Over Thinking

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

I have seen about 7000 questions on skeeter pee. It won't start or do I have to have a cake and on and on and on.

It is so simple if you don't even think about reading the original.

Mix 7 lbs of sugar to 4 gallons of water.
Add 5 tsp of energizer
Add 5 tsp nutrient
Add 1 pack of any wine yeast.

After a few hrs it should be started pretty good.
I usually wait till the next morning then I add all three bottles of lemon juice or any combo of lemon and whatever juice. Top up and proceed as with any wine.

If you want to use the slurry just add the 4 gallon of water and the nutrient, energizer and yeast. Once it gets going dump all the juice in.

You do not have to stagger the juice additions if you use this method and it will be easy to start every time.

 

[brewit75]

I know this is a really old thread but, this is encouraging. I've wanted to try making Skeeter Pee for a while but all of the problems I've read about have given me 2nd thoughts. Your approach makes is sound less risky. Anyone else try it this way with success?

 

[AkTom]

Not yet. This does does sound like a good way to get it started. I have made lemon and a lime skeeter. The lime is much better with some age. If you have the space always make 5 gallons as it is gone way too fast.

 

[Vrishnak]

Going to use this method to make my first batch of Skeeter Pee.

 

[Stigmond13]

What's the volume of fruit juice you add?

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Usually it is three 32oz lemon. The last one I did I used two 32 oz lemon and one 32 oz home made cherry pie juice. Back sweeten with 5 cup of sugar. Taste great. Barely can taste the cherry and still plenty of lemon. Next time I am going to use 2 lemon and one black cherry. Also going to add a qt of black cherry when I back sweeten it.

 

[Honda88]

I'm thinking about doing skeeter pee again only this time carbonating it in my beer bottles. I think the carbonation would really compliment the lemon flavor.

 

[Vrishnak]

Used the above recipe for Skeeter Pee. Started the sugar/water and additives with yeast on the 27th. Waited till the morning of the 28th (today) to add the lemon juice. The must prior to the lemon juice was bubbling away. They did not seem the least bit concerned that 96oz of 100% lemon juice was just dumped on their heads.

 

[buMbLeB]

This needs more attention. I've been wanting to make some since I started over a year ago, but was put off by all the finicky twiddling and meddling, and warnings of how tricky it was. So I basically followed this procedure - I can post specifics if anyone's interested - pitched on Thursday, lemon on Friday and by Monday (now) I'm down to 1.010 from an initial 1.075-80. Going to crash, clear and (hopefully) carbonate, but already the tester is lemony and delicious.

Good work!

 

[brewit75]

This needs more attention. I've been wanting to make some since I started over a year ago, but was put off by all the finicky twiddling and meddling, and warnings of how tricky it was. So I basically followed this procedure - I can post specifics if anyone's interested - pitched on Thursday, lemon on Friday and by Monday (now) I'm down to 1.010 from an initial 1.075-80. Going to crash, clear and (hopefully) carbonate, but already the tester is lemony and delicious.

Good work!

Nice....yes, I'd be interested in the specifics if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.

 

[buMbLeB]

Nice....yes, I'd be interested in the specifics if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.

Happily! So Thursday I boiled 1 Imperial gallon (1.2 US gallons) water with 4 cups table sugar and cooled to warm. I dry pitched one 5g packet Lalvin EC-1118 along with 15ml (1 tablespoon) each of yeast nutrient and energizer, all into a 1gallon pickle jar covered with a clean light cloth/ rubber band. The OG was measured right at 1.080. This sat until the next day, when I could clearly see fermentation happening.

Then I realized I hadn't left any room for lemon concentrate, so I discarded 2 cups worth of must and added back the same amount of lemon - all at once, just dumped it in and gave it a stir. At first I thought I'd killed everything, then I realized the solution was now mostly opaque, and soon it was clear that everything was chugging along just fine.

I left it under the cloth cover until Sunday when I dropped my hydrometer in and got back 1.030. Next reading was Monday (yesterday) where it came back 1.010, when I racked over to a carboy and popped it in the fridge to crash, where it is now.

At 1.010 it was already a semi-dry tasting product, given that the amount of concentrate I used gave a very pronounced lemon flavour. I expect it to be somewhat less tangy once the yeast drops, and then I'll bottle in 2L soda bottles. It was still fermenting away when I crashed, and I'm hoping it'll kick up again in the bottles and self-carbonate, but we'll see.

