Propolis Sahti

Let's go ahead and finish my Washington beer extravaganza with really interesting offering from Propolis Brewing out of Port Townsend.  The Sahti is a traditional Finnish style ale brewed with juniper berries.  It pours a dark and reddish color with a creamy beige head and some decent lacing on the glass.  The aroma has hints of banana and coriander mixed in with the aforementioned juniper berries.  The flavor is a little different.  When the beer is brewed, the mash is filtered through something called a kuurna, a device made of juniper twigs lining a wood trough.  The taste is complex, a fine mix of really bready malt and yeast, some fruit and pine notes, and an undercurrent of licorice.  It took several instances of going back to the well before i began to appreciate it.  This is not something you would want to drink everyday, but as a pre or post dinner treat, it's a good way to go.  Viva la Washington beers!  We'll be back to tasting from the rest of the country next week.

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