Original Skeeter Pee Recipe

[jamesjr]

Lol im thinking of making a food grade 25 gal blue drum into a primary would u think it would work?

 

[wineforfun]

james,
Also, with SP or DB it doesn't really get much better after 3-4 mos. in the bottle. Not like a red wine that gets better with 1 -2yrs. under it.
I always make it with the intention of it being drank within 6 months.

 

[Arne]

Lol im thinking of making a food grade 25 gal blue drum into a primary would u think it would work?

Think it would probably work just fine. When it comes time to rack it, if you don't have a vac. pump, you will probably have to pour it over a little at a time. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[calvin]

I have the 20 gallon brute. But wish I would have got the 32. I want to try an 18 gallon batch but I'm scared it would overflow. A 25 gallon fermenter sounds like a great size.

 

[jamesjr]

That's down the road a ways lol ive only concord a 1 gallon batches so far but hey I got big dreams but those 55 gal drums out here are used for everything

 

[calvin]

I would suggest doing a kit wine first. But skeeter pee is pretty easy. Follow the directions exactly and it will turn out good.

Oh. A slurry is the yeast from the bottom of your primary fermenter after your first racking. So you need to do a different batch of wine first to get a slurry.

That being said you can make skeeter pee without a slurry. Follow the directions on a packet of ec-1118 and you will be ok

Good luck

 

[jamesjr]

I actually tried the red star montrachet yeast and I got it to ferment out but I had to realy step feed it with nutrients. But it is a cheaper one to make and customize to your own liking. But I'd personally recommend apple juice or apple cider it seems like that's so easy to ferment and clear. That's what I learned on and if u can find it already in a one gallon glass jug its a bonus because u can ferment it right in that and reuse the carboy later. Either apple juice or any store baught 100 percent juice is how I learned. But like someone told me of u make skeeter pee start another batch asap because it goes quick.

 

[QuiQuog]

Has this been asked already? Why do we let is sit for 24-48 hours before adding the slurry?

 

[barbiek]

QuiQuog to help rid of the preservative in the lemon juice you also want to give it a good stirring too stir really hard Ina back and forth motion to get some oxygen in it not like you do when degassing good luck with it and take it from me...take good notes

Barbie

 

[QuiQuog]

Thanks, I think I remember reading that tidbit somewhere. I wonder if that's the reason the instruction say that some people have a hard time getting the ferment to start.

If we use a preservative free juice then, can we just pour it in the bucket with the slurry and bypass the wait? I found this on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001M1DUDU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Yeah, it's more expensive. Maybe I'll try both!

On a side note, I was reading that the preservatives in Real Lemon give some people headaches. I wonder if that may play a part in the Skeeter Pee headaches thread.

Another related topic. In the original recipe, it says that it will take on slight flavor characteristics of the wine that donates the yeast slurry. Has anyone noticed that any particular slurry imparts a better flavor than another?

 

[barbiek]

Yes that is exactly why the ferment problem. And yes I think that has everything to do with the headache that and the sugar added for sweetening I haven't read the thread on the headaches as of yet. As far as it taken on the taste of the slurry used yes of course, that's why it's important to use a slurry of a like wine. And I didn't look at that link yet but I would question if no preservatives are in it because u still want it clean to start with then I woułd treat it like fresh juice and add k meta and wait 12-24 hrs before but that's just imho maybe someone with more experience will reply hope I was some help anyway

Barbie

 

[wineinmd]

Could I use the fine lees from the secondary from my Cab Sauv for this or should it be the gross lees from primary or neither?

 

[QuiQuog]

You need live yeast cells. If you take them from your secondary they should all be dead as fermentation has stopped if everything goes as planned. You should take them from the primary when fermentation is still active.

 

[wineinmd]

You need live yeast cells. If you take them from your secondary they should all be dead as fermentation has stopped if everything goes as planned. You should take them from the primary when fermentation is still active.

I'm coming at this from a beer brewer's perspective. The stuff that falls out first during primary is all the solids (hops, any stray grains, caramelized extract, etc.) and the majority of the yeast stay in suspension until fermentation is near finished. It seems strange to me that some of the yeast will just decide to stop eating and fall out of suspension while there are still sugars present.

When I compare the gross lees to the fine lees I see in the bottom of the secondary, the fine lees look much more like the healthy yeast I harvest from my beer making. The gross lees looked like the "bleh" leftovers. I'm guessing the bentonite and Fermax and Fermaid and things like that.

I guess if people are successfully harvesting yeast from primary that some of my assumptions are wrong or there are just plenty of yeast to go around. I thought worst case scenario I would just end up with the less flocculent yeast, which would only be a nuisance since it would take longer to clear.

 

[Julie]

QuiQuog, yeast do not die, they eat their fill and drop to the bottom. Fermenting lemon can be difficult, using the lees for your secondary may not have enough yeast to be successful.

 

[QuiQuog]

I should have prefaced my comment with something along the lines of, "I'm pretty much a complete noob in the dark art of wine making, but I think…" and then ended it with, "…but you better wait for someone who knows what they're talking about to come along with an actual answer."

 

[wineinmd]

Just a general question about using slurries.

My raspberry peach sangria is just about ready to be moved and was thinking about using the slurry to start a SP batch. How much of the flavor/color shows up in the finished product? I'd like it to be distinctive from the sangria and was considering adding cranberry to half a batch, and cranberry/lime to the other, but wasn't sure what level of competition taste-wise there would be from the sangria slurry.

 

[Ctmaro]

Just a general question about using slurries.

My raspberry peach sangria is just about ready to be moved and was thinking about using the slurry to start a SP batch. How much of the flavor/color shows up in the finished product? I'd like it to be distinctive from the sangria and was considering adding cranberry to half a batch, and cranberry/lime to the other, but wasn't sure what level of competition taste-wise there would be from the sangria slurry.

I have found that the color carries through more than the flavor. The flavor is only a back ground not a mix with the lemon.

Mark

 

[wineinmd]

I have found that the color carries through more than the flavor. The flavor is only a back ground not a mix with the lemon.

Mark

Thanks Mark. If I'm going with cranberry, I suppose it won't make much of a difference then since the color won't be that far off between the two. Much appreciated!

 

[gizmo206]

I have a batch that the gravity has been at 1.010 for almost week and half I have stirred it several times to intro some oxygen. What can I do to get the gravity lower? or should I just transfer it to the carboy and add the finishing products