Skeeter Pee

[edmanster]

Well... I finally got to mine and racked into secondary.. I'm not going to use anything for clearing on it because it looked clear as it is.. I'm going to backsweeten with a alcohol sugar and force carb in a keg.. My FG was at .996

 

[nyer]

I did mine to a 1.056 SG to dry and put it on tap. Sugar back up from 1.000 to 1.014 gave me what i was looking for. Some may like it sweeter. I carbed it and served off draft and it is great.


Sorbate cannot stop an active fermentation.

you need to:

1. Cold crash 24/48 hours (or more if ferment lingers on)
2. sorbate, sweeten and sulfite - in that order.

Do you know approx. how much sugar you used to get to 1.014?

 

[lalnx]

Do you know approx. how much sugar you used to get to 1.014?

That was Cidah's post, but I come up with about 5 oz per gallon if 16 oz per gallon nets you 46 gravity points

 

[nyer]

That was Cidah's post, but I come up with about 5 oz per gallon if 16 oz per gallon nets you 46 gravity points

Thank you.

 

[CidahMastah]

Thank you.

and be sure to taste it before you sulphite. When you add sulphites it will taste a little funny for a day or two, then it will not be noticeable.

Remember carbonation will give it some more acidity - so keep that in mind when sweetening.

Please post what FG you end up with when you have it sweetened to your palate.

 

[edmanster]

thought i would show my growler full from the extra half gallon left in primary after racking.. going to backsweeten with Xylitol as soon as i have a empyt keg and forcr carb.. this is the bottom so you can see i dont need to use anything to help in clearing..

 

[edmanster]

Was messing around with the extra pee I have and sweetened it up to what was just right for me before force carbing and did a hydro sample and it looks like I want my gravity at 1.010-1.012 with the xylitol... That's at 1.5-2 lbs..

 

[CidahMastah]

Cool - I always skip the clearing agents - all my wines/brews seem to clear just fine on their own. I did a skeeter pee 1.020-1.022 for back sweetening and my wife loves it. I still like it a little dryer, but she can't get enough.

and between - tested and approved for lawnmower use!

 

[edmanster]

This is indeed going to be the summertime panty dropper thinking I better get another batch going but do a strawberry lemon this time... Thinking just a strawberry concentrate or maybe racking onto fresh/frozen.. What ya think?

 

[dinnerstick]

nice mountains
i am also thinking about some fresh strawberries, sliced, frozen, in a nylon bag in primary. i have never fermented with strawberries before so if anyone has advice... should i wait until fermentation subsides or get them in early? i wasn't planning racking this stuff

 

[Vxjester]

This is indeed going to be the summertime panty dropper thinking I better get another batch going but do a strawberry lemon this time... Thinking just a strawberry concentrate or maybe racking onto fresh/frozen.. What ya think?

I was thinking the same thing. But I was going to put frozen strawberries in the secondary. Mostly for a stronger flavor. I just bottled my first batch of sp with d-47. It turned out a lot drier then I thought. So I back sweetened to 1.014. It's still kind of sour if the sp is warm. But ice cold it goes down great.

 

[Captive]

nice mountains
i am also thinking about some fresh strawberries, sliced, frozen, in a nylon bag in primary. i have never fermented with strawberries before so if anyone has advice... should i wait until fermentation subsides or get them in early? i wasn't planning racking this stuff

The one thing I've learned about strawberries is that you shouldn't leave the fruit in there too long. Those tiny seeds have a bitterness that will leach into the wine. I would add it now and remove the bag after 3 days. Hopefully your bag has a tight weave that will contain the seeds.

 

[CidahMastah]

This is indeed going to be the summertime panty dropper thinking I better get another batch going but do a strawberry lemon this time... Thinking just a strawberry concentrate or maybe racking onto fresh/frozen.. What ya think?

I would add them at bottling time. You will notice when you add fresh berries it will taste awesome for the first 2-3 weeks, then it tapers off into more of a berry flavor - you will be able to tell what fruit it is but the flavor is less discernible.

Do something like two 12oz packs of frozen strawberries (thawed) in a muslin and mush it up and integrate it for like 10-15 minutes or less (whatever it takes). I do that with my raspberry draft cider.

The seeds will fall through to some degree, but if you are kegging they will come out with some minor fruit pulp in the first 3-4 pints. If you can get past the seeds and a little particulate it will taste like a mouthfull of fresh strawberries. After that it will drop out and you will have a clear (reddiah pinkish) beverage.

