Comparison
Old ale vs Sahti
What is the difference between Old ale and Sahti?
The short answer
The main difference is caramel & toffee: Old ale has far more of it than Sahti. Sahti also leads on phenolic spice, bread & biscuit and yeast fruitiness (esters).
Generated from the two style records. No editor has written this comparison up, so it carries no verdict beyond what the data supports.
Where they overlap
They share comparable sweetness, body, alcohol warmth, overlapping strength ranges — the boundary between them is narrower than the comparison suggests.
Side by side
| Old ale | Sahti | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Strong ale | Farmhouse ale |
| Fermentation | Top-fermented (ale) | Top-fermented (ale) |
| Origin | United Kingdom | Finland |
| Category status — One of these is a more settled category than the other, which is worth knowing before treating the comparison as exact. | Established | Regional |
| Strength | 5.5–9% ABV | 6–9% ABV |
| Bitterness (IBU) — IBU measures iso-alpha acids in the lab. It does not track perceived bitterness, which residual sweetness, body and roast all alter — compare the sensory rows below for how each actually tastes. | 30–60 IBU | 0–15 IBU |
| Colour — These are the same depth in the glass; colour is not what tells them apart. | Amber to dark brown — 10–22 SRM, 20–43 EBC | Hazy gold to dark brown — 4–22 SRM, 8–43 EBC |
| Original gravity | 1.055–1.088 | 1.076–1.120 |
| Final gravity | 1.015–1.022 | 1.016–1.040 |
| Serving temperature | 11–14°C | 8–12°C |
| Carbonation | 1–2 vol CO₂ | 0.3–1 vol CO₂ |
| Glassware | Tulip glass, Snifter | Wit tumbler |
| Clarity | clear | opaque |
How they taste different
| Character | Old ale | Sahti |
|---|---|---|
| Caramel & toffee | High | Not characteristic |
| Phenolic spice | Not characteristic | Moderate |
| Bread & biscuit | Not characteristic | Moderate |
| Yeast fruitiness (esters) | Moderate | Very high |
| Herbal | Not characteristic | Moderate–High |
| Bitterness | Low–Moderate | None–Trace |
| Acidity | None–Low | Not characteristic |
| Funk | None–Low | Not characteristic |
| Chocolate & cocoa | Trace–Low | Not characteristic |
| Nutty | Low | Not characteristic |
Which should you choose?
Derived from where the two actually differ. Neither is better — this is a question of which difference you want.