After reading this thread I'm worried about my batch of skeeter pee. I already have 2 containers of lemon juice with other ingredients besides the yeast slurry. Tonight I will be adding the slurry and the rest of ingredients that it calls for but now I'm thinking I shouldn't add the third bottle of lemon juice cause according to you guys it's very strong.... Hmm what should I do??
First batch of pee questions
- Thread starter hobbyiswine
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Best advice I can give is try the original recipe and see how you like it. For us it was to acidic/sour. More sugar and all it did was make it too sweet and still acidic.
The 2nd batch I only used 2 bottles, not quite as acidic. Then I made an f-pack of 7 pounds of 4 berries I bought at WalMart. Have not really tasted it because we have a few half gallons/quarts in the fridge we are working on. The 4 berry has a gorgeous red/blue color. More of the blueberry/blackberry color then the strawberry, red raspberry color. We do plan to sample it soon.
I am starting a 3rd batch, hopefully today and plan to cut it back to one bottle of lemon juice and use the slurry from the 4 berry pee.
Will it work? I have no idea but it is a worth a try.
I am a long time cook/baker. I cook from scratch, not a box mix person. Even after 43 years of marriage, I still make a main meal every day for just the 2 of us.
I always use the original recipe and then make changes to fit our tastes. So, it was only my natural instinct to make changes to suit our taste. And in this case, get the acid content down.
The 2nd batch I only used 2 bottles, not quite as acidic. Then I made an f-pack of 7 pounds of 4 berries I bought at WalMart. Have not really tasted it because we have a few half gallons/quarts in the fridge we are working on. The 4 berry has a gorgeous red/blue color. More of the blueberry/blackberry color then the strawberry, red raspberry color. We do plan to sample it soon.
I am starting a 3rd batch, hopefully today and plan to cut it back to one bottle of lemon juice and use the slurry from the 4 berry pee.
Will it work? I have no idea but it is a worth a try.
I am a long time cook/baker. I cook from scratch, not a box mix person. Even after 43 years of marriage, I still make a main meal every day for just the 2 of us.
I always use the original recipe and then make changes to fit our tastes. So, it was only my natural instinct to make changes to suit our taste. And in this case, get the acid content down.
Ugh I guess I will go with the original and see what happens. When did you rack it into a Carboy?
I fermented in a 6.5 gallon pail. I can tell you if you ferment in a carboy you will have problems and maybe a mess if it overflows.
With the pail, I bought one and then got others from the bakery department at the local grocery store. They were happy to get rid of them. They even offered to save me more but I declined because I had more then I could use or a place to store them.
When the SG dropped I then moved it to 1 gallon carboys with air locks. You can not go by time or days, you need to go by the SG reading - being the same reading 3 days in a row.
With the pail, I bought one and then got others from the bakery department at the local grocery store. They were happy to get rid of them. They even offered to save me more but I declined because I had more then I could use or a place to store them.
When the SG dropped I then moved it to 1 gallon carboys with air locks. You can not go by time or days, you need to go by the SG reading - being the same reading 3 days in a row.
hobbyiswine
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Directions I used said to let it ferment dry, then transfer to carboy. Directions also said this would be at an SG of about .995 but mine made it down to .990. If you have an airlock on the primary you can keep an eye on the bubbles and then double check the progress with your hydrometer. Mine took about 9 days to get from 1.070 to .990 but the time may vary depending upon temperature of the must and the speed of the yeast you use.
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TABITHARL
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When you add sugar do you just add granulated sugar? Or do you invert the sugar first? My thought is granulated sugar may be hard to disolve. I'll tell you what, although this is some sour wine, it sure is pretty and clear! Gotta stay positive!
JordanPond
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When I back sweeten a wine I always make a simple syrup. Making sure your granulated sugar gets disolved and stays disolved would be more difficult.
Arne
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If you invert your sugar it is much easier to mix in. Granular can be a bearcat to try and get stirred in. If taking just a glass, you can use granular, but watch and see how much stirring it takes to mix in. Arne.
dangerdave
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I have always used granulated sugar and stirred it in good. Four to six cups in a six gallon carboy isn't very hard to get disolved, IMO. I'll try making a syrup for my next batch and compare the work/output.
I added the yeast slurry yesterday and I just took a reading and I'm at 1.066. So I gave it a quick stir and sealed her back up. I looked at the bubbler and I'm getting 1 bubble for every 8-12 seconds. Not much at all. But I'll check it tomorrow or maybe Monday for a sg reading. Just an update of where I am at with my skeeter pee 
I put a blanket around the bucket to warm it up. I think it's because it's not warm enough. I hope this helps!
I started my skeeter pee on the 5th and I checked the sg today and I am down to 1.060. It cant hurry faster enough to reach 1.050 so I can add the remaining ingredients and be on my way ugh! When did you guys rack it? when it reached .999 or .995?
hobbyiswine
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Just keep checking your SG. It will take a while to finish. Mine made it down to .990. You are going to backsweaten anyways so I would let it ferment dry. Once the SG gets down and stays there for a few days then you can transfer to carboy and add the stabilizers and clarifier.
Anythinh special that you did to back sweeten? I want it out of my primary as soon as possible because I have a cab sauv kit waiting to be made. I don't wanna buy another primary bucket cause they are expensive for only being plastic.
Arne
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Rosa, a few more days and it will be down to 1.020. You can rack it to your secondary then. Make sure you leave plenty of headspace as racking it can make the ferment really take off. Put the extra in another bottle or two and when they ferment down, you can top off the secondary with that wine. THen when it is fermented to the 0.99's you can rack it again, stabalize it and let it clear or put a clearing agent in. Just watch it if you rackit with that high of a s.g. as it can give you a reason to get out the mop and cleaning bucket. Arne.
I thought those were only 5 gallons. Does frosting come in larger bucket?
For 6 gallon kit wines, you need at least 8 gallon primary. I use 10 gallon Rubbermaid Brute trash cans. The grey, yellow, and white ones are NSF certified for food. Restaurant supply stores usually sell them. I just bought two more for $13.99 each and $4.99 each for the lids.
The lids are not air-tight, but that doesn't matter for primary. It keeps the dust and bugs out.
Wait I am confused. When it hits 1.050 I have to add the last bottle of lemon juice and yeast energizer and nutrient according to the recipe. Now it's ok to rack it into a Carboy when it hits 1.020? And what wine do I top it off with if it's skeeter pee?
