Skeeter Pee sanity check

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Reaver

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Location
Saratoga
So I've had my Skeeter Pee going now for a while. I Racked, Stabilized, added Fining per the recipe a little over 2 weeks ago. Pulled a sample last night to measure for back-sweetening (have had no change in SG). As I was checking I found what looks to be "Yeast Rockets" and some bubbling. No where near enough to move the airlock. But now and again I can see decent bubbles coming up and sometimes they have a chuck of sediment. This "Yeast Rocket" leaves a trail thru the wine and once it breaks the surface drops back down. I def noticed it again tonight and I haven't touched it yet. I've got my syrup ready to back-sweeten but held off till I could get check. Is this a normal function?
 
Did you do anything to degas your Skeeter Pee? Could it be trapped CO2 finding its way out of the liquid? You can test it by getting a small bottle, filling it half full, then shaking it with your thumb over the top. If you get a ppffffftt sound when you release your thumb, you likely have gas. Be down-side is that this test doesn't mean that there aren't yeast in there still actively producing more CO2.
 
Well i believe I stabilized properly. I did not get any more drop in SG since I stabilized.
But this is only the 3rd batch of wine I've done. I did NOT degas, and have been looking for a vacuum pump (thought I had one around and it has not turned up). It makes sense to me that if the last of the Yeast down in the lees are finishing up then I could be getting bubbles here and there , some of which lifts the sediment. I've got good bed of lees from racking and fining. Perhaps I should rack off that, backsweeten and give it a couple days. I was just hoping to bottle this weekend.
 
WHOA BABY!! pickedup a degassing wand from my LHBS... gave that baby a couple of whirls w/ the hand drill and you'ld think I opened up a shaken can of soda! Guess I really did need to degas. I shook a sample and it didn't seem like alot... but I guess when you get 5 gals going... it adds up!
 
WHOA BABY!! pickedup a degassing wand from my LHBS... gave that baby a couple of whirls w/ the hand drill and you'ld think I opened up a shaken can of soda! Guess I really did need to degas. I shook a sample and it didn't seem like alot... but I guess when you get 5 gals going... it adds up!


Where would your LHBS be if you don't mind me asking?

Sketter pee is next on my list. What did you end up using for your lemon juice?
Most of the ones in the store have preservatives.
 
I hit Saratoga Zymurgist (http://www.saratogaz.com/)
Reed is a great guy and he's got good prices. They are located near the brewery in Saratoga. If you head towards I87 they are down off Excelsior. It's a TINY shop on the side of EBI beverage. Check out the website. I haven't looked for any in G'ville area.
The other "locals" are in Latham and Renselear, so they don't do you much good.

As for lemon I used the Walmart brand figuring it wouldn't be much differnet. You'll find some preservatives in most lemon juice unless you squeeze it yourself. I'm going to try the Real Lemon brand with my next batch
 
Where would your LHBS be if you don't mind me asking?

Sketter pee is next on my list. What did you end up using for your lemon juice?
Most of the ones in the store have preservatives.

Bottled lemon juice almost always has preservatives. If you follow the recipe from the website, your yeast will power through those preservatives. I don't recommend fresh squeezed lemon juice. While you won't have added preservatives, the natural elements in the juice make it harder to ferment than the bottled stuff. The name brand stuff (Realemon) makes a good product, but lots of people have made it with generic brands too.
 
Where would your LHBS be if you don't mind me asking?

Sketter pee is next on my list. What did you end up using for your lemon juice?
Most of the ones in the store have preservatives.

Bottled lemon juice almost always has preservatives. If you follow the recipe from the website, your yeast will power through those preservatives. I don't recommend fresh squeezed lemon juice. While you won't have added preservatives, the natural elements in the juice make it harder to ferment than the bottled stuff. The name brand stuff (Realemon) makes a good product, but lots of people have made it with generic brands too.

If you haven't been to the website, check it out. There's a FAQ page that will answer most of your questions. skeeterpee.com
 
AND... as Lon always says...

If you don't follow the directions and something goes wrong... don't be surprised!!

Debbie
 
I had the same issue with a mead I was working on a couple weeks ago. I racked the mead off the lees, but had an inch or so of mead left on top, so I dumped that into another bottle, just to see what would happen. I stuck a plug in it that would give an airtight seal, but would be weak enough to blow off if there was pressure. Sure enough, it popped off overnight.

I looked at the lees, and saw those "yeast-rockets" just as you described. No idea why they were there. Fermentation had stopped at 16.2% abv with B71, SG unchanged for a week. I had been degassing it faithfully. I wound up dumping the bottle, just wasn't worth the hassle and mess to figure it out.

As far as the skeeter pee goes...


I started mine with organic lemon juice (100% preservative-free) and got the fermentation started pretty quickly. It was going as vigorously as my other 2 brews that I started at the same time, so I blamed the acid, though I probably should have checked the pH. Added a tiny pinch of potassium bicarbonate, and found it bubbling furiously the next day. Fast forward one week- just added a simple syrup made out of realemon and dextrose, as my OG wasn't quite high enough. Yeasts are still doing well.

Fun little 1 gal experiment. Will do a full 5 gal if this works out.
 
Yeah I think it was just trapped CO2 being released from the Lees. They didn't come back after my half-assed degass attempt.

I've got a 2nd batch going now and it's already doing better than my first in reaction, smell, and appearance. I didn't make my invert properly the first time and used a slurry off the Tangerine. It picked up some flavors from the slurry that I didn't like but they are mellowing and go away when poured into a glass.
This batch I used Dry Motrachet (x2 packs) and made a starter. You can check out the SkeeterPee-Dry Yeast thread, and I'll be updating. Can't wait to get to this one!
 
I just saw lemon juice at the dollar store... for, guess what??

$1!!!!

Why didn't I think of that before? I don't usually GO to the dollar store!

Debbie
 
I just saw lemon juice at the dollar store... for, guess what??

$1!!!!

Why didn't I think of that before? I don't usually GO to the dollar store!

Debbie

are you sure it's really lemon juice? Some makers mix water, citric acid, and a little lemon juice. I've acutely only seen that in an "organic" product, but I wouldn't be shocked if a similar thing was at the dolor store.
Humm... how would Skeeter Pee be if it was mostly citric acid in a sugar wash. You could add the acid post ferment, making the fermentation go smoother. With only 1/3 the lemon juice it might taste okay.... And the price would be great... another thing to add to the old "hooch to make" list, that's going between acorn beer and Mt. Dew wine.
 
I didn't take time to read it. ReaLemon may be about the same... I never read that either!

I usually get mine from Aldi's.

Debbie
 
I saw 32 oz. Kroger brand today for $1.68. They didn't have the 32 oz. bottles of Real-Lemon, only 16 oz. and those were something like $2.79 a bottle, so I didn't buy any.

Ya think they have caught on to us buying the good stuff for SP? :mad:
 
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