first batch of skeeter pee

[Arne]

It's finally going...looks like someone lit a fire under it. Do you all recommend continuing stirring twice daily while it's in the primary and until it's time to move it to the secondary?

Yep, keep the oxygen in there at least til it gets down to 1.010 or so. It needs it to keep the ferment going. Arne.

 

[beardy]

In the last 5-6 hours my batch has started to smell of nail polish remover/acetone... help? I would hate to dump it, but will if necessary. Would upping the so2 help? I stir twice a day so there's lots of oxygen contact. I JUST read up on total & free so2 and the whats and whys of it and my first thought was that it binds to oxygen and isn't available to fight off other unwanteds.

Thoughts? (Done searches and lots of "this is happening" found but almost nothing on "possible solutions")
Thanks! !!!

Edit- did more googling and, according to a buncha folks, it looks like this is a doomed batch. Too much or too vigorous stirring could be my problem ("gross oxidization"). I'm gonna give another batch a go to see if I can't make this allegedly (hahaha) fool-proof drink.

 

[kryptonitewine]

My last batch I didn't stir all that much. I made a yeast starter rather than using a slurry. Fastest fermenting batch ever for me


I mixed the ingredients and stirred. Then started the yeast in a mason jar with sugar and some must. Every few hours stirred the yeast and added more must. 24 hours pitched the yeast and stirred it again. Fermented to under 1.05 in 2 days and was almost dry in 5. I used to whip it with a drill daily.

 

[dessertmaker]

Beardy, SP has a lot of acid. Mine smells pretty sharp once the ferment starts tapering off. It also has a pretty acidic taste before I back sweeten it. The sweetness brings the other tastes back out. Did you use any of the lemonade powder in it?

I made a batch from my wife's lemonade one time and found out too late that she had used a lot of the minute made powder. Stuff smelled even more vile than usual! It smelled like a science experiment gone horribly wrong! But the taste wasn't really that different in the end. It was a little off but that didn't stop it from flying off the shelf as soon as it was in the bottle.

I was scared that batch was garbage at first though, even posted on here about it.

 

[beardy]

Beardy, SP has a lot of acid. Mine smells pretty sharp once the ferment starts tapering off. It also has a pretty acidic taste before I back sweeten it. The sweetness brings the other tastes back out. Did you use any of the lemonade powder in it?

I made a batch from my wife's lemonade one time and found out too late that she had used a lot of the minute made powder. Stuff smelled even more vile than usual! It smelled like a science experiment gone horribly wrong! But the taste wasn't really that different in the end. It was a little off but that didn't stop it from flying off the shelf as soon as it was in the bottle.

I was scared that batch was garbage at first though, even posted on here about it.

I didnt use any powder. Just the realemon juice. I might campden and wait it out.

 

[dessertmaker]

I would not even campden. Ferment it to dry and see how it tastes. If its just a little off, sorbate/sulfite and back sweeten till you get it where you want it.

 

[Deezil]

In the last 5-6 hours my batch has started to smell of nail polish remover/acetone... help? I would hate to dump it, but will if necessary. Would upping the so2 help? I stir twice a day so there's lots of oxygen contact. I JUST read up on total & free so2 and the whats and whys of it and my first thought was that it binds to oxygen and isn't available to fight off other unwanteds.

Thoughts? (Done searches and lots of "this is happening" found but almost nothing on "possible solutions")
Thanks! !!!

Edit- did more googling and, according to a buncha folks, it looks like this is a doomed batch. Too much or too vigorous stirring could be my problem ("gross oxidization"). I'm gonna give another batch a go to see if I can't make this allegedly (hahaha) fool-proof drink.

Nail polish remove / acetone types smells.. I went through that with a Blackberry batch.. Come to find out, its from excessive creation of Volatile Acidity (VA) - basically is a nutrient shortage. Add some yeast nutrient, yeast energizer & still very well to help dissipate the smell.. Caught early enough, it can be fixed.. Allowed to continue, its considered a "Fault".. Wont hurt you, but wont win a wine competition either

 

[beardy]

Nail polish remove / acetone types smells.. I went through that with a Blackberry batch.. Come to find out, its from excessive creation of Volatile Acidity (VA) - basically is a nutrient shortage. Add some yeast nutrient, yeast energizer & still very well to help dissipate the smell.. Caught early enough, it can be fixed.. Allowed to continue, its considered a "Fault".. Wont hurt you, but wont win a wine competition either

I thought I had read somewhere that an excess of DAP/O2/high temp can cause VA. I've added probably triple the amount of nutrients because the fermentation just wasnt starting. I have "yeast energizer" (no specific name) and DAP (as nutrient). I was stirring 2 times a day but the temp was always a constant 75°. I'll add some more energizer and stir for a while. See if that helps.