From what I can tell from tasting the samples, I expect it to taste something like those Italian "limonatta" sodas (which I love!) with about the same prominent lemon flavour, but less sweet and more boozy. I can tell the lemon will play nice with the alcohol, and I can already see why people can get carried away with this stuff if they're not careful. OTOH it's very lemony and acidic, and this may limit how much you can put back in one sitting. It could probably stand to have used less lemon, or started from a higher OG, and that's probably on the drawing board for next time.

There will be a next time.

 

[brewit75]

Happily! So Thursday I boiled 1 Imperial gallon (1.2 US gallons) water with 4 cups table sugar and cooled to warm. I dry pitched one 5g packet Lalvin EC-1118 along with 15ml (1 tablespoon) each of yeast nutrient and energizer, all into a 1gallon pickle jar covered with a clean light cloth/ rubber band. The OG was measured right at 1.080. This sat until the next day, when I could clearly see fermentation happening.

Then I realized I hadn't left any room for lemon concentrate, so I discarded 2 cups worth of must and added back the same amount of lemon - all at once, just dumped it in and gave it a stir. At first I thought I'd killed everything, then I realized the solution was now mostly opaque, and soon it was clear that everything was chugging along just fine.

I left it under the cloth cover until Sunday when I dropped my hydrometer in and got back 1.030. Next reading was Monday (yesterday) where it came back 1.010, when I racked over to a carboy and popped it in the fridge to crash, where it is now.

At 1.010 it was already a semi-dry tasting product, given that the amount of concentrate I used gave a very pronounced lemon flavour. I expect it to be somewhat less tangy once the yeast drops, and then I'll bottle in 2L soda bottles. It was still fermenting away when I crashed, and I'm hoping it'll kick up again in the bottles and self-carbonate, but we'll see.

From what I can tell from tasting the samples, I expect it to taste something like those Italian "limonatta" sodas (which I love!) with about the same prominent lemon flavour, but less sweet and more boozy. I can tell the lemon will play nice with the alcohol, and I can already see why people can get carried away with this stuff if they're not careful. OTOH it's very lemony and acidic, and this may limit how much you can put back in one sitting. It could probably stand to have used less lemon, or started from a higher OG, and that's probably on the drawing board for next time.

There will be a next time.

Very nice and much appreciated. I didn't realize you scaled it down to a smaller batch size. I was considering doing the same but, I think I'll go the full 5 gallon batch. Maybe start it sometime in April. I'm thinking of adding the additional sugar at the end and then pasteurizing after bottling. I'd rather it be sweeter and still rather than carbed and too tart.

Thanks again for the details.

 

[buMbLeB]

Very nice and much appreciated. I didn't realize you scaled it down to a smaller batch size. I was considering doing the same but, I think I'll go the full 5 gallon batch. Maybe start it sometime in April. I'm thinking of adding the additional sugar at the end and then pasteurizing after bottling. I'd rather it be sweeter and still rather than carbed and too tart.

Thanks again for the details.

Yeah, I wasn't confident it would work (and I was short on lemon juice) so I reckoned it down for a trial run. I think you'll be fine scaling back up, this process works a treat, and it actually fermented faster than the apple cider I had running at the same time. Sweet is good too! I'm just an old sourpuss who'd gladly suck a lemon.:beard:

You're welcome to the info - hope it helps!

 

[buMbLeB]

Thanks again for the details.

Hi ho, just thought I'd come back and draw your attention to one thing - I did borderline "overpitch" the yeast by using an entire packet of ec-1118. Technically I think it says to use the whole package for anywhere between 1 - 6 gallons, but normally for any sort of 1 gallon fruit wine I'd split it in half; for my liquorice and lemon experiments I've doubled up and used the whole thing.

Not sure if I'm suggesting you use 2 packets when you scale up, but that is how the math noodles.

 

[LedBoots]

Planning on starting a 5 gallon batch of this using ec-1118. I'm wondering what might be done to reduce the acidity of the final product. Perhaps a little back sweetening with honey?

 

[buMbLeB]

Planning on starting a 5 gallon batch of this using ec-1118. I'm wondering what might be done to reduce the acidity of the final product. Perhaps a little back sweetening with honey?

