Making hard lemonade

Veinman said:

Hmmm I didn't see that. for what it's worth the batches I pasteurized were EC-1118 what did he say was the problem he had not stopping fermentation or some other issue? I'll have to look for the problems he had to make sure I don't ever end up with bottle bombs.

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He said the yeast didn't die so he had gushers. If he let them go longer they likely would've exploded.

Just took a SG of my batch, started 2/22/11...

It's at 1.002

Pulled some more to bring over to the guys at the LHBS to see what they think. Since it's about 12.5-12.8% ABV now, it will be good to get some opinion on it. I did try some of Mike's (weak-assed) lemonade yesterday... So at least I'll have something to compare with... I do think I'll get another two cans of concentrate. I'll rack off the sediment in the carboy, clean the carboy, then rack back onto about 1/2 a can of concentrate (12oz cans)... If I can get smaller cans, I'll use those. I figure that another few days/to a week on the new concentrate will be enough. Then I'll prime it up (probably use more concentrate) and bottle it. Part of why I'm going to the LHBS is to get bottles for the batch... Just need to decide which bottles to get... I might just use the same thing that I have been using for my stuff, and be done with it. That way, I'll be able to use those for other things in the future...

I do think it will need the extra flavor from the addition I have planned, as well as from priming with the concentrate.

I've pretty much decided to not add the dried cherries to this batch. I can always use them in a future batch... Of course, that could change once I get some feedback on how this batch tastes.

-Golddiggie, i did some gravity readings today on my hard lemonade came in @ 1.010 on its way only been fermenting for 2 weeks now. It tasted like pure liquor when i tried a little hopefully this taste developes into something drinkable in the next 2 weeks. If it comes out good im gonna do 2 more batches the first weekend of april probably just gonna go with regular lemonade then add fresh fruit during the last week to add some different tastes i was gonna to 2-5gal batches 10gal total then spilt into 3 different fermenters for the last week one with cherries, one with mangos, the last with raspberries.

Give yours another week and check it again... You used EC-1118 yeast in yours, right? If so, then it will ferment to as high as 18%, unless you stop it. Although it might take some time to get there.

I picked up two more cans of pink lemonade tonight when I hit the grocery store. I also got another 3 gallon (glass) carboy to use. I plan on racking my batches of mead, first, tomorrow, then the lemonade. It should take the PET carboy out of the mix that way.

Right now, the plan is to add almost a full can of concentrate to the batch... I have it thawing in the fridge now. Once it's thawed out, I'll mix it up really well, and pour about 8-10 ounces into a measuring cup so that I can add it to the batch. I almost want to add the entire thing, but I don't want it to go too high, yet... I want to leave a little room for the yeast to be able to carbonate the batch once I bottle it.

As for the hot flavor "pure liquor" that ages out of mead. We tried my blackberry melomel the first time and it was HOT... Not even a month later, that flavor was completely gone. I suspect that if it's not mellowed by the time you're bottling it, give it a few extra weeks (test one after 3 weeks in bottles) and you could see that go away...

I might add some other fruit to the next batch I make... Haven't decided just yet...

I did get the opinion of the guy from the LHBS though... You can taste the honey in my batch, along with the lemonade flavors. The lemonade is taking more of a secondary role, which is why I'm adding more concentrate to it. He did get the 'warming' effect from it (even a few ounces), so I'm pretty happy there. Plus it's better than that stuff Mike's puts out. :rockin:

yes i used ec-1118 i plan on letting it ferment out completly before bottling the stronger the better. I added two cans of pink lemonade the otherday thought they were thawed out all the way when i dumped them in they had solid middles to them...opps not thawed. Im gonna check it again this weekend with the idea of bottling the following. I am going to add another can of pink lemonade next weekend. If my flavoring isnt where i want i had the idea of taking some pure lemon extract and adding to bring the lemon flavors out also going to add some splenda to back sweeten. The sample i took today could have had off flavors since it is still very young and the sample came off the top of the fermenter (took a small sanitized cup dipped it in for sample)

I made something very similar last year. It's "eh" after a month or so, but at 4 months it's really good stuff. I used cans of of limeade, and invert sugar instead of Honey. I made up a large starter (2L I think) and slowly added a touch of limeade every hour or two to acclimate the yeast to the PH levels. I will check my notes at home and repost the specifics, but I made a strong mint tea (using pure mint, no "tea") and added that after 1 month. I also added a large handfull of mint leaves that sat on some vodka on initial fermentation.

