Otter Creek Helsinki Gold

Formerly brewed at Otter Creek Brewing
Style: Traditional Ale
Middlebury, Vermont USA

Bottle from State Line. Pours semi-hazy dark straw with 1-finger whitish head. Aroma of grainy, slightly barnyardy pale malt, some bready, perfumy hops, rye, and jumiper berries. The flavor is pale malty and on the sweet side, with notes of honey, hops, and jumiper berries. This one is arguably the best Otter Creek beer I have yet quaffed.

My first attempt at a Sahti type beer. I was hopnig for more. Clean, straw like malt with a faint sprucey backing aroma. Not great, but very drinkable.

Having never had a Sahti beer, I was intrigued by this beer. Nice looking amber with a modest head, the nose was a bit astringent. I was hoping to taste the juniper and the gin, but - aside from a bit of rye - the flavor was a bit of a mess. One time only, I think.

Sample this at the Smuggler’s Notch Brewfest in December, then picked up a bottle at a liquor store near the Smuggler’s Notch ski area. Very pale golden color. Aroma of spice, with a faint rye background. Delicate flavor of rye and ginger. I applaud Otter Creek for giving this uncommon style a shot.

Tastes slightly sour initially, but then evens out. Unfortunately, with the removal of the sour note, there’s not much to take its place. Pretty boring beer, if I were Finnish, I’d be angry.

Easy drinking. Lighter than I wanted. Still looking for the "gin". Some berry-like notes, but nothing special here. Nice effort, just short of the mark.

22 oz bottle, Stateline Liquors. Pours a clear dark yellow gold body under a very fleeting fizzy white head that retained as a sickly whispy film. Aroma is fairly light, there is a light juniper note I suppose, with some sweet and doughy malt. Flavor wise there is a gin like flavor in the finish, but up front it’s just lightly malty and watery. The more I drink, the larger gulps I take to see if I can get some more flavor out of this one, but there just isn’t much. Mouthfeel is very light bodied with a watery texture and moderate fizzy forced carbonation. Overall, this is my first foray into sahti, but it’s so light that it’s not offensive or exciting. The clarity bothers me some, as I can’t imagine any true sahti being completely filtered.

An awesome Amercan take on the sahti style. Spearmint and junpier dominate the flavor and aroma. A bit more over-the-top than most sahti’s I’ve had. but that was expected. Slightly cloudy amber with a small, quickly dissipating beige head. This brew sports a long slightly sweet and very spicy finish.