Making a carbonated Finnish Mead

[helgibelgi]

Hi there

I was hoping to get some advice and encouragement regarding this current project of mine.

I am making a Finnish Mead (Sima), it's basically a really low alcohol mead with lemon zest and hopped as well (in this case with lots of Amarillo).

Because the plan is to have it carbonated in bottles it gets a little tricky

I already failed the first time around, ending up with a really overcarbonated and dry beverage (almost bottle bombs).

So this time around I have already completed fermentation. Final gravity ended up being about 0.992 (down from around 1.050).
I figured I could do the following to end up with a sweet, carbonated and fresh Sima on bottles:

1. Use Potassium Sorbate and Campden tablets to stop the yeast growth completely
2. Keg it!
3. Back sweeten it to taste (perhaps even dry hopping it in the keg and adding more lemon and/or orange zest)
4. Use Beer Gun to fill bottles with already carbonated Sima

Anyone see anything wrong with this method or know of any better method? (I have no other idea)

 

[Matrix4b]

To me, that sounds like a plan and nearly the only way to get a sweet carbonated mead. From what I have read, even if you are careful to stop and kill fermentation and add in yeast and primer sugar carefully, the yeast will always eat up the sweetness that's there. The only way is if all of your sweetness is a nonfermentable sugar, such as maltodextrin, stevia(?), or lactose. And all but the stevia are not very sweet.

With your plan you will also get zero sediment in the bottle, so why not.

Let us know how it works out.

Matrix

 

[Arpolis]

If you can keg it then go ahead and keg it. Otherwise the next best bet would be to sweeten to taste and the stove top pasteurize. Follow instructions as labeled here:

Stove top pasteurization

 

[bernardsmith]

Assuming that pasteurization works and you have sweetened the wine and killed the yeast then you can add more yeast and 1 oz of sugar /gallon to prime the mead. After a few weeks the new colony of yeast will have converted that additional sugar to alcohol but 1 oz will not be enough to create bottle bombs although you might want to cap those bottles with beer caps or else use champagne corks with those wire cages.

 

[ong]

Assuming that pasteurization works and you have sweetened the wine and killed the yeast then you can add more yeast and 1 oz of sugar /gallon to prime the mead. After a few weeks the new colony of yeast will have converted that additional sugar to alcohol but 1 oz will not be enough to create bottle bombs although you might want to cap those bottles with beer caps or else use champagne corks with those wire cages.

But the new colony wouldn't just work on the priming sugar... They'd break down the backsweetening sugar as well. Not sure what advantage there would be to pasteurizing then introducing a whole new colony of yeast.

 

[jsDC]

You'll avoid bottle bombs and get a delicious, sweet, and boozey beverage with that approach, but I don't know if you can still call it sima. Unless you typed the wrong OG.

Sima is meant to have a very low abv (0.5-1%). In Finland it's served to children.


JS

 

[bernardsmith]

But the new colony wouldn't just work on the priming sugar... They'd break down the backsweetening sugar as well. Not sure what advantage there would be to pasteurizing then introducing a whole new colony of yeast.

Indeed, My error. You are of course right. My brain must have disengaged. Ignore my post Helgibelgi! Arghhhh...

 

[ong]

Indeed, My error. You are of course right. My brain must have disengaged. Ignore my post Helgibelgi! Arghhhh...

I've blown up enough bottles doing dumb things to have become very cautious! Now if only I could get rid of that nervous tic whenever I reach for a bottle.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[helgibelgi]

You'll avoid bottle bombs and get a delicious, sweet, and boozey beverage with that approach, but I don't know if you can still call it sima. Unless you typed the wrong OG.

Sima is meant to have a very low abv (0.5-1%). In Finland it's served to children.


JS

Yeah I guess you're right about it not being completely authentic. However, I based it on an old recipe that a fellow homebrewer's wife found in an old recipe book from her friend. I followed that recipe exactly and the measured OG was actually 1.060. The one I made now just ended up a little bit lower. I guess recipes can change from person to person like that when people just copy and maybe change it and maybe don't really know what Sima is. Who knows where that recipe originated and how it has changed through the years...

Anyways, I'ts an awesome drink!

 

[helgibelgi]

If you can keg it then go ahead and keg it. Otherwise the next best bet would be to sweeten to taste and the stove top pasteurize. Follow instructions as labeled here:

Stove top pasteurization

Thanks for this info!

I wonder if I could pasteurize by heating before actually bottling. By just racking into the pot directly from the fermenter and heating to 190°F for 10 minutes. Then keg and use Beer gun for bottling (or skip the kegging step if flat mead is preferred). Maybe I'm just making it way more complicated

 

[Arpolis]

Everyone seems to try and do a carbonated mead first because everyone thinks that's better. But I seems to like mead either way. So a still mead may still be fine for you. If you are going to keg carbonate I would probably stabilize with Camden and sorbate due to the ease of that vs pasteurizing.

 

[helgibelgi]

Everyone seems to try and do a carbonated mead first because everyone thinks that's better. But I seems to like mead either way. So a still mead may still be fine for you. If you are going to keg carbonate I would probably stabilize with Camden and sorbate due to the ease of that vs pasteurizing.

I've only tasted still/flat proper meads and I really liked them. They sort of remind me of white wines but of course different.

The reason for making this one a carbonated one was completely incidental. I didn't expect my first attempt at the (wannabe) Sima to turn out very carbonated, but it did (maybe because I didn't even think about stabilizing). A friend of mine liked it so much that he asked me to make a 20 liter batch (5 gallons) for him. I'm simply trying to copy the original for him
Maybe a better name for this wannabe-sima would be "Fizzy Yellow Drink"

Do you know how I go about stabilizing correctly? (I have never done it before)

I found this thread where a commentor says to add 1 campden tablet per gallon and 1/2 tsp (I'm guessing this means one teaspoon and not a tablespoon?) potassium sorbate per gallon. I guess I crush it and mix into some water and add? Also, does temperature matter?

 

[RegarRenill]

Generally, tsp=teaspoon and T for tablespoon. Some use Tbsp or Tbsn for tablespoon, as well.

 

[Arpolis]

You are correct on stabilizing with Camden and sorbate. Just mix the two in a little water or some mead pulled out. Once added and mixed into your carboy wait 24 hours and then add back sweeting of choice. If you ever sweeten with juice or anything that significantly increases the volume of the mead. Make sure to add the amount of Camden and sorbate based off the final volume and not the initial.

 

[helgibelgi]

Hi, just wanted to give an update.

I racked the mead to a keg. After a few days carbonating and being stored in a cool storage outside (about 10°C/50°F) I added potassium sorbate and campden tablets (broken down into powder and mixed with some water). The next day I poored a taste sample, 100ml, and added honey to bring up the sweetness until it tasted right. Then I scaled it up and added the honey directly to the keg (it foamed like crazy!). Purged and shook it several times to make sure it mixed evenly. Then I bottled using the Blichmann Beergun.

Result = success!

 

[Arpolis]

Sounds great. Back sweetening with honey though, do not be surprised if you have a little sediment in the bottles 3-4 weeks out. Some honeys are worse than others but I usually have to wait a few weeks before bottling when I back sweeten with honey.

 

[lolznrofls]

That stove top pasteurization thread should be mandatory reading literature..easy to understand and a simple process

 

[Arpolis]

I agree. I post a link to it every so often to get its word out.