Yopper has a recipe for this, where she used a yeast starter. I didn't use the starter. Fermentation got stuck on me a few times, each time I just added another packet of yeast (red star Champagne) it came out really really good is just took forever to completely ferment due to my stupidity and laziness. I'm not sure how the honey taste will mesh. sounds interesting though. But you've got me wanting to make for iof this it was one of the best summer drinks I've ever had.

Not sure what happened to my batch but i checked the gravity readings on it last night 1.002 getting close to where i expected it to end up. Although it tasted like crap undrinkable. I dont know if it was the honey, or the juice i used, maybe be the yeast (lalvin ec-1118). Everything that came into contact with the batch was sanitized throughly

I ended up dumping the entire batch this morning

Gordzilla said:

Not sure what happened to my batch but i checked the gravity readings on it last night 1.002 getting close to where i expected it to end up. Although it tasted like crap undrinkable. I dont know if it was the honey, or the juice i used, maybe be the yeast (lalvin ec-1118). Everything that came into contact with the batch was sanitized throughly

I ended up dumping the entire batch this morning

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What kind of crap did it taste like?

Mine is undrinkable but it badly needs to be backsweetened before I judge it.

had a very strong rubbing alcohol taste, no lemonade taste at all

Dude, that's no reason to dump it...

Mine is a bit hot right now, but I'm working with it... I just added another can of concentrate to it, which the yeast is munching on, after racking into my glass 5 gallon carboy. I plan on letting it have at that for about a week, before priming with more concentrate and bottling it up. I plan to use a mix of Grolsch and Belgian bottles for mine, so they will be able to handle more carbonation. I figure that with priming with another can, with as close to the yeast limit it is, I'll get some good carbonation, plus more flavor.

IF you're thinking of doing another batch, try either D47 or 71B-1122 for the yeast. Both top out at 14%... D47 lists it's 'sensory effect' as Enhances Varietal Character... 71B-1122 lists 'Esters' for it's effect... Since I used 71B, maybe you could give D47 a shot... Although I probably will use D47 for the next time I brew a batch.

I also plan on letting mine sit in bottles for at least a month before I think about chilling one down to try. Might go for two or three months actually. This is due to hearing that they get much better after about 2-3 months in bottles. Which makes sense to me actually.

i think the taste of the lemonade was horrid and unfixable ill try it again another day maybe not using honey just turbinano sugar. I didnt have much of a yeast cake

I'm already thinking about making another batch without honey this time... I'll wait until the 5 gallon glass carboy is empty though, so that I can use it... I have it marked at 3, 4 and 5 gallons, so it will be easier to get up to the right volume level. I already have a packet of D47 in the fridge, so that won't be any issue.

Even if I don't like the first batch, 100%, when I first try it, I don't plan on tossing it. I'll just let it age until fall and try it again. If I still don't care for it, I'll let it go until next spring and try it again...

I am planning on putting the bottles into a plastic bin while they're carbonating. Maybe even leave them in there for a bit longer (probably 4-6 weeks) before chilling one down.

Trying to decide how much of the final can of concentrate to use to prime this batch... With the adjustments made to the OG from the extra can I added, I'm at ~13.5% ABV right now (haven't taken a SG reading yet to confirm that it's back to 1.002 where it was before I added the last can)... So, if I use that as a guide, I have maybe .5% ABV room for carbonation... I would like to add some more flavor to the mix, as I bottle and carbonate, which is why I'm thinking about priming with a full can of concentrate. I just don't want to have bottle bombs with this... I am getting a plastic bin ready to contain the bottles, just in case. The plan is to use the Grolsch style bottles for the batch, although I could use Belgian bottles too.

It's looking like adding the extra can of concentrate would push the lemonade over the tolerance of the yeast, by a decent amount. Even if I use just part of the can (roughly 1/2 the can gets me over 14% ABV)... Which could, at least in theory, leave the balance of the sugar, and flavors, from that can in solution... Giving it a little more sweetness and flavor...

I'm looking to bottle this tomorrow (4/3/11) so if anyone has thoughts on why this would be a bad idea, I'm all ears... I won't really know if this is going to carbonate until I actually bottle it up and let it sit. I'm hoping I'll get at least some carbonation to the batch. If not, it's not the end of the world. It will just be a non-carbonated hard lemonade...

Gordzilla said:

i think the taste of the lemonade was horrid and unfixable ill try it again another day maybe not using honey just turbinano sugar. I didnt have much of a yeast cake

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I kinda thought the honey would be gross but didn't wanna say anything.

