Final pH of Skeeter Pee

[bearpaw8491]

Prepping to bottle first batch of Skeeter pee. The pH is 2.81 which seems very low. Should I adjust pH to around 3.1 (or above) or is this about normal for final pH. Plan to backsweeten with Country Time.

Thanks in advance,

John

 

[BigDaveK]

First batch? What took so long?
My SP was very low also. Sweetening will "soften" the acidity. In fact, after sweetening I was a little disappointed that I seemed to lose some tartness. It was still really good but I wanted more. Next time I'll address that issue.

How does it taste?
Also, a low pH will inhibit all kinds of things from growing.

 

[bearpaw8491]

Well, not sure why it took me so long to try SP. Have been making muscadine from my vineyard for the last few years and only manage a couple of other fermentation a year. Like the old saying: " I may not do good work, but I sure am slow!!!!"
Added the Country Time yesterday to sweeten and kickup the flavor a notch or two. Wine is very cloudy now but guess that's to be expected. I did add some pectic enzyme to take care of the haze. Hope it will clear in the next week or two. If not, I'll dose with a little bentonite and egg white to move things along. the cloudiness was something of a bummer since the wine was brilliantly clear b/4 the addition. Final pH after addition was 2.92. Taste is acceptable and not too tart. Yup, I try to keep my pre-bottle pH around 3.2 for whites to help with the biologics.
Thanks for the input. I'll be starting a new batch in the near future. I plan to use the "original" recipe for the next batch and see if there's any difference. Have read that others have found that Sparkolloid may contribute to some cloudiness that's hard to clean. Have you experienced this?

 

[BigDaveK]

If you use the original recipe, most people stagger the lemon juice - less at the beginning, at midway, and at the end. Supposed to give a better lemon flavor. I was happy.

I've only used sparkalloid twice, last time for dragon blood. Wow, 3 days and crystal clear! I was shocked! Usually I just let time do the work.

My skeeter pee was "clear" but a little cloudy and I think that was from the lemon juice at the very end. It didn't bother me because I knew it was a short term wine. I left it in bulk after a second racking for a month and it didn't drop a single particle. If any make it to 6 months it will be an accident!

 

[bearpaw8491]

Thanks Dave! The original recipe calls for 3-32 oz. bottles of lemon juice. Am I understanding correctly that many divide the juice addition over the course of the fermentation - maybe something like 2 bottles (64 oz) to start and then 1/2 of the remaining bottle at mid fermentation and the last half bottle after fermentation is complete?

 

[Jovimaple]

@bearpaw8491 You are understanding correctly regarding staggering the lemon juice addition, although I usually do 1/3 up front and the rest after fermentation complete. I also use 6 32 oz bottles for a 6 gallon batch, so I ferment on just the first 2 bottles and add the rest when fermentation is complete.

The first time I made it, after I backsweetened it didn’t have as much lemon flavor as I wanted, so I added more lemon. That’s how I got to my current recipe of 32 oz per gallon of wine, or 6 bottles for a 6 gallon batch.

@BigDaveK I always end up adding pectic enzyme to finish clearing it. According to my notes on my last batch, I added it 2 days after backsweetening and using kieselsol and chitosan, because it was still cloudy.

It gets clear enough to see through after the pectic enzyme. (This was leftover I used for topping off, plus what was left in the carboy after racking before bottling, and I didn’t want to waste it.)

This is what the 6 gallon batch looked like in the bucket before bottling, 7 days after backsweetening and adding kieselsol and chitosan, and 5 days after pectic enzyme added.

 

[Jovimaple]

Don’t forget to record your sp and db batches here:
https://www.winemakingtalk.com/thre...-pee-have-been-made.36683/page-20#post-810250

 

[BigDaveK]

Thanks Dave! The original recipe calls for 3-32 oz. bottles of lemon juice. Am I understanding correctly that many divide the juice addition over the course of the fermentation - maybe something like 2 bottles (64 oz) to start and then 1/2 of the remaining bottle at mid fermentation and the last half bottle after fermentation is complete?

There's no definitive answer. I did 1 bottle each at the beginning, middle, and end. Next time I'll do something a little different. One thing I think we'll agree on is that NOT following the recipe EXACTLY works - staggering the lemon juice helps. There's SO MUCH room for experimentation in wine making. Decide on a course of action and go for it!

 

[BigDaveK]

This is what the 6 gallon batch looked like in the bucket before bottling, 7 days after backsweetening and adding kieselsol and chitosan, and 5 days after pectic enzyme added.

It's beautiful!
SP may be the only wine I don't mind if it's not crystal clear. I know the prevailing practice is not to bottle if there's some haze but I actually liked that it resembled lemonade. Mine was see-through just not crystal clear. I wisely saved bottles and corks by bottling half the batch in Grolsch bottles. Those are now empty. Next time I may bump that to 3/4.
I like your idea for 6 bottles of lemon juice. I'll remember that for next time.

 

[bearpaw8491]

Thanks to all. I reread the original recipe and noted that it called for juice additions at beginning, middle, and when fermentation was complete and not all at once. I'll follow that direction on the next batch and consider doubling the juice for the batch following that - can you tell I've already sampled and planning for the future! The pictures provided by Jovimaple are great! That's what mine looked like b/4 addition of Country Time. I added the peptic enzyme, Kmeta, and sorbate shortly thereafter. Here's what mine looks like now:
Still pretty cloudy but taste is great! High today is predicted to be 85, maybe another sample or two after yardwork!!!
Thanks again. Hope pix posts correctly - looks right in preview.

 

[bearpaw8491]

Well, looks like pix didn't make it thru cyberspace. One more time