The Triangle

Issue date: 11/13/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Beer photo and digital editing Mike Arrison The Triangle Buddha photo Jill Johnson Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT Campus

A few months back, I read an article discussing one of craft brewing's more impulsively bizarre leaders, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. Generally, his lineup consists of extreme beers that exceed the constraints of most beer styles. Occasionally however, something completely out of left field pops into his beach-bum brain and this week's beer, Sah'tea, is the result.

Dogfish Head is well known locally for its powerfully delicious IPAs. You can find them in most bars that have even the smallest of craft selections and it's no surprise. A few of their beers are less than tasty, while most will kick you upside of your head with alcohol and flavor. Many of Calagione's beers are the result of some sort of divine inspiration or mad genius. His 60 minute IPA came about when he connected a vibrating football game board to his brew pot and had it continually sprinkle hops. The story for Sah'tea is somewhat similar.

Sah'tea began when Calagione decided to recreate an ancient Finish beer, from the 9th century, called Sahti. Sahti is a juniper-flavored beer made with rye and weizen yeast and brewed in wooden kettles with hot river rocks. The juniper is added in lieu of hops. To this day, a competition is still held for this very style of ale. The rocks end up caramelizing the wort, or unfermented beer, adding to the mouthfeel. Calagione thought that the original "recipe" needed a little something extra and included Indian black tea and various other spices. When the decision to use the river rocks first arose, his head brewer looked at him, cocked his head to the side, and simply said "…fine."

Because of the unusual nature of the source recipe, Sah'tea is classified as traditional ale. This means that the beer is simply based on recipes collected from historical records. Many of them do not use hops as flavoring or preservatives since hops were not well domesticated or even rare. This catchall category has become rather popular in the past few years, as more and more work has been put into analyzing compounds found in what are thought to be beverage containers.

To keep it simple, I decided an English pint glass would be appropriate for this style. Centuries ago, extravagant or specialized drinking vessels were not common, leaving mugs and straightforward glasses to fill the void. The pint will allow some of the spices and fruit flavors and aromas to be noticeable, while keeping their perception balanced.

Continued...

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