Greetings from Helsinki

[podz]

I tried making beer about 10 years ago but found it way too complicated for my tastes.

This spring, my wife was looking for something to ferment a batch of Sima (a traditional Finnish, very low alcohol type of Hooch). We couldn't find a good sized bucket in the store, so I told her to use my old 20 litre glass carboy. She did, and the Sima turned out great - we drank it all within about a week. Since we are a little bit lazy, the carboy was sitting around uncleaned with a bunch of sliced lemons in the bottom of it for a few weeks. When we got around to cleaning it, I had the idea to make some wine for Midsummer (Juhannus). Good idea, since we like to drink and alcohol is insanely taxed in Finland. So we decided to do a project together to make a carboy full of Raspberry wine. It's nearly finished now and no need to age or bottle it - we will be sitting in the backyard drinking it!

I found a couple of old 5 litre glass jugs and a _really_ old 4 litre Viresa demijohn in a wicker basket from a second hand store. So far, I started a 5 litre batch of Edwort's Apfelwein - we really like strong, dry apple cider. I haven't seen any Montrachet yeast in Finland, so I used some Kitzingers Reinhefe Champagner yeast.

That Viresa might just be waiting for a small batch of mead...

 

[bad67z]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Homercidal]

Welcome! I've always wanted to visit Finland since I got to know the exchange student who stayed with the couple who babysat our kids. Pretty interesting land and culture over there.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Welcome aboard. And, if I may say so, thank you for being associated with the only country in the world to pay back all World War II debt to the United States .

 

[ncbrewer]

Welcome to HBT

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the group, from CO. I went to a Lutheran university, had a number of Finnish friends.

Apfelwein is addictive, super delicious, easy to add different flavors, etc., and cheap. I haven't tried too many yet, but apparently a wide variety of yeasts work well with cider.

 

[forstmeister]

Welcome, from an American of Finnish descent! If you decide to try beer brewing again, check out this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f78/sa...-1st-place-cat-23-2nd-place-best-show-321633/

I have wanted to try this recipe but haven't had the time yet.

 

[podz]

Welcome! I've always wanted to visit Finland since I got to know the exchange student who stayed with the couple who babysat our kids. Pretty interesting land and culture over there.

There are direct flights at least once a day from JFK to Helsinki. There are a lot of outdoor rock and heavy metal concerts and festivals during the summer. Most people start their summer vacation on midsummer, i.e. a week from now, for a month. During that time, Helsinki is like a ghost town and most of the people to be seen on the streets are tourists.

 

[podz]

Welcome to the group, from CO. I went to a Lutheran university, had a number of Finnish friends.

Apfelwein is addictive, super delicious, easy to add different flavors, etc., and cheap. I haven't tried too many yet, but apparently a wide variety of yeasts work well with cider.

Did you learn to speak Finnish from your friends?

I started a 5-litre batch of Edwort's Apfelwein as a test 6 days ago - added 145 grams of table sugar and half a packet of hydrated champagne yeast to 5 litres of Dizzy apple juice (how appropriate for a brand name) bought from Lidl. It started fermenting pretty much immediately, and has only slowed down a little bit now. I reckon it will hit 9% and stop if I let it go until Sunday, but I plan to drink it tomorrow (Saturday, my time)! I'm just getting started with a 20 litre batch that I will try to let sit for a month in the carboy - should be finished just at the hottest part of summer here in Finland.

BTW, when my wife makes Sima, she uses "tuorehiiva" (Finnish fresh yeast, sold in the cold section of all food stores - in one piece about the size of a pair fo dice, wrapped in paper, and only costs 20 cents). Taste is pretty amazing. I might try a 5 litre batch with tuorehiiva next time and see how it compares to the champagne yeast.

 

[passedpawn]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Estbrew]

Teretulemast!

 

[Cyclman]

Did you learn to speak Finnish from your friends?

I started a 5-litre batch of Edwort's Apfelwein as a test 6 days ago - added 145 grams of table sugar and half a packet of hydrated champagne yeast to 5 litres of Dizzy apple juice (how appropriate for a brand name) bought from Lidl. It started fermenting pretty much immediately, and has only slowed down a little bit now. I reckon it will hit 9% and stop if I let it go until Sunday, but I plan to drink it tomorrow (Saturday, my time)! I'm just getting started with a 20 litre batch that I will try to let sit for a month in the carboy - should be finished just at the hottest part of summer here in Finland.

BTW, when my wife makes Sima, she uses "tuorehiiva" (Finnish fresh yeast, sold in the cold section of all food stores - in one piece about the size of a pair fo dice, wrapped in paper, and only costs 20 cents). Taste is pretty amazing. I might try a 5 litre batch with tuorehiiva next time and see how it compares to the champagne yeast.

I learned some words, but that's too many years ago to remember. Best of luck!