Venn Brewing Batch #15: Modern Sahti

Venn Brewing Sahti. 8.5% ABV, 30 IBU. Venn Brewing, Minneapolis, MN. Growler filled on 2/18/18, consumed one week later.

Personalized growler labels are rare and always
appreciated.

What do we know about "sahti"? It's a scandanavian beer style, Finnish to be exact, where parts of trees, like juniper berries, or spruce tips are used for flavoring, in place of hops. Just check this out. I've only had one Sahti here in the Nib before, and that was Harriet's version, four years ago. Checking that review reveals that I've had two before, one from Dogfish Head and one from Finland, but they are in the distant past.

To the eye: clear, amber hue, slim white head.

In the nose: herbal, vegetal, slightly fruity/malty. Minimal hops. Interesting and inviting.

In the mouth: Sweet and creamy. Herbal, slightly hoppy, mostly malty. Increasingly interesting. Yeah, I'm drinking the forest floor, right? That's it? But it's damned tasty, and wonderfully strong. Delicious is a word I would use. Medium bodied, increasingly alcoholic, and very likable.

(And finished the growler in one evening. Couldn't help
it.)

What's the brewery have to say? Again, with the three word thing: Juniper, Complex, Full Bodied. 
Wait, I found more: Venn’s modern spin on a historical style from Finland. Traditionally brewed with a multigrain malt bill, juniper branches and berries, and fermented with baker’s yeast, we kept the core elements of the diverse malt bill and juniper berries but updated the yeast to a modern lager fermentation resulting in a cleaner finish.

Malts: Two Row, Dark Munich, Rye, Golden Naked Oats, Torrified Wheat, CaraMunich.
Hops: Chinook.
Yeast: American Lager. Other: Juniper Berries.