 

[nyer]

and be sure to taste it before you sulphite. When you add sulphites it will taste a little funny for a day or two, then it will not be noticeable.

Remember carbonation will give it some more acidity - so keep that in mind when sweetening.

Please post what FG you end up with when you have it sweetened to your palate.

I dissolved 20 oz. of sugar in hot water and was only able to add about half because my keg was so full. I checked the gravity and it was at 1.020. I'm not sure if I shook it enough to mix it though. It tasted fairly sweet to me and I have to say I don't really care for it. I left it in the fridge on gas and tried it again last night and it's not carbing up like I would like and I still don't think I'm going to like it. I'm letting it sit till the weekend so I can try it again.

 

[CidahMastah]

I dissolved 20 oz. of sugar in hot water and was only able to add about half because my keg was so full. I checked the gravity and it was at 1.020. I'm not sure if I shook it enough to mix it though. It tasted fairly sweet to me and I have to say I don't really care for it. I left it in the fridge on gas and tried it again last night and it's not carbing up like I would like and I still don't think I'm going to like it. I'm letting it sit till the weekend so I can try it again.

Let it get nice and carbed, like 13psi balanced with your kegs nice and cold. I bet it will round out more to your liking. I prefer like 1.014, but I have to say the 1.020/1.022 one i did for my wife is carbed up fully now and I won't be pushing the glass away now that it is carbed. It definitely took the sweet down.

Hopefully that sugar is all mixed in at 1.020 and you don't have a bunch at the bottom that will bring you up higher. When you tried it, were you dispensing it off the keg? You might have been pulling up undissolved sugar on the bottom.

If you are still too sweet, you could add in lemon (unless there is too much lemon or sour for your taste). Last ditch option is, siphon some off the keg and add in some water (little at a time). A little goes a long way.

 

[newbrew77]

I made a batch pretty quick (I was impatient) and it seems VERY acidic to me. Almost like it will give you some serious heartburn. I did use a generic lemon juice but am not sure if that is normal from skeeter pee.

 

[Reaver]

newbrew... I have gotten that feedback from another individual who was susceptible to heartburn... but personally I've not had any issues with it. It doesn't seem acidic to me once it is fermented out.
Has anyone taken a PH reading off the finished product?

 

[CidahMastah]

I made a batch pretty quick (I was impatient) and it seems VERY acidic to me. Almost like it will give you some serious heartburn. I did use a generic lemon juice but am not sure if that is normal from skeeter pee.

Sugar will help balance the acid. you could always add more water to dilute the acid if you batch is too much, or let it mellow and bulk condition for several months or more to take the edge off.

It is a lemon beverage, lemons are acidic. That said, my batches aren't overly acidic - they taste like a lemonade made out of real lemon concentrate.

 

[nyer]

Let it get nice and carbed, like 13psi balanced with your kegs nice and cold. I bet it will round out more to your liking. I prefer like 1.014, but I have to say the 1.020/1.022 one i did for my wife is carbed up fully now and I won't be pushing the glass away now that it is carbed. It definitely took the sweet down.

Hopefully that sugar is all mixed in at 1.020 and you don't have a bunch at the bottom that will bring you up higher. When you tried it, were you dispensing it off the keg? You might have been pulling up undissolved sugar on the bottom.

If you are still too sweet, you could add in lemon (unless there is too much lemon or sour for your taste). Last ditch option is, siphon some off the keg and add in some water (little at a time). A little goes a long way.

I wondered if it was stirred well enough and I may have sucked out lots of sugar on my first sample. I force carbed it and then stuck it in the fridge on gas at 20 psi for 2 days then dropped to 12 psi for almost a week and it still didn't seem that carbonated. I plan to try it again tonight and I will check the gravity again.

 

[CidahMastah]

I must have deleted this post - or posted it somewhere else

but I had the same issue with these two batches regarding the carbing. I put an uncarbed hefe and a skeeter pee in at 60 psi for 36-48hours. The hefe was pretty much ready and carbed up 100% - the pee had no carb.

I think this might have something to do with degassing or similar. I didn't ahve this issue on my first skeeter pee when i let it sit in the fermenter for 1.5 months. However the two batches that I cardbe at say maybe 10-14 days old are taking way longer to carb.

