Easy Peesy

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I have added all the ingredients in step 1. my SG is not 1.085. It is 1.140. What am I doing wrong. Why do you think it would be so high. I have checked and double checked all ingredients are in as stated. New to making from scratch wine. Hope I get past the first step.
:u This is the current version of the Easy Peesy Recipe:
EASY PEESY (SKEETER PEE)

Ingredients: For a six gallon batch:

Step 1: To a cleaned and sanitized seven gallon primary, add---in this order:
2 bottles (48 oz each) 100% Lemon Juice (ReaLemon in the green bottle): if you want to recude the acid level use one bottle.
Water to about five gallons
20 cups of white granulated sugar (looking for a SG btw 1.085-1.09): use less sugar for lower final ABV. Stir sugar until completely desolved.
1 tsp. tannin (stir)
4 tsp. yeast nutrient (stir)
2 tsp. yeast energizer (stir)
3 tsp. pectic enzyme (stir)
6 lbs. of Triple Berry Blend (raspberry/blackberry/blueberry--available in most grocery store freezer sections), frozen then thawed, in a nylon fine mesh bag (tied shut), placed in primary: Give the bag a couple of squeezes to work in pectic enzyme. May also toss fruit directly into primary, but this makes for a "messier" fermentation and subsequently will require more clearing time and racking.
Top water to six gallons
Cover primary
Place brew belt: Keep temp in 70F-80F range.
Let sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours...

Step 2: To the primary fermenter, add:
1 packet of EC-1118 Yeast (starter, per yeast directions): Sprinkle yeast into one cup of warm water (100F), let sit for 15 minutes (no longer), stir and add to primary. Other yeast strains may also work well.
Stir Primary Vigorously!

Step 3: Each day, do the following, in this order:
Check temp
Check specific gravity
Squeeze juices from fruit pack into fermenter---remove friut pack: Temporarily place in sanitized bucket.
Stir primary vigorously: To introduce oxygen into must.
Replace fruit pack
Cover primary

Step 4: When specific gravity (SG) reaches <1.000, do the following:
Squeeze juices from fruit pack into fermenter---remove friut pack: Discard fruit.
Rack to cleaned and sanitized six gallon carboy
Degas very thoroughly: I cannot emphasize this enough!
Add 1 tsp. Potassium Metabisulfite (stir)
Add 3 tsp. Potassium Sorbate (stir)
Add Sparkolloid* (or other cleaing agent): *1 tbs in one cup of water simmered for about 30 minutes. Add hot mixture to carboy.
Allow to clear undistrubed for no less than 1 week

Step 4: When wine is clear:
Carefully rack off of lees into cleaned & sanitized six gallon carboy
Add 4-5 cups of white granulated sugar (stir until sugar is completely disolved): Add more or less sugar to taste. Remember! The sugars will blend with the berry flavors over time, and the sweetness will come forward. Do not over-sweeten!
Allow wine to clear free of all sediment: This may or may not require more racking over the next few weeks.

Step 5: When wine is completely clear:
Bottle in clear bottles
Note: Never bottle cloudy wine! NEVER!

Wine is drinkable right way, but may benefit from up to a year of aging.
 
Give it a really good stir, then check again. Could be that everything isn't blended and your hydrometer is in a "thick" spot. I'm pretty new to this as well, but have this exact recipe clearing now. Everything has gone as planned so far.
 
I did as you suggested and it has not changed. Thanks for trying to help.
 
I have added all the ingredients in step 1. my SG is not 1.085. It is 1.140. What am I doing wrong. Why do you think it would be so high. I have checked and double checked all ingredients are in as stated. New to making from scratch wine. Hope I get past the first step.

I have been away on vacation, gwalz. So sorry for the slow response.

I am baffled by your readings. I even tripled this recipe and got the required SG (1.085) at the beginning. I say go for it! You may have a high ABV at the end, but you can sweeten it to taste also, or blend it with some juice to mellow it out.

Let me know how you handled this problem. I originally started with less sugar (15 cups) and worked slowly up to 20 cups for the six gallon batch. You are making 6 gallons, correct?
 
I'm on my first batch, so no expert here. However, if the SG is too high it should be easy to fix by adding more water and lemon juice at the original ratio until the SG is where you want it. Much easier with SP than with some exotic grape juice!
 
