Skeeter Pee

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I just started a 1 gallon batch of Welch's grape juice wine with Red Star Pasteur Red yeast. Any one ever use this yeast cake for Skeeter Pee?
 
I just started a 1 gallon batch of Welch's grape juice wine with Red Star Pasteur Red yeast. Any one ever use this yeast cake for Skeeter Pee?

Yes it would work, just make sure to add the yeast nutrient and energizer per the recipe. I used this yeast in a cranberry wine then to start my pee. The color is great! It's getting bottled next week.

Have a good one!
 
rorymcg said:
I just started a 1 gallon batch of Welch's grape juice wine with Red Star Pasteur Red yeast. Any one ever use this yeast cake for Skeeter Pee?

SP in the winter...I like your style!
 
Well I finally succeeded in doing something I tried to do months ago - carbonate my skeeter pee.

I don't remember exact dates, but while it was cold I made a batch of skeeter pee. I let it ferment and sit in secondary for months until it was warm out. I bottled without having ever added sulfites in hopes it would carb. No luck. So I've put my last case under the basement stairs around 58deg, just to get it out of the way. Well the last 3 bottles I've opened are a little carbed. This one I opened tonight was carbed about like a normal beer with maybe 2-2.2 vols.

What's scary is now I have to keep these cold probably 9-10 mo after I pitched the yeast. Pretty unexpected after all this time.
 
My piss is ready to go sans sweetening and stabilizing, I tasted it a lil' and yes it def needs the sweetening! Also, then lemon flavor just seems a little bland I guess, but may be different with the sweets. I am thinking about leaving it in the carboy till spring and then make sun tea with it, then sweeten and stabilize accordingly. Any thoughts ideas or predictions?
 
My piss is ready to go sans sweetening and stabilizing, I tasted it a lil' and yes it def needs the sweetening! Also, then lemon flavor just seems a little bland I guess, but may be different with the sweets. I am thinking about leaving it in the carboy till spring and then make sun tea with it, then sweeten and stabilize accordingly. Any thoughts ideas or predictions?

It's not gonna change or get better over time. Drink it and make more come spring
 
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? ...

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I've always had good luck with the Lavlin EC-1118 in Skeeter Pee. I'm starting my third batch tonight. For the second batch that I bottled about a week ago I bottled 2-1/2 gallons before I added some Raspberry Extract to the last 2-1/2 gallons. I wanted to try it out but not on a whole batch. It was delicious! The next batch is going to all be Raspberry flavored.

This is the #1 brew that my friends/neighbors/and co-workers request I make (and share...lol). Everyone loves it. :)


Hi CooperBrew. What brand of flavoring did you use?
 
The last couple batches I skipped the sparkloid to clear and just let things settle. When I make lemon aid it's not as clear as this gets and the appearance isn't bad.
 
My black Raspberry pee knocks the socks off of any commercial hard lemonade. And me, for that matter. It goes down so easy I'm thinking of re-bottling to 12oz beer bottles, to help with portion control. Me and my room mates just can't (shouldn't) finish a liter in a night of casual drinking.:tank:

how did you make your black Raspberry pee ?
 
How old can a yeast cake be before its no longer viable? I'll have an apfelwein using notty that will be about 2/3months old in the carboy. Would that yeast cake work making some skeeter piss or would they be too old and inactive
 
That should be fine. My very first SP was done with a yeast cake that was near 6 months old. I have even started some meads and wines off of some Sake lees that sat in my fridge nearly a year.
 
I have a cranberry wine going right now that should be ready for it's first racking soon. I think I will use the yeast from that. How does a cranberry lemon skeeter pee sound?
Could I just leave about half a gallon of the cranberry wine in the primary and add the skeeter pee ingredients right to it?
 
Yes you can. I even think there are a couple accounts of that on the skeeter pee web site. I think it sounds great.
 
I have a cranberry wine going right now that should be ready for it's first racking soon. I think I will use the yeast from that. How does a cranberry lemon skeeter pee sound?
Could I just leave about half a gallon of the cranberry wine in the primary and add the skeeter pee ingredients right to it?

