Skeeter Pee

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GilaMinumBeer

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Taken directly from; http://www.skeeterpee.com/Skeeter_Pee/Recipe.html All credit and recognition goes to the original author.

For a 5 gallon batch

3 bottles of 32oz 100% lemon juice (e.g ReaLemon in the green plastic bottles or equivalent)
7 lbs sugar (or 16 cups)
3/4 tsp tannin
6 tsp. yeast nutrient
2 tsp. yeast energizer
Approx, 4 ¾ gallons water
Yeast Slurry

Potassium metabisulfite (Kmeta)
Potassium sorbate (sorbate)
Sparkolloid

Many people have difficulty getting lemonade to ferment. This is due, I believe, to several factors. The high acidity, the lack of natural nutrients, and preservatives that are often included in the lemon juice. Therefore, I do whatever I can to assist the process.

I use reverse osmosis water (this is by choice and tap water should work fine since much of the chlorine should evaporate out during the initial steps). Make invert sugar by adding your 16 cups sugar to a large stainless cooking pot along with 8 cups water and 14 teaspoons lemon juice. Stir sugar to dissolve and heat to just below boiling while stirring. Hold at this temperature for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and pour it into your primary along with 2 of the bottles of the lemon juice (reserve the last bottle until later), and enough additional water to make 5 ½ gallons. Add the tannin, 3 tsp. of the yeast nutrient and 1 tsp. of the yeast energizer. Stir.

Test S.G with hydrometer and record. I shoot for an SG of around 1.07 which yields a beverage of around 10% alcohol if it ferments dry. Vigorously beat the mixture with a wire whip for a couple of minutes to introduce oxygen and purge it of artificial preservatives. I then cover the bucket with a dish towel and let the sit for 24 to 48 hours.

After 24-48 hours, give it another quick whip and then pour in yeast slurry from the first rack of another batch of wine. It sometimes takes a while, but you should have active fermentation within a couple of days. It helps to keep this must warm (70-80 degrees). You may need to occasionally whip in some additional oxygen with the whip if fermentation seems to be progressing slowly.

Periodically check the gravity. When it gets down to around 1.05, add the other 3 tsp of nutrient the second tsp of energizer, and the last bottle of lemon juice; vigorously mix it in. Don’t be afraid to introduce some oxygen to the mix at the same time. This late addition of yeast food and oxygen helps reduce the likelihood of your batch developing a sulfur-dioxide problem. (Because of the high acidity and low nutrition, lemon has a higher propensity to developing the sulfur-dioxide rotten egg smell.) After a couple of days, you can rack into a clean, sanitized carboy.

Allow the Pee to ferment dry and for fermentation to stop. Rack into a clean, sanitized carboy. Give the batch a quick degas (use agitation and vacuum if you have the equipment). Add ¼ tsp Kmeta, 2 ½ tsp sorbate, and sparkolliod (follow directions on the package). After two weeks, the Skeeter Pee should be crystal clear. Rack into a clean, sanitized carboy, add 6 cups sugar, and stir to dissolve. Wait two weeks to be sure no new fermentation begins and bottle.

Notes:

1.I don’t call this “hard lemonade” because too many people have tried the commercial versions and they tend to make a mental impression of what it’s going to taste like before trying it. When it doesn’t taste just like the commercial versions (which are usually 5% alcohol, lemon flavored malt beverages) they conclude that it’s a poor reproduction. This stuff isn’t a reproduction; it’s the original home-style without the big marketing budget and price tag. Please be advised that you need to keep an eye on those you serve this to. Because it drinks easily on a hot day and the alcohol is about double that of commercial hard lemonades and beer, it is easy to accidentally over consume; it sneaks up on you real fast.

2.This beverage will often take on flavor characteristics of the wine that donates the yeast slurry, keep this in mind when deciding which flavors will blend well with lemon.

3.You want to use a healthy yeast slurry to start your batch. If the slurry is coming from wine that is being pushed to high alcohol levels, it’s possible the slurry is suffering from the effects of alcohol poisoning. Therefore, it’s best if the slurry is used while it is still part of an active ferment.

