# I am restarting a stuck skeeter pee ferment and I have a question



## olusteebus (Dec 11, 2012)

I started this skeeter pee over a week and a half ago and it stuck at about 1.060. I added energizer to it and nothing happened.I had pretty much given up on it but I noticed this morning that the whole primary was bubbling ever so slightly. I took a reading and it appears that the sg dropped about .0100. So, I thought I would take a bolder step to get this stuff fermenting. 

I took a half gallon and added two teaspoons of energizer, one pack of 1118 and a small amount of simple syrup. I have done all this today. It is bubbling pretty well, not going crazy.

It has a foam cap on it. 


My question is should I wait a while longer before I add it to the remaining 4 1/2 gallon primary.


Also, should I add more sugar or just leave it as is? My sg is about 1.050


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## olusteebus (Dec 11, 2012)

Never mind. I put it in. If it ferments, it ferments. I ain't messin with it anymore.


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## derunner (Dec 11, 2012)

olusteebus said:


> Never mind. I put it in. If it ferments, it ferments. I ain't messin with it anymore.



I can't help you, but mine also stuck at 1.060. I just started mine this past Saturday. It was fermenting good, but shutdown since yesterday.

I am trying the extra energizer and nutrient now. My Starting SG was a little high so I think it might have run out early. or I hope that is the case and it starts up again soon. Please let us know if adding a new slury works for you.


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## barryjo (Jan 2, 2013)

Did you "whip the snot out of it"? This will also get a sluggish ferment going again.


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## BernardSmith (Jan 2, 2013)

I am curious. When you add slurry that came from a wine of say 12 percent ABV and add that slurry to a must - the Skeeter Pee - does the process act in accordance with a Pearson square or does the effect work to simply add the alcohol in the yeast slurry to the alcohol in the wine must? In other words, if the slurry came from a wine that had about 12 % ABV and the alcohol content of the Skeeter Pee is at about 6 percent does that produce an alcohol environment for the yeast of 18 percent or is it closer to 9 percent (12+6 / 2). If the former then there may be a tendency for the yeast in slurries to stick if those slurries were removed from the original wine when the wine's SG was close to an SG of 1.000. If the latter, then the fermentation is sticking for random reasons.... In short, I wonder if the "upside" of the addition of slurry is that you are adding a great deal of thriving yeast but the "down side" is that the yeast may rapidly reach its lethal levels of alcohol. Thoughts?


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## olusteebus (Jan 3, 2013)

Some more experienced winemaker hopefully will chime in but here is my opinion. The alcohol content of the wine of the slurry donor will not affect the alcohol content of the "donee". The alcohol content will be determined by the sugar content in the new wine must.

The slurry just provides the yeast to convert the sugars in the new wine. I don't think the pearson square theory would apply here.


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## Arne (Jan 3, 2013)

olusteebus said:


> I started this skeeter pee over a week and a half ago and it stuck at about 1.060. I added energizer to it and nothing happened.I had pretty much given up on it but I noticed this morning that the whole primary was bubbling ever so slightly. I took a reading and it appears that the sg dropped about .0100. So, I thought I would take a bolder step to get this stuff fermenting.
> 
> I took a half gallon and added two teaspoons of energizer, one pack of 1118 and a small amount of simple syrup. I have done all this today. It is bubbling pretty well, not going crazy.
> 
> ...


 
First thing, what was your origional gravity? If it was way high, you mite of fermented out. Next, are you keeping the oxygen in it? It needs to be stirred like crazy. Third, check its temp. It should be at least 75 and warmer will not hurt the skeeter pee. Seems like it likes it warmer than other wines. Arne.


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