Here We Go (Skeeter Pee)

[Arne]

Or, transfer the 1/2 gal to smaller bottles and let em clear out first. This is what I would probably do. Then pour off the clear wine and sweeten to taste, and adjust your big batch to be the same.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Remember that when you sweeten the SP, the sugar will increase the total volume and you night end up with almost a full gallon over 5 again.

 

[Mcamnl]

Right. Forgot about the increase after adding sugar. I am going to put it all back into my primary bucket tonight and mix the next ingredients in then put it back in the 5 and 1 gallon containers to clear. Then in a couple of weeks I will go back into the bucket for sweetening. Then once again back to the glass. No hurry here. I have more travel coming up so this should time out pretty well.

 

[Mcamnl]

Well the half gallon sure cleared fast. There is a lot of sediment on the bottom of the 5 gallon but it is still very cloudy. I degassed it with my little vacuum pump till it stopped bubbling up. Maybe I will do it again after work today to try and get some more out of it.
I may rack the half gallon off the sediment and sweeten it. I know it will be to my taste but is there a general sg most people shoot for when sweetening their pee?
3 P's. I know. Still working on that.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

I dont' know the SG, but I usually go about a cup of sugar per gallon.

 

[Mcamnl]

A lot of sediment at the bottom but not much clearing. Still very cloudy.
There isn't even a line towards the top I have sometimes seen as wine clears.

Patience.

 

[Mcamnl]

So, as I sit here looking at my Pee, my impatience starts to shine through.
I kind of figured it would clear faster. I used superclear. Maybe I should have started with sparkoloid. I used superclear on my Syrah and it worked really well and I wanted to use my last one. Could I rack it off what has settled out so far and add sparkoloid? I degassed it really good. Maybe not good enough.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

A couple of thoughts.

1) are you absolutely sure it was done fermenting? A slowly fermenting wine will keep the solids suspended even after using fining agents
2) what did you use as a slurry or starter? Could you be dealing with a pectin, starch, or mineral haze?

You could rack and then hit it with Sparkolloid, but if you have one of the above problems, Sparkolloid won't help you either.

 

[Mcamnl]

I am sure it was done fermenting. I had the same sg readings a couple of days in a row. Unless I was reading my hydrometer wrong. There was a lot of CO2.
I just used a yeast starter I found on this forum using some of the must. I did add 2 cans of raspberry/apple concentrate at the beginning in place of some water.
I'll just let it go for a while and see what it does.
Peaches will be here this weekend so that will distract me for a while.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

I am sure it was done fermenting. I had the same sg readings a couple of days in a row. Unless I was reading my hydrometer wrong. There was a lot of CO2.
I just used a yeast starter I found on this forum using some of the must. I did add 2 cans of raspberry/apple concentrate at the beginning in place of some water.
I'll just let it go for a while and see what it does.
Peaches will be here this weekend so that will distract me for a while.

The apple could be your problem. Apple normally will have pectin in it. (The pectin you buy for making jams and jellies is usually made from apple skins).

If you didn't add any pectic enzyme, you may have a pectin haze. You can still treat it with pectic enzyme.

 

[Mcamnl]

I did not add any pectic enzyme. I didn't see it on the recipe. But now that I know apples have pectin in them, I will add it in the future.
I will rack it tonight after work and add the enzyme.

 

[terryinsarnia]

Hate to sound ignorant but what is skeeter pee wine? I have never heard of it but it sounds popular and interesting so I wouldn't mind giving it a try.

Thanks
Terry

 

[ffemt128]

Hate to sound ignorant but what is skeeter pee wine? I have never heard of it but it sounds popular and interesting so I wouldn't mind giving it a try.

Thanks
Terry

Its similar to a hard lemonade. It is spectacular to drink on a hot day, on a cool day, in the evening, just about anytime. Very inexpensive to make and is ready for consumption after it clears in about 60 day.

We are blessed to have the creator of this fine drink as a member on our forum to answer questions and make suggestions.

http://www.skeeterpee.com

 

[Mcamnl]

Can I sweeten the same time I add the enzyme?

 

[Mcamnl]

Racked to a clean carboy and added pectic enzyme per instructions on the container. Next batch I will add that first.
I filled up a glass in the process to give it a taste. Not bad. A bit tart.
I added a bit of sugar and that made a world of difference. My wife really liked it too.
Would definitely be better chilled. Can't wait till this is done.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

You should be fine sweetening and "pectic enzyming" at the same time. The enzyme could take a week or two to do it's thing, but hopefully you'll start to see a difference soon. Good luck; enjoy.

 

[Mcamnl]

3 days and I see a difference already! Very cool.

I didn't sweeten yet. I figured better safe than sorry. I will give it a few more days then sweeten it up. thanks for all of the help on this. I can see many more batches in my future.

 

[countrygirl]

looking awesome mcamnl!

 

[Mcamnl]

I am planning on sweetening tonight and am wondering what is a good way to do this? I am just planning on racking to my primary bucket, slowly adding sugar to taste, then racking back to carboy for a week or so. Sound good? Do I need to add any k-meta before bottling?

 

[Minnesotamaker]

I am planning on sweetening tonight and am wondering what is a good way to do this? I am just planning on racking to my primary bucket, slowly adding sugar to taste, then racking back to carboy for a week or so. Sound good? Do I need to add any k-meta before bottling?

That method will work fine. As for K-meta, per the recipe, you should be adding K-meta and Sorbate before adding sugar to the finished product. If you've already done that, then no additional K-meta will be needed. Without the sorbate/meta additives for stabilization, you run the risk of fermentation starting again and bottle bombs.