Sparkolloid amount for 3 gallon

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Stevelaz

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My 3 gallon batch of skeeter pee is not clearing pretty well with the duelfine i used. I am going to rack and try sparkolloid for first time .. Directions on bottle say:

"Dissolve 1 tbspn in one cup of boiling water for 5 min. Add mixture to 6 gallons of wine".

Should i make this mixture and then just add half the mixture, or, should i cut the instructions in half from the start, or, add the whole mixture for 6 gallons?
 
Is it hazy? It might need Pectic Enzyme rather than Sparkolloid. I find Dualfine blows Sparkolloid out of the water to the point I do not use it anymore. (besides the fact that it keeps dropping stuff for months and Dualfine takes days)
 
Now that you mention it, maybe it is haze! Im not quit sure since this is my first attempt at skeeter pee... Its been 2 weeks since adding the duelfine... Here are a couple pics at different angles. As you can see the pee in the smaller bottle is very clear but the one in the 3 gallon carboy not so... they are both the same batch...What you think?

Skeeter Pee2.JPG

Skeeter Pee.JPG
 
That looks like a pectin enzyme candidate to me. (though I've never made Skeeter Pee) Did you add the pectin enzyme during the process? It's specifically to breakdown pectin in fresh fruit which causes hazy wine like that.

I had to double dose my Pineapple, Mango, Lime wine and my second batch of Dragon's Blood.
 
No, i did not add pectic enzyme since the recipe did not call for it... I did add it to my dragon blood and that cleared great...
 
The clearing after pectin can take a bit of time. (longer than dualfine) I believe I had one clear in about a week. The other took a bit longer.
 
So are you suggesting i add the pectic enzyme at this point?
Also, you keep saying "pectin" do you mean to say Pectic?

Also, if anyone else with experience with skeeter pee can chime in id appreciate it!
 
Bet if you hit it with the sparkaloid it will clear right up. It usually works great with S.P., not as well with other wines. If it clears, let it sit for a couple of weeks to harden up on the bottom before you rack it off. Arne.
 
Bet if you hit it with the sparkaloid it will clear right up. It usually works great with S.P., not as well with other wines. If it clears, let it sit for a couple of weeks to harden up on the bottom before you rack it off. Arne.

I not sure why Sparkalloid work when Dualfine didn't. (dual fine is both positive and negatively charged while Sparkalloid is only positively charged) What I worry about when using two fining agents (beyond the two what dualfine already uses chitosan and Kieselsol) like this is stripping of the wine's flavors and colors. (any fining agent actually does this which is why some don't use any) As for skeeter pee, I suppose colors don't matter all that much since it's piss yellow anyhow haha.

The downside of Sparkalloid is you're likely to get sediment in your bottles as it can take up to six months to do it's job. (though he has already used dualfine, so I doubt that will happen) The one time I used Sparkalloid, I followed it up with dualfine and I ended up not having sediment as dualfine (named SuperKleer at the time) took care of everything with one dose.

Sevelaz,

This is good reading on the different fining agents. Understanding Fining Agents
 
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Ok Here is what i did: I racked with the all in one (recently purchased, review to come soon,) and made sure it was degassed...it is! I then put some in a glass and looked at it. Yes, hazy. Does not look like some of the other pics ive seen that were crystal clear but it looks like lemonade and would prob be ok the way it is. However, since this is my first id like to see it clearer. I also tasted it and could not believe how good it tasted WITHOUT back-sweetening yet. It will need a little sweetening but prob not that much.

I was then going to add pectic enzyme and sparkolloid. I decided to just add the enzyme for now and see how it looks in a few days. I will then do the sparkolloid if needed.
 
Update: Since adding the pectic enzyme it is clearing quit well! I do not think i will need to hit it with the sparkolloid. I will give it another week and then back sweeten. I will have to remember to add the enzyme to the recipe next time.

Skeeter Pee2 (2).JPG
 
Awesome. I think I will have to try and make a batch of Skeeter Pee. I looked at the the recipe website and it doesn't say pectic enzyme in the recipe, yet it's made with lemons which are loaded with large amounts of pectin. That comes off odd to me.

Anyhow. Most stuff on my todo list!
 
There is a version of sleeker pee from danger Dave where he adds the pectic at the beginning.
 

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