Skip to content

Sima (Traditional Finnish Mead)

Get ready for the most fun celebration of spring, "Vappu" or "May Day" by making some sima!

It’s a mildly fermented lemonade-like drink. Alcohol content is very low, usually under 1%, so it’s often considered non-alcoholic and older children can also drink it.

Sima
Ingredients
  • 8 liters of water
  • 3–4 lemons
  • 500 g (1.1 lbs) brown sugar (farin sugar)
  • 500 g (1.1 lbs) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh yeast
  • Handful of raisins
You also need
  • 10-liter bucket for the pre-fermetation
  • Enough empty bottles for the sima

Steps
  • Wash the lemons thoroughly with a brush. Peel the yellow part of the zest and squeeze the juice.
  • Place the lemon peels and both sugars into a 10-liter bucket.
  • Boil half of the water and pour it over the sugars. Mix until the sugar has melted.
  • Add the rest of the water and the lemon juice. Once the mixture has cooled to lukewarm (about 37°C / 98.6°F), take a small amount of it into a separate container and dissolve the yeast in it. Then stir the yeast mixture into the sima thoroughly. Make sure NOT to add the yeast when the mixture is still hot, this will kill the yeast and ruin the sima.
  • Bottle the sima the next day; Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and a few raisins (5-10) to each bottle. Close the bottles loosely, as pressure will build up during fermentation.
  • The sima will be ready in about one week when stored in a cool place (fridge), or in about three days at room temperature. Check the sima every day and carefully let some of the pressure out to make sure the bottles don't explode. The sima is ready when the raisins flow to the top.
  • Store the sima in a fridge and consume within a week.
  • Best served with doughnuts.