 

[dinnerstick]

it's a real pain for people outside the (otherwise modern) country of the us to follow recipes that don't use the metric system. the skeeter pee recipe, and i thank the originator for the lovely website, for example gives the amount of sugar in pounds and cups, juice is in 32 oz bottles, etc. and i am trying to convert a 5 gallon recipe into 5 liters. in the rest of the world there is an exquisite measurement system where everything is divisible by 10!! try it; i'm not saying quarts and fathoms are bad, they are just not easy to use. what is a tenth of a pint? who the hell knows. the exception is the foot, which although having something broken into units of 12 is preposterous, it is a better size for practical human usage than the meter, which is slightly too big. the reason i embark on this bitter rant is not to vent my frustration... no wait- it definitely is partly that, but also because i converted the original skeeter pee recipe to metric, for a 5L size (now i really i hope my math is correct! but i just mixed it up and the gravity was bang on 1.070) which can be scaled up easily. i stuck with rough estimates of the stuff measured in tsp (except K-meta) since it is easy enough to estimate 1/4 tsp if you have a 1/2 tsp measure. the rest of the recipe is basically copied from the website but without the explanations. here it is

Skeeter Pee in the 21st century: 5 L batch:

760 ml lemon juice
835 g sugar
1/4 tsp tannin
1.5 tsp yeast nutrient (3/4 now, 3/4 later)
1/2 tsp yeast energizer (1/4 now, 1/4 later)
4.5 L water
Yeast Slurry
K-Metabisulfite
K-Sorbate
Clearing agent (sparkolloid)
260 g sugar to backsweeten

Add 835 g sugar to 500 ml water and 20 ml lemon juice in a pot, heat to just below boiling, stir to dissolve, and keep at this temperature for 30 minutes. allow to cool slightly and add to primary with 500 ml lemon juice, 1/4 tsp tannin, 3/4 tsp yeast nutrient 1/4 tsp yeast energizer, and water to bring it to 5L. Take a gravity reading which should be 1.070. Whip vigorously to aerate, cover with a towel and leave it 24-48 hours.
Whip again to aerate and add the slurry from a previous batch of wine. Keep it warm (22-26) and fermentation should be active within a couple of days. Whip to aerate if it is proceeding slowly.
When gravity is around 1.050, add the remainder of the yeast nutrient, energizer, and lemon juice, mix vigorously. In a few days, rack to a clean carboy.
Ferment dry (0.995-0.998), rack to a clean carboy, and degas. Add K-meta (1/10 of a teaspoon, or 0.6 grams; see below) and 1/2 tsp K-Sorbate, and follow the directions for your clearing agent. After two weeks, rack to a clean carboy, add 260 g sugar, stir to dissolve, wait two weeks to be sure no new fermentation begins, and bottle.

K-meta: Use serial dilution to add 1/10 tsp: for example dissolve 1 tsp in 100 mls of water and add 10 ml of this solution.

 

[CidahMastah]

it's a real pain for people outside the (otherwise modern) country of the us to follow recipes that don't use the metric system. the skeeter pee recipe, and i thank the originator for the lovely website, for example gives the amount of sugar in pounds and cups, juice is in 32 oz bottles, etc. and i am trying to convert a 5 gallon recipe into 5 liters. in the rest of the world there is an exquisite measurement system where everything is divisible by 10!! try it; i'm not saying quarts and fathoms are bad, they are just not easy to use. what is a tenth of a pint? who the hell knows. the exception is the foot, which although having something broken into units of 12 is preposterous, it is a better size for practical human usage than the meter, which is slightly too big. the reason i embark on this bitter rant is not to vent my frustration... no wait- it definitely is partly that, but also because i converted the original skeeter pee recipe to metric, for a 5L size (now i really i hope my math is correct! but i just mixed it up and the gravity was bang on 1.070) which can be scaled up easily. i stuck with rough estimates of the stuff measured in tsp (except K-meta) since it is easy enough to estimate 1/4 tsp if you have a 1/2 tsp measure. the rest of the recipe is basically copied from the website but without the explanations. here it is

Skeeter Pee in the 21st century: 5 L batch:

760 ml lemon juice
835 g sugar
1/4 tsp tannin
1.5 tsp yeast nutrient (3/4 now, 3/4 later)
1/2 tsp yeast energizer (1/4 now, 1/4 later)
4.5 L water
Yeast Slurry
K-Metabisulfite
K-Sorbate
Clearing agent (sparkolloid)
260 g sugar to backsweeten

