Hard Lemonade

CornyKegs 728
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Ok, I only have one brew behing me and I've never done a yeast starter. If you do the starter and slowly add the mixture to the starter to get it used to the acid, what keeps the original mixture from spoiling while working on the yeast? Is it because the acid level is so high in the must?

I'm thinking of doing a 2 gallon batch of this to try. I'd like to carbonate this in bottles but have a lot more reading to do on this, seems a little confusting right now.

Thanks!
 
It is a little confusing alright.First off I suggest using pure apple juice and water to build the starter.I used a dry champagne yeast,hydrated with boiled and cooled water,then built it up with apple juice.Towards the end I started adding the lemonade to get the yeast used to the high acid content it was about to be baptized with.Yooper suggests a couple of crushed campden tablets like country wine makers use in their must to keep the lemonade clean while waiting for the yeast.
I am no expert at all on this,however I used to make a lot of country wine andthis was a similar process.I am sure you will here from more knowledgeable people tha me.Good luck.
 
So first attempt