a very effective way to "start" skeeter pee

[Daze]

If you want it to taste similar you would need to zest some of the lemons. RealLemon has lemon oil in it which comes from the zest.

 

[JonM]

Started my first ever batch of SP on Sunday night following the instructions in this post and it is ROCKING tonight! Thanks for all the advice!

 

[JonM]

Awesome! I started My first batch of skeeter pee with this method and it was down to 1.000 last night.

 

[Daze]

Awesome! I started My first batch of skeeter pee with this method and it was down to 1.000 last night.

Mine was rocking way fast too. I also noticed more lees, in mine did you have the same amount as normal or more???

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Why would you not just ferment the sugar water, stabilize it then add the lemon juice for flavor and sugar to sweeten? I actually did this but rather than lemon juice I used the fermented water to make 5 gallons of orange kool aid.. It lasted NO TIME. Same sugar and yeast nutrient.. invert the sugar everythng just like the skeeter pee recipe but no lemon juice..when it is fermented dry..stabilize it and add the kool aid and the sugar. It was great...why not the same with the skeeter pee?

 

[JonM]

Mine was rocking way fast too. I also noticed more lees, in mine did you have the same amount as normal or more???

There is a ton of lees, but I figure that'll be an awesome starter for my next batch of skeeter pee.

 

[Daze]

There is a ton of lees, but I figure that'll be an awesome starter for my next batch of skeeter pee.

My guess is this way of doing it, not only makes the process much lower stress for the yeast but also gets them in to a reproducing frenzy. Mine is not quite done but when it finishes I will wash the yeast and create 2 or 3 starters and then the next batch will be started the same way.

 

[Daze]

Why would you not just ferment the sugar water, stabilize it then add the lemon juice for flavor and sugar to sweeten?

It is an interesting idea, but at that point why ferment at all?? water, sugar, Reallemon, and everclear should have a similar result. I am not trying to be a jerk, just illustrate that skeeterpee is fermented lemon juice and sugar and if you change up that concept at some point it quits being skeeterpee and becomes something else all together. There is nothing wrong with the technique you have described just as there is nothing wrong with the everclear method I just mentioned. All three was of doing it are producing basically the same result alcohol and lemon. However, I would be willing to bet that all three would have a slightly different taste. Fermenting the lemon juice as the skeeterpee recipe calls for is probably going to produce a more integrated flavor profile. Where as the other two ways of doing it would probably result in a beverage with two distinct and not fully blended flavors, lemon and alcohol.

 

[JonM]

I think someone on HBT tried that exact thing and reported that the results were lousy.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I think someone on HBT tried that exact thing and reported that the results were lousy.

good to know...saved me a wasted batch

 

[Daze]

There is a ton of lees, but I figure that'll be an awesome starter for my next batch of skeeter pee.

UPDATE

Just washed my skeeterpee cake today after racking the brew to a new carboy and most of the lees was dead. I know that because most of the sediment that I had originally seen in the carboy settled out after 20 minutes when I suspended it in the cold sterol water used to wash the yeast. Turned out I got about the same amount of viable yeast remaining is suspension as I normally get from a 1 gallon batch of something other than skeeterpee. I am assuming the high acidity caused the individual yeast to have a shorter life span, and that they kept reproducing to replace their faller brethren. May not be true but at least that theory would explain all the sediment, and it sounds good

 

[D_Nyholm]

Oh no! I started my first batch (created starter last night and am waiting 48 hours to pitch) but I was hoping to start a new batch on the old yeast cake after 1 week or so. Doesn't sound that promising if that is the case!

 

[Daze]

should work just fine. Like I said I got as much as I would get out of a normal gallon of wine, so it would be no different than starting it on a cake from another win, except the SP cake will be more adapted to the higher acid.

 

[D_Nyholm]

should work just fine. Like I said I got as much as I would get out of a normal gallon of wine, so it would be no different than starting it on a cake from another win, except the SP cake will be more adapted to the higher acid.

Ahh, sounds good then. Ill give it a shot and see how it turns out. Worst case i can just pitch another packet of dry yeast into it to get it fermenting again.

 

[Daze]

rather than just pitching or letting the starter get going for a few days, it is better to do it the way I outlined at the beginning of this thread.