 

[kryptonitewine]

I made a batch and added koolaid at the end for flavor. I bought strawberry but grabbed the wrong packets. Ended up adding pink lemonade. I was really worried that the double lemon would be awful. It wasn't my favorite but was still very drinkable.

 

[Deezil]

I thought I had read somewhere that an excess of DAP/O2/high temp can cause VA. I've added probably triple the amount of nutrients because the fermentation just wasnt starting. I have "yeast energizer" (no specific name) and DAP (as nutrient). I was stirring 2 times a day but the temp was always a constant 75°. I'll add some more energizer and stir for a while. See if that helps.

Maybe I'm wrong?
Could be a bacteria..

Here's some reading we can wade through
(Learning with you, now)

Winemaker's Magazine Article
Surry Community College PDF/Slideshow

 

[beardy]

Maybe I'm wrong?
Could be a bacteria..

Here's some reading we can wade through
(Learning with you, now)

Winemaker's Magazine Article
Surry Community College PDF/Slideshow

Well those were definitely good reads... but makes me believe that I should just dump this batch. Ill keep the next one cooler and will double sanitize everything before I begin again. Ugh. Makes me pretty sad. But on the bright side I can make a 5 gal batch now that I have the carboys..

 

[dessertmaker]

Dude don't dump it! That's alcohol abuse! I'll bet you a bottle of my best that it turns out drinkable and enjoyable!

 

[beardy]

Dude don't dump it! That's alcohol abuse! I'll bet you a bottle of my best that it turns out drinkable and enjoyable!

Alright... Ill let it go. Its still fermenting and should be <1.000 in a day or so. Guess ill just see what I get. At least I could make a nice lemon vingarette with it hahaha

 

[Deezil]

I kept mine..

Did you read in the Winemaker's Magazine:

The problem with volatile acidity is that once you’ve got it, there’s not a lot you can do to get rid of it. But, as Bisson pointed out, one of the advantages of being a home winemaker is that you can experiment and see what happens.
If volatile acidity shows up during primary fermentation, Lustig said that often the process of pressing and racking the wine will be enough to get rid of it. Make sure your SO2 levels are up and proceed as usual.

An experienced wine taster/judge could probably find the VA fault in my Blackberry-Cherry wine, but I cant. Maybe I can and just cant recognize it; I wont know 100% until I repeat the combination.

 

[beardy]

I kept mine..

Did you read in the Winemaker's Magazine:

An experienced winemaker could probably find the VA fault in my Blackberry-Cherry wine, but I cant. Maybe I can and just cant recognize it; I wont know 100% until I repeat the combination.

I did see that. I added a half dose of campden today. I'll just watch and wait. I think ill lock the lid down and airlock until I rack.

 

[beardy]

Dude don't dump it! That's alcohol abuse! I'll bet you a bottle of my best that it turns out drinkable and enjoyable!

I kept it and let it go over this weekend under airlock (went camping and couldn't be tempted to mess with it). SG was at 0.998 so I racked to a clean carboy and degassed and stabilized. The smell is definitely reduced and now smells mostly of lemon and alcohol. Going to let it clear this week and hopefully with the next racking it will be even better. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[beardy]

Racked off lees and Backsweetened today to 1.010 will let it sit for a few days to make sure theres no ferment action... thanks for all the help!!

 

[beardy]

Success!! Bottled my first batch!



It's a blue raspberry (infused with lemon zest) skeeter. Six 750's (gifts) and three 1.5's (for muhself).

 

[dessertmaker]

So how is it?!

 

[beardy]

It has a touch of VA smell but it isn't in the taste. Its tart to start but is fruity and sweet at the end. I like it and the girl does too. I think in a month it will be outstanding!