Disclaimer: I've never backsweetened (I'll channel Yooper here for a moment and observe that this isn't "backsweetening" [using more of the same must to top off] but just sweetening). I don't use sulf/sorb/*s, and haven't tried pasteurizing yet. BUT I have tasted the skeeter I made, and I think honey sounds like a really good idea to take the edge off. I also should note that I used pretty much a half bottle of lemon concentrate for 1 Imperial gallon, and maybe this works out to a bit more than the ratio in the original recipe?? Maybe not, but regardless I've seen others suggest that less lemon can work very well, and so this is another way to approach your acidity conundrum.

OR you could consider upping the OG. I think it's the acid that hides the alcohol, so maybe a higher proof product (that is very lemony and acid) is what you're after? This is where I think I'm going for my next attempt.

I'll be having dinner with the SO tonight, she's a lightweight and an honest critic, so I'll bring the bottle I've been carbing for a few days - and let me tell you, that puppy is carbed! - and report back with her unbiased tasting notes for your consideration. Probably tomorrow.

 

[brewit75]

Planning on starting a 5 gallon batch of this using ec-1118. I'm wondering what might be done to reduce the acidity of the final product. Perhaps a little back sweetening with honey?

The recipe calls for a final sugar addition when it's all complete. Maybe this is for a sweeter taste and possibly to cut the acidity? Here's the final step from the Skeeter Pee recipe.

Last few steps from the Skeeter Pee Recipe on the site:
Add 1/2 tsp Kmeta, 2 1/2 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.

 

[BGHSmt7]

The sorbate will stop further fermentation. I think the kMeta works similar. The sparkolloid is for beverage clarification. That last sugar addition is for back sweetening.

 

[LedBoots]

Okay, so I started mine last night according to the direction for a 5 gallon batch. I put in a little more sugar (1 extra pound) and so far it looks well active this morning. Maybe I'm overthinking like the thread title says, but I'm concerned about the lemon juice. Every brand I looked at contained preservatives. Is that not a problem?

Edit: The whole preservative thing was driving me crazy, so I found a store nearby that carries 100% organic juice with no additives. Dumping lemon/lime (48oz each) today

 

[LedBoots]

Question: At what point, if at all, do I airlock this? After I add the juice or after I rack to secondary?

 

[buMbLeB]

So I'm back with an hour to spare, so 411: my significant digs it, she couldn't quite identify the flavour but guessed "citrus", she tasted it as "sharp", the alcohol was present but not unpleasant, and she claims she'd drink it again. I consider this a win.

My own observations: I previously noted the pronounced acidity and strong lemon flavour - this has now attenuated significantly, and is already a substantially less acid and more balanced drink. It's actually changed perceptibly overnight, and is making me rethink the need to reduce the lemon concentrate on the next batch - it's *delicious*, and almost exactly where I'd like it in terms of lemon flavour and bite. It's also certainly fermented further since I crashed at 1.010, but paradoxically has mellowed even as sugar content went down and alcohol went up. Speaking of the latter, the abv% is now very evident, but it blends really well with the lemon. Too well, perhaps.

So for those of you considering sweetening or other measures to counteract the acid, I urge caution - remember, mine is just a trial run of the new process and still quite young. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it continues to mellow over time. As it stands, I won't be reducing lemon concentrate on my next run, and my advice to others would be to let it sit a spell, then taste and sweeten to your preference, but don't be too hasty.

@LedBoots: I'm not calling what I made "skeeter pee" because I didn't really follow the recipe, but in my case I never did airlock, and went straight from a cloth barrier to cold crash. I expect when I refine the process I'd let it have air for at least the first 4 or 5 days to ensure an oxygenated fermentation (there were a lot of lees), and then lock it after than to finish off.

 

[LedBoots]

@buMbLeB Thank you. I started mine Friday evening, added the juice late Saturday morning, and she's still bubbling good today. I think I'll let her go until tomorrow or Tuesday, then rack to a carboy and airlock. Let her sit in a cool dark place for a week or so and see what comes of it.

For my recipe, I started with
4 gallons of spring water
8lbs granulated sugar
5 teaspoons each Yeast Nutrient and Energizer
1 packet Lalviin EC-1118, activated and pitched per packet instructions

Next morning, I whisked it good to decarb/aerate and added 48oz each Organic Lemon and Lime juice. Before adding the juice, I shook each bottle well to ensure they were well mixed and had a lot of bubbles.

