First Skeeter Pee Attempt

[docanddeb]

You did the K meta and Sorbate, right?

Then you'll be fine.

Some have tried Splenda, Truvia, etc.... the results are NOT the same... some people just don't like that "diet" taste in their wine!

Debbie

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Alright I am almost to the backsweeten steps of the recipe...very excited and it has really cleared over the last two weeks.


The final step is to add 6 cups of sugar and wait two weeks to be sure no new fermentation begins. Have people used non-fermentable sugars to avoid this? Splenda? I would hate to see the batch begin new fermentation.

If you've stabilized with potassium-metabisulfite and potassium-sorbate, you won't get a renewed fermentation. I've been told that sorbate does have a shelf life, so if it's more than a few years old, I'd get new. There are a variety of other sweetening options out there. I don't remember the names of them all, but I do recall someone mentioning that they used an artificial sweetener and it developed an unpleasant chemical flavor.

 

[SRLFD448]

If you've stabilized with potassium-metabisulfite and potassium-sorbate, you won't get a renewed fermentation. I've been told that sorbate does have a shelf life, so if it's more than a few years old, I'd get new. There are a variety of other sweetening options out there. I don't remember the names of them all, but I do recall someone mentioning that they used an artificial sweetener and it developed an unpleasant chemical flavor.

I did indeed. I tried to follow the recipe as closely as possible. Since I am new to winemaking i had originally thought "slurry" meant the yeast slurry plus about .5 liters of the cabernet I had been making. Therefore, it did turn out pretty red. It cleared up very nicely and is clear, but still a very red color, not cloudy at all.

The concern comes from the airlock. I can see the vodka I used appear to get ready to bubble as it does during fermentation. Although I have not actually seen a bubble through it, I would assume it is probably producing 3-5 a day. If this is normal then tell me and I have no concerns about adding the sugar!

I just will be going out of town so if I sweeten it I wont be able to test to see if any new fermentation has occured.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

It could be that it's just giving off some of the dissolved CO2 that it built up while fermenting. Temperature and atmospheric changes can also cause pressure to go one way or the other through the airlock. Since it it clear, it's not likely that you have many yeast in suspension. If you treated with sorbate and sulfite, you're likely seeing excess CO2 blowing off. Did you degas this batch well? To test it, find a small bottle, fill it half way up with SP, put your thumb over the top and shake. If you get a gas release when you remove your thumb, there is still some gas in suspension.

 

[SRLFD448]

This is the current state...as you can see from one picture to the other this has cleared significantly but is still very dark. This picture was also taken at night....I will try and get a better one at the next step!