r/Finland • u/minorsalendo • 1d ago
Tourism Question about Sahti, traditional vs canned/carbonated?
Hi everyone!
This summer, a few friends and I travelled around Finland by car, from Helsinki all the way up to Levi. We had an amazing time, and at some point we became curious about Sahti after watching the film "100 litraa sahtia".
We wanted to try it while we were in Finland, but finding it turned out to be surprisingly difficult.
The only place where we actually found sahti was near Nokia, in an Alko shop. It was a canned "Tumma" version, dark and carbonated, and it was stored at room temperature rather than in the fridge.
Everywhere else we looked — including Oulu and Rovaniemi — we couldn't find it even in Alko. What surprised us even more was that, when we asked the staff whether they had Sahti, they sometimes looked at us a little strangely, as if we were asking for something unusual.
From what we have understood since then, traditional Sahti is actually unfiltered, uncarbonated and perishable, so it needs to be kept refrigerated and doesn't last very long. This made us wonder whether there are essentially two different types available: the traditional, naturally uncarbonated Sahti, and carbonated/canned versions such as the Tumma we found.
We also read that Sahti apparently can't be sold online in Finland, and that the Sahti produced in Estonia is similar but isn't shipped outside Estonia.
So, we'd love to understand a few things from people who know more about it:
is our understanding correct that there are both traditional uncarbonated Sahti and carbonated/canned versions?
is the canned "Tumma" version we found significantly different from traditional Sahti, or is it basically the same style with carbonation added?
and most importantly: is there anywhere online where I could buy the canned "Tumma" Sahti (or something similar) and have it shipped to Italy?
We really enjoyed discovering this Finnish speciality and would love to try it again.
Thanks in advance for any explanations or recommendations!
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u/Spirited-Ad-9746 Väinämöinen 1d ago
Sahti is a live product. Still ongoing fermentation. It has to be stored cold and you need to drink it fresh. It cannot be stored or transported for a long time.
Some supermarkets sell "Joutsan sahti" at least. That is proper stuff. I have bought it from Prisma in central finland at least.
But yeah, it is not really a thing up north in Lapland.
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u/megadea Baby Väinämöinen 1d ago edited 1d ago
Sahti is usually sold right in the breweries own shop. Next time find e.g. Lammin Sahtis own shop.
Some good pubs also sells sahti, but it is rather hard to find one. Best place to get sahti is the brewerys own shop.
Alcohol can be bought online and fetched from the store (if the store has online shop)
Starting 1.1.2027 alcohol can be bought online and delivered to your door.
Traditional sahti is not carbonated, it only has the natural slight carbonation from the brewing process. Canned version is rare. I wouldn't call canned version a traditional sahti, and I have never seen nor tasted canned one.
Edit: I think it is quite impossible to get sahti shipped to Italy. The sahti makers are small breweries so i don't think they directly ship outside of Finland. And sahti goes bad easily so i don't think it would survive the trip
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u/LaserBeamHorse Väinämöinen 23h ago
Those canned sahtis are made by Mallassepät and some of them are okay. And at least their Vaalea Sahti was not carbonated. I don't think they add carbonation to any of their sahtis, at least not in purpose. But they are pasteurized which is why they can be stored in room temperature - so they are not 100% the real deal. But I would say close enough since the real deal is impossible to get in many parts of the country.
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u/bartleby_borealis Väinämöinen 23h ago
Best sahti in Finland is made by Olu Bryki Raum. You can find their products in some pubs in bigger cities (Untappd is your friend). Few Alko’s also sell their products, like Arkadia in Helsinki (it usually carries 3-4 different sahtis). Villi Wäinö in Helsinki has a great selection of their sahtis.
Lammin sahti can be found also in Helsinki and of course in Lammi. It’s not my favorite, but it’s a decent one.
The most readily available sahti is the canned version by Mallassepät (not carbonated). While it’s not the best sahti, you’ll get a decent idea about sahti. Their Vaalea can be found in bigger supermarkets and Alkos. Tumma only in Alko. I find Vaalea slightly better.
Real sahti is never carbonated.
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u/IhailtavaBanaani Väinämöinen 1d ago
When I've had proper sahti in a bar they usually have something like a big plastic jug of it and then they pour it into glasses. But it's very rare to find it in a bar and the one bar that I know that had it is currently under renovation.
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u/Salmonman4 Väinämöinen 21h ago
One thing you could try is order Sahtivierre from an internet-shop and put some yeast in it. Sahtivierre is the non-alcoholic wort of sahti and has less strict laws.
You put the yeast (preferably Finnish bread-yeast) into a cup of vierre, and let it dissolve. Then you pour it into the rest of the batch. Then you let it rest in a fridge for around 1,5 weeks while letting out the pressure every day.
Then you can drink it. At the start it is very sweet and around 6-8% abv. But since it's a live beer, it will continue brewing and you have to drink it within 3 weeks. In the end it's about same strength as port, madeira or sherry, and tastes bitter.
Do not drink the sediment on the bottom. It'll give you an upset stomach.
PS. I know these things because I brew sahti every 10 years or so at our summer-cabin
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u/azrider 22h ago
The first time I visited Finland, people looked at me funny when I asked about sahti, too. I was mispronouncing, first of all. And they thought it was weird that some foreign guy wanted it. 😁
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u/Mlakeside Väinämöinen 4h ago
Sahti is heavily localized to Tavastia and some smaller pockets elsewhere in the countryside. If you go to a random Finnish person in Helsinki, chances are they've never tasted sahti and probably don't even know what it is. I've heard people mistake sahti for pontikka (moonshine) or kilju (sugar wine / "prison hooch")
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u/kaneliomena 16h ago
at some point we became curious about Sahti after watching the film "100 litraa sahtia". We wanted to try it while we were in Finland, but finding it turned out to be surprisingly difficult.
So, much like the movie then?
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u/Previous_Engine_1673 14h ago
I believe you can find sahti at Historical Beer Festival in Italy 18.-20.09. Check it from facebook
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u/Proud-Panda-7732 1d ago
If it was made by Mallassepät it is quite bad imitation of real sahti. Some sahtimakers sell unfermented wort but I dont know if they can ship it.
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u/LaserBeamHorse Väinämöinen 23h ago
They have made many different sahtis and some of them were not great, but their Tumma sahti was quite okay.
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u/jorppu Väinämöinen 1d ago
I don't really know the answers to your questions, but I'll share what I know.
Sahti is not a drink many people are familiar with nowadays, unless they are interested in tradition. It used to be an usual part of Fnnish life in the past.
I know that usually it was brewed for the occasion by the lady of the house when there was a celebration or a communal work gathering known as "talkoot". Most people nowadays are more familiar with "small beer" or kotikalja, which is similar, usually alcohol free or very low alcohol, served on christmas or at the school cafeteria. You buy a box of premade mash and make it yourself.
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u/MaxDickpower Väinämöinen 1d ago
You tried to find Sahti in a completely wrong place. Sahti these days is more of a curiousity and Sahti brewing traditions are mostly alive in more southern parts of the country around Tavastia.