I'm doing this in a 7gallon fermentation bucket, so I've just got the lid lying loosely on top and the airlock hole just covered with a clean cloth.

When I rack to the carboy, I'll top up with water to 5 gallons, airlock it and stash it away in my cellar.

 

[cypher2001]

My first SP started using this method. Sugar dissolved in 4gal heated water and cooled into carboy. Yeast energizer, nutrients, and yeast added. Overnight she took off. I dumped all the lemon juice and a pinch of tannin and the little guys couldnt care less.
I'm about 5 days into it perhaps some slight slowness in the airlock. I'll give it a bit more time to slow down and move it to secondary.

 

[LedBoots]

Definitely not racking today. This thing is still bubbling like crazy. The citrusy smells coming out of there are amazing

 

[LedBoots]

Well, as well as this was bubbling Monday morning, by yesterday evening it was little more than a thin layer of fine bubbles covering about half the surface.

I was a little surprised to check SG and find it still at 1.030. I guess I expected it to be lower considering how vigorous it had been working. Also, the taste is a very good lemon/lime flavor, but really no indication of alcohol at all

At any rate, I racked it to a carboy, airlocked it and set it down in my cellar. We'll see how it goes.

 

[buMbLeB]

That is curious, as I had the opposite experience and it fermented faster than anticipated. Nonetheless, I've found that visible activity and alcohol generation aren't tightly correlated, so I predict your gravity will continue to fall in the carboy.

Also, the citrus does a good job hiding the alcohol, and 1.030 is still very sweet, so there might be more there than you're tasting.

I was a little surprised to check SG and find it still at 1.030. I guess I expected it to be lower considering how vigorous it had been working. Also, the taste is a very good lemon/lime flavor, but really no indication of alcohol at all

 

[brewit75]

Why rack after only a few days? I'd keep it in the original container for 7-14 days. Unless the original container doesn't have the ability to be airlocked, I wouldn't rack any sooner than 7 days.

 

[LedBoots]

Why rack after only a few days? I'd keep it in the original container for 7-14 days. Unless the original container doesn't have the ability to be airlocked, I wouldn't rack any sooner than 7 days.

Well, I'm not really sure. Part restlessness I guess, and partly because I'm new at wine making and don't really know what I'm doing

I had to have it out of the room it was in by the end of the week anyway, and reading other experiences with this recipe, I got the impression it was generally done with primary within about 4-5 days. When I noticed how much the bubbles had decreased yesterday, I decided to just get it racked and moved. The airlock is bubbling nicely again in the carboy this evening, so all is well so far.

 

[buMbLeB]

So in the spirit of humility, I need to come back and report what might be my first ever unequivocal fermentation failure. Giddy with my previous success, I upscaled my recipe and went out on a bit of a limb. I boiled up 2 batches of water @ approx. 2.5 gallons each - the first night's had 10 black tea bags (and 3 cloves) added and brewed, then the next day I did another equal portion with 16 cups sugar, threw them together, cooled them down, then added 2 tsp each nutrient and energizer and one pack lalvin ec-1118. Left it alone until the next night when fermenting was bubbling away, added 3 bottles lemon concentrate (each one just shy of 1 litre), stirred like crazy and covered.

I killed it. Well, almost. There does seem to be some very minor activity, and I'm leaving it alone for another day or two in the hopes that the yeasties will rally, but honestly I'm not too hopeful. I'm not sure what made the difference from last time - I scaled up but the relative proportion of lemon concentrate is not much different, and I've made tea wines several times before without issue. What I didn't scale proportionally was the yeast, energizer and nutrient additions, and while the amounts I did use have always been adequate for their purpose, maybe some combination of these factors is the culprit.

I'll continue to update where warranted, for science and to help anyone out avoid pitfalls, and I'm happy to receive any theories or suggestions.

 

[LedBoots]

So in the spirit of humility, I need to come back and report what might be my first ever unequivocal fermentation failure. Giddy with my previous success, I upscaled my recipe and went out on a bit of a limb. I boiled up 2 batches of water @ approx. 2.5 gallons each - the first night's had 10 black tea bags (and 3 cloves) added and brewed, then the next day I did another equal portion with 16 cups sugar, threw them together, cooled them down, then added 2 tsp each nutrient and energizer and one pack lalvin ec-1118. Left it alone until the next night when fermenting was bubbling away, added 3 bottles lemon concentrate (each one just shy of 1 litre), stirred like crazy and covered.

