Samuel Adams Norse Legend Sahti

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 
Purchased: 22oz bottle from Sam Adam's Small Batch Collection "gift set" [Batch No. 2]; 2012
Style/ABV: Sahti, 7.0%

Reported IBUs: 16

Tonight I'm looking at Sam Adam's take on a "Sahti." Sahti is a traditional beer from Finaland, which is made from a variety of grains, and then flavored (traditionally) with juniper berries. Traditionally, the mash was filtered through juniper twigs through a trough-shaped tun (called a kuurna). The style is a farmhouse ale with roots in Finland, dating back to the 1500s. According to Sam Adams, legend is that barrels of Sahti were found on Viking ships off the coast of Norway. Sahti is considered to be turbid -- or thick with suspended matter -- because the wort is not boiled after lautering, so loads of proteins are left in the body. In some regards, Sahti is comparable to a German Hefeweizen, and Sahti even features banana flavors thanks to the production of isoamyl acetate by the yeast. However, this beer can, and has been known, to pick up some wild yeast, giving it tartness.

With that said, about Sam Adams:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info.

If you roll over to the Norse Legend page, you can read more about Sahti, and see how Sam Adams went about making this beer. Rather than using a kuurna, the brewery aged this beer on a bed of juniper berries, which "impart an herbal, woodsy, and fresh evergreen character." Clocking in at 7.0% ABV, and packing 16 IBUs, this beer rounds out at 235 calories per 12oz serving. Brewed with Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops, pale malt, rye malt, and special B and aromatic malts, and juniper berries, this beer is described as spicy from the rye, hoppy with evergreen, and citrusy from the juniper. Let's glass this up.

Samuel Adams Norse Legend Sahti

In low light, this beer pours a copper color, with one to two finger's worth of tan/copper colored head. In bright light, this beer is an orange/amber color, with hints of purple/brown. The head is quite foamy and dense (ala a Hefeweizen), and has a copper/brown hue in bright light. There's a lot of carbonation streaming upwards in this, in the form of small to mid-sized bubbles. And...this is totally transparent and totally filtered. I'm not even going to rant about this fact, other than to say I find it disappointing that they decided to filter this. Would you filter a Hefeweizen? The dense, protein fueled head is clinging, and sustaining nicely....

The aroma here is not bad, with juniper berries, berries, and tea-like herbal aromas crackin' like pistachios  There's underlying malt sweetness with some honey, brown bread, and a touch of cereal graininess. There's maybe some watery raisin with cardboard. There's maybe a hint of minty hop, but it's more like herbal tea.

Fortunately, the taste improves upon the appearance and nose. This reminds me of both tea and wine at the same time, and I would love to try a version of Sahti brewed with wild yeast. I'm getting a lot of tea notes up front, including sweet tea, Lipton Iced tea, herbal tea with raspberry, tea with berries, and big juniper berry notes. There's definitely a hint of mint or evergreen within the herbal tea flavor. I'm also reminded of my grandma's fairly ghetto home-made wine. Often brewed with various fruits, or things like dandelions, it was always too sweet, and never tasted complete. You get big sweetness on the back end, with honey, dandelions, and sugary malt body. At 7.0% ABV, the malts can't run or hide. There's like a hint of wood, but it's so subtle it's hard to tell if I'm not just filling in the gaps.

I'm not saying this is a mess, but they're doing this wrong. This is pretty much a one-trick pony (when it shouldn't be), with tea, juniper, evergreen rape, and then sugary, raisin sugar, dandelion sugar, cakey/honey sugar rape on the back end. This is medium-full to full, sticky sweet, with anorexic carbonation. Palate depth is good, complexity is not so much. Up front: tea, juniper, evergreen; mid palate is more evergreen and tea with hints of crappy, unfermented wine; back end is birthday cake levels of sweetness. Hints of wood are largely a no-show.

Rating: Below-Average

I'm feeling a Light Below-Average here. I was leaning towards Average  but I don't know. The finish is pretty sticky, and I wish I was getting more herbal/juniper, and where is dat citrus? Yo. Sam Adams, a word, please. I like tea, I like wine. I like juniper berries, and I like wood. I also like unfiltered traditional ales...also, what's up with some of your higher gravity beers veering into sugary la-la land? Your Imperial White, Double Bock, and Wee Heavy all kind of do similar things. Where's that patent banana? And the unfiltered fun? Or the allure of wild yeast? Aging a beer on juniper beers, evidently, does not a Sahti make. So that's the beef. As far as pairing this...the herbal/tea thing would go well with rustic food, like chicken and potatoes, sausage, a stew, or even a rustic soup. All things considered, a 22oz bottle of this stuff is around 6 or 7 bucks. 

