Now, it's time to delve into something special! I had planned to prepare different regional varieties of the Finnish Sahti so that I could do comparative tastings of all the main types. I was supposed to do this already in the summer but the time was too limited and I failed. Then, about 2.5–3 weeks ago I decided to brew four regional varieties in two days. The Sahtis were growlered on 14—15 October, hence, being now slightly more than two weeks old. Should be fine now, although not optimal. I'm impatient what comes to Sahti. The geographical Sahti regions are based on two informative books: ▪️ "Sahti – Elävä muinaisolut". Mika Laitinen, Johannes Silvennoinen, Hannu Nikulainen. 2015. Moreeni, Helsinki. ▪️ "Viking Age Brew. The Craft of Brewing Sahti Farmhouse Ale". Mika Laitinen, with foreword by Randy Laitinen. 2019. Chicago Review Press Inc., Chicago. The four Sahti regions are Itä-Häme, Kanta-Häme/Pirkanmaa, Pohjois-Satakunta and Etelä-Pohjanmaa. These are my interpretation based on the two books and other sources. I must remind the reader that there is no exact scientific definition of Sahti regions since there are huge variations across municipalities, even nearby villages, as well as across brewers within the same municipality. The varying ABVs are not indicative of the geographical representation, they are simply a matter of coincidence — I still don't quite understand why the Sahtis have so different strengths and bodies even though the brewing circumstances had been fairly uniform. 🤔 ITÄ-HÄME This is the palest version although the differences are modest and don't probably show clearly in the picture. The Itä-Häme style Sahti is made of Sahti malt only and without any rye or juniper. The scent offers sweet malt, fermented banana and biscuit. The flavors include sweet malt, actually astonishingly sweet, and a good amount of both fermented banana and banana skin. I can also pick biscuit, a bit of bitter orange peel and an alcoholic nuance that intensifies in the finish. The body is medium. The mouthfeel is soft, smooth, medium-sticky, rather deep, mellow and a bit alcoholic. The alcoholic twist is no surprise since this turned out the strongest. 🤎 KANTA-HÄME/PIRKANMAA This edition is unexpectedly the darkest. There's no obvious reason why this version turned out the darkest. That's what it is now. Rye and juniper are there but not very big. The scent is really sweet and offers some cookie and fresh banana. The taste profile is again quite sweet malty. I get also sweet biscuit, banana, a suggestion of mango and a silent sigh of raisin. This one boasts about a relatively full body. Quite nice! The mouthfeel is somewhat full, soft, subtle, smooth, deep and faintly slick. Unexpectedly, this is not really lip-glueing. 🤎🤎🤎🤎 POHJOIS-SATAKUNTA This version is very close to the first Itä-Häme version as for the color. When I portray them together against light, this edition is marginally darker. Rye is bigger here than in the two previous ones, juniper is moderate. The olfactory supply places banana first. That's interesting as the malty punch only follows behind. It's rather sweet though. The other fruits include persimmon and distant mango. Tastewise this version is not as sweet as the scent suggests. Banana and a bit of persimmon take the lead. Sweet malt doesn't shy away but has to give in to the fruits. The body is medium, which is welcome since this has the lowest ABV. The mouthfeel is really soft, velvety, smooth, subtle and sticky. Easy. Very gulpable. 🤎🤎🤎 ETELÄ-POHJANMAA Etelä-Pohjanmaa is the region of strong rye Sahti where juniper is also brave. The color seems to be the second darkest. if you think that rye is dry, think twice: it's sweet. Sweet malt, biscuit, copious fresh banana, mango and a whisper of apricot constitute the fragrance. The taste profile is medium-sweet. I can identify banana, biscuit, sweet malt and a pinch of dried apricot. Juniper is unfortunately absent from both the olfactory and gustatory spheres — I was evidently too cautious with juniper. The body is light-medium only. Hmmm... 🤔 The mouthfeel is light-medium, smooth, soft and lip-glueing. Easy as well. 🤎🤎 Interesting exploration. These Sahtis will certainly develop for two weeks, so they may turn out different then. I rate these brews but it's not even my opinion of which geographical entity produces best Sahtis. These might well turn out completely different next time. I will let the people in those regions do their job and I will do other types of variation next. 👍🏻