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LooyvilleLarry · 04-18-2010, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baja_Brewer

This looks amazing and Id love to give it a try. I just have a few quick questions--

What temperature do you recommend fermenting it at? I cant really maintain anythign lower than 70 degrees F right now but I in about a month once it cools off Ill be able to do that.

In your opinion is it better carbonated or uncarbed?

Is there a non-fermentable sugar you could recommend for sweetening it.

Edit: Also, what sugar do you normally use? Granulated white sugar or dextrose (corn sugar)??

Thanks!

70-80 is fine
Try some both ways. Carbed is nice.
White table sugar works well, IMHO.
Corn sugar, or splenda for backsweetening.

LooyvilleLarry · 04-18-2010, 02:51 PM

Ok, here is what I did, modified to 5 gal from yooperbrews 3 gal. Mine is named August Bent Truth Serum

10 cans of lemonade (Minute Maid Premium )
3# + 8oz cane sugar
4 tsp Yeast Nutrient
4 tsp yeast energizer
4 campden tablets
-- D47 ( or other wine/champagne yeast) --
EDIT: 2 x EC118 works very well

Must for starter
4 cans
1 gal cold water
3# table sugar dissolved in 1 gal water

This should give you very close to a 1.080 start.

1. Remove about 2 qt for the starter. Make sure the temp is in range for the yeast.
2. Start with 3 cups starter, add a pinch of yeast nutrient + yeast energizer and the yeast.
3. Aerate (I hit it with O2 on a stirplate). Then let sit with the top loosely covered .
4. Once you have a good fermenting layer (white foam on top) add about 200ml (~1cup) of the must from step 1.
5. Repeat until you have a 1.5L or more starter that is bubbling away

Adding to Remainder

1. Add the remaining cans of thawed lemonade to the original must
2. Dissolve 8oz of sugar in a quart of water and add to the must
3. Top up to just under 5 gal (leave room for the starter)
4. This should come in around 1.080.Adjust as desired, within a range of 1.060 to 1.090 ( <1.100)
5. Add 4 tsp of Yeast Energizer
6. Add 4 tsp of Yeast Nutrient
7. Add 4 crushed campden tablets
8. Add starter

Fermenting

1. I hit the must with O2 before adding starter.
2. Cover vessel with clean cloth, stir every day.
3. Should take about 1 week, or when it reaches 1.030
4. Transfer to secondary & airlock
5. If your want to stop it at 1.020 or so, add potassium sorbate to end the fermentation.

Finishing (MY preference)
1. Add sugar to bring it to about 1.025 (2 1/3# on one batch).
2. Add one can of concentrate
3. Juice from 4 fresh lemons.

Perfecto (according to SWMBO)

Bottle in 2 liters, carb some, flavor some, backsweeten as necessary.

This stuff has a bit of a hidden wallup, and tends to pool around your knees

A 1.080 start, ending at 1.020 yields a 7.9% beverage that goes down like Country Time lemonade on a hot summer day

EDIT: After some experimentation, I found that pitching 2 packets of EC118 works incredibly well.

jamesjensen1068 · 04-19-2010, 05:37 PM

Used Yooper's recipe. OG: 1.094, FG: 1.010 giving me an ABV around 11%. Back sweetened, Bottled and carbed, kinda harsh to drink straight, not bad thou. I mixed 3/4 glass of Hard Lemonade with 1/4 7UP and it was very delicious. At 11% I won't be drinking more than one or two in a row.

TVarmy · 04-24-2010, 01:43 AM

I just started a 3 gallon batch, but I only have a 5 gallon carboy. Will this be okay, or should I try to find something with less headspace? In a pinch, can I rack it to three 1 gallon juice bottles?

TVarmy · 04-24-2010, 02:32 PM

Just to be clear, I have it fermenting in a 5 gal Lowes bucket. Or does this even essentially need a secondary?

Why exactly is it that most newer beer recipes here recommend a long primary, but most wine recipes still have a secondary? Is wine less prone to aeration, but more prone to clouding, or something like that?

***Yooper*** · 04-24-2010, 04:29 PM

That's fine for primary, but for secondary I'd move it to a carboy (or the multiple glass jugs) for no headspace.

Primary and secondary tend to be winemaking terms. Very few brewers actually do a "real" secondary. They use a carboy, sure, but more for a "bright tank" then a secondary. I can only think of a couple brewers (browderj kabouter is one) that actually rack still fermenting beer to a secondary. Most of the others wait until fermentation is done, and then rack- in essence using the carboy as a bright tank as many commercial breweries do. So, you're sort of misusing the terms when it comes to winemaking.

Primary tends to be about 5 days or so, or until fermentation slows down a bit and the wine is in the 1.010-1.020. Up until then, oxygen is not harmful and the wine is producing co2 to help protect it from oxidation. I do open primaries with wines, just covering with a towel to keep out bugs.

When fermentation slows, the wine is producing much less co2 and that's when it becomes vulnerable to oxidation. That's when it's racked to a carboy, topped up so there is very little headspace, and allowed to finish. After that, the wine is racked carefully whenever necessary but always topped up to prevent having any headspace. Sulfites are sometimes added to reduce any chance of oxidation as well, since o2 can't bind to wine if the sulfite is already bound to it.

This page from Jack Keller describes secondary far better than I ever could: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/secondary.asp

carrie_mt · 04-28-2010, 05:17 PM

I just made a 2 gallon batch of this following your recipe exactly - the directions were great! I've only got one batch of wine under my belt so I really appreciated the detailed instructions. The starter worked perfectly! I've got it bottled and I'm try to be patient and wait for it to condition some (though I confess I've already tried it...). I'm already thinking ahead to remaking this though....

My questions is - my SG was 1.080 and my FG was 0.998 so my calculated ABV is 10.72% right? This seems really high - I'm wondering if I could dilute this right before bottling or start out with a lower SG...

Say I wanted something more towards a 5% ABV what if I added an equal amount of premixed lemonade to it?

Ideas? Suggestions? Advice? I'm a total newbie at this so I'll take all I can get!

LooyvilleLarry · 04-28-2010, 05:26 PM

If you add the premixed lemonade, make sure that you use some campden tablets or sorbate to stop the fermentation. Just say no to bottle bombs

**Dave46382** · 04-28-2010, 05:33 PM

Started a batch of this ... which sounds similar ... last weekend:

carrie_mt · 04-29-2010, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LooyvilleLarry

If you add the premixed lemonade, make sure that you use some campden tablets or sorbate to stop the fermentation. Just say no to bottle bombs

Thanks for the reply! I'm so new to this that it makes my head spin! I did learn how to use my hydrometer off this recipe and calculate ABV though so I'm headed in the right direction.

I did add crushed rcampden tablets and pot sorbate (can't remember how much - I'd have to look at my notes) after it had finished fermenting. Then I let it sit for another 3 days, backsweeted with table sugar to 1.020 and bottled. Will I have bottle bombs with this? I hope not! I'm a little scared so the bottles are all in a plastic container while conditioning so if they do go off less mess/hassle/damage on my part...

Do people use non-fermentable sugars just so they don't have to add the campden and pot sorbate?