4.You may have noticed that you start with 5 ½ gallons of must and this is a recipe for 5 gallons. This is because you’ll be leaving a bit more sediment behind at your first racking. Remember that you’re adding the slurry from a previous batch and it will be left behind along with the sediment created by the Skeeter Pee.

5.If you aren’t in a hurry, Skeeter Pee will often fall clear without the Sparkolloid (as long as you’ve done a good job of degassing). My batches often clear in 30 to 45 days without fining.

6.There’s no need to age this beverage. It tastes great soon after bottling. Serve chilled.
 
Quick question on this, does one HAVE to use a yeast slurry or could one just make a starter? Also wondering if you had any specific recipes for a strawberry version of this? Thanks! :)
 
I made it using a starter of apple juice, it worked fine. The first time it was way to lemony. This time I'm only using the 2 bottles of lemon and skipping the third. And I am going to back sweeten with cans of frozen concentrated strawberry Frutopia.
 
Just found this, sorry, should have done some more reading.

"Q: Can I make a batch of Skeeter Pee if I don’t have a slurry?

A: You can. Some people have had luck simply sprinkling the yeast on top of the must in the place of using a slurry. Be cautioned though, that the ferment will take much longer to get started. It helps to whip the must with a wire whisk to introduce lots of oxygen and keep the must warm. Be prepared to wait up to a week to see signs of ferment. An alternative method that has been successful is starting a 1 gallon batch of wine using frozen concentrate, letting it go for 5 days to a week to get good and active, and then using the whole thing in place of a slurry."
 
I used 2 sachet of Montrachet, aerated the holy crap out of mine, and added ALL of the recommended Nutrient and energizer at pitch.

Had Krausen within 8 hours and pitched an additional dose (equal to second dose) of Nutrient and Energizer at 24 hours and aerated again.
 
Backsweetened as written. Too dang sweet for my preferences. Will make more another day but only use about half of the backend sugar. Decided I am going to go ahead and carbonate this batch in the hopes that some carbonic acid influence will cut the sugar a bit and give the perceived impression of a drier product.

Once the sweetnes fades a bit, there is a nice lemon note there. Refreshing.
 
Rack into a clean, sanitized carboy, add 6 cups sugar, and stir to dissolve. Wait two weeks to be sure no new fermentation begins and bottle.

Is this the backsweetening part of this? If so, could you just make a simple syrup to help dissolve it into the piss? :drunk:
 
I am sure this is a newb question, but since lemon is so hostile to yeast, why can't you just add lemon juice after most fermentation is done?
 
I just got a packet shipped from my HBS that says yeast nutrient and energiser salts. (Tron0zymol)

Ingredients:

Diammonim Phosphate
magnesium sulphate
magnesium carbonate
albumin
nicotinamide
aueurine hydrochloride
trace minerals
trace vitamins

Does anyone know whether I can use this instead of the nutrient and energiser?
 
great recipe. i've made over 100 gallons of this stuff, in different flavourings. what i liked best was the original recipe, half the back sweetening [3 cups],tweaked it so its around 13%ABV finished. on a hot summer day, over ice, its so light and refreshing that you might get hammered before you realize it. all my friends absolutely loved it, but there were a few comments about the unexpected strength.[ all good in the end].also found out it makes a great mixer for blender drinks with fruit and a few ounces of hard liquor. tried orange, grapefruit, but original, [or with lime juice] was best
 
So I just checked out the official Skeeter Pee site, sounds awesome! I just happen to have a batch of white grape/raspberry in its 3rd day of primary, so by payday its slurry should be spot on for the pee. I do believe I will give it a shot!
 
So today I had planned to start the skeeter pee, but I needed a few things from my brew shop. When I got there, they closed down! :( My white grape raspberry's primary fermentation was really petering out as well, so time was of the essence. I racked the WG/rasp and measured a gallon of cool water and rinsed the slurry from the bottom of the primary and then poured the gallon back into it's jug and added 1/2 tsp of nutrient and 1/2 tsp sugar....hopefully to keep the yeast alive and active for another day or so...till I get the stuff I need for the piss. The measured gallon and slurry will be one of the gallons for the piss. I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't work, but if any of you can, please post your objections for my edification and information.
 