Random Thought: Congrats to the Baltimore Flaccos on their victory.

The Bruery Saison de Lente

Brewed By: The Bruery in Placentia, California 

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Saison/Farmhouse Ale, 6.5%

Reported IBUs: 35

It's about time I popped this blog's Bruery cherry. The Bruery are based out of Placentia, California. As with many craft breweries, The Bruery began as a homebrewing adventure when Patrick Rue, his brother Chris, and his wife Rachel brewed their fast batch of beer. Patrick Rue continued to homebrew during his first year of law school, until he decided that he had a passion for brewing beer. The Bruery opened up in 2008, and since then, they have built a reputation around their experimental, and wild ales brewed with a Belgian flair. To read more, check out the Breuery's website.

The Bruery Saison de Lente

Today's beer is part of the The Bruery's spring seasonals. The Saison de Lente, available between March and May, is described as a light blonde and hoppy ale with a wild and rustic Brettanomyces character. Clocking in at 6.5% ABV and packing 35 IBUs, this is The Bruery's take on a Spring-seasonal-ish Saison. Let's glass this up and see how it stacks up.

This one pours a cloudy/hazy golden orange color, with really vibrant, bright, and radiating orange tones. If you rush to pour this one, you get all head. Even with my incredibly gentle pour, I kicked up 3-finger's worth of white, fluffy, Belgian-funk head. There's solid head retention, and the head clings to the glass nicely, leaving lacing. There's some nice small to mid-sized bubbles streaming upwards in this, and this just looks the role of a Saison.

Since this is a Spring seasonal (releaesd between March and May), it reasons that this is probably a 2012 bottle. So this one has had almost a full year to funk up inside the bottle. And funk indeed. I'm getting that "butcher shop" aroma, and a ton of chalk. I'm also getting leather, barnyard, and some soft/mild/pleasant band-aid. There's a transition from the Brett to the Belgian yeast, with a touch of wood, and then I get big clove, coriander, and some peppery spice. There's also zesty citrus on the nose, with some lemon, lemon grass, zest, and stale orange.

This is light and refreshing, without being crisp, and still maintaining some creamy density. You get barnyard, hay, and clove up front, with nice Brett funk, and some lemon grass. The middle is cut with lovely hop bitterness, which is still bright and assertive almost 10 months later. The back end trails off with peppery spice, lemon, and funky Brett dryness. There's a lot of fruity and spicy notes in here, so take your pick. I'm getting coriander, pepper, clove, and lots of apples, pears, tropical fruits, pineapple, hints of melon/peach, grapes, and grains of paradise. There's a hint of elusive smoke/wood/earth on the back end.

Earthy, wild, and complex...this has good drinkability at 6.5%. As I said, this is carbonated well, and drinks medium-light to medium-full, but there's a creamy/smooth density to this. This is champagne-like and dry, and features good palate depth and good complexity. Up front is creamy, grain, hay, barnyard, clove, mild funk; the middle dials up the hops, bitterness, hints of spice; the back is spicy, hoppy, funky, and dry. There's a lot going on here.

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this. This is nice stuff, with good drinkability, and a lot of subtle complexity. The funk in this has character, but it is balanced nicely with the hops, Belgian yeast, and spices. The 6.5% has weight, like the body of this beer, but it's still drinkable. Just a nice take. Food pairings...since this one is a tad heavier for a Saison, you could go with the usual gamy meats, or peppery chicken. But I almost feel like this would work well with some chicken friend steak, or fried fish, or something with gravy. Or maybe that's just what I'm tasting. By the way...this was around 10 bucks a bottle, which isn't bad. The 750ml format also means you can throw in the wine stopper, and hit this up the next day. Good stuff.

Random Thought: I really enjoy the 750ml format for bottle conditioned beers clocking in at 4-7% ABV. I know they opt for these bottles due to the fact that these beers are going to continue to carbonate inside the bottle, but yeah. 

