tänään on kuuma, siksi haluan olutta

Well, OK, it's not actually hot, but it's pretty warm for this time of year: 16˚ C (that's about 62˚ F according to my own double-it-and-add-30 conversion method). Some people took advantage of the weather to sit on the steep south-facing steps of the Tuomiokirkko or lounge around on the Esplanadi, but instead I met my friend Rebecca at the old Cable Factory, where the 10th annual Helsinki beer festival was being held.

The cable factory is a brick U-shaped building in the industrial southwest corner of Helsinki. No longer used for manufacturing, it has been converted into artists' studios and exhibition spaces. The beer festival was in the concrete-framed main hall of one wing of the building; the other held a tattoo convention that we were unwilling to pay 18 € to see. Upstairs were two food stands, including one where we got a delicious lunch of moose stew, mashed potatoes, and lingonberry preserves. Michael Jackson was also upstairs, where he attracted a small crowd. Looking rather the worse for wear, he swayed incessantly back and forth. Evidently professional beer tasters, unlike professional wine tasters, don't spit.

After buying glasses we picked up some informational literature from the hostesses (dressed as Clydesdales in fuzzy boots and G-strings) and started tasting. The best thing we tried was some clear juniper-flavored Häme moonshine, from an unlabeled bottle brought out from under the counter. This wasn't like gin - its flavor was cleaner and more subtle. I would have liked to buy some, but it wasn't for sale; its name in Finnish means something like "secret alcohol," because you have to "know somebody" in order to buy it. The guy who let us taste it said it was only available in three places in Finland. He also warned us about its aphrodisiac qualities, but evidently we were immune.

Among other beers and ciders, we tried two varieties of sahti, one from Savo and one from Häme. Sahti is a traditional Finnish ale made with baker's yeast; it is strong, sweet, rich and complex in flavor, and low in carbonation. I found it quite good and will certainly buy it if I find it for sale. Finnish beers available in grocery stores (Karhu III and Karjala III, for example) are nothing special; sahti is definitely something different.