There are so many ways to start SP, and really I think they all boil down to the fact that the yeast are more hardy than we give them credit for.
Agreed. I do not have a stirplate or fancy aeration stones or drill attachments, and this is how I make my Skeeter Pee batches. I realize my method is probably overkill and im sure there's better ways, but this is what worked for me 100% of the time and has been repeatable while experimenting with different flavors every time. Seen several posts on this thread of others doing things in ways that seem like they didnt read the instructions, so hope this answers alot of questions. NOTE This was the first thing other than Beer extract kits I EVER made, so if a noob like me could figure this out, there's hope for anyone else reading this.
Day 1: Make invert sugar with 1 quart of water and 1 lb of white sugar. Add to gallon jug with 1/2 gallon of 100% juice (pick something similar to your desired batch flavor), top off with water. Add
1 pack EC 1118, put cap on & shake vigorously, then put on stopper and airlock and let sit in cool dark place.
Day 3: Put 1-2 lbs (thawed)frozen fruit in strainer bag and place in bottom of 6.5 gallon fermenter. Following SP directions, make the invert sugar by adding white sugar to water, stirring until solution is clear and sugar is fully dissolved. Dump on top of fruit in fermenter, along with 2 bottles of Lemon Juice, and first half of Nutrient and Energizer. Top off to 5.25ish gallons with water, stir vigorously to aerate and get the preservatives in Lemon juice to start evaporating. Take gravity reading, add sugar until it reaches 1.070ish then cover with towel and let sit.
Day 5: Take Towel off of Fermenter. Stir vigorously, squeeze fruit bag against side of fermenter with brew spoon, then dump in entire contents of 1 Gallon Starter, continuing to stir.
(it helps if you shake starter before dumping to dislodge yeast cake from bottom so all the goodness gets into the main batch)
Affix Lid and airlock, and let it go.
A few notes: This makes 6.25 gallons once starter added, which is close to top of fermenter. Headspace is not an issue bc EC 1118 is a low krausen yeast, you won't even need a blowoff valve with this recipe.
After 5-8 days, Gravity will be 1.020 or lower. Add second half of Nutrient/Energizer, and third bottle of Lemon Juice. Squeeze fruit bag against side with brew spoon. 1-2 days later, rack to new fermenter, and discard fruit.
(IMO the SG here is not THAT important, just watch it bc this stuff ferments dry FAST)
Once this ferments DRY- meaning .994 to .988, add Kmeta, Sorbate and Sparkalloid, and rack to Glass Carboy. Now is the time to be patient. Let it clear really well (could be 1 week, could be 3) before proceeding. The fruit juices make it harder to tell when its "clear", but at the very least watch for the yeast "halo" to settle out. Oftentimes it will still look opaque but will be much clearer once u bottle. Btw going dry, stabilizing, and waiting to clear, this should safely kill off any renewed fermentation problems when backsweetening
Once "clear", transfer and backsweeten. I backsweeten with 2-3 cans of 100% juice concentrate (same or complimentary flavor to juice in starter and fruit used), and sugar to taste. Once it tastes right, let sit for another 1-2 weeks just MAKE SURE no more fermentation takes place, and to let it age and mix together. This step can prob be shortened if neccesary.
Bottle/Keg. This stuff is ready to drink right away, and you can put it in wine bottles or 12ozers. Serve chilled and/or over ice and be careful, its dangerously good.
LOL! Ok, making a starter for skeeter pee is just as easy as I previously posted.
is mine ready to be back sweetened or need to sit longer?