I was thinking about adding some fresh squeezed lemon along with priming sugar when I go to bottle... good idea?

bovineblitz said:

I was thinking about adding some fresh squeezed lemon along with priming sugar when I go to bottle... good idea?

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Depends on how much acid is in the juice, and how much you're thinking of adding...

I took some of my batch to the LHBS to get a second opinion... The honey flavor does come through, but not in a negative way. It still had some of the lemonade flavor, just not as much as I wanted. Which is why I added more concentrate last week. Since it's still in the carboy, I have time to adjust it. Although I'm really just planning to prime, bottle, and let it sit in the plastic bin for 3-4 weeks before trying one. Since I doubt the yeast has much left in it, I shouldn't get bottle bombs even if I use the entire can of concentrate to prime with. My insurance policy is the plastic bin (plus bags to contain the bottles and such)...

Just need to either empty out one bin that's being used for storing other items, or shift my brewing supplies from the one they're in while I need to carbonate the batch...

Golddiggie said:

Depends on how much acid is in the juice, and how much you're thinking of adding...

I took some of my batch to the LHBS to get a second opinion... The honey flavor does come through, but not in a negative way. It still had some of the lemonade flavor, just not as much as I wanted. Which is why I added more concentrate last week. Since it's still in the carboy, I have time to adjust it. Although I'm really just planning to prime, bottle, and let it sit in the plastic bin for 3-4 weeks before trying one. Since I doubt the yeast has much left in it, I shouldn't get bottle bombs even if I use the entire can of concentrate to prime with. My insurance policy is the plastic bin (plus bags to contain the bottles and such)...

Just need to either empty out one bin that's being used for storing other items, or shift my brewing supplies from the one they're in while I need to carbonate the batch...

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I'm planning on carbonating in 1L and 16oz plastic bottles, they can take a lot more pressure than the glass so bottle bombs are less of a concern... plus if they do explode at least it's not dangerous.

It's nice how the lemonade doesn't have to be protected from light.

bovineblitz said:

I'm planning on carbonating in 1L and 16oz plastic bottles, they can take a lot more pressure than the glass so bottle bombs are less of a concern... plus if they do explode at least it's not dangerous.

It's nice how the lemonade doesn't have to be protected from light.

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Using bottles you get brand new also usually takes a level of concern out of the mix. I know my bottles haven't been dropped and such. Using thicker/stronger bottles also helps if you're planning to carbonate high.

For my batch, I might not get much carbonation at all. It all depends on how much more the yeast can do. Not a big deal for me, since even a little carbonation will help this one out.

BTW, I wasn't talking about the sugars present in the juice, although it wouldn't be a bad idea to factor that into the equation. More the amount of acid in the juice. Sometimes fresh squeezed can have a higher acid level than what you purchase.

Either way, give it a shot... It should still be drinkable, and carbonated. Depending on how much sugar you also use, it might be highly carbonated, or not... Once you've done it, and try out a bottle, let us know... I wouldn't judge the entire batch by just one bottle though. It could need more time to mellow out before it's really good.

Golddiggie said:

Using bottles you get brand new also usually takes a level of concern out of the mix. I know my bottles haven't been dropped and such. Using thicker/stronger bottles also helps if you're planning to carbonate high.

For my batch, I might not get much carbonation at all. It all depends on how much more the yeast can do. Not a big deal for me, since even a little carbonation will help this one out.

BTW, I wasn't talking about the sugars present in the juice, although it wouldn't be a bad idea to factor that into the equation. More the amount of acid in the juice. Sometimes fresh squeezed can have a higher acid level than what you purchase.

Either way, give it a shot... It should still be drinkable, and carbonated. Depending on how much sugar you also use, it might be highly carbonated, or not... Once you've done it, and try out a bottle, let us know... I wouldn't judge the entire batch by just one bottle though. It could need more time to mellow out before it's really good.

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My lemonade was just 1.081 so the only thing stressing the yeast should be the acid. I'm gonna backsweeten with Splenda and then add regular old cane sugar. I can't imagine it having any issues as it fermented like a champ. I'll def post the results when it turns out.

I plan on serving it as palmers (mixed with iced tea) at my buddy's bbq for his wedding, it should be awesome.

bovineblitz said:

My lemonade is just 1.081 so the only thing stressing the yeast should be the acid. I'm gonna backsweeten with Splenda and then add regular old cane sugar. I can't imagine it having any issues as it fermented like a champ. I'll def post the results when it turns out.

I plan on serving it as palmers (mixed with iced tea) at my buddy's bbq for his wedding, it should be awesome.