I killed it. Well, almost. There does seem to be some very minor activity, and I'm leaving it alone for another day or two in the hopes that the yeasties will rally, but honestly I'm not too hopeful. I'm not sure what made the difference from last time - I scaled up but the relative proportion of lemon concentrate is not much different, and I've made tea wines several times before without issue. What I didn't scale proportionally was the yeast, energizer and nutrient additions, and while the amounts I did use have always been adequate for their purpose, maybe some combination of these factors is the culprit.

I'll continue to update where warranted, for science and to help anyone out avoid pitfalls, and I'm happy to receive any theories or suggestions.

I hope it turns around for you. I'm no expert by any stretch (heck, I barely qualify as a novice :cross: LOL) but I don't see anything there that would cause failure. Was there anything different about the lemon you used?

As far as my batch is concerned, it is still bubbling steadily since racking to the carboy and moving to the cellar. It's sitting in a dark, 59-60 degree environment, and bubbles once every 6 seconds, steady as a clock. I kind of thought it would've begun to slow down by now. I'll give it a full week from racking (this Wed) and test again to see where it's at.

 

[buMbLeB]

I hope it turns around for you. I'm no expert by any stretch (heck, I barely qualify as a novice :cross: LOL) but I don't see anything there that would cause failure. Was there anything different about the lemon you used?

Thank you for hoping for me, I think it worked! To recap - pitched Friday without lemon (OG ~1.060); added 3 ~1L Realemon concentrates Saturday, and killed it like Charlie Brown kills a Xmas tree. Sunday - Monday no visible activity aside from a spreading surface bloom of yeast/ nutrient/ energizer mush with a few embedded bubbles; Tuesday starts to show movement under the surface, a subtle flow of current that gives me hope that something lives. Wednesday (today) - kaboom! I open the bucket to behold what looks like the world's largest, foamiest latte. The pictures attached are after a vigorous stirring - I'd hoped to knock the foam back enough to take a reading, but no dice.

So my question for the learned is: what's going on here? I still don't understand what I did differently from my initial test batch - which took off immediately - but whatever happened, it seems that the yeast "stalled out" for 2-3 days, during which time they were regrouping, or adjusting, or breeding - and now they've taken off 4 days later. I'd really like to understand what processes might account for this.

As far as my batch is concerned, it is still bubbling steadily since racking to the carboy and moving to the cellar. It's sitting in a dark, 59-60 degree environment, and bubbles once every 6 seconds, steady as a clock. I kind of thought it would've begun to slow down by now. I'll give it a full week from racking (this Wed) and test again to see where it's at.

In the spirit of rehabilitating my ego, I'd like to point out that I called it!

 

[LedBoots]

In the spirit of rehabilitating my ego, I'd like to point out that I called it!

Indeed you did Glad to hear your batch has recovered.

Funny thing happened when checking mine last night. So, I pipe some out into my test cylinder, drop my hydro in there and give it a spin. As it's slowing down, I can see it's right at 1.010. Since my reading when I racked was around 1.030, I think to myself, "Alright, it's still making progress".

I take a small sample out to taste, leaving the hydro to settle in. The taste is good. Lemony Limey with good tartness. Still taste a little sugar present, but not much. I can't discern any alcohol flavor. It almost tastes like a virgin Margarita.

Then comes the funny part. After taking a few sips and savoring the sample, I look over at my hydrometer, and it's sitting at 1.026. I honestly had to shake my head. I know it was at 1.010 originally. So I do it again with another sample. This time being very careful not to do anything to artificially influence the hydrometer. It settles down to 1.010 again. Now, I'm scratching my head, and I'm staring at it to verify what I'm reading, and suddenly it SLOWLY starts creeping up. 1.012, 1.016, 1.018, 1.020...this time all the way back up to 1.032 It looked like some mysterious force was slowly pushing the hydrometer up out of the liquid. I've never seen anything like it. It probably would've kept going if I hadn't grabbed it out of amazement.

