Skeeter Pee stopped fermenting at 1.006

[wbhutchins]

Hi all,

I have a batch of Skeeter Pee that I tried to follow the instructions on the skeeterpee.com website. I'm worried I racked to the carboy to ferment to dry a little too early.

In the fifth paragraph of the recipe (see attachment for recipe, which I copied and converted to pdf), it says to add 3rd bottle of lemon juice and additional yeast nutrient and energizer. Then after a couple days you can rack into a carboy.

I checked the S.G. at that point and it was 1.038. That was 6 January, 3.5 weeks ago. If it's still fermenting, it is going very slowly. I have a heating pad under the carboy set to 77 degrees, but it seems to be done at 1.006. I have been measuring the S.G. every couple days and since 29 Jan (3 days ago) it seems to have stabilized at 1.006. the recipe says to ferment to dry, about 0.998-0.995.

If it doesn't get any lower, is it okay to proceed and start the clearing/stabilizing steps?

If it just wouldn't be any good at 1.006, is there anything I should/could do to jump start the fermenting so it gets down to the recipe specs of 0.998?

I have a second batch going that I added fruit and it is acting more like a dragon blood. It has already dropped down to 0.986 in the bucket. Guess the tropical fruits make all the difference.

Anyway, any help or suggestions for my SP are appreciated.

 

[Jovimaple]

Try racking it to a clean carboy. That might jump start it.

I had a key lime skeeter pee get stuck a bit higher than that, while it was still in the fermenting bucket. I tried adding another yeast starter, using a heating pad, racking several times. It got down a little lower but after several weeks I finally gave up and stabilized it, then eventually backsweetened it.

Now when I make SP (including the key lime version), I start with about 1/3 of the lemon or lime juice, and I add the rest after fermentation is complete. (I ferment to dry in the bucket, usually.)

When I tasted my first batch of SP after backsweetening, I ended up adding more lemon than the recipe called for. Now for a 6 gallon batch, I start with 64 oz of lemon and water to 5.5 gallons. After fermentation is complete, I add another 128 oz of lemon juice. That gives me more than 6 gallons so I have enough to fill two 3 gallon carboys plus some extra.

 

[BigDaveK]

Stuck fermentations can be annoying and it's natural to ask, "What did I do wrong?" And the answer is, "Probably nothing."
I've had three so far that eventually finished. One, at a higher SG than yours, I added more yeast. Another I poured - literally poured - into another carboy. The third restarted after I added k-meta which really surprised me.
You don't mention how it tastes. If I'm anywhere near a fermentation in primary there's a 100% chance I'll sample.

 

[wbhutchins]

@BigDaveK no I haven't tasted it yet. Sounds like if it tasted okay, just march forward forward and degas and clear. Wouldn't hurt anything to have a little less alcohol as long as it tastes good.

I guess on Saturday when I was planning to move on to the next steps, since it has stabilized, so long as it tastes okay, I'm moving on.

 

[Jovimaple]

@BigDaveK no I haven't tasted it yet. Sounds like if it tasted okay, just march forward forward and degas and clear. Wouldn't hurt anything to have a little less alcohol as long as it tastes good.

I guess on Saturday when I was planning to move on to the next steps, since it has stabilized, so long as it tastes okay, I'm moving on.

When I say stabilized, I mean adding sorbate and kmeta, and even then, I would probably let it sit for a while to make sure the fermentation doesn't restart when you backsweeten.

 

[wbhutchins]

When I say stabilized, I mean adding sorbate and kmeta, and even then, I would probably let it sit for a while to make sure the fermentation doesn't restart when you backsweeten.

Thanks and yes, I will stabilize starting Saturday. I just plan to add Kmeta and sorbate. Stir, then add Sparkoloid to clear a couple weeks before I backsweeten. That's the interesting part of all this. Since I just started making homemade wine, knowing what "right" tastes like is difficult. But I guess if it isn't "bad" then I guess it's good! I noticed with my very first DB, it tasted fairly good even before backsweetening. Hoping the SP is a similar experience.

 

[BigDaveK]

@BigDaveK no I haven't tasted it yet.

Try tasting every day with your next wine in primary. I think you'll enjoy it. It's fun to taste the evolution of the flavor. And it reinforces that you're doing a good job.

And as long as you like the taste it's a good wine.

But then that's also why we're here - we want to make good, better.

 

[wbhutchins]

Try tasting every day with your next wine in primary. I think you'll enjoy it. It's fun to taste the evolution of the flavor. And it reinforces that you're doing a good job.

And as long as you like the taste it's a good wine.

But then that's also why we're here - we want to make good, better.

I finally tasted the SP today... Oh my goodness, it's quite good. So I've decided to go ahead and rack, stabilize, degas and clear tomorrow. Thanks for all the tips!