I think that sounds like it would be wonderful! What recipe are you using, because I would love to try that myself with a batch. Or, rather, I assume you are using the already quoted Skeeter Pee recipe, but what was the makeup of your cranberry wine?
 
After doing several batches, I've found that the recipe on the site responds well to adding every kind of fruit I've tried. Even just a few pounds of fresh fruit in a bag will significantly flavor the batch, especially when backsweetened with a can or two of frozen concentrate similar to fruit used (or as close as u can get) However, the fruit versions seem to clarify slower than just regular pee would. Sofar tried:

Primary Backsweeten
Fresh Pineapple Pineapple Mango Juice
Grapefruit White Grapefruit Juice
Watermelon Rinds Mango Passionfruit Juice
Mixed Berries Berry Blend Juice

As I havent made other wines (yet) I have always used a starter 5 days before dumping in, as detailed on SP website
(1 Gallon jug, 1lb Table Sugar, Half Gallon of 100% juice similar to what kind I'm making, top w water, throw in yeast and shake, shake, shake)
 
I see the recipe for this calls for the addition of 3/4 tsp. of tannin. Does everyone add this? and does it matter wether it is the liquid or the powder tannin? :confused:
 
I see the recipe for this calls for the addition of 3/4 tsp. of tannin. Does everyone add this? and does it matter wether it is the liquid or the powder tannin? :confused:

I have only made it without and have been happy. Have some for my next batch though to see the difference.
 
I use a different tannin source for my SP. I used 1 TBS of Earl Grey black tea just loose leaf dumped into the primary.
 
I'm betting the tea adds a nice, subtle flavor as well, or am I just assuming, there?

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To be honest I am not sure if I am one to ask. I have never tried SP without the tea. So if one of you that has made it with normal wine tannin could send me a bottle I will be happy to give comparison notes! :D
 
I'm no judge either, lol. I've only done one batch but once I get a second carboy I'd like to always have some in the works. I used wine tannin, though. Tea would be cheaper, though. How much did you use per batch?

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I usually add more tea to other wines but I go a little light with my SP. I use 1 TBS of black tea or 3 tea bags. Earl grey has been my preferred black tea so far. I do think it works well.
 
That sounds like that would be interesting to try and I will remember that, with the tea. I would also like to try the cranberry addition

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Down to our last gallon of SP so I better get a wine started to have a good healthy yeast cake.
I think I'll start with a grape concentrate wine and add a bottle of cranberry extract 4oz.
In a month I'll rack and bottle the wine then make the Skeeter Pee concoction let it rest over night covered and then pitch on the yeast cake. It will be a blush SP
My wife loves this stuff. 8oz and she is slurring her words just a little. She drank Patrone for years and now prefers this.
Yep! This one is for SWMBO
 
Many people have been able to get strong yeasts like Lalvin ec-1118 or K1v-1116 to start fermenting in skeeter pee. It would just be good to do a large starter with those yeast for 24 hours before pitching.
 
I used the ec-1118 and it started fermenting within hours. I pitched 3 packs that I had rehydrated and it fired right up. It's still chugging along almost a month later.
 
Ive always only used one packet of EC 1118 to make a starter with 1 lb of sugar and half gallon 100% juice (I use a gallon jug) 5 days before you pitch into skeeter pee, and it has worked every time (about to pitch another one tonight). Plus, then I dump 1gallon of starter into 5-5.3 of skeeter pee, and get a nice heaping 6+ gallon batch in my 6.5 gallon carboy :)

Glad to help a fellow Cheesehead. Go Pack Go!!
 
How long does this stuff usually take to finish fermenting? This is my first batch and I am a little surprised that it's still going, although slowing a bunch the last couple of days.
 
How long does this stuff usually take to finish fermenting? This is my first batch and I am a little surprised that it's still going, although slowing a bunch the last couple of days.

I second that question. I'm 6 weeks into it and I still have steady fermentation. I expected it to take a bit longer as I have it set at 60f...low and slow...but 6 weeks??? wtf? Thirsty over here.
 
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