My consolidated ingredients and process notes to make Skeeter Pee

[NorCal]

I created the below instructions for myself, as it is the way I process information, so I thought I would share. The process steps may differ slightly from the original (like fermenting until dry in a bucket, eliminating tannin powder, adding sugar to the starter...), but follows the original process pretty closely.

Ingredients for 5 gallon, 10% abv
1118 yeast (1 packet)
96 oz of ReaLemon, green bottles
10 lbs sugar (or 22 cups)
6 tsp. yeast nutrient (3 now, 3 later)
2 tsp. yeast energizer (1 now, 1 later)
SO2 (1/4 tsp)
Sorbate (2.5 tsp)
Sparkolloid (1 tbsp)

Step 1. Must Prep
Fill primary bucket with 4 gallons water and 64 ounces of lemon
Cover with towel, let sit for 48 hours to let SO2 in lemon juice dissipate
- after 48 hours -
Boil 8 cups of water in a pot add 16 cups sugar (7 lbs) to make 2:1 simple syrup
Empty simple syrup into primary bucket
Fill bucket with water up to 5 ½ gallons
In the bucket, add:
3 teaspoons nutrient
1 teaspoon energizer
Stir bucket and take SG measurement. Should be 17 brix, if not add more sugar

Step 2. Starter Prep
Add two cups from must in quart jar
Add three cups of water, ½ cup of sugar (reduce pH, maintain brix)
Hydrate yeast add to starter
Whip must and pitch the Starter when active

Step 3. Fermentation
Check SG daily and whip as needed, until SG is at 12 brix
When SG at 12 brix add:
3 teaspoons of nutrient
1 teaspoon of energizer
32 ounces of lemon juice
Stir vigorously
Ferment until dry; 0 brix
When SG at 0 brix:
Rack into carboy & degass
Add 1/4 teaspoon KMeta (50ppm is plenty)
Add 2.5 teaspoon Sorbate
Add 1 tablespoon Sparkloid: in 1 cup boiling water, boil for 15 minutes. Stir gently into carboy
Add airlock

Step 4. Back-sweeten & Bottle
Wait until clear (should be about two weeks)
Rack
Add sugar to taste
Replace airlock
Wait 14 days to assure no additional fermentation is taking place
Make sure it is degassed, bottle

 

[Arne]

Sounds like a plan. You will be sippin in the hot sun end of July, early August. About the only difference I have used in the past few years is cut the lemon back by a third. Two bottles gives me enough lemon taste, every body has different tastes.
Wishing you all the luck with it in the world. Arne.

 

[salcoco]

I would add the sorbate closer to bottling time once wine is clear. another shot of k=meta at that time also would not hurt.

 

[cmason1957]

I agree with add the sorbate as close to bottling time, after all the clearing is done. Also, I just made a batch of skeeter pee and just dumped in the sugar, didn't make a simple syrup and only rehydrated the yeast, didn't let it build and make a huge starter. It fermented just fine, took maybe a day longer, but that is probably more due to being 62 down in my basement than anything else. Mine is now sitting and clearing. I'll use DualFine (SuperKleer) instead of sparkloid, oh and I added some bentonite to the fermentation bucket early on, like you do with a kit.