Pipeworks Coffee Break Abduction Imperial Stout

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #66) bought at Binny's in IL; 2012 

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout (Spice/Herb/Vegetable), 10.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

I'm fucking tired, it's cold out, I just ran 8 miles...I'm ready for a big, warming, winter beer. This one seems like it's going to hit the spot. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. At one point - and maybe still - the goal was the release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Before I get to the back of the bottle, I want to say that I'm digging this beer's bottle art. The label art was done by Beejay Oslon, so props to him. I also think the dude on the bottle looks a lot like Edward Norton. Maybe that's just me. The back of the bottle states:

"Think yourself entitled to some brief respite human? Think again! Our coffee version of Abduction Imperial Stout uses local craft roast coffee, from our friends at Ipsento, and whole vanilla beans, to take you away once more. Which, depending on your penchant for a probing, may be just what you need. Beware the skies, for this robust, richly flavored Latte Imperial Stout may. just. scoop. you. up..."   

Vanilla beans? Ipsento coffee? 10.5% of pure Imperial Stout goodness? Can you say, hell yeah. Let's crack this open.

Pipeworks Coffee Break Abduction

This one pours as black as night, with a centimeter of rapidly dissolving coffee-colored head. The head mellows out into a cauldron effect, and a nice ring of brown is left on the side of the glass. Residual alcohol and sticky lace coat the side of the glass as you swirl this, and there's a TON of tiny bubbles hanging out on the top of this beer (with that patent "coffee carbonation" you get in these coffee beers). In bright light, this is still opaque and black, and the head is still coffee-colored. This definitely looks like an Imperial Stout.

The aroma on this is great, with a huge blast of coffee assaulting your nose space. I'm getting vibrant coffee, spent coffee in the filter, espresso, hints of cappuccino, slightly nutty aromas, hazelnut, hazelnut coffee, vanilla, vanilla beans, and some subtle roast. There's some slight wood, campfire, roast, chocolate, molasses, and hints of hops in here as well. And finally, there's sweet stuff, and maybe a hint of anise. There's a lot going on with the nose, which makes sense, because you have the coffee stuff plus the base beer.

This one is surprisingly bitter, with a ton of bitter coffee, espresso, and hop bite showing up in the taste. I'm getting coffee, sweetness, hints of berries, and hops (citrus, earthy) up front; the middle features bitter coffee, vanilla, anise, slight wood; the back end is lingering roast, dark fruits, super bitter espresso, hints of cappuccino  and a fade to a roasty, coffee, sticky finish. This is sticky and sweet, and pretty large at 10.5% ABV.

I love this...this is one of the better coffee Stouts I've had, and that includes the likes of Founders' Breakfast Stout and the Bourbon County Coffee. I don't know how fair it is to compare the three beers, and the BCBCS probably shouldn't count since the base beer is the tits...but you know. The coffee really trims down the mouthfeel on this, turning this sticky and sweet beer into a medium-full to full beer, rather than a full-bodied beast. Palate depth is fantastic, and complexity is high. At 10.5%, this is a sipper. And sip this beer you can. Nevertheless, this is drinkable. As with the BCBCS, I find this to be quite sweet...with sticky, residual sugar just hanging out around the edges of my mouth. This must be what it is like to blow the Candy Man. Again: this starts out with coffee, berries, sweetness, and then citrus/earthy/spicy hops; the middle dials up the bitter coffee, espresso, vanilla, anise, milk/cocoa, some wood/campfire; the back is roast, dark fruits, and more coffee. The finish is super dry and sticky. 

I haven't talked much about the booze...it's there, and you feel this warming you up. There's some underlying boozy complexity, but the coffee masks it well. I'm not really tasting alcohol. For what it is worth: this one is bottle conditioned, and would be a great addition to your cellar.

Rating: Divine Brew

This is another beastly Stout offering from Pipeworks, and I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. I do love my coffee beers, and this is one of the better ones. The coffee notes on this are the tits...and the base Stout is dynamite. I don't have much else to add, except this is a value beer at around 10 bucks a bottle. It's also readily available. SUCK THAT, Bourbon County Coffee. This would pair well with some nice ribs, or beef braised with coffee rub, or a burger, or various chocolate desserts. You could also bust out your Duvel tulip, and drop some of this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Once again, I only have nice things to say about Pipeworks.

Random Thought: Seriously, congrats to Pipeworks. Ratebeer just acknowledged these guys as a premier brewery in Illinois, and I look forward to continuing to drink their beer. If you are in the Chicagoland area, get on this stuff now. If you are travelling to Chicago, make sure you grab some Pipeworks stuff (or visit the brewery!) while you are in town.