So, I started to wonder, do hydrometers go bad? Mine came with a homebrew beer kit I bought about 20 years ago, and it's been banged around a bit. I don't see any obvious cracks in the glass, but I do see some tiny flecks of whatever the glue or rubber substance is that keeps the little pellets in the bottom, stuck to the insides of the tube. Regardless, I think I'll be buying a new one this weekend. Oh well, at least the wine tastes good

I shook and stirred best I could to degas a bit, and put the airlock back on. It's back to bubbling, albeit a tad slower (bubble every 7-8 count).

 

[brewit75]

Maybe do a calibration of your hydrometer. Put it in straight water and see if it's close to 1.000 as a quick check. Or, was there any carbonation that may be causing it to rise? The slightest fizz in the liquid will keep it floating higher.

 

[Ho0sier-9]

I know this is a really old thread but, this is encouraging. I've wanted to try making Skeeter Pee for a while but all of the problems I've read about have given me 2nd thoughts. Your approach makes is sound less risky. Anyone else try it this way with success?

First: Thanks to OogaBooga fpr posting this process
Second: Thanks to Brewit75 for reviving the thread.

I have been wanting to make Skeeter Pee. however all of the "fiddling & issues" made me nervous.
It makes sense to do a big start of yeast before pitching the lemon juice.
The same destination, just going on different roads.

started this yesterday evening @ 7pm. checked it real quick this morning there was some bubbling going. I will probably add the lemon juice when i get home from work tonight.

 

[LedBoots]

Maybe do a calibration of your hydrometer. Put it in straight water and see if it's close to 1.000 as a quick check. Or, was there any carbonation that may be causing it to rise? The slightest fizz in the liquid will keep it floating higher.

Well, checked it last night in water and it sat dead still at 1.000

I guess it was residual carbonation. I don't recall it really being fizzy, though that could just be my lack of experience/education with this. The carboy did get about a 2 inch head of bubbles when I stirred it up to degas, so I guess that was it.

 

[brewit75]

Well, checked it last night in water and it sat dead still at 1.000

I guess it was residual carbonation. I don't recall it really being fizzy, though that could just be my lack of experience/education with this. The carboy did get about a 2 inch head of bubbles when I stirred it up to degas, so I guess that was it.

Hey, at least you know your hydro is accurate.

 

[Ho0sier-9]

I checked the air lock last night. it was bubbling but I didn't think it was going "hard" enough. Thought I would wait. I ended up putting Lemon Juice in this morning. Within the hour between adding lemon juice and right before I left for work it was bubbling about every 10 -15 seconds.
I got home early today and checked the airlock again. It is going about every 2-3 seconds.
if this goes as good as it looks. it will be ready for a "fun" fishing tournament that Mgmt and I fish on May 19 & 20. There will be 60 - 100 people there. I am already planning on taking at least a case of the Caramel Apple wine. Might have to take some of this too

 

[LedBoots]

Tested mine again last night, this time making sure to get all the carbonation out of it. It's reading right at 1.006 now. Flavor is VERY tart, but still can't really taste any alcohol. I guess it's in there since it's still bubbling along, but it just tastes like lemon/lime juice to me. Airlock still bubbling once every 8-10 seconds.

 

[Ho0sier-9]

Checked mine again last night.
1.000 but the occasional bubble in the air lock. so going to transfer to secondary probably Sunday.
smells great. haven't done a taste test yet, afraid I will have too much....lol

 

[LedBoots]

Haven't updated since I bottled mine, so I thought I'd post my last few observations:

1) I think I had some wild yeast going in mine. It would not stop bubbling and the SG was not changing. I let it go two full weeks and it was still bubbling steadily (once every 10 count). The odd thing for me was there were no odd flavors or smells. Maybe that's normal, I don't know.

After 4 days of consistent SG readings with 0 change, I decided to stop it. I added K-Meta and K-Sorbate to stop and stabilize it, back sweetened it a bit to cut some of the tartness, and Kleered it. It looks and smells amazing. Crystal clear.

2) I have no idea what the alcohol level might be at this point. It smells like wine (it actually smells real good) and it has a good, wine flavor (slightly tart, slightly dry, semi-sweet) but I struggle to detect much alcohol in it. It does taste good, though...and I know I'll drink it I am actually anxious to see how it improves over time.

I'll try to post a pic of the bottled product tonight if I find the time. At any rate, I thought it was a good learning experience, and I'm anxious to move on to my next recipe. I found a berry wine recipe on YouTube called Panty Dropper that looked pretty good.