Sima is a sweet mead

Mead

Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...

, still an essential seasonal, sparkling brew connected with the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 Vappu

Walpurgis Night

Walpurgis Night is a traditional spring festival on 30 April or 1 May in large parts of Central and Northern Europe. It is often celebrated with dancing and with bonfires. It is exactly six months from All Hallows' Eve.-Name:...

 festival. It is usually spiced by adding both the flesh and rind of a lemon

Lemon

The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...

. During secondary fermentation raisin

Raisin

Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...

s are added to control the amount of sugars and to act as an indicator of readiness for consumption — they will swell by absorbing carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

 and rise to the top of the bottle when the drink is ready. Sima is usually accompanied by munkki (a donut), tippaleipä (a special Vappu funnel cake

Funnel cake

Funnel cake or funnelcake is a regional food popular in North America at carnivals, fairs, sporting events, and seaside resorts. Funnel cakes are made by pouring batter into hot cooking oil in a circular pattern and deep frying the overlapping mass until golden-brown. When made at concession...

) or rosetti (a rosette

Rosette (cookie)

A rosette is a thin, cookie-like deep-fried pastry of Scandinavian origin. Rosettes are traditionally made during Christmas time. They are made using intricately designed irons. The iron is heated to a very high temperature in oil, dipped into the batter, then re-immersed in the hot oil to create...

).

Ingredients for sima include Lemon

Lemon

The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...

, active dry yeast, and raisin

Raisin

Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...

s. Sugar is added as brown sugar, white sugar, honey or some combination of them. Hops

Hops

Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine...

 are also called for in some recipes. The concoction of water and the lemon and sugars are mixed, boiled , and cooled to room temperature (25'C or 75'F). The yeast is added and the mixture left to stand overnight. The sima will be ready to drink when the raisins rise to the top of the bottles, about 3–7 days depending on the temperature of the room where they are stored. It is usually served chilled. Usually, the alcohol content is low and the drink is suitable for children. Carbonation is produced by the yeast, and the drink is traditionally cloudy and not clarified or filtered. Because of this, traditional sima is a fresh product that doesn't store for long.

A commercial and possibly foreign cheap "sima" is produced by mixing apple wine

Cider

Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...

, grape juice

Grape juice

Grape juice is obtained from crushing and blending grapes into a liquid. The juice is often sold in stores or fermented and made into wine, brandy, or vinegar. In the wine industry, grape juice that contains 7-23 percent of pulp, skins, stems and seeds is often referred to as "must"...

 and flavor with carbonated water

Carbonated water

Carbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....

; this doesn't produce the soft flavor of traditional fermented sima.