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Otter Creek Helsinki Gold

Otter Creek Helsinki Gold

Rated 3.325 by BeerPals

Brewed by Otter Creek Brewing Company

Middlebury, VT, United States

Style:  Spiced Beer

? % Alcohol by Volume

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Otter Creek's fifth beer on the "OTTER CREEK WORLD TOUR," is a golden ale brewed with juniper and rye, inspired by the Finnish beer "sahti." In the “Sahti Belt,” just north of Helsinki, the Finnish beer sahti is still being brewed the same way that it was 400 years ago. According to tradition, bags of rye and barley are soaked in the rivers and lakes to germinate, and then malted in the family sauna. The Finnish brewers use juniper branches to filter the malt from the wort. The juniper berries add a gin-like bitterness to the brew and the rye imparts a malty creaminess. As they say in Finland, Kippis!

ID: 24643 Last updated 1 month ago Added to database 18 years ago

Key Stats

83
percentile

0

Drunk

5

Reviews

0

Likes

1 Member Photo


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Statistics

Overall Rank9567
Overall Percentile82.9
Style Rank182 of 1289
Style Percentile85.9
Lowest Score3.0
Highest Score4.1
Average Score3.520
Weighted Score3.325
Standard Deviation0.497

Rating Distribution

Beer vs Style

5 Member Reviews

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  • BEERGUY101 5022 reviews
    rated 4.1 17 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

    This ale pours a medium orange gold color from a 22oz bottle. Medium sized white foamy head, with decent retention and nice lacing. Aroma is interesting, rye, juniper, a touch tart, kind of earthy and a little floral. A medium bodied ale. Malts are caramel and fruity, touch of biscuit. Lots of rye flavors and the juniper is very evident. Hops are earthy and floral. Lively carbonation. The juniper flavors make this beer a little sahti-like the fruitiness is quite similar. Surprisingly full in the mouth. It’s a lighter flavored, lower alcohol beer but still a sipper. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

  • ARACAUNA 2100 reviews
    rated 3.3 17 years ago

    Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

    My first attempt at a Sahti type beer. I was hopnig for more. Clean, straw like malt with a faint sprucey backing aroma. Not great, but very drinkable.

  • COTTRELL 588 reviews
    rated 4.0 17 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

    No idea how this stacks up against a true sahti, but I really enjoyed this one. Poured a crystal clear bright golden yellow, lots of carbonation with a thick white head that fizzed down to a thin layer pretty quickly. Looks very much like a champagne. Aroma hits you with juniper immediately, some light spicy grassiness, and some graininess. Flavor starts with some mild sweet graininess, then the juniper really shines through. Strong juniper hits with some background grain, citrus, and grassiness. Fairly simple, but I like it as such. My favorite non-beer drink is a gin and tonic, and this seems to bridge the gap. I would love to find this as a year round six-pack sort of beer.

  • BFELDMANN 1056 reviews
    rated 3.0 17 years ago

    Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

    Poured a dark gold color with small head. Aroma was of mint and juniper. Flavor was of mint pin and the juniper was a lot not a huge fan of this very spiced.

  • EAGLEFAN538 2299 reviews
    rated 3.2 18 years ago

    Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

    Ok, I only have limited sahti drinking experience (Lammin Kataja Olut IVB), and this was too spiced in comparison. But as a spiced beer, it was bearable. Aroma was lots of peppermint. Appearance was amber colored with a nice initial head, minor lacing. The flavor was mints, juniper, pine needles, some light caramel underneath, even a little ginger. Mouthfeel was moderate for the style. I wouldn't want to try this again, but within the not-so-favorite spiced category, not too bad.

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