Trying my hand at some skeeter pee

[tjbryner]

Hi all I have been making wine for about 5 years so far and this will be my 1st attempt at making anything using chemicals so please be bear with me. .

So my question is all the bottles of Lemon juice has preservatives in it at the local store......
I had my wife pick up 3 bottles of RealLemon brand, It has the following listed in the ingredients:

Sodium Metabisulfite
Sodium Sulfite
Sodium Benzoate

I plan on using a slurry from my 2 gal batch of strawberry to kick this off.

Will I be OK with these bottles of juice or do I need to find something else?

PS: I'm using Lon DePoppe's Recipe to start with.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Sodium is a much milder version of Potassium Meta. used as it's cheaper than Pot. Meta. Sodium Sulfite is salt. Benzoate is another preservative for freshness.

You'll be fine just remember to keep it warm and introduce lots of oxygen for the yeast. You may even wish to add one bottle of lemon juice up front then much later add the second and finish with the third. The acid in lemon juice is what slows this down.

 

[tjbryner]

Thank you so much for a fast and great answer.

I'm going to try to do some of the things I have read here over the last few months... Like making sure I don't have 5 Gals of watermelon explode in the basement again....Bottled it a little soon...No hydrometer.

You guys have given me a ton of useful information already can't wait to learn more.

Thanks
TJ

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Hi all I have been making wine for about 5 years so far and this will be my 1st attempt at making anything using chemicals so please be bear with me. .

So my question is all the bottles of Lemon juice has preservatives in it at the local store......
I had my wide pick up 3 bottles of RealLemon brand, It has the following listed in the ingredients:

Sodium Metabisulfite
Sodium Sulfite
Sodium Benzoate

I plan on using a slurry from my 2 gal batch of strawberry to kick this off.

Will I be OK with these bottles of juice or do I need to find something else?

PS: I'm using Lon DePoppe's Recipe to start with.

First off, I'd recommend going back and changing your original post from "wide" to "wife". I'd hate for you to get a swift kick in the seat should she see that little slip.

Now... on to business.... the sulfites are added to the lemon juice to preserve and protect the juice from spoilage. Bottled this way, it can be kept under its original seal at room temperature for quite a long time. The sulfites won't be a problem for wine yeast as it will be diluted when water is added and wine yeast are bred to overcome low level sulfites. The benzoate is a little more problematic. It inhibits the yeast's ability to reproduce and acts much like sorbate. Again, it will be diluted when you add water. High acidity is another problem that plagues lemon ferments. The combination of these three things can make your life miserable, but if you follow the Skeeter Pee recipe, you'll overcome the obstacles. If you haven't done so already, go to skeeterpee.com and read the FAQ page. It has the answers to most questions that come up frequently. Good luck, have fun, enjoy!

 

[tjbryner]

Again thank you guys for such great reply's and sharing your knowledge.

 

[tjbryner]

Ok got my SP going, One question would be how strong is the lemon taste when its done if I follow the http://www.skeeterpee.com/ recipe to a T?

My wife wants a some what strong lemonade taste to it.

 

[Arne]

You should get the strong flavor. Bout the only thing I do different is add a bottle of lime juice and 1/2 cup of sugar per gal at the end instead of a cup per gal. The other piece of advice you do not get is get another batch started before the first is done. You will most likely need it. Arne.

 

[tjbryner]

Thanks for the info...
Sg's at 1.078 so As soon as this gets sent to the secondary, I'll be starting more.

 

[tjbryner]

WOW this stuff moves fast!! Checked SG last night and it was still at 1.078.

I checked it 12 hours later and already down to 1.06, At this rate I should be adding the last bottle of juice tonight!!

I tasted it this morning and so far I like the taste!!

 

[Arne]

It only gets better. Good luck with it.