Curious about trying traditional Finnish sima drink? This easy ferment combines lemon, hops and caramel flavours for an unusual ultra-low alcohol drink experience.
As a Finnish-Australian, growing up with a few bottles of Finnish sima drink on the brew, was a pretty normal experience. I fondly remember watching my Finnish mother in her brew kitchen, preparing the lemony drink base. Over the coming days, I loved watching the sultanas in the brew rise and fall from the fermentation process, which were used as an indicator for whether the sima was ready to drink.
Finnish sima is a drink that we enjoyed mostly during Finnish holidays – particularly Easter – and sometimes Christmas. However, sima is not strictly a celebration drink, and we did enjoy it at other times of year, too.
Here, I share with you the traditional Finnish sima drink recipe that my family has used and enjoyed over the past 40 years.
Article by Ayla Marika, AlcoFreeBrew Manager.
What is Finnish Sima Drink?
The flavour of sima is a unique experience, that is incomparable to any other drink I have had. At its core, you could probably say it is a traditional lemonade.
However, it’s more than just lemonade. The sugar content adds a unique caramel flavour to it, which is offset by the bitterness of hops – as used in beer brewing. The combination of sour lemon, bitter hops and subtle caramel forge a taste experience that I can’t guarantee that everyone will enjoy, but is simple enough to brew that it’s worth trying – if anything, just for the experience of trying something new.
Is Sima Finnish Drink Non-Alcoholic?
As with any fermented drink, Finnish sima contains a very small amount of alcohol, comparable to the alcohol content in kombucha. Although fermented, the drink is ultra-low alcohol, so much so, that Finnish sima is generally considered a children’s drink.
In saying that, it is important to be mindful of the sugar content. Adding extra sugar to what the recipe specifies, will increase the alcohol content. Growing up, our occasional accidental slippages in the sugar measurements were most likely the cause of some batches of sima making us kids a bit, ahem, happier than other batches. It was the 80s and things were looser then!
Finnish Sima Drink Recipe – Preparation
Ingredients & equipment
Ingredients
Most of the ingredients for making sima are things you are likely to have in your kitchen. The exception is hops, which you may need to buy online from a specialty herb store.
- 8 litres (2 gallons) Water
- 2 Lemons
- 500g (1lb) White Sugar
- 500g (1lb) Brown Sugar
- 10 Dried Hops Flowers (see note below)
- 1 tsp Dried Yeast – baker’s yeast or brewer’s yeast (see note below)
- Handful of Sultanas
- Extra White Sugar, for bottling.
Hops:
Here in Australia, I personally source dried herbs (including hops) for my teas and herbal elixirs from Mudbrick Herb Cottage who have very high quality product compared with the other stores I have purchased from. In your region, look online for local dried herb suppliers who stock the whole dried hops flowers.
Beer brewing stores are more likely to have hops pellets, which you can use if you’re in a pinch, but the dried flowers will be nicer for this beverage. Also a word of caution if you’re using hops pellets: they are more concentrated than the flowers, so use sparingly.
Yeast:
Usually, when it comes to brewing, it is worth being mindful of the types of yeast strains you choose to work with. For example, there are different types of yeasts that are suited to certain types of beers. Likewise, some yeasts are more suited to cider or wine making, than they are to beer brewing.
When making Finnish sima drink in our family, we were never discerning of the yeast. For a simple sima brew, baker’s yeast is fine, which is readily available in supermarkets for baking bread. If your palette is more refined, you may like to try a cider yeast such as Mangrove Jack’s M02 or SafCider AB-01 (both Saccharomyces bayanus), although I have not personally tried it.
Equipment
Like with the ingredients, the equipment is most likely to be a part of your everyday kitchen set.
- Large saucepan or stock pot
- Large bowl or extra pot to strain liquid into
- Funnel
- Strainer
- Plastic drink bottles with screw-on lids (eg large cola bottles)
- Large plastic or metal stirrer
- Large jug for pouring sima into bottles
You will need enough plastic bottles to hold the volume of liquid you have, plus 1-2 extra (because you won’t fill the bottles right to the top).
