Comparison
Sahti vs Saison
What is the difference between Sahti and Saison?
The short answer
The main difference is malt intensity: Sahti has far more of it than Saison. Sahti also leads on sweetness; Saison on dryness and carbonation.
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 alcohol warmth, overlapping strength ranges, the same style family — the boundary between them is narrower than the comparison suggests.
Side by side
| Sahti | Saison | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Farmhouse ale | Farmhouse ale |
| Fermentation | Top-fermented (ale) | Top-fermented (ale) |
| Origin | Finland | Belgium |
| Category status — One of these is a more settled category than the other, which is worth knowing before treating the comparison as exact. | Regional | Established |
| Strength | 6–9% ABV | 3.5–9.5% 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. | 0–15 IBU | 20–40 IBU |
| Colour | Hazy gold to dark brown — 4–22 SRM, 8–43 EBC | Pale gold to amber — 4–14 SRM, 8–28 EBC |
| Original gravity | 1.076–1.120 | 1.048–1.080 |
| Final gravity | 1.016–1.040 | 1.002–1.012 |
| Serving temperature | 8–12°C | 7–10°C |
| Carbonation | 0.3–1 vol CO₂ | 3–4 vol CO₂ |
| Glassware | Wit tumbler | Tulip glass, Goblet |
| Clarity | opaque | slight-haze |
How they taste different
| Character | Sahti | Saison |
|---|---|---|
| Malt intensity | High | Not characteristic |
| Dryness | Trace | Very high |
| Carbonation | None–Trace | Very high |
| Sweetness | Moderate–High | None–Trace |
| Body | High | Trace–Low |
| Bread & biscuit | Moderate | Not characteristic |
| Citrus | Not characteristic | Low–Moderate |
| Bitterness | None–Trace | Low–Moderate |
| Funk | Not characteristic | None–Low |
| Phenolic spice | Moderate | High |
Which should you choose?
Derived from where the two actually differ. Neither is better — this is a question of which difference you want.