Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Alcoholic beverages which are not classified as spirits.

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maddyn99
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Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by maddyn99 »

I dont really care for wine, I make it for my wife but this stuff is pretty damn good. Its cheap, relativity easy and surprisingly refreshing on a hot summer day. As a side bonus its ready to drink as soon as it clears. It possibly might improve with age, but it never stays around long enough to age. I usually tweak this to make 6 gallons and increase the sugar for a 11% wine.

The main website is http://skeeterpee.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow with the recipe being found http://skeeterpee.com/?page_id=17" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Just incase the links ever disappear or change...

The original, inexpensive, quick, easy to make, easy to drink, naturally fermented, lemon, hot-weather, thirst quencher.



——————————-



For a 5 gallon batch

3 bottles of 32 oz 100% lemon juice (e.g ReaLemon in the green plastic bottles or equivalent)

7 lbs sugar (or 16 cups) to ferment

3/4 tsp tannin

6 tsp. yeast nutrient (3 now, 3 later)

2 tsp. yeast energizer (1 now, 1 later)

Approx, 4 1/2 gallons water

Yeast Slurry

Potassium metabisulfite (Kmeta)

Potassium sorbate (sorbate)

Sparkolloid

2 1/3 lbs sugar (or 6 cups) to sweeten finished Skeeter Pee. Use more or less for your tastes.

——————————-

Many people have difficulty getting lemonade to ferment. This is due, I believe, to several factors. The high acidity, the lack of natural nutrients, and preservatives that are often included in the lemon juice. Therefore, I do whatever I can to assist the process.

I use reverse osmosis water; this is by choice and tap water should work fine since much of the chlorine should evaporate out during the initial steps. Make invert sugar by adding your 16 cups sugar to a large stainless cooking pot along with 8 cups water and 1/3 cup lemon juice (I keep lemon juice in the fridge for cooking, so I use that. Therefore, I actually have 1/3 more lemon juice than is stated in the ingredients above. If you don’t have the additional lemon juice, go ahead and use 1/3 cup from one of your three bottles; it won’t matter much). Stir sugar to dissolve and heat to just below boiling while stirring. Hold at this temperature for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and pour it into your primary along with 2 of the bottles of the lemon juice (reserve the last bottle until later), and enough additional water to make 5 1/2 gallons. Add the tannin, 3 tsp. of the yeast nutrient and 1 tsp. of the yeast energizer. Stir.

Test S.G with hydrometer and record. I shoot for an SG of around 1.070 which yields a beverage of around 10% alcohol if it ferments dry. If your SG is a little low, you can add granular sugar to bring it to the target level. Make sure you stir thoroughly to dissolve the sugar; if you have undissolved sugar at the bottom, it will throw off your readings and your Skeeter Pee won’t turn out properly. Vigorously beat the mixture with a wire whip for a couple of minutes to introduce oxygen and purge it of artificial preservatives. I then cover the bucket with a dish towel and let the sit for 24 to 48 hours.

After 24-48 hours, give it another quick whip and then pour in yeast slurry from the first rack of another batch of wine. It sometimes takes a while, but you should have active fermentation within a couple of days. It helps to keep this must warm (70-78 degrees). You may need to occasionally whip in some additional oxygen with the whip if fermentation seems to be progressing slowly.

Periodically check the gravity. When it gets down to around 1.050, add the other 3 tsp of nutrient the second tsp of energizer, and the last bottle of lemon juice; vigorously mix it in. Don’t be afraid to introduce some oxygen to the mix at the same time. This late addition of yeast food and oxygen helps reduce the likelihood of your batch developing a sulfur-dioxide problem. (Because of the high acidity and low nutrition, lemon has a higher propensity to developing the sulfur-dioxide rotten egg smell.) After a couple of days, you can rack into a clean, sanitized carboy.