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When both our batches are ready for tasting, we need to hook up... Just don't try mine on an empty stomach...

As per previus post I made 2 batches of hard lemmonade 1 with added fruit and 1 draught up they were in my shed in a box wile I was waiting for them to clear sum more and mature a bit had them in 1 gal demijohns with solid hung in them.

I went out to check them today and the 1 with added fruit the bung blew out so its goin down the sink now what a waste
Note to self don't do that again

If your lemonade stays hard for more than 8 hours please seek medical assistance.

Acoma said:

If your lemonade stays hard for more than 8 hours please seek medical assistance.

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That deserves more than just a face-palm... Should be a head-smack with a 2x4...

BTW, newbee17, always have an airlock attached whenever you add anything that contains sugars to something that has yeast in it... You never know when you'll get more fermentation going. Unless you've killed the yeast, and KNOW they're dead and gone... Even then, it doesn't hurt to have an airlock installed...

I bottled my batch up over a week ago now... I might take a bottle, or two, up to family on Easter... Not sure if it will be 100% ready for drinking by then, but we'll find out... :rockin:

Oh, and my lemonade is soooo haaaaaard it will love you long time.. :rockin:

I just did a taste testing of my lemonade today, will be bottling tomorrow. I figured about 1.75 teaspoons tasted right in 3/4 of a cup so I'm scaling it up to the whole batch. Also, the lemon flavor was a bit weak so I added the just from about 1/3 of a lemon and it tasted a lot brighter and better so I'll be picking up 25 lemons to add at bottling... that won't add much sugar, right? I'm going to make it sparkling so I'll be adding 3.5g cane sugar.

The main idea behind this batch is that in the summer I'll brew up fresh iced tea and blend the two, making palmers. I tried it with some tea today and it was pretty tasty once I got my other flavors figured out, though I think it's about a 2/3 tea to 1/3 lemonade ratio that works well.

Also, I drank probably 1/4 cup of this stuff total but man I can feel it! This lemonade is powerful!

Goldiggie, you mentioned using Potassium Carbonate to raise the pH, but unless I missed it, didn't see what you raised it to. I'd imagine around 5.2-5.4 or so?

Why the potassium carbonate over slaked lime or baking soda ?

LooyvilleLarry said:

Goldiggie, you mentioned using Potassium Carbonate to raise the pH, but unless I missed it, didn't see what you raised it to. I'd imagine around 5.2-5.4 or so?

Why the potassium carbonate over slaked lime or baking soda ?

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5.2-5.4??? F no... Trying to lift it that high would not work... You only want to use Pot. Bicarb. to lift the PH a bit... I went from about 2.8-3.0 to 3.2... 3.2 is a safe enough range for the wine yeast to function well.

I've never used slaked lime, so I wouldn't know where to start, or what it would do to the brew. Using baking soda would also [probably] have a negative impact on the must.

This is a hard lemonade, so you want some bite to it (from the acid of the lemonade) but have it a high enough PH for the yeast to be happy.

Besides, getting the must up to/slightly above 3.2 is what's done by the good folks on the Got Mead? site with their hard lemonade. IMO, that's good enough for me.

newbee17 said:

As per previus post I made 2 batches of hard lemmonade 1 with added fruit and 1 draught up they were in my shed in a box wile I was waiting for them to clear sum more and mature a bit had them in 1 gal demijohns with solid hung in them.

I went out to check them today and the 1 with added fruit the bung blew out so its goin down the sink now what a waste
Note to self don't do that again

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Added 2 large lemons juiced last week to the surviving batch I have left and 2day I racked again in2 a clean demijohn it smells fairly close to petrol but the lemon juice I added make a nice flavour.

Have a small amount in the fridge now so I can try this when its cold

Gona leave the rest age for a month or so and hopfully the alcohol will calm down a little

I've started another hard lemonade I like the sound of (stevo's rock shandy) or hard rock shandy

Very simple I used:
12 large oranges juiced(1200ml)
8 medium lemmons juiced
3kg honey
Topped up to just under 10ltres with water.
Youngs cider yeast
2tsps of nutriant
I'm thinkin now I should of used zest for extra flavour any toughts?
I started this on 9/5/11

I am wondering how using honey differs from using DME as I have always used the latter. I do not have to back sweeten with DME . I used Yoopers recipe as a template.