I kept mine around 75-80F, it's done fermenting and degassed, gravity and time has cleared it well.
 
how "clear" should skeeter pee be? I started this batch 11/4/13 and just re-racked ... haven't use any of the fining agent yet ... do I really need to?

2013-12-29_20.59.44.jpg


2013-12-29_20.59.17.jpg
 
I haven't used the fining agent, it is about the same color. Maybe a tad more yellow. I have made 4 or 5 batches to great reviews, after it hits the secondary, I let it sit one to two weeks past fermentation then bottle.
 
Finally kegged mine today. It's lower octane, planning to have it on tap. I added some more lemon juice and invert sugar when I kegged it.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I am planning to start a batch of SP today or tomorrow as my batch of cider is just finishing and I can use that yeast cake. However, according to the recipe tannin powder is required and I don't have access to tannin powder here where I live. Is it absolutely necessary, can I use some sort of substitute, or what will happen if I just leave it out altogether?
 
I'm still new at this, but I think you can use brewed black tea or raisins in the place of the tannin. However, I'm not sure how much to add. Since I'm not planning to make this just yet I'm looking for tannin online.:D
 
The question was perhaps more related to what is the purpose of the tannin in relation to a batch of skeeter pee? Just for taste, or for the purpose of some chemical reaction?

In any case, I started my batch 12 hours ago and it's already fermenting. Not sure how long it's been fermenting because I was asleep. It doesn't seem to be as hard to get going as I had been led to believe.

To begin with, I had a 20 liter demijohn full of 8 day old cider that had been fermented with a new packet of Kitzinger's Reinhefe Champagner yeast and about 50g of DAP/nutrient mix. This batch was almost finished anyway, to the point that I would have racked and split it for clearing in order to free up my demijohn.

First, I siphoned off about 1 liter of the heavy yeasty cider into a small jug for later usage. Next, I racked the rest of the batch into 4 smaller glass jugs and airlocked them, leaving behind about 1.5 liters of slurry. This 1.5 liters of slurry will be split in two: half to the skeeter pee batch and half to a new batch of cider going into the same demijohn.


How I did it in a 5 gallon carboy (didn't have a bigger vessel free at the moment):

1. sugar inversion with lemon juice as per the recipe (thanks SWMBO)
2. two liters of lemon juice from little plastic bottles as per the recipe
3. topped with water to 28C liquid temp, leaving about 2.5 liters of free space
4. half of the yeast slurry from the above batch of cider (about 750ml)
5. added 750ml of the above yeasty cider that was set aside
6. about 50g of DAP/nutrient mix

Airlocked her and let her go. There's about 1 liter of headspace remaining, so the last 1 liter of lemon juice will fit in when the batch drops down to about 1.050.

So, I didn't exactly follow the recipe but anyway it's actively fermenting in less than 12 hours.

And I immediately started a new batch of cider in the demijohn on top of the 0.75 liters of slurry from the last batch, along with about 50g of DAP/nutrient mix. This morning, it is already in extremely active fermentation.

Waiting for the skeeter pee!
 
The question was perhaps more related to what is the purpose of the tannin in relation to a batch of skeeter pee? Just for taste, or for the purpose of some chemical reaction?

In any case, I started my batch 12 hours ago and it's already fermenting. Not sure how long it's been fermenting because I was asleep. It doesn't seem to be as hard to get going as I had been led to believe.

To begin with, I had a 20 liter demijohn full of 8 day old cider that had been fermented with a new packet of Kitzinger's Reinhefe Champagner yeast and about 50g of DAP/nutrient mix. This batch was almost finished anyway, to the point that I would have racked and split it for clearing in order to free up my demijohn.