Allow the Pee to ferment dry and for fermentation to stop (SG between 0.998 and 0.995). Rack into a clean, sanitized carboy. Give the batch a quick degas (use agitation and vacuum if you have the equipment). Add 1/2 tsp Kmeta, 2 1/2 tsp sorbate, and Sparkolliod (follow directions on the package). After two weeks, the Skeeter Pee should be crystal clear. Rack into a clean, sanitized carboy, add 6 cups sugar, and stir to dissolve. Wait two weeks to be sure no new fermentation begins and bottle.

Notes:

1. I don’t call this “hard lemonade” because too many people have tried the commercial versions and they tend to make a mental impression of what it’s going to taste like before trying it. When it doesn’t taste just like the commercial versions (which are usually 5% alcohol, lemon flavored malt beverages) they conclude that it’s a poor reproduction. This stuff isn’t a reproduction; it’s the original home-style without the big marketing budget and price tag. Please be advised that you need to keep an eye on those you serve this to. Because it drinks easily on a hot day and the alcohol is about double that of commercial hard lemonades and beer, it is easy to accidentally over consume; it sneaks up on you real fast.

2. This beverage will often take on slight flavor characteristics of the wine that donates the yeast slurry, keep this in mind when deciding which flavors will blend well with lemon.

3. You want to use a healthy yeast slurry to start your batch. If the slurry is coming from wine that is being pushed to high alcohol levels, it’s possible the slurry is suffering from the effects of alcohol poisoning. Therefore, it’s best if the slurry is used while it is still part of an active ferment.

4. You may have noticed that you start with 5 ? gallons of must and this is a recipe for 5 gallons. This is because you’ll be leaving a bit more sediment behind at your first racking. Remember that you’re adding the slurry from a previous batch and it will be left behind along with the sediment created by the Skeeter Pee.

5. If you aren’t in a hurry, Skeeter Pee will often fall clear without the Sparkolloid (as long as you’ve done a good job of degassing). My batches often clear in 30 to 45 days without fining.

6. There’s no need to age this beverage. It tastes great soon after bottling. Serve chilled.
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Bushman
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Bushman »

Nice write up, we belong to a wine club and with my homemade hooch that I mostly drink it seems like we have a lot of wine always around the house as we have to purchase 3 bottles quarterly.
oldnbroke
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by oldnbroke »

I've made 4 or 5 batches of Skeeter Pee. It is quit good. Bottled up in the little 7 oz beer bottles it is a must have in my ice chest when catfishin.
chopper35nj
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by chopper35nj »

This stuff sounds great, I'd like to make some but I have a question. Since I don't happen to be making wine and the recipe calls for yeast slury, can I just start some yeast and pitch that? Ever tryed this with bakers yeast? Oh, One more thing. With the abv being so high can you sucessfully carbonate Skeeter Pee or will the bottles explode?

Cheers
Chopper
WalkingWolf
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by WalkingWolf »

You'd probably be better served asking these questions on the pee site referenced by the OP.

http://skeeterpee.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
chopper35nj
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by chopper35nj »

OK, thanks.
Slowninja
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Slowninja »

I've made two batches without a slurry. I just use a capful of lemon juice, some water, a little sugar, some nutrient and the yeast. Once it forms a head on it, it's ready to pitch.
greenbasterd58
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by greenbasterd58 »

i have made skeeter pee successfully using lavlin ec-1118. i just took about 3/4 liter of the pre fermented SP and added about 1/4-1/2 cup of water and used it as a starter. it has to sit for 1 or 2 days to vent off any preservatives that might be in the lemon juice so its a perfect time to let your starter build up.. maid another batch when i racked it onto the clearing agent by using the slurry from the first batch, worked great.

note: i found the 3rd bottle of lemon juice is a little much, so i used about 2 1/4 for my scound batch because i plan on turning this into skeeter blood by adding some frutopia frozen concentrate and making it a more fruity drink with some color.

for 14$ for 5 gallons this stuff is the perfect summer drink to get your friends buzzin
lebowski
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by lebowski »

this is awesome. just racked my first batch for clearing, stole a cup, added sugar, tasted great, and potent. made 6 gallons, @11%. second batch on the go, mostly orange this time, planning a lemon-lime after that. thanks .
EINY
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by EINY »

