The mythical drink of the gods, heroes and poets 
This thread was inspired by the (Group Ritual - Jan 18) 
Þorrablót Midwinter Ritual for Strength ritual 
This traditional Finnish variety is based on sugar instead of honey, and generally has a lower alcoholic content, something like 1–3%. Or more if you prefer, it all comes down to fermentation. I’m trying this recipe for the first time and documenting here what happens.
I’m going to be using metric units here because they’re used in Scandinavia, and more importantly, I’m more familiar with them 
The ingredients:
- 5 liters of water
- 250 grams of brown sugar
- 250 grams of white sugar
- A lemon
- A handful of raisins
- Yeast of your preferred kind
For making the mead, a 5 liter sealable container, and a cooking pot that can hold at least 2 liters of water.
The Light phase
To make the light, cold phase, first peel the lemon, and put the peels in the sealable container, together with one liter of cold water. Slice what’s left of the lemon and put that in too. It should look something like this:
So sunny 
The Dark phase
The ominous looking Dark phase 
Heat up two liters of water in the pot. Once it’s boiling, add the sugar and mix it in. Stir in some of your darkest intentions, but remember that you’re still going to drink it. It should look something like this:
Draught of the Living Death vibes right here. 
Combining the phases
Wait until the dark phase has cooled down a little, and pour it together with the light phase. Give it a little stir, and you’ll have a delicious smelling light brown liquid 
You can give it a taste if you want, but it isn’t that delicious while warm.
The yeast
To give the mead life and spirit, it needs yeast. I used some dry yeast, used for wine making. For that you’ll need a precision scale, or keep halving the package amount until it matches the amount you’re going to make.
Another option is to use fresh yeast, the kind used in baking. For that the recommended amount is about the size of a pea.
Whichever you choose, dissolve it in a cup of warm (not hot) water, stir to break up any clumps. Let it wake up for about 15 minutes and then mix it into the container. You’re ready to go! 
The fermentation
Close the container with a lid, but don’t make it airtight. Or if you do, crack it every few hours to not let too much pressure build, you don’t want it to explode all over the walls as fun as it sounds. A warm, but not hot place is ideal for fermentation. And darkness, because that’s where all growth happens.
Here’s mine in the sauna:
This would also be the place to add the raisins if I didn’t forget to buy them 
Once they’ve floated to the surface, the mead should be ready. Which should take about 3 days, after which you can bottle it.
I’ll keep you posted how it goes 
This has been a delight to read- I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you and wishing for a very tasty batch of Sima!
They jump at absolutely nothing.
Not long now, c’mon mead! 
so I better keep an eye on them! 
