Skeeter Pee

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Well actually...

You shouldn't need to make a starter with dry yeast, but if you must: make sure to rehydrate the yeast first per the directions and not directly pour the dry yeast into your starter. The dry yeast has been packaged with nutrients designed specifically for rehydration of dry yeast. While it will make beer if you put it directly into the starter, you run the risk of killing up to 50% of the yeast.

Sorry, I'm in the middle of the "Yeast" book by Chris White and Jamil. Just had to add my 2¢...

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Its fine here, done it over and over and over. This isnt beer

 

[SilverZero]

I agree with not starting dry yeast but mainly because it's unnecessary with beer. You don't need to boost cell counts with a dry yeast pack (or two). But since this is such a harsh environment I decided to proof them first and ease them into the low pH, not so much for them but for my own peace of mind.

Don't forget, this is wine yeast and a seriously strong flavor from the lemon. The yeast aren't an ingredient like they are in beer, where esters are important. They're a tool to chew up all that glucose and fructose and make ethanol.

Also, it took me about an hour from rehydration to pitching. I wouldn't qualify that as a "starter" anyway.

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[Texconsinite]

Yes, the lemon juice is a hostile environment for yeast, made more so by the preservatives used in the lemon juice. This is why you aerate the must and give it time to let preservatives dissolve into the air.

It's also why the recipe recommends you do a yeast starter that's not full of lemon juice, or use slurry, so the yeast can get going before you dump into this difficult environment.


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[trainman66]

is mine ready to be back sweetened or need to sit longer?


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[Kirkwooder]

View attachment 187175 is mine ready to be back sweetened or need to sit longer?


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Looks good and clear, but you should check your gravity a couple times, a day or two apart just to be sure!

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

View attachment 187175 is mine ready to be back sweetened or need to sit longer?


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I would assume its been hit with kmeta and sorbate right? Good to go.

Looks good and clear, but you should check your gravity a couple times, a day or two apart just to be sure!

 

[trainman66]

Yeah kmeta and sorbate have been put in it already just wasn't sure if it needed to clear anymore then that and sediment on bottom was normal before moving to another container and back sweetening it


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[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Yeah kmeta and sorbate have been put in it already just wasn't sure if it needed to clear anymore then that and sediment on bottom was normal before moving to another container and back sweetening it


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It looks fantastic! Rack it!

 

[detlion1643]

I just started a 5 gallon batch of water/sugar/yeast at 1.080 - 1.082. I am planning to add the lemon juice during the next couple of days, but not all at once. Will be using 96oz total over 2ish days with nutrient/energizer. I am assuming this is ok vs using a starter. Can't wait as my mixed jalapeno berry batch needs more aging/mellowing time.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

dekton1543 That is how I do it and it works real good, I let it get going good then just dump all three bottles at once, goes dry every time with no stress. This is the easiest way to make this stuff. I'm certain if you wanted to use a slurry with the sugar water it would work good too.

 

[Texconsinite]

Looks great Trainman, rack that!!! Def ready for backsweetening.
In my experience, the regular pee clears faster than ones w fruit additions, and the lighter color makes it easier to tell when its clear.

 

[Totes]

---POSTER TOO LAZY TO READ WHOLE THREAD---

I'm having a my first full glass of my pee and enjoying it.

I used montrachet wine yeast and fermented low and slow. At first I was very disappointed, tasted like hooch, MD 20/20.... After 3 weeks in the keg it's very tasty and refreshing now.
Is it better now because it's carbed up properly?
Does it come together in the keg like a beer?
Do you guys drink it carbonated?

I have another batch 3 weeks in. Same yeast. Have not made final addition. Any suggestions on flavoring it up? I am thinking of back sweetening with Raspberry concentrate or cranberry cocktail. I can get cherry syrup also.

Cheers

 

[SilverZero]

---POSTER TOO LAZY TO READ WHOLE THREAD---

I'm having a my first full glass of my pee and enjoying it.

I used montrachet wine yeast and fermented low and slow. At first I was very disappointed, tasted like hooch, MD 20/20.... After 3 weeks in the keg it's very tasty and refreshing now.
Is it better now because it's carbed up properly?
Does it come together in the keg like a beer?
Do you guys drink it carbonated?

I have another batch 3 weeks in. Same yeast. Have not made final addition. Any suggestions on flavoring it up? I am thinking of back sweetening with Raspberry concentrate or cranberry cocktail. I can get cherry syrup also.

Cheers

Probably personal preference. My first batch I actually never back-sweetened and I loved it right after I had it packaged into some 1-gallon juice jugs (I had 6 from making Brandon-O's graff). It was great on its own or mixed with other things. I really liked it blended with frozen strawberries as a smoothie. Taste before you back-sweeten, is my advice, and go from there.

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[CreamyGoodness]

Last night I backsweetened my first 5-gallon batch and served a "taste" to a few friends who were over. One glass became several glasses and ended with 2 of my friends asking for a liter each to go.

This stuff is WILDLY successful. Huzzah.

 

[ChefRex]

Last night I backsweetened my first 5-gallon batch and served a "taste" to a few friends who were over. One glass became several glasses and ended with 2 of my friends asking for a liter each to go.

This stuff is WILDLY successful. Huzzah.