Hard Lemonade (Batch #4) Original thread located at:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/hard-lemonade-problem-12104/
OG 1.100
Present OG as of 06/09/11: 1.035
Ingredients:
10 cans of Minute Maid lemonade concentrate or enough to get 5gal.
Sugar to an SG of 1.100 (1.5 pounds per gallon, more or less- see below) ( I did #5 Cane Sugar)
#1.5-2 Light DME
3 tsp yeast nutrient
3 tsp yeast energizer
3 crushed Campden tablets or 1/2 tsp K-meta
Wine yeast
Procedure:
1. Rehydrate one sachet of Cotes de Blanc wine yeast in ¼ c water and a tsp of yeast energizer and nutrient. I used an Erlenmeyer flask on a stir plate so I did not have to mix it up manually.
2. Heat water to 170F, mix #5 of sugar and #2 of light DME. Stir and hold for 15-20 min to allow sugar and DME to dissolve.
3. Add enough Lemonade concentrate to yield 1.5g in the sugar/DME must. I used 3 cans.
4. Remove some of the must and store so that you can periodically add it to the starter. (I filled up two pint sized sanitized mason jars)
5. Once the yeast is looking and smelling “yeasty”. It has that cream color to it. I start adding some of the removed must. I did about 1/3 at a time and built up the starter over 18-24 hrs. You want to do this slowly so the yeast can get acclimated to being in a very acidic environment.
6. The next day I made the rest of the lemonade (3.5gal), and a tsp or so of yeast energizer and added it to the must in the fermenting bucket for a total of 5gal. OG is 1.100.
7. I did not do an open fermentation the first time but I did do a semi open fermentation for batch 2 and 3. My semi open fermentation was in an Ale Pail and with the lid just sitting on top of the bucket with an airlock in place. This batch I am doing it in a Carboy with a bung and airlock, but the bung is not pushed all the way in.) This will allow Oxygen in but will keep the bugs and other nasties out.
8. When you reach your desired FG and do not want to carbonate it with dextrose add 3 crushed Campden tablets or ½ tsp of K- Meta to stop fermentation. I bottle condition mine so I rack to a secondary or cold crash for a few days before bottling.

LooyvilleLarry said:

Goldiggie, you mentioned using Potassium Carbonate to raise the pH, but unless I missed it, didn't see what you raised it to. I'd imagine around 5.2-5.4 or so?

Why the potassium carbonate over slaked lime or baking soda ?

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I assume he used it because it is more soluble than calcium carbonate and does not add sodium like baking soda.

I would use calcium or potassium hydroxide as I don't ever want to add bicarbonate.

You want about 3.5 for optimal yeast performance.

newbee17 said:

Added 2 large lemons juiced last week to the surviving batch I have left and 2day I racked again in2 a clean demijohn it smells fairly close to petrol but the lemon juice I added make a nice flavour.

Have a small amount in the fridge now so I can try this when its cold

Gona leave the rest age for a month or so and hopfully the alcohol will calm down a little

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I've just bottled this brew nd really like it would be perfect on a summers afternoon bt I fear I've made a really big rookey mistake,
I didn't make enough to last till the summer.

Here is another easy lemonade recipe/method.

2lbs. Corn Sugar
2lbs. clover honey
2lbs. light malt extract
6 cans frozen lemonade concentrate
* Optionial Fruit puree 2-3 lbs
6% ABV estimated

1 packet nottingham dried ale yeast

Bring 1.5 gallons of water to a boil. Add sugar, honey, and malt extract. Boil for 5 minutes. Chill the wort in a covered pot. When cooled pour ingredients into the primary fermentor. Top off with enough cooled water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast and ferment in the primary for about one week or until primary fermentation has completed. Add 6 cans of thawed lemonade concentrate to the secondary fermentor, you can also add any aseptic fruit puree you like at this point (think rasberry-lemonade). Rack the contents of the primary to the secondary until fermentation completes (usually about a week). Keg or bottle as normal but make sure to use a cheesecloth or steeping bag around end of siphon to filter out lemon/fruit particles.

Note: I know there are many processes for fruit/lemonade out there but this method works for me and bypasses the difficult initial ferment hard lemonade can have due to the high acidity levels by giving the yeast a head start in the primary. You can also add a pound or more lactose to the final 5-10 minutes of the boil to increase sweetness
(more of a mikes hard lemonade taste).

bovineblitz said:

My plan is to add Splenda to taste and add sugar for carbonation.

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That's what I do, and it works fine for me. I can hear the purists cringing from here, but no one whose tried mine have objected or noticed the use of artificial sweetener. Of course, since they're my friends, they probably have very unrefined tastes to begin with.