Do you need to sanitise the equipment?
Although scrupulous equipment sanitisation is normal practice for beer and cider brewing, with sima it is not necessary. This is because unlike beer or cider, Finnish sima is consumed fresh (immediately after brewing), so there is no time for nasty bacteria to settle in, multiply and ruin the batch – unlike in aged beers and ciders. Furthermore, some stray wild yeast is almost desirable, adding to the rustic Finnish farmhouse character of the drink.
You only need to make sure that your equipment is properly washed, and rinsed to remove any detergent residue. If you want the option of bottling and drinking your Finnish Sima later, then you should sanitise your bottles and lids using a brewing sanitiser.
How to Make Finnish Sima Drink
NOTE: This is a 2 day process. It is not difficult or time-consuming, but I recommend that you start making this in the morning or early afternoon (not evening) as you will need a couple of hours of cooling time between steps.
DAY 1: Prepare the Finnish Sima drink base
Prepare the Sima Liquid Base:
- Measure out your water, and pour into the stock pot.
- Heat the water until almost boiling.
- Add the sugar, and stir until the sugar has fully dissolved.
Next, prepare the lemon and hops:
- Wash and rinse the lemons.
- Zest the lemons completely, and place zest aside.
- Cut the remaining peel (white pith) off the lemons with a sharp knife, and discard.
- Slice the peeled lemons into slices, as pictured above.
- Drop the lemon slices, lemon zest and hops into the pot of sugar-water
Finally, simmer the sima liquid:
- Increase the heat to bring the sima liquid to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Set aside, place the lid on, and allow the liquid to naturally cool back down to room temperature. This cooling time may a few hours, but is desirable to allow the lemon and hops to steep and flavor the brew.
Add the Yeast and Initial Fermentation
What we will do next is an overnight fermentation directly in the pot, which means we will be pitching the yeast directly into the unstrained pot of liquid.
Question: You can’t ferment in the pot! Shouldn’t you put it in a fermenter? If you come from a beer brewing background you may be terrified at the idea of not transferring the liquid to a sealed fermenter vessel, but our family has been making sima this way for a few decades, so just calm down. It will only ferment overnight in the pot (not for 10+ days), and scrupulous sanitization is not vital for sima making as discussed above. It will be OK, trust me.
Question: Should I strain the Finnish sima before fermenting? Do not strain the liquid, you want the hops and lemon in the brew for this initial fermentation.
Activate the Yeast
Once the sima drink base has cooled back down to room temperature, it is time to pitch the yeast. But first, you should activate the yeast.
Activating the yeast is optional, but it does make it easier to incorporate into the liquid, and in my experience fermentation starts faster when it’s activated. Activating the yeast also serves as a way of testing whether your yeast is still alive (viable) before throwing it into the drink and finding out the hard way when it doesn’t ferment – recommended especially if you are using old yeast.
- Get a small measuring jug, and fill it halfway with lukewarm water (1/2 cup water approx). It is essential that the water temperature is lukewarm and no hotter, otherwise you could kill the yeast.
- Sprinkle your dried yeast onto the water.
- Sprinkle a tiny bit of white sugar over the top, to feed the yeast (1/4 tsp is plenty)
- Stir the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap or a small plate, and set aside for 10 minutes.
If the yeast is alive and viable, after 10 minutes the mixture in the jug should be thick, creamy and a bit frothy. The yeast is activated and ready to use.
If after 15-20 minutes the mixture looks exactly the same, or shows only very few bubbles, that means something has gone wrong and the yeast is not working. Basically, your yeast is dead (or sleeping). If the yeast is dead, the fermentation will not work. There are three causes: the yeast you have is poor quality and has died, or the water you used was too hot and killed the yeast, or the water you used was too cold and didn’t wake up the yeast. Try again, being careful of the water temperature, and if it fails again – go and buy some new yeast.