Without being facetious, I imagine if you potstilled this Skeeter Pee, it might come out tasting like limoncello?
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madmace
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by madmace »

Well 10 gallons made and gone already, and 10 more almost ready to bottle. In the last 30 yrs I have never bought a bottle of wine, do not like it at ALL. My first batch was a lemon with a hint of cranberry concentrate thrown in right before bottling, it was good! Now mind you that the recipe calls for 96 oz of lemon juice,2 qts at first ,then last qt when SG drops to 1.050. My 2nd one was 640z orange juice, 32 oz lemon, and 16 oz lime.That was 16 oz over what it called for and all 20 qts of this stuff have been gone now for some time, it was great! I now have a orange w/a hint of lime, and a lemon one w/a hint of orange almost ready to bottle and Im sure these will be fantastic. So coming from a non wine drinking guy saying its great, that might just be enough to warrant a batch. And yes now I am a wine drinking guy. Or at least that damn skeeter pee, and the orange one I called skeeter shine , as in orange like the sunshine, and the ones that had cranberry `in it was called skeeter blood due to the red shade it had .well let me know :thumbup: if you try it and like it .
Slowninja
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Slowninja »

I had 6 gallons of undrank skeeter pee sitting in the fermenter (taking up space).

Racked it into the still, pulled a quart off. Potstilled it, pulled a quart of hearts (70%) and mixed it with the quart of wine. Doesn't taste too bad in all honesty.

Plan on re-running the feints reeeeal slow, keeping the hearts and burning the rest... Just cause i like fire.
slinging
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by slinging »

I added the sparkoloid about 2 1/2 -3 weeks ago followed instructions doesn't seem to be cleared all the way should I leave it or add more sparkoloid????
rad14701
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by rad14701 »

slinging wrote:I added the sparkoloid about 2 1/2 -3 weeks ago followed instructions doesn't seem to be cleared all the way should I leave it or add more sparkoloid????
The term "clear" means to have the solids drop to the bottom, not to be crystal clear... Fairly translucent, perhaps, with a tint of color...
slinging
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by slinging »

I understand that but it should be alot clearer then it is
Dnderhead
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Dnderhead »

different "clearing agents" work on different substances.mite want to try a different one.
Hearts_On_Fire
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Hearts_On_Fire »

To the personal who asked about an alternative to slurry, I copied and pasted from the site:

Q: Can I make a batch of Skeeter Pee if I don’t have a slurry?

A: You can. Some people have had luck simply sprinkling the yeast on top of the must in the place of using a slurry. Be cautioned though, that the ferment will take much longer to get started. It helps to whip the must with a wire whisk to introduce lots of oxygen and keep the must warm. Be prepared to wait up to a week to see signs of ferment. An alternative method that has been successful is starting a 1 gallon batch of wine using frozen concentrate, letting it go for 5 days to a week to get good and active, and then using the whole thing in place of a slurry.


@OP, thanks for the recipe, I'm eager to try it next summer!
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Durace11
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Durace11 »

Hearts_On_Fire wrote:Be cautioned though, that the ferment will take much longer to get started...Be prepared to wait up to a week to see signs of ferment.
If you are waiting a week to see fermentation start, even with sprinkling the yeast on top, you are doing it wrong. Just make a simple yeast starter the night before and viola, yeast slurry. And a wire wisk to oxygenate...a fish pump is $10 or simply cap your jug and shake the hell out of it for free, upper body and arm exercise at no additional cost!
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mass37
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by mass37 »

Has anyone tried distilling skeeter pee? I have a ton of limes that I want to try this recipe on.
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Slowninja
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Slowninja »

Yes. I originally posted that I mixed a qt of hearts with a quart of wine. It tasted fine until I put in the freezer. Then it developed quite a terrible taste. I'd recommend cutting with water and mixing if that's your plans. Not enough flavor carried over to really taste
jack3M
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by jack3M »

Ok, want to add my two cents worth here.

