Starting a Cranberry Hard Lemonade

I just started a cranberry hard lemonade. This is my ingredient list.

5 cans lemonade concentrate
1.5 cans cranberry concentrate
5lbs sugar
1/2lb extra light DME
3 campden tablets

2 teaspoons nutrient
2 teaspoons energizer
Cote dec blanc yeast

I mixed up 4.5 cans of lemonade with the 1.5 cans of cranberry plus water to top it off to approximately 3.5 gallons. I then added 3 crushed campden tablets.

I took 1-2 tablespoons of the lemonade with 4-5 tablespoons of sugar and yeast and made a starter, i am adding 1 tablespoon per hour to slowly adjust the yeast to the acidity.

My final specific gravity was 1.099 and I plan to run it down to approximately 1.025-1.03 and than add 4 teaspoons potassium sorbate to kill it off followed by kegging 3 gallons of it.

Any hints before I dump my starter in tomorrow morning?

I don't think you'll have good luck with just dumping potassium sorbate in an active fermentation and expect it to stop fermenting. It doesn't work that way.

Sorbate doesn't kill yeast, but inhibits yeast reproduction. The yeast won't need to reproduce at that point, as there will be a hundred billion of them so sorbate won't do a thing.

You could try crash cooling to halt fermentation, then racking off of the sediment once it falls out and doing it again and THEN adding the sorbate.

Or you can let it ferment out, rack off of the yeast once it's completely clear, and then add the sorbate and a couple of days later you can sweeten to taste.

I'm going to start my lemonade at 1.070 or less, let it ferment out, then stablize and sweeten.

Or, instead of adding any sorbate at all, chill it when it's where you want (I like it at 1.010-1.020), keg it when clear, and don't allow it to ever warm up.

I was planning on cold crashing it. I might add a gallon of water to bring me down to 1.08 or so. That way I won't have an extremely high alcohol content drink if it ferments all the way down to 1.0 or so.

I just added two more cans of lemonade concentrate and a gallon of water, now at 1.077...That should take the bite off of the finished product. Sitting at approximately 5 gallons with the 7 cans of lemonade and 2 cans of cranberry. Might add another can of lemonade when its over if it tastes watered down. Will update this forum when done on the finished product.

I just started an experiment with some Old Orchard Brands apple rasberry concentrate. I put 2 cans in, and then added about a gallon and a half of water with about 1.5lbs of sugar disolved in it. Came out about 1.077 also. I've still got a can of the concentrate to add some flavor/backsweeten if necessary. Going to carb it in some PET bottles when it's done. Interested to see how it comes out. I figured my first attempt would be something a little less on the acidic side and then I'll go from there.

Waiting for the fermentation to start....hoping those yeasties will survive in that harsh environment