Kroger Brand Lemon Juice

[chasemandingo]

So I made a 5 gallon batch of pee on Thursday. As of today there are minimal signs of fermentation. There is a small amount of CO2 in the must which I have stirred twice daily. I just now checked the lemon juice bottle and discovered that they contained sodium bisulfate and sodium benzoate. So how screwed am I? Will I be able to get this to ferment dry?

 

[cintipam]

Hi

I'm pretty sure lots of new pee makers worried about the same thing. Most Lemon juices contain exactly the same stuff. That's why you have to wait 24 hrs before pitching the yeast. It gives those chems time to be worked out of the must enought to let the yeast take hold. You can't tell about fermentation from looks alone, so take a SG and compare to the starting SG. If no change at all from the beginning, I'd probably give it one more day then pitch new yeast. If some change, but not much I'd add a little nutrient and energizer, give it a big stir and try to warm it up just a bit.

I've not made pee, but have read a lot of the thread and seem to recall this being a concern of many newbies. It will be ok.

Pam in cinti

 

[chasemandingo]

I know looks can be deceiving. Just wasn't sure if benzoate would off gas like kmeta does. I know that it has the same action as sorbate so I was worried. Anyway I will monitor it and see what happens. Thanks!

 

[cintipam]

Actually, both cranberries and blueberries have natural benzoate in them. I've made wine from both. They do take a little more babying, but both work fine. I always keep a supply of nutrient and energizer around to kick start any stubborn musts. Some yeasts are stronger than others, but if I want to use a yeast that needs babying, the energizer makes it work just fine.

pam in cinti

 

[BernardSmith]

I think the original recipe calls for the use of yeast slurry. This is the same as a very active and large colony of yeast - far larger than you would normally obtain from a package of dry yeast. The idea , I think is that this large colony is large enough to neutralize the effects of the preservative which would be effective enough to prevent to yeast from budding (reproducing). Note that you are also diluting this juice with water so that dilution and the aeration, the 24 hour delay and the inoculation of a larger than usual colony of yeast should be sufficient to enable the yeast to take hold and ferment the sugars. if you are using simple table sugar there may be insufficient nutrients for the yeast and you may want to add nutrient and energizer to provide the missing enzymes and nitrogen

 

[chasemandingo]

I added nutrient and energizer per the original recipe and inverted my sugar. I have been aerating the must daily and trying to maintain a favorable temperature. Anyway, I will add in the rest of the nutrient and energizer when I get home and see if that helps.