So, my first batch of Pee is well under way. I followed the "Easy Peesy" Triple Berry recipe and instructions. For back sweetening, I'm thinking about using 3 cans of lemonade concentrate and 2 cans of Blueberry-Pom concentrate. Any thoughts???
 
So, my first batch of Pee is well under way. I followed the "Easy Peesy" Triple Berry recipe and instructions. For back sweetening, I'm thinking about using 3 cans of lemonade concentrate and 2 cans of Blueberry-Pom concentrate. Any thoughts???

If you followed the triple berry recipe, the pee should be full of berry flavor with a nice lemon kick! I have never added any more flavor (fruit or lemon) to mine. Your idea sounds interesting. Experimenting is fun!

If the pee is clearing now, I'd thief a little from the carboy and do some bench testing. Try a shot with a bit of sugar only, one with some extra lemon, and maybe one more with a bit of the blueberry-pom. I don't know how you could go wrong with any of that, but maybe you'll like it better with or without one of them.
 
energizer

Dave,

I have a question concerning the yeast nutrient/energizer. My local wine supply store sells the combination nutrient and energizer mixed together. Knowing this, would I add 6 tsp of this (you had 4 tsp nutrient + 2 tsp energizer) or should I just do 4 tsp of the combination that I have?

And let's say you don't have a thermometer, but you know your basement is in the 60's/70's. Does the temp have that much to do with success or will it just take longer?
 
I have to say I am not sure about the comb energizer/nutrient. I don't want to give you bad info. Maybe someone else has some experience with the two. The low temp would make the yeast work more slowly.
 
My other question is: what happens if you leave SP exposed to oxygen? I know that grape based drinks will oxidize to vinegar, but what about SP? If I leave the top off to smooth out (oxidize) the alcohol, what will the SP taste like?
 
pitching tonight...

OK, Dave, the yeast for the Lemon Triple Berry Pee gets tossed tonight. Here goes nothing....
 
My other question is: what happens if you leave SP exposed to oxygen? I know that grape based drinks will oxidize to vinegar, but what about SP? If I leave the top off to smooth out (oxidize) the alcohol, what will the SP taste like?

I really don't know.

OK, Dave, the yeast for the Lemon Triple Berry Pee gets tossed tonight. Here goes nothing....

Good luck, my man! I degassed/cleared 6 gallons last night (trying bentonite in this batch), and I'm starting two more 6 gallon batches tomorrow. I need to keep up with the summer demand! :h
 
Dave, When I get sent to Parkersburg, I'm gonig to have to meet you half way and exchange bottles with you.
 
Parkersburg is not much a drive for me. I'm serious. This is a good idea. Let me know when you'll be there. I'll come over, and we'll "swap hooch"!
 
Dave, the Triple BP is fermenting like a champ, but I have not been following the directions. For the past 3 days (out of town) I have not squeezed the berry bag or stirred. Again, the fermentation is bubbling every 5-10 seconds. Is this going to be an issue or should I be stirring and squeezing?
 
Dave, the Triple BP is fermenting like a champ, but I have not been following the directions. For the past 3 days (out of town) I have not squeezed the berry bag or stirred. Again, the fermentation is bubbling every 5-10 seconds. Is this going to be an issue or should I be stirring and squeezing?

I don't think it will make much of a difference really. I squeeze and stir every day because my theory is that this gets all the good fruity juices out of the bag and into the must. If it's bubbling that much, it must be exchanging fluids with the bag inside. When it gets dry, I would definately squeeze the bag real good into the must before I discarded the contents. I will sometimes do this a day or two ahead of time and not stir the last day or two. Let all the gross lees fall out and carefully rack off the dry wine into the carboy. They seem to clear very quickly that way.

I'm glad others are having success with this one. Otherwise, I'd feel bad...:i
 
The wife liked how this smelled before fermentation, so she's looking forward to sampling...
 
I'm making this recipe but I was unable to find the exact berries so I am using blueberry,raspberry,blackberry,strawberry mix
I hope it works out. LOL quad berry skeeter pee:) I have one question and that is can I pour the juice from the thawed berries in the mix?
 
I'm making this recipe but I was unable to find the exact berries so I am using blueberry,raspberry,blackberry,strawberry mix
I hope it works out. LOL quad berry skeeter pee:) I have one question and that is can I pour the juice from the thawed berries in the mix?

Yes! Definately do that! :try
 
excellent Thank you Dave!!! this thread got me excited this morning so I went straight
to the store and got all the stuff I needed to make it along with an extra berry:)
 

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