questions for sima (finnish)

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wilbanba

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recently made sima (swedish & finnish)
found that initial carb was good but as more was consumed the carb decreased
even at room temp
is there a trick to keeping the carb up? change container size perhaps?
thanks
 
The only way to keep a beverage carbonated is to re-pressurize the container each time. One of the reasons people will bottle meads in smaller bottles.
 
also interested in completing the fermentation
is the use of an airlock the only way to verify this?
so far ive been using the "folk" raisin method - by putting 6-10 raisins in each container and consuming when all the raisins float - but im guessing this just indicates when the CO2 in solution is at equilibrium with the CO2 in the headspace.
thanks much
 
An airlock is used to allow the co2 to escape without allowing oxygen, flies or any other unwanteds in.

A hydrometer reads the specific gravity of a liquid, which is the only sure fire way (other then other SG instruments) to know the alcohol percentage as well as when fermentation is complete.
 
An airlock is used to allow the co2 to escape without allowing oxygen, flies or any other unwanteds in.

A hydrometer reads the specific gravity of a liquid, which is the only sure fire way (other then other SG instruments) to know the alcohol percentage as well as when fermentation is complete.

yup thats what i meant
thanks for the help
now i actually want to keep the CO2 and also fully ferment
how do i use the hydrometer to verify when fermentation is complete?
im having a hard time figuring out when ferm has stopped since i have no visible means to know when CO2 production has slowed or stopped (airlock)
 
Do you have it sealed airtight? I am really confused what your setup is. You must let the co2 escape in fermentation. If you are wanting carbonation, you still let the co2 out and fermentation to complete. When fermentation is complete, you add a bit more sugar to it, bottle away in a pressure proof container, such as a beer bottle or champagne bottles.
 
Do you have it sealed airtight? I am really confused what your setup is. You must let the co2 escape in fermentation. If you are wanting carbonation, you still let the co2 out and fermentation to complete. When fermentation is complete, you add a bit more sugar to it, bottle away in a pressure proof container, such as a beer bottle or champagne bottles.

yes its sealed
i let the whole batch room ferment in an open container for 12 hrs
then i bottle it up tight and ad a touch of sugar and let it continue

how do i know when ferm is complete?

thanks for the help im refining my process as i go
 
You only let it ferment for 12 hours? Is this standard practice for sima? I am not familiar with it. If it is normal, then I have no idea what to tell you, you need to talk to someone that knows what the specific process is. What exactly is it? What is the recipe? Where did you get the instructions?

You need a hydrometer to confirm a complete fermentation.
 
Look it up on the web Tusch - it's a non/low alcohol sugar-water.

IE: Water, sugar, lemons, raisins, enough yeast to bottle carb.

It's halfway between hooch and ...hooch.
I don't know HOW this is in the mead section :)
 
Sounds like homebrew soda. In that case, I suggest going into that section to get better answers. You could keg or put it in smaller containers, that way you open more bottles, but each one is carbonated.
 
i guess there is a dearth of ethnic alcohol recipes in here

every time ive seen it in print its referred to as a mead
whether its bc honey was historically included instead of refined sugar i dont know but it is what it is
Wikipedia considers it a mead too for some reason

now then, all i need to know is how to find out when fermentation has been completed. i already have pressure in the bottles but have to way of telling when ferm is finished (pun) i.e. all the sugars have been exhausted. could i use a hydrometer for this?

theoretically i could use a Brix refractometer but dont want the holiday drinks to get that expensive

thanks for the help everyone!
 
Looked up a recipe or two, it sounds... interesting. It isn't actually a mead though, as far as I can see. To be a mead, 1/2 or more of the fermentables must be honey, and it doesn't sound like you have any.

If you are carbonating it, you don't want to know when fermentation is complete, you don't want it to complete at all. You let it ferment for 12 hours or so to get a bit of alcohol (tiny amount) and more so to make sure there is a good yeast colony. You then bottle it, so the yeast can eat up some of the remaining sugars, enough to carbonate it. But at this point, when it is fully carbed, you need to refrigerate it, otherwise you risk overcarbonating it and having exploding bottles.

Basically, this recipe scares me a bit. But to succeed with it, I would bottle it in plastic soda containers, such as 2 liter or 20 oz bottles. Then when they are very firm, put them in a refrigerator. You pretty much need to drink an entire bottle, because there isn't really anyway to recarb it, unless you left it at room temp, but that might create some seriously funky flavors.
 
its good stuff
ive made it many times with lemons, some with oranges, limes and lingonberry are next
thanks for all your help its really been useful
 
I didn't mean to offend with anything I said, so I hope some of what I said really did help.
 
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