 

[JonM]

I'm in the middle of a batch that I pitched on the yeast cake from my last batch of skeeter pee.

I made it on Sunday and had little, if any, activity. Now on Thursday there's lots of bubbling and everything looks right.

That was a bit of a surprise because, when I put beer on an old yeast cake, I have bubbling in a couple hours and vigorous fermentation in less than 12. I guess wine yeast and skeeter pee take their time. But, everything looks good now!

 

[D_Nyholm]

Well, I started mine on Sunday with the starter method and 2 packs of 1118 and it was fermenting like crazy in the growler. Added half of the growler to my must and added more must to the growler. That.started going well and the main fermenters had some krausen on the top. Dumped the rest of the starter in on Wednesday and so far nothing is happening. I stirred it up like crazy and there was plenty of carbonation coming out of the must, so I assume something is happening, but the gravity has only dropped 2-4 points since then. Going to see what happens by next week, hopefully it starts going by then and I won't have to make another starter. Surely smells bad though. Not rhino farts bad, but just like something is fermenting/rotting.

 

[fannypack]

question for ya daze.. (or anyone else with an answer)

ive had my starter going since last night as per your instructions.. added a bit of the SP must a few hours ago.. how active should i wait for the starter to be before i add more SP.. or add it to the SP batch itself? the apple start had a decent little krausen and was rising and falling, obvious activity.. so what do i look for now?

 

[Daze]

after you add to the starter or pore some in to the must and then add more you need to weight until the activity gets back up to where it was before you added and/or took away. make sense??

 

[fannypack]

yeah it does.. the thing thats tough for me is that ive never done a wine or anything other than beer so the activity is very different looking than what im used to. i see tiny bubbles rising to the top.. which i know is a good thing.. but at what bubbling point should i feel okay about adding more must or adding to the must? should i be looking for a foam of any sort?

 

[Daze]

A steady stream of bubbles is what you are looking for.

 

[A50SNAKE]

hey Daze or anyone else...when you use the sparkaloid and agents to clear, how long does it usually take to clear?

Mines been sitting since Apr 2nd and its still looking kinda cloudy, but lots of cake in the bottom of the carboy, like up to the first "ring", seems like allot, but by the looks of the cloudiness, there's lots more to fall still.

TIA.

 

[Daze]

I would not use a fining agent. simply rack it in to another carboy and let it clear on its own.

 

[A50SNAKE]

I would not use a fining agent. simply rack it in to another carboy and let it clear on its own.

Oh ya? & just keep doing that when there's a certain amount of lees on the bottom? Or until it's very clear?

Also, mined about a gallon shy from the neck of my carboy, should I add more water or is that ok?

Thanks

 

[Daze]

if it is no longer out gassing you ned to make sure there is little to no air exposure. I would transfer to smaller carboys.

 

[A50SNAKE]

there is an airlock on the top of my carboy @ all times, is that not limiting/stopping the air exposure?
sorry if that's a dumb question, been making wine for years, but just recently found this site, so possibly I've been not exactly doing things the "right" way... thanks soo much for your help.

 

[Daze]

air exposure is surface air not fresh air. It is not a big deal to have a half filled carboy when it is gassing as the air in the space is co2 but once the gas is out the wine will be gin to oxidize. the more air in contact with the wine the more oxidization.

 

[A50SNAKE]

ok, gotcha now... perfect...well, not for my SP, LOL....but I'll have to try to figure something out then...as I have whipped it and whipped it good...going to try to use a my food saver tomorrow night to suck out the rest of the co2.

I only have the large 23L carboys, and a smaller 1/2 batch (I used for ice wines and late harvests) and 3 1L carboys, two of which are in use now for some of yoopers welch's wines...I'll have to try to figure something out to get the SP into smaller containers with less head space...thanks for your help once again...

 

[A50SNAKE]

oh, also is there a sign or something to look for to tell if my SP has gotten oxidized?

thanks,

 

[Daze]

oh, also is there a sign or something to look for to tell if my SP has gotten oxidized?

thanks,

sure is, it tastes really bad. You know that taste you get when a bottle of wine that has been opened has been in the fridge to long?? that is the taste of oxidization.