In case you haven’t done a lot of research on sahti, there’s a few ways it’s treated differently than normal beer.
The yeast often used is “fresh yeast” which can be hard to find depending on where you live. It comes in bricks like little sticks of butter, and it has the consistency of modeling clay. It’s normally used for baking, which is why the recipe calls for baking yeast. It can give flavors somewhat like hefeweizen yeast. In the US, I was able to find that kind of yeast in a Latino grocery store, but I can’t say for certain if it was anything like finnish fresh yeast.
It’s normally drunk really young, by some people, even before it’s done fermenting.
It’s also typically not very carbonated.
One day I’m going to build a proper setup to do the traditional mash/lauter.
I’ve done a little reading, but without having any contact with locals it’s always a little difficult to know what matters. I mostly just really like the flavour of juniper in the beer!
Hefeweizen yeast is what I’ve used here. I was tempted to go with the bread yeast, as I’ve seen it suggested a few times, but I figured it was maybe meant to be more like a sourdough bread yeast and I don’t have any starter kicking about. Here in the UK there’s not much in the way of Latin American shops. Our big immigrant communities are Eastern European and South Asian, and their shops are well worth visiting for other ingredients even if they’re not where I’d get beer stuff. Have you made bread with that yeast? I’m curious to know if it tastes any different from the dried bread yeast available in supermarkets
Interesting note about it being drunk early. I’d guess if it’s not done fermenting then that might make it a little sweeter? I was surprised by the amount of grain used in the recipe, maybe that being so high is to ensure there’s unfermented sugars left
One day I’m going to build a proper setup to do the traditional mash/lauter.
You’ll be better equipped than me, then! I’ve got a couple of big pots, a couple of big glass jars, a siphon tube, and a tea filter. I will admit that it hurts my fingers a bit holding the siphon when the mash is too hot, so I have to stop every so often.
I looked it up, and apparently it’s also called either “cake yeast” or “compressed yeast”. I baked some rolls with it, if I remember right, and you could definitely taste it (which I liked, but some people probably want a “cleaner” taste).
Looks like there are some ways to get it in the UK. I have no clue if the genetics would be similar to what I can get, or what they use in finland.
Thank you! I have some coeliac relatives and I regularly make bread for them. Shipton Mill seems to do a lot of supplies for gluten-free baking (most importantly psyllium husk, which is without a doubt the secret master key to a good texture in gluten-free bread) so I’ll add some of this yeast to my order when I next need to stock up
Looks great!
In case you haven’t done a lot of research on sahti, there’s a few ways it’s treated differently than normal beer.
The yeast often used is “fresh yeast” which can be hard to find depending on where you live. It comes in bricks like little sticks of butter, and it has the consistency of modeling clay. It’s normally used for baking, which is why the recipe calls for baking yeast. It can give flavors somewhat like hefeweizen yeast. In the US, I was able to find that kind of yeast in a Latino grocery store, but I can’t say for certain if it was anything like finnish fresh yeast.
It’s normally drunk really young, by some people, even before it’s done fermenting.
It’s also typically not very carbonated.
One day I’m going to build a proper setup to do the traditional mash/lauter.
I’ve done a little reading, but without having any contact with locals it’s always a little difficult to know what matters. I mostly just really like the flavour of juniper in the beer!
Hefeweizen yeast is what I’ve used here. I was tempted to go with the bread yeast, as I’ve seen it suggested a few times, but I figured it was maybe meant to be more like a sourdough bread yeast and I don’t have any starter kicking about. Here in the UK there’s not much in the way of Latin American shops. Our big immigrant communities are Eastern European and South Asian, and their shops are well worth visiting for other ingredients even if they’re not where I’d get beer stuff. Have you made bread with that yeast? I’m curious to know if it tastes any different from the dried bread yeast available in supermarkets
Interesting note about it being drunk early. I’d guess if it’s not done fermenting then that might make it a little sweeter? I was surprised by the amount of grain used in the recipe, maybe that being so high is to ensure there’s unfermented sugars left
You’ll be better equipped than me, then! I’ve got a couple of big pots, a couple of big glass jars, a siphon tube, and a tea filter. I will admit that it hurts my fingers a bit holding the siphon when the mash is too hot, so I have to stop every so often.
I looked it up, and apparently it’s also called either “cake yeast” or “compressed yeast”. I baked some rolls with it, if I remember right, and you could definitely taste it (which I liked, but some people probably want a “cleaner” taste).
Looks like there are some ways to get it in the UK. I have no clue if the genetics would be similar to what I can get, or what they use in finland.
https://www.forgebakehouse.co.uk/products/fresh-yeast-100g
https://www.shipton-mill.com/products/organic-fresh-yeast
Thank you! I have some coeliac relatives and I regularly make bread for them. Shipton Mill seems to do a lot of supplies for gluten-free baking (most importantly psyllium husk, which is without a doubt the secret master key to a good texture in gluten-free bread) so I’ll add some of this yeast to my order when I next need to stock up