Did you keg it?

 

[CreamyGoodness]

As soon as I get my ass in gear Im going to bottle (I dont keg... yet...) but last night was the night of the sanitized ladle right out of the bucket...

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

As soon as I get my ass in gear Im going to bottle (I dont keg... yet...) but last night was the night of the sanitized ladle right out of the bucket...

I rack it after clearing to a spare bottling bucket, instant convinient dispenser

 

[ilikerolls]

Has anyone tried this?
http://www.skeeterpee.com/Skeeter_Pee/Welcome.html
Looks like it has the potential to be good, I'm just looking for someone with experience with it before I give it a shot.

@klcramer, Yes I have used that exact recipe. I would recommend using 4 32 ounce bottles of lemon juice and back sweetening with 6 cups invert sugar instead of just regular table sugar. I even used 32 ounce of cranberry Juice(pure) to make more of a pink lemonade. I am going to try maybe double that next time. Just my opinion that recipe doesn't have enough tart and sweetness to cover up the alcohol. You will end up with more of a sweet lemon wine(which it is, but hopefully you get what I am saying) instead of more of a lemonade drink.

You could almost fool someone that they were drinking a regular cup of lemonade at about 9% alcohol content with the way mine turned out.

 

[detlion1643]

Well, my water/sugar/yeast solution really never "kicked off". 2 days later and it was still at the OG . I decided to dump all of the 96oz of lemon juice in anyways last night and told myself that I would make a starter in the morning. This morning, it's bubbling like crazy. Weird, who knows? But it's going and I'm excited for my first batch of pee. All my apfelwein and variants have never received a bad remark from friends/family.

 

[trainman66]

Back sweetened last night man this stuff is good gonna be a fun summer!


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[Totes]

Mine is over carbonated a bit, which is pretty great actually. When I pour it on ice, I got the "fizzy spray on the nose when taking a sip" thing that you get from soda.

Tastes like Zima. Mine does anyway. Not talking chit either...I used to crush the Zima in the early 90's.

 

[BPal75]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered but how do you carbonate this stuff in bottles if you treat it with sulfites and back sweeten?


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[Arpolis]

Don't add sorbate and sulfites and use the stove top pasteurization method. A good thread on that is found below:

Stove top pasteurization

 

[detlion1643]

Tested my batch today and it has barely even moved. Rereading my notes, I see that I never put in nutrient and energizer... Oops... So I put in the nutrients and energizer and was ready to repitch yeast. Before adding the yeast, the batch started fizzing and bubbling. I wonder why the yeast are active but not working, if that's the case... I'll recheck the gravity in a couple of days and determine if a starter is needed at that point.

Just kinda bummed that everything looked fermenting while the gravity never moved!

 

[gcdowd]

I speak only of my own experiences but I find that my pee takes forever to start fermenting, but once it starts going....It goes strong. I wouldn't sweat it at this point.

 

[Fuzzymittenbrewing]

Tested my batch today and it has barely even moved. Rereading my notes, I see that I never put in nutrient and energizer... Oops... So I put in the nutrients and energizer and was ready to repitch yeast. Before adding the yeast, the batch started fizzing and bubbling. I wonder why the yeast are active but not working, if that's the case... I'll recheck the gravity in a couple of days and determine if a starter is needed at that point.

Just kinda bummed that everything looked fermenting while the gravity never moved!

Its a really harsh and acidic environment for the little guys so not suprised you got little to no movement. Watch it the next couple days. Personally I never leave it to chance and do a starter, always a quick clean ferment.

 

[Texconsinite]

Its a really harsh and acidic environment for the little guys so not suprised you got little to no movement. Watch it the next couple days. Personally I never leave it to chance and do a starter, always a quick clean ferment.

Ditto. Starter works every time. It takes my batches longer to clarify than to ferment dry.

 

[IvanBrew]

If one wanted to reduce the "winey" tones in SkeeterPee, would one switch yeasts, reduce fermentation temp, or do something else entirely?

 

[Texconsinite]

Never tried switching yeasts or lowering ferm temp. How sweet do you make yours ? I do different fruit flavors every time, and this seems to mask some of that winey taste. Also, drinking it cold & on ice helps too.

If you backsweeten it with white grapefruit juice concentrate, the pucker factor will def hide that wineyness

 

[IvanBrew]

Never tried switching yeasts or lowering ferm temp. How sweet do you make yours ? I do different fruit flavors every time, and this seems to mask some of that winey taste. Also, drinking it cold & on ice helps too.

If you backsweeten it with white grapefruit juice concentrate, the pucker factor will def hide that wineyness

I usually over document, but in this case I wish I'd have taken better notes, lol. I'm not sure how much sugar I back sweetened with. I'm pretty sure I used the recommended 6 cups, but I made invert sugar with that amount and used it to sweeten.

Cold and on ice definitely helps. I actually don't really mind the winey flavor, but my wife doesn't like it. She'd like something cleaner, more like a traditional lemonade.

For kicks, I also force carbed 2l worth. That dried out the flavor a bit and made it more champagne-like. I think adding more sugar would help with that.

Overall, I like the stuff. It's my first batch of SP. The one thing I'd like to do, for benefit of SWMBO, is reduce the wine