Add 835 g sugar to 500 ml water and 20 ml lemon juice in a pot, heat to just below boiling, stir to dissolve, and keep at this temperature for 30 minutes. allow to cool slightly and add to primary with 500 ml lemon juice, 1/4 tsp tannin, 3/4 tsp yeast nutrient 1/4 tsp yeast energizer, and water to bring it to 5L. Take a gravity reading which should be 1.070. Whip vigorously to aerate, cover with a towel and leave it 24-48 hours.
Whip again to aerate and add the slurry from a previous batch of wine. Keep it warm (22-26) and fermentation should be active within a couple of days. Whip to aerate if it is proceeding slowly.
When gravity is around 1.050, add the remainder of the yeast nutrient, energizer, and lemon juice, mix vigorously. In a few days, rack to a clean carboy.
Ferment dry (0.995-0.998), rack to a clean carboy, and degas. Add K-meta (1/10 of a teaspoon, or 0.6 grams; see below) and 1/2 tsp K-Sorbate, and follow the directions for your clearing agent. After two weeks, rack to a clean carboy, add 260 g sugar, stir to dissolve, wait two weeks to be sure no new fermentation begins, and bottle.

K-meta: Use serial dilution to add 1/10 tsp: for example dissolve 1 tsp in 100 mls of water and add 10 ml of this solution.

I understand your frustration, but ever hear of google? You can convert that recipe in about 2 seconds.

 

[dinnerstick]

well, yes and no- you can convert each individual ingredient in 2 seconds, and then divide it by 3.8 to change to 5L, and then do the rest of the list the same way. i'm not suggesting it's calculus, it's just dull and now that it's done the next guy doesn't have to bother
now i hope that 1. it lives up to expectations, and 2. there is an actual summer in this soggy country

 

[CidahMastah]

well, yes and no- you can convert each individual ingredient in 2 seconds, and then divide it by 3.8 to change to 5L, and then do the rest of the list the same way. i'm not suggesting it's calculus, it's just dull and now that it's done the next guy doesn't have to bother
now i hope that 1. it lives up to expectations, and 2. there is an actual summer in this soggy country

I am not getting down on you. Everybody has to vent every once in a while.

Enjoy the upcoming weekend


As a side note - I bet beersmith or would be able to do the conversions quickly - do you have that? I know for the beer stuff you can put in any units, then change the units to metric and back with a few clicks.

I also agree that metric works well for a lot of things. Unfortunately, there is just so much out there that is still done in the English system that a switch would be painful.

 

[nyer]

I must have deleted this post - or posted it somewhere else

but I had the same issue with these two batches regarding the carbing. I put an uncarbed hefe and a skeeter pee in at 60 psi for 36-48hours. The hefe was pretty much ready and carbed up 100% - the pee had no carb.

I think this might have something to do with degassing or similar. I didn't ahve this issue on my first skeeter pee when i let it sit in the fermenter for 1.5 months. However the two batches that I cardbe at say maybe 10-14 days old are taking way longer to carb.

I checked my pee and I definately need to recheck it again. The sample I checked was still bubbling and it was 48 degrees but the gravity was only 1.010. I obviously didn't shake or stir enough when I added the sugar. It still has less carbonation at 15 psi than my beer at 11 psi. I poured another sample to let it warm up and hopefully decarb before I test again but I'm definately low on sugar. It also smells yeasty even though it pours clear. I noticed that same smell when I made edworts apfelwein and I think thats what I didn't like about it.

 

[CidahMastah]

I checked my pee and I definately need to recheck it again. The sample I checked was still bubbling and it was 48 degrees but the gravity was only 1.010. I obviously didn't shake or stir enough when I added the sugar. It still has less carbonation at 15 psi than my beer at 11 psi. I poured another sample to let it warm up and hopefully decarb before I test again but I'm definately low on sugar. It also smells yeasty even though it pours clear. I noticed that same smell when I made edworts apfelwein and I think thats what I didn't like about it.

The carb will catch up - trust me . I am now at day 3-4 with 60 psi and barely noticeable carb.

Next time you might want to try mixing in a bucket first - so you can get a good mix of the sugar.