Having a slurry available is .... for me.... a PIA. I don't really care for wine nor want to play that long of a wait for results. But this stuff is gooooooood. We decided to not sweeten as much as the recipie and prefer it that way as it doesn't go down with so little thought and we prefer the tart flavor anyhow.

But, to make a quick slurry for a batch, I used Red Star dry wine yeast, 2 cups of the mixture, 1 cup of water, a pinch of baking soda, 1/2 tsp of yeast energizer and yeast nutrient over and above the recipie. Also add another pinch of baking soda to the carboy. Hydrate the yeast in the mixture of 'must' and water along with the yeast additives, warm as appropriate. Whip the heck out of it. After about a half hour it should show good activity. Then you can add to the must. Allow to get to 1.050 and resume the recipie.

I actually think the baking soda is the secret. Seems to activate the slurry better in such a high acidic mix.
Lone Wolf
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Lone Wolf »

This sounds like something I want to try to make this spring.

Would it be ok to bottle this in plastic water bottles since it would only be around 10% abv? I would need to get 4 cases of the 7oz bottles, but I would just use that water and have the bottles ready.

Just a thought.

Thanks,
LW
Slowninja
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Slowninja »

I've stored wine in plastic before. This wine included
Lone Wolf
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Lone Wolf »

Ok, I started this a couple of days ago......

Monday Evening:

Inverted the sugar and let cool, mixed with 2 bottles of lemon juice, yeast nutrient, tanin, 1 crushed multi vitamin, 1 crushed b-complex tablet. I aerated this for 24 hours with a 6" stone from the pet store.

Slurry: I didn't have one, so I took 1/2 gallon of apple juice, the only preservative was vitamin C. Mixed 2 teaspoons of yeast, 1/2 teaspoon yeast nutrient, 1 crushed multi vitamin, 1/2 c sugar. Shook it well and put my air lock on it. Bubbling withing 20 minutes.

Tuesday Evening:

Added Apple Juice slurry to lemon juice mixutre, and added 3 teaspoons bakers yeast. Topped up the carboy - hit 1.075sg (approx 10% potential). Aerated overnight.

Wednesday Morning (This morning at 7am):

My wine had foamed over by the morning. Removed aeration, put air lock on. By 9am the airlock was bubbling non stop.


As per instructions, I will add more yeast nutrient when the sg falls in order to keep the ferment going.

I must have done something right as many say it takes at least a week to get lemon juice to ferment with the high acidity.

Thanks to all who have posted advice on this forum.

LW
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GuyFawkes
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by GuyFawkes »

Hmm.... I'm gonna have to give this a try. Done plenty of lemonade drinks from neutrals, never brewed one though. Would give me something to do drink while finishing up my new still too.

I'll make a batch and post up my results....
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whiskyb
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by whiskyb »

I have a batch going now with a red wine slurry. It looks like pink lemonade in the carboy. Going to start another batch and not use a slurry to keep it more of a authentic color.
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Hoosier Shine9
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Re: Skeeter Pee - AKA Lemonade wine

Post by Hoosier Shine9 »

I saw this post thought I would add my $.02
I made some this past spring. Used a different process, (I found on Homebrewtalk(dot)com) than the original recipe.
8 days from pitching yeast is was at 1.000.
here is the write up that I used.....

I have seen about 7000 questions on skeeter pee. It won't start or do I have to have a cake and on and on and on.
It is so simple if you don't even think about reading the original.

Mix 7 lbs of sugar to 4 gallons of water.
Add 5 tsp of energizer
Add 5 tsp nutrient
Add 1 pack of any wine yeast.

After a few hrs it should be started pretty good.
I usually wait till the next morning then I add all three bottles of lemon juice or any combo of lemon and whatever juice. Top up and proceed as with any wine.

If you want to use the slurry just add the 4 gallon of water and the nutrient, energizer and yeast. Once it gets going dump all the juice in.

You do not have to stagger the juice additions if you use this method and it will be easy to start every time.
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