First, I siphoned off about 1 liter of the heavy yeasty cider into a small jug for later usage. Next, I racked the rest of the batch into 4 smaller glass jugs and airlocked them, leaving behind about 1.5 liters of slurry. This 1.5 liters of slurry will be split in two: half to the skeeter pee batch and half to a new batch of cider going into the same demijohn.


How I did it in a 5 gallon carboy (didn't have a bigger vessel free at the moment):

1. sugar inversion with lemon juice as per the recipe (thanks SWMBO)
2. two liters of lemon juice from little plastic bottles as per the recipe
3. topped with water to 28C liquid temp, leaving about 2.5 liters of free space
4. half of the yeast slurry from the above batch of cider (about 750ml)
5. added 750ml of the above yeasty cider that was set aside
6. about 50g of DAP/nutrient mix

Airlocked her and let her go. There's about 1 liter of headspace remaining, so the last 1 liter of lemon juice will fit in when the batch drops down to about 1.050.

So, I didn't exactly follow the recipe but anyway it's actively fermenting in less than 12 hours.

And I immediately started a new batch of cider in the demijohn on top of the 0.75 liters of slurry from the last batch, along with about 50g of DAP/nutrient mix. This morning, it is already in extremely active fermentation.

Waiting for the skeeter pee!

how'd it turn out? i'm about to make 5 gallons in the next few days
 
Started a batch of this yesterday. I did not have a yeast cake as I am a newbie to the wine making process. I used a yeast that I rehydrated in warm water and a cup of the skeeter pee at the same time. Today I pitched in the last bottle of lemon juice and the yeast starter. How long should it take to start fermenting? The starter was foaming up pretty good for a while yesterday.
 
It's skeeter pee time again!

I'm gonna try EC-1118 this year, since that's what I have in a batch of cider that will be ready for racking this weekend.

I actually made two batches last year - one from a cider slurry and one from a wine slurry. The cider slurry took off overnight, but the wine slurry took days and days and also needed to be boosted with cider slurry. I guess that wine yeast I was using was already quite stressed.
 
Can anyone think of a reason why lime juice could not be subbed for the lemon? I prefer lime, but don't want a fail if there is a chemical reason lemon works better. I can get lime in the big green bottles at Dollar Tree for a buck so I might give it a try with a gallon batch to start.
 
I've made it with lime juice once and it's fine. The lemon is better in my opinion. I just bought the cheapest lime juice I could find and followed the recipe. I'm sure you would like it if you prefer lime juice.
 
how did this end up? I've got 5 gallon of lower octane ready for kegging right now. just need to free up a keg.


Finally kegged mine today. It's lower octane, planning to have it on tap. I added some more lemon juice and invert sugar when I kegged it.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Do you have to use the potassium if you're going to chill and keg it as soon as it is back sweetened? Or is this a bad idea?
 
What kind of Lemon Juice are you guys using for your Skeeter Pee?

All the Lemon Juice I find in the Super Market contains Sodium Benzonate... which is a preservative that inhibits fermentation. I used some anyway for a small 1 gallon test batch, and didn't see any signs of fermentation for about 4 days. Then to my surprise it actually did start fermenting but the bubbles were coming up very slowly.

Its been going like that for several weeks now, and I feel like the batch may not turn out so well because the fermentation is stressed from the Sodium Benzonate.

Does the lemon juice you guys use contain sodium Benzonate?
 
What kind of Lemon Juice are you guys using for your Skeeter Pee?

We just used a generic ReaLemon for our 6 gallon SP (we did the Dragon's Blood variant, photo below), which I believe contains a little sodium benzoate. Ours started fermenting with EC-1118 right away, and our final SG was below 1.000.

Could it be an environment issue? Maybe it's too cold for your yeast...? Or maybe because we had a fruit pack in there, our yeast was able to overcome any inhibition caused by the benzoate. We've yet to make the traditional SP...

 
i use he generic version of realemon, I believe it has some benzoate in it, but I use a stir stick and whip it for a good 3-4 minutes and usually have active fermentation within a day.
 
Here's a question. Has anyone left this in the primary for an extended period of time? I've been aging (unintentionally mind you) for about six months.
 

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