Animalmutha
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- Dec 29, 2012
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Somewhere around Christmas I got it in my craw to try and make Skeeter. Only I had no wine/mead cake. I looked at various threads about how other people started Skeeter without a fresh yeast cake to use. So I decided on kv-1116 and mixed the batch of lemon-lime skeeter for a max possible alcohol content of 18% hoping that it would end sweet.
Now, I know stopping the fermentation and back sweetening would be the real way to go, but I am a bit of a mad scientist and of the, "What is the worst that could happen if I try this?" school of thought.
So I double pitch a 3 gallon batch with kv-1116 properly hydrated and all - into 62 degree (F) and nothing happened. I used energizer and yeast nutrient as well - recommended amounts for Skeeter. A gravity check after 9 days revealed no action on the fermentation front. I was a little worried about losing the batch at this point, but it still tasted fine - so I only had danstar knotty on hand, and I wanted to get something cooking in there so no other bacteria could take over so I pitched it. I waited 4 days - again nothing on the gravity check.
At this point I would have gone back to brewing store for wine yeast and made a yeast cake with grape juice, but unfortunately they were on a two week post-xmas vacation. Other brew stores are too far.
So, I stopped at the grocery store and bought store-brand rapid-rise dry active yeast. I figured if it didn't work or work well at least I am only losing an extra $1.50. This was the thirteenth day with no fermentation action - batch still tasted fine.
I hydrated 14 grams of the baker's yeast, and pitched it. The next day there was vigorous fermentation, and it slowed a little after a day. third day it bubble every 20 seconds. The from there it bubbled slower and slower each day for a total fermentation time of a month and a half. The last 3 weeks I could only see bubbles popping at the surface (zero foam), with almost no bubble action on the air lock - but the surface bubbles were steady, until one day it just stopped.
The final gravity on the batch was .996 and it was ~ 18% alcohol, and smelled like bread, but tasted like unsweetened lemon-lime juice - no hot alcohol and very little bread flavor. I racked to secondary, because I wasn't sure about all the non-started yeast and the bread yeast, and the acidity level of the batch. I also put it in a colder part of my basement ~55 (F). It sat there until about a week ago, when I bottled it. It was kinda clear and the bread flavor and smell gone but lemon-lime taste was still strong. Two days in the back of the fridge cleared it up in the bottles. I would not drink this strait, because of how strong the lemon-lime flavor is, it is dry and the fact that it is 18% alcohol, but it makes one hell of a spritzer. It is like using a half powered liquor to mix citrus drinks for the ladies - I couldn't be happier for summertime with this stuff.
I am not exactly sure what to call it, nor do I think I could reproduce this result, but in this instance baker's yeast was all-right
Now, I know stopping the fermentation and back sweetening would be the real way to go, but I am a bit of a mad scientist and of the, "What is the worst that could happen if I try this?" school of thought.
So I double pitch a 3 gallon batch with kv-1116 properly hydrated and all - into 62 degree (F) and nothing happened. I used energizer and yeast nutrient as well - recommended amounts for Skeeter. A gravity check after 9 days revealed no action on the fermentation front. I was a little worried about losing the batch at this point, but it still tasted fine - so I only had danstar knotty on hand, and I wanted to get something cooking in there so no other bacteria could take over so I pitched it. I waited 4 days - again nothing on the gravity check.
At this point I would have gone back to brewing store for wine yeast and made a yeast cake with grape juice, but unfortunately they were on a two week post-xmas vacation. Other brew stores are too far.
So, I stopped at the grocery store and bought store-brand rapid-rise dry active yeast. I figured if it didn't work or work well at least I am only losing an extra $1.50. This was the thirteenth day with no fermentation action - batch still tasted fine.
I hydrated 14 grams of the baker's yeast, and pitched it. The next day there was vigorous fermentation, and it slowed a little after a day. third day it bubble every 20 seconds. The from there it bubbled slower and slower each day for a total fermentation time of a month and a half. The last 3 weeks I could only see bubbles popping at the surface (zero foam), with almost no bubble action on the air lock - but the surface bubbles were steady, until one day it just stopped.
The final gravity on the batch was .996 and it was ~ 18% alcohol, and smelled like bread, but tasted like unsweetened lemon-lime juice - no hot alcohol and very little bread flavor. I racked to secondary, because I wasn't sure about all the non-started yeast and the bread yeast, and the acidity level of the batch. I also put it in a colder part of my basement ~55 (F). It sat there until about a week ago, when I bottled it. It was kinda clear and the bread flavor and smell gone but lemon-lime taste was still strong. Two days in the back of the fridge cleared it up in the bottles. I would not drink this strait, because of how strong the lemon-lime flavor is, it is dry and the fact that it is 18% alcohol, but it makes one hell of a spritzer. It is like using a half powered liquor to mix citrus drinks for the ladies - I couldn't be happier for summertime with this stuff.
I am not exactly sure what to call it, nor do I think I could reproduce this result, but in this instance baker's yeast was all-right
