Skeeter pee fermenting slow, but not stuck (yet)...

[damdaman]

So I brewed some skeeter pee on 4/22. I pitched the slurry from a 3gal apfelwein that I was transferring to secondary. It took off fast and was down from 1070 to 1050 after 2 days.

I followed the directions and added the last lemon juice, yeast nutrient and o2 at this point (I didn't have any yeast energizer). The pee didn't move at all for about a week, it was still at 1050.

So at this point I racked the same apfelwein again and added the additional slurry that had settled to the bottom - there appeared to be plenty of creamy white yeast in this slurry.

The pee started fermenting again, but slowly. Right now it's about 6 days since I added the second yeast slurry, and it is now down to 1036. I'm getting airlock bubbles but very slowly.

My question is do you guys think it will ferment out dry and I should just let it ferment slow, or is it likely to get completely stuck soon? I was considering pitching some fresh yeast from a packet in there.

Also, since I didn't use energizer (but I did use the prescribed amount of nutrient), would there be any benefit to running out and getting some at this point and adding it now?

Thanks for guidance!

 

[stujol]

I don't think adding energizer would have adverse affect so I would try it. What are your temps? and what yeast did you use ?

 

[damdaman]

About 76* on average I would say. Pasteur champagne yeast.

 

[damdaman]

Well I guess I'm going to add some fresh yeast today. I put it in some apple juice and a little lemon juice to start it. I'm going to pitch it with a little more nutrient + a whipping for o2, then pick up some energizer tomorrow and add that.

There is a slight rotten egg smell developing so the yeast is definitely struggling.

 

[NineMilBill]

Keep stirring that bad boy. Don't know if you did that every day in the first week, but that'll help prevent the rotten egg smell.

 

[damdaman]

Yeah thanks, I haven't done that because I was following the original recipe from the skeeter pee website, but I've been reading some of the threads on skeeter pee here and learning a bit.

The good news is that I whipped and stirred it yesterday, and added some fresh yeast + apple juice + nutrient, and it's bubbling much faster today. I think it's going to be ok.

 

[damdaman]

Down to 1022.... slooooooow going but I'm still stirring it.

At what point do I need to stop stirring/splashing because of oxidation risk?

 

[damdaman]

Well just an update in case any one else comes upon this thread in the future.

It seems to have finished around 1.008. Not ideal, but totally fine. It's been there for two weeks.

Racked to secondary, tasted great - can't wait for it to clear and sweeten it.