First batch at skeeter...

[Skinard]

I haven't had any "skeeter before, but I've tried hard lemonade from the local packy and mine is way better if I do say so myself. We'll have a few now but probably save the bulk for summer. Alot of fun making it and learned a few things in the process.

 

[Skinard]

You'll have to forgive the grammarish errors. I have been sampling a few in the process of bottling.

 

[FTC Wines]

Nice labels! S. P. Is fun to make, fast & good to drink. Great on the rocks around the pool or on the boat or patio. Enjoy, Roy

 

[Skinard]

Nice labels! S. P. Is fun to make, fast & good to drink. Great on the rocks around the pool or on the boat or patio. Enjoy, Roy

Nice labels! S. P. Is fun to make, fast & good to drink. Great on the rocks around the pool or on the boat or patio. Enjoy, Roy

Thanks. The labels were fun to make too. A little photoshop, keep it simple, a little personal symbolism, and voila. It's the perfect summer fun sipper.

 

[winepittsburgh]

Nice labels! 14% might catch up to you on a skeeter pee! Did you end up back sweetening it or leaving any residual sugar? I have had really good luck with the skeeter pees at about 10%ABV and 1 or 2%RS. Looks like you might need to adjust your corker a bit there. Cheers.

 

[Skinard]

Nice labels! 14% might catch up to you on a skeeter pee! Did you end up back sweetening it or leaving any residual sugar? I have had really good luck with the skeeter pees at about 10%ABV and 1 or 2%RS. Looks like you might need to adjust your corker a bit there. Cheers.

I let it go completely dry then back sweetened with about 4.5 cups sugar to about 5.5 gallons. Next time I may cut the sugar back a bit. 14% is high for skeeter from what I have read, but my wife and I like a little kick and I figured what the heck. Worst thing that can happen is we have another baby, and I like kids, so... I did notice that my corks were a little high, but it didn't occur to me to adjust the corker. Duh me. Thanks!

 

[Country]

Wow, very clear. Nice work.

 

[Skinard]

Wow, very clear. Nice work.

Thank you. This batch was the first time I have used sparkoloid, and I have read great things about it, but it didn't seem to work well for me. It cleared somewhat but was still cloudy. When I did a subsequent racking I added bentonite and that cleared it up the rest of the way. Learning from a previous mistake I was very careful on the final racking. I actually left a bottle's worth of sp on the bottom. I carefully took that remaining bottle's worth out in a separate container (which did pick up a bit of cloudiness), let it settle a bit and shared and drank it when bottling. I am probably going to invest in a pump and filter at some point in the near future which, I am assuming, will make this process easier.

 

[Country]

I never worried about the clarity of my SP, I guess because lemonade has a haze to it. But after seeing yours, I’m going to up my game

 

[Skinard]

I never worried about the clarity of my SP, I guess because lemonade has a haze to it. But after seeing yours, I’m going to up my game

Well gee. Being a totally clueless novice, I did not expect my stuff to be an inspiration for anyone. Thanks for that.

I suppose the cloudiness doesn't matter in a practical sense, especially if we're just drinking it ourselves. Maybe it's just that a clear wine makes me feel good about the job I've done, and I am not reluctant to give away a bottle or bring one or two to a gathering. They're pretty to look at.

 

[meadmaker1]

I suppose the cloudiness doesn't matter in a practical sense, especially if we're just drinking it ourselves. Maybe it's just that a clear wine makes me feel good about the job I've done, and I am not reluctant to give away a bottle or bring one or two to a gathering. They're pretty to look at.[/Quoate]

Looking good doesnt mean a good product but looking bad too often means a bad product.