Newbie

[Griff]

Hey all! Newbie here but been lurking for a few weeks, and me and 26 yr. old grandson got interested in making the Sk-P. We put it together per Lon's recipe (thanks Lon) on 3-03 and added the yeast the next day. So far it's progressed along very nicely, and SG test this morning showed 1.020. So far, so good. Woohoo!

From reading the posts, I'm a little confused tho. If I'm reading right, some of you racked to the carboy around this time, and some let it ferment on out to dry in the primary? My inclination is to let it ferment on out in the primary, dish towel covered so that it's easier to keep whipping in the oxygen until it gets completely dry. Now that some of you are experienced at making this stuff, which method has worked the best for you?

Any advice is very much appreciated.

 

[Runningwolf]

Griff welcome to the forum. The choice is your's as to whether you keep it in the primary or rack to a carboy. But now that your sg is down to 1.02 you should keep it under an air lock. You want to protect your wine at this point from oxygen.

 

[xanxer82]

welcome aboard... I've been letting things ferment to dry in primary. Pop on an airlock after a couple of days to protect the wine from o2 after primary.

 

[Brian]

I agree! I ferment to dry in the primary. at this point I would snap the top down and put an airlock on it to protect it.. Welcome to the forum..

 

[ibglowin]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Griff]

Thanks for the fast replies everyone, and thanks for the nice welcome. My pee is now in the carboy, airlocked, & happily perking away. Grandson brought me 25lb. bag of sugar and more lemon and lime juice and since I have lots of empty carboys I'm thinking about cleaning out the primary and starting another batch. Lemon/lime this time.

What do you recommend? 32 oz. ReaLemon and 64 oz. ReaLime juice?

 

[Griff]

Oops, another question........now that my pee is in the carboy, should it be kept in a dark place to finish? What about after it's bottled? I'm assuming yes, but......

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Thanks for the fast replies everyone, and thanks for the nice welcome. My pee is now in the carboy, airlocked, & happily perking away. Grandson brought me 25lb. bag of sugar and more lemon and lime juice and since I have lots of empty carboys I'm thinking about cleaning out the primary and starting another batch. Lemon/lime this time.

What do you recommend? 32 oz. ReaLemon and 64 oz. ReaLime juice?

I'd go 2/3 lemon and 1/3 lime. The lime seems to impart more flavor and in my opinion can become overload.

I'm glad it's working well for you. What a nice story, you get the advantage of your grandson's youth and energy and he likely gets a tidbit or two of wisdom from you (even if he doesn't know it).

If you get a chance to get a grandson/grandfather picture with a carboy of SP, it would be a nice addition to the photo gallery on the website. You can find my e-mail address at the website.

Cheers, have a great summer enjoying the SP with your family,
Lon

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Oops, another question........now that my pee is in the carboy, should it be kept in a dark place to finish? What about after it's bottled? I'm assuming yes, but......

It won't be there long enough for any real damage, but if you can put it in an area that isn't in direct sunlight, it couldn't hurt. I even throw an old sweatshirt or sweater over my carboys. It protects the contents from light, helps stabilize the temperature from minor fluctuations, and is a bump guard for the carboy. That little bit of cushioning can make a big difference if something hard were to be dropped on the carboy or two carboys get bumped together.

Cheers,

 

[Griff]

I'd go 2/3 lemon and 1/3 lime. The lime seems to impart more flavor and in my opinion can become overload.

I'm glad it's working well for you. What a nice story, you get the advantage of your grandson's youth and energy and he likely gets a tidbit or two of wisdom from you (even if he doesn't know it).

If you get a chance to get a grandson/grandfather picture with a carboy of SP, it would be a nice addition to the photo gallery on the website. You can find my e-mail address at the website.

Cheers, have a great summer enjoying the SP with your family,
Lon

Thanks for the advice, Lon, and a special thanks also for posting your recipe that so many people seem to enjoy. From the tasting I have done so far I am very sure me and my family and friends are going to love this stuff.

Also great idea to get a pic of my grandson and me with the SP. I will do that soon and email you a copy. But it will be a Granny/Grandson pic.

Grandson found 7 gallon of old wine down in the old dirt cellar \I had made back in '93 and although it had developed some off flavors, he was pretty impressed with granny's wine-making and soon had it doctored up and tasting pretty good. He is really interested in wine making and I think he may have a good knack for it. We are having a great time experimenting and although I'm sure I'll have more questions, so far our SP is doing great!

Also would like to say, this is a great site with great people.

 

[Julie]

Hi Griff,

Welcome to winemakingtalk

 

[Griff]

Thanks for the nice welcome everyone.

Now for my 5 1/2 gallon SP update. The sg has been down to .990 the last few days so we racked and added the sorbate & k-meta today & will be adding the sparkaloid tonight after degassing. We been doing some taste testing the last week or so, and it tastes awesome! Woohoo!!!

Sure glad we already got started on the 2nd 5 1/2 gallon batch last week! I already seen the first one ain't gonna last long! lol

Thanks Lon!

 

[Lost40Vinter]

I'm just a couple of weeks away from bottling my first batch of skeeter pee. The lemon flavor really came alive once I added the sugar to it. I ended up adding another cup of sugar in addition to Lon's recipe. It is at a Sg of 1.010 now. I put a sample in the freezer to chill, yes it is a whole lot better served cool!
Lon needs to be elected President of Wineville!

 

[Griff]

I'm just a couple of weeks away from bottling my first batch of skeeter pee. The lemon flavor really came alive once I added the sugar to it. I ended up adding another cup of sugar in addition to Lon's recipe. It is at a Sg of 1.010 now. I put a sample in the freezer to chill, yes it is a whole lot better served cool!
Lon needs to be elected President of Wineville!

Yep, I agree!