Pitch the Yeast
The term ‘pitching yeast’ in brewing language simply means: adding and stirring the yeast into the liquid. Using a metal or plastic utensil, stir the yeast into the pot of sima liquid.
Ferment Overnight
Put the lid on the pot. If you’re really cautious, you can seal the lid with some tape or plastic wrap, but it’s not necessary.
Set the pot aside somewhere at a comfortable room temperature where it will be undisturbed. Leave it alone to ferment overnight, up to 24 hours.
DAY 2: Bottle and Continue Fermenting the Sima
Prepare the Bottles:
After the initial overnight fermentation, Finnish Sima drink is bottle fermented, which means we will be pouring the liquid into the plastic bottles for fermentation.
- Line your clean bottles up on the bench top neatly.
- Drop 2 sultanas into each bottle.
- Spoon a little white sugar into your bottles (a funnel will help). The amount you use will depend on the size of your bottle:
- Large Bottle (700-1200mL) = 1 tsp sugar
- Small Bottle (250-500mL) = 0.5 tsp sugar
- Get your screw-top lids ready.
Bottle the Finnish Sima:
Follow these steps to bottle the Finnish sima drink:
- Strain the sima liquid into another large pot or bowl, to remove the lemon rind and hops flowers.
- Pour the sima liquid into the jug, ready for pouring into the bottles.
- Set the funnel on the first bottle, and pour the sima into the bottle until it is approximately four-fifths (4/5) full.
- Squeeze the plastic bottle slightly to remove the excess air, then screw the cap on tightly.
- Repeat with the remaining bottles.
Fermentation Process:
Set the bottles aside in your kitchen or elsewhere that is protected from direct sunlight, at cool room temperature. A bathroom or laundry is a good place.
Allow the sima to ferment at room temperature for 3-5 days.
During this fermentation period, the bottles will expand, as the fermentation releases carbon dioxide gas. It is essential that you release the build-up of pressure from the carbon dioxide gas regularly, to prevent your bottles from exploding.
To do this, simply unscrew the lids just enough to allow the gas to escape. You’ll probably need to do this once a day.
How do you tell when it’s ready?
This is where the sultanas come in. Think of these like fermentation beacons.
Before fermentation has started, the sultanas will sit on the bottom of the bottle. While fermentation is active, you may see them slowly move up and down the bottle.
When the fermentation has finished, the sultanas will float to the surface of the liquid and stay there. If your sultanas are sitting on the surface – fermentation has finished and you’re ready to drink.
Serving the Finnish Sima Drink:
Once fermentation has finished, place the bottles in the fridge. Every 2-3 days loosen the lid to release any extra pressure build-up.
When you’re ready, simply pour yourself a cold glass of Finnish sima drink, and enjoy.
Eating the raisins is optional – my sister used to love them, but I thought they were gross! It’s personal preference.
Conclusion
If you’re new to fermenting drinks, you couldn’t find an easier place to start than traditional Sima Finnish drink.
Unlike kombucha, which is complicated by the fact that it requires a SCOBY, or beer which has all sorts of processes and ingredients to juggle, brewing Finnish Sima is genuinely easy. I would venture to say, sima is THE easiest fermented drink you could make.
Finnish sima can be brewed in the kitchen from tools and ingredients that you might already have. The least common ingredient are the dried hops flowers, but this can be easily purchased online. You can easily scale it down to just 1-2 bottles of brew, or scale it up to a whole case of the drink.
One of the other cool things abut Finnish sima, is that it’s a great introduction to fermenting, especially for kids. And once you understand the basic process behind brewing Finnish Sima, you can customise it to make your very own ultra-low alcohol brews. Don’t like hops? Leave it out! Want to try lime and mint instead? Why not?! Prefer pink grapefruit to lemons? Just substitute it.
The main thing is to have fun, experiment and enjoy the process. Happy brewing!
