Panimoravintola Huvila - Sahti & Savonlinna Opera Festival

Yesterday I finally succeeded in tasting Huvila Sahti in Savonlinna. Savonniemen Brewing Companyt had brewed sahti most possibly because of the Savonlinna Opera Festival (July) which allures hundreds if not thousands of people to this small town.

Huvila Sahti is surprisingly bottled! The bottle size is 0,33 litres. In a picture you can see the foam after pouring. The personnel doesn't seem to be familiar with this rare product...

The colour is in the middle: it is not light but it is not dark either. The taste isVery sweat.

I had two real sahti experts as a company. The other one thought that the age of this sahti is maximum 1 week and the other one thought that it can't be excluded that syrup or other "extra" ingridients had been used.

Anyhow, we all did rank this commercial sahti high. It has a positevely unique nature.

The price is the highest I have ever seen: 9,00 e/0,33 l. I do admit that is is worth it and people should start thinking of the price of the wine. But to be honest, I had to call back and assure if the price Really is this high. In the phone the personnel argued the price with the high alcohol procent (10,4 %). So Finnish! I would say that people who can buy this expensive beer for sure have other arguments than alcohol.

Hopefully the price will not block testing but will enhance the value sahti deserves.

http://www.panimoravintolahuvila.fi/huvila/index.html

http://www.operafestival.fi/In_English/Programme/Calendar_of_events.iw3

Finlandia Sahti - where are the alternatives?

St. Urho's is one of the best pubs in Finland. It is located in the mid Helsinki, next to the Parliament House and Finlandia Hall. The musicians of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra find their way to St. Urho's after the concert. The Hall is on the other side of the main street of Helsinki.

As the reputation of St. Urho's is very good and it has introduced beers brewed by small Finnish breweries, the selection of sahtis should be better. One is not enough. Finlandia Sahti belongs to St. Urho's selection (altogether about 80 beers). It has won the competition of the "Beer of the Year" twice (Helsinki Beer Festival 1999 and 2003). Anyhow, the alternatives are needed. Finlandia Sahti is not the one and the only truth. It is not the "Pravda" of the sahtis.

There are even two Finlandia Sahtis: "regular" and strong. Which one the St. Urho's has - you have to ask. Wish they had both! And wish they had all sahtis that exists. It would not be many though.

Huvila, which is a small brewery in Savonlinna, brews Huvila Sahti. I try find and taste it as soon as possible! Maybe St. Urho's will have it in the "Sahti week" in the spring.

http://www.botta.fi/ST-URHO-S-PUB.14.0.html?&L=1
http://web.eduskunta.fi/Resource.phx/parliament/aboutparliament/presentation/parliamenthouse.htx
http://www.finlandiatalo.fi/en
http://www.finlandiatalo.fi/en/events/8907.html
http://www.finlandiasahti.fi/
http://www.panimoravintolahuvila.fi/oluttehdas/sahti_e.html