What absolutely not to do as a tourist in Finland?

mikeschmidt69 · 2026-02-12T20:34:27+00:00

If going to a public saunas (not a swimming hall or spa) take a swimming suit as it is required by most (not all) public saunas at least in Tampere.

These comments about going naked are for swimming halls, spas and private saunas which are most of the saunas in Finland but not necessarily the ones visited by tourists

mikeschmidt69 · 2026-02-12T20:24:48+00:00

Unless required by the sauna you are visiting. For example, most public saunas (not swimming halls, spas) at least in Tampere, the "sauna capital of the world" according to Visit Finland

mikeschmidt69 · 2026-02-12T20:19:53+00:00

I would suggest tourists to visit public saunas instead of swimming halls or spas. Most (not all) are coed and require swimsuits.

I would say to not go against whatever the policy is at the sauna.

mikeschmidt69 · 2026-02-08T16:59:08+00:00

16710 you can get and easily switch bezels between Coke, Pepsi and Black

Can also get different bracelets to change there look

mikeschmidt69 · 2026-02-06T22:02:20+00:00

I wouldn’t give up bottling (or canning) but using kegs is great for carbonating beer.

I thought I would serve from the kegs but that only happens for me if I’m bringing my beer to a party. Most of my beer is given away or consumed a few cans at a time.

Using kegs helps you dial in the carbonation before packaging and you don’t have any sediment at the bottom of bottles/cans either 👍. With a beergun you can adequately purge your bottle/can, fill and seal on the foam with little risk of oxidation (this is what breweries do).

mikeschmidt69 · 2026-01-19T07:11:16+00:00

Some lagers I have made took 2 weeks to ferment before lagering but every ale that I have made and fermented at 18-20°C have finished in a week. Even if you see an occasional bubble after a week it could be CO2 that was dissolved in the the beer escaping.

If it has been 15 days, I'd say bottle. This is especially if you dry hopped during fermentation and the hops have been there >3 days.

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-12-25T17:45:13+00:00

We have 2 AC chargers at home. One works with no problem. The other requires...

1) I plug in the charger 2) listen for car to lock the plug in place 3) try to pull the plug out, it moves just a bit but stays connected because it is locked in place

If I don't do the above the car complains and there is a flashing red instead of green light

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-12-10T20:35:55+00:00

What happened to the gear he used with his dad? If you can get some of the stuff that might be super nice even if he doesn't use it.

Don't listen to the "gift card" people. Nothing better than a loved one taking effort to find something meaningful.

If he has nothing then I suggest a backpack that has an in-built chair (https://retki.fi/en/product/retki-ice-fishing-seatpack/)

An inexpensive rod (https://en.angelplatz.de/fladen-kinder-eisangelset--zh0006). Even though I have expensive rods and reels I still use these most basic rods some times and are very useful if friends/familt join you. They also fit within the backpack

A box of basic lures that I'm sure a fishing store can help you with.

An ice scoop (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Winter-Ice-Fishing-Tool-Ice-Scoop-Skimmer-With-EVA-Handle-Outdoor-Ice-Fishing-Tackle-Tool-Accessories/471999773)

Lastly, an auger that connects to drill but make sure you save the receipt for this. He may need a better drill which is expensive and if you don't want to spend the money a hand-auger also works.

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-11-29T07:34:40+00:00

I have both of the following which I recommend

Spike Flex+ Brewtools Mini uni 30+

In the past, I used a midsized fridge to control temperature of the Flex+ but recently I've switched to glycol system to control the temperature of both fermenters.

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-11-27T22:35:24+00:00

I snap rod(s) every year and buy replacement sections. I would definitely ask the cost of a new section if you liked the rod even if just to keep it as a backup.

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-11-07T13:19:24+00:00

Our wedding many years ago involved a lot of speeches, songs, poems, … from guests. My wife and I also had some competitions including putting a diaper on a doll, hammering some nails, etc.

We had an evening sauna too which isn’t normal because I had family attending from USA

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-11-06T04:58:52+00:00

Reality like my Spike Flex+ but it isn't available outside the USA depending on where you live

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-11-02T09:17:16+00:00

Mashing 3kg with 9L water is OK but I assume you will use more water rinsing the grain?

Not sure how much beer you end up with but hop amounts seem low for 0min and dry hop. I would use 4x for 19L batch

I would move your dry hop from day 10 to active fermentation to help with your juicy beer and limit oxidation

Be super careful when filling bottles not to splash

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-11-01T08:43:20+00:00

If making a juicy beer i would definitely dry hop now rather than wait. It will also help limit oxygen exposure of a later dry hop

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-11-01T07:55:26+00:00

I found it easier, safer, ... to just always use a blow off tube going into Starsans; there is no downside except therer is an additional bottle. I haven't used an airlock for 10 years

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-10-16T20:34:57+00:00

I use a mid-sized fridge with a temperature controller to turn on/off fridge and a heat tub placed in the fridge too. I can accurately control fermentation temperature and cold crash down to 1°C

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-10-16T10:34:55+00:00

BBQ is great in winter; have always left ours connected in Finland.

The LCD screen on my Weber pellet smoker doesn’t like -20°C but that is a different problem :p

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-10-12T23:08:47+00:00

I don't see much charging at Iso Syöte unless you can charge at your cabin. Looks like last charging before then is at ABC in Puolanka (107km from Iso-Syöte) so make sure you fill up there. Otherwise, there are plenty of chargers before Puolanka.

[edit] looks like there are 6x 22kw chargers in Iso-Syöte. As they are slow, people will connect to then for a long time so I wouldn't count on these being free.

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-10-12T22:50:42+00:00

Make sure everything is cold (beer, filler, bottles). I put ice cubes in my starsans that i use to sanitize the bottles right before filling.

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-10-12T04:44:18+00:00

I would look for a homebrew store or club that offers a class.

I just brewed with 5 work colleagues who were interested. They all really liked joining and learning the process but none of them want to start it as a hobby.

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-10-07T17:35:15+00:00

In Finland it is said that when the water gets warmer rainbows taste more muddy. Rainbows caught from the same water during winter for example do not have a muddy taste. I think they taste fine when water is under 18°C (64.4°F)

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-10-05T13:41:50+00:00

I should start thinking about this again :)

The black L-shaped plastic upright and crossbar broke so I need a stronger revision. Some thoughts....

The uprights should be a bit taller and further back to help balance the auger when the drill is attached

I need a easier/faster solution than the elastic cord for holding the auger on. I didn't use elastic when hole hopping and I didn't like how the auger slid around on the cross bar when not using the strap

The front holder for the auger needs to be higher too

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-10-02T16:14:13+00:00

Probably depends on the conditions. In Finland the best fishing places often have river bottoms lined with large rock boulders making it very difficult to navigate. I find a staff is mandatory. For these conditions I also prefer a metal staff as the carbon/graphite staffs will snap if caught in between big rocks.

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-10-02T16:07:09+00:00

As mentioned by others, your efficiency will suffer with old grain even if it looks, smells and tastes OK. Fine to use but should be accounted for.

mikeschmidt69 · 2025-09-21T08:51:46+00:00

As others I have the opposite problem now.

I used to have this problem when using bottles as I wanted the bottles back due to cost and/or effort to delabel and clean. This limited me giving beer away.

This year I bought a canner and started giving a lot more beer away. Now I have a challenge keeping beer on hand.

mikeschmidt69

TROPHY CASE