10 myths of Saaremaa
Beer
The biggest secret in Saaremaa is the recipe for homebrew. It is even a bigger secret than the recipe of Coca-Cola, because the number of people knowing the recipe of the homebrew of Saaremaa is zero. The first homebrew was prepared in 1774 by an esquire from Valjala named Hans von Habersetzer. The beer was awesome and all Habersetzer’s friends were properly buzzed for three days. But when they asked for the recipe of the brew from its author, he claimed that he had eaten the paper with instructions as a snack by mistake while drinking. Well, nobody believed the excuse, they rather thought that the man had eaten the recipe on purpose to keep the secret to himself. Von Habersetzer passed the secret of homebrew down to his descendants and in a weird way today all men from Saaremaa can brew this incredible drink. Mayhap they are all the descendants of von Habersetzer… But if one asks from them what the beer is made of and how, they answer is echoed as one: can’t remember, used the gut feeling. But no mainland man can do it. The scientists have researched the issue for years, trying to understand, what is the mysterious ingredient providing Saaremaa brew its distinct flavour and unpredictable strength. Juniper, garfish, ivy, dolomite and many much more obscure components have been studied, but final agreement has not been reached.
Three beliefs
People believe that von Habersetzer hid the homebrew recipe to the bottom of the Kaali lake and the great interest Estonian former president Lennart Meri had in the meteorite crate was merely a well-hidden desire to obtain the precious recipe.
Drinking 5 litres of Saaremaa homebrew in one night does not make a drunkard. That person gains the silent admiration of the locals, which will never be expressed.
The best before date of Saaremaa homebrew is just one day, because by that time it usually has been drunk by someone.