The yeasty smell will go away - just a sign of it being young and green. You can also encourage its exodus by leaving it under airlock and letting it condition for a few weeks, but the CO2 will scrub it as well.

also - just thought - be sure to compensate for temperature on your gravity reading. I am sure your pee was colder than 68F or so. That will through your gravity reading off. I don't have the numbers on hand, but it should be slightly higher of a reading (than actual) the colder it is, lower of a reading (than actual) the warmer it is.

 

[nyer]

The carb will catch up - trust me . I am now at day 3-4 with 60 psi and barely noticeable carb.

Next time you might want to try mixing in a bucket first - so you can get a good mix of the sugar.

The yeasty smell will go away - just a sign of it being young and green. You can also encourage its exodus by leaving it under airlock and letting it condition for a few weeks, but the CO2 will scrub it as well.

also - just thought - be sure to compensate for temperature on your gravity reading. I am sure your pee was colder than 68F or so. That will through your gravity reading off. I don't have the numbers on hand, but it should be slightly higher of a reading (than actual) the colder it is, lower of a reading (than actual) the warmer it is.

My reading was definately off because it was 48 when I checked it and full of CO2. I was letting it warm up but couldn't wait any longer so I checked it anyway. I have a sample warming up now that I will check later.

 

[nyer]

I checked it again at the proper temp. and I'm only at 1.007. I added more sugar water and shook the heck out of it. I guess I'll be checking it again later.

 

[CidahMastah]

I checked it again at the proper temp. and I'm only at 1.007. I added more sugar water and shook the heck out of it. I guess I'll be checking it again later.

Well at least now you have a starting block Just keep in mind that your sugar may have a harder time going into solution at a lower temp (watch for the first few glasses to be sweet, and the follow up to be tart).

 

[nyer]

Well at least now you have a starting block Just keep in mind that your sugar may have a harder time going into solution at a lower temp (watch for the first few glasses to be sweet, and the follow up to be tart).

I'm going to shake it up real good again in a little while.

 

[Colesrt8]

Has anybody tried this with grapefruit juice freshly juiced or concentrates? Almost as acidic I would have to guess

 

[jimmayhugh]

Racked mine to a secondary yesterday, and tried a glass mixed with Pama Pomegranate Liqueur.

Tasty! :rockin:

 

[dinnerstick]

is this stuff supposed to be slow to get going? 24 hours after adding slurry (champagne yeast from a rhubarb wine) it was as foamy as shampoo in a blender, and after 48 hours it is 1.019 (from 1.070)!

 

[Captive]

Under the right conditions, it can be very quick. It does vary between makers because of the variance of juice, yeast, temperature, yeast condition, recipe alterations, etc.

 

[Colesrt8]

Ok on the skeeter pee web site it says in the FAQ's that if you dont have a yeast cake on hand you can make a starter batch of fermentables, with fresh or frozen fruit, thaw it, puree it? And/or add sugar and the yeast and let it sit for a day or two? Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[CidahMastah]

Colesrt8 - if you read this thread many people have had success pitching 2 packets of dry yeast instead of going from a yeast cake. Take a look back through this thread and it is explained.

 

[Colesrt8]

Cool thanks, guess I just need to finish reading all of it and quit being lazy haha, but was wanting to try it for different flavor comninations too.

 

[Colesrt8]

Opps combinations, my bad

 

[rycov]

i'm thinking about giving this a shot. i do have just a few questions. i don't make wine, so would the yeast cake from a belgian wit be ok? also i don't have K-meta or sorbate or any of that, but i plan on kegging. so if i ferment this dry and then backsweeten and keg imediately (and keep it really cold) does anyone see this being an issue? shouldn't the cold temps keep it from fermenting further?

 

[CidahMastah]

i'm thinking about giving this a shot. i do have just a few questions. i don't make wine, so would the yeast cake from a belgian wit be ok? also i don't have K-meta or sorbate or any of that, but i plan on kegging. so if i ferment this dry and then backsweeten and keg imediately (and keep it really cold) does anyone see this being an issue? shouldn't the cold temps keep it from fermenting further?

I would say yes to all but you last question. While you are probably safe, a belgian wits yeast will linger around in your pee. While not a problem, if you ever bottle any or give to friends and it warms up watch out.

You can try your luck and it will probably be fine. Unless you have something against those additives I would recc that you use them. Otherwise camden and sorbate will run you like $5 total for the small containers and last you tons of batches. The stuff is cheap.