extremely smooth to sip on for the ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.
caramel, herbs, citrus, spruce, clove, BUY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHEN YOU FIND IT, YOU FOOL
Transfer from BA review from 7-2-12 -
Served on tap in a 10 oz chalice glass
Appearance – Pours a hazy golden color with a light white head. The head fades quickly leave a light amount of lacing.
Smell – The smell is fruity and spicy. Aromas of citrus and berry are a nice base with which aromas of some juniper spice and a light pine aroma rest upon. Mixed with these are smells of yeast and some light breadiness as well.
Taste – The taste starts out on the fruitier and sweet side with a good dose of citrus and some berry flavors. These are mixed with juniper and some yeast tastes. The juniper soon becomes more potent with other spices of nutmeg and cinnamon coming to the tongue as well. As the taste advances further a herbal tea flavor comes to the tongue and takes the taste to the end where some floral flavors mix in with the herbal tea to leave a very interesting flavor on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer was on the medium side with the carbonation level just a hint above average. The average body was good for the tea, spice and fruit flavors with the carbonation level making it more refreshing then a standard 9 % abv brew.
Overall – It was an interesting and tasty brew. One to try if you get a chance.
75 cL bottle bit by bit into a pint into a pint glass. Clear orange with plenty of gas. Nice bubbly head but it doesn’t hang around. Coriander spiced aroma, a hint of menthol - very unusual but impressive. Crisp, light menthol spice, yet smooth with a light bitter finish. A sound an unusual tipple.
Almost bready aroma with thin creamy head. Medium body reminiscent of a Belgian ale. Does not taste like a high ETOH brew (9%).
Very good weizen. Pour is not great... No head and lightly cloudy. Flavor is wheat and yeast.
Golden amber color and spicy sweet flavor. Wonderfully fruity and spicy flavor with no bitter
I had this at Global Brew. Pours deep gold with white head. Taste coriander, wheat, a little like a Hefeweizen. I thought this was pretty good. I would definitely drink this again.
Great beer. Pours like a weizen. Has complex aromas including caramel, corriender and some very obvious tea. The beer itself is very light on the pallet, has a strong finish and the tea is more for smell than the taste. 8/10
Light orange poured from a bottle with moderate head. Scent of tea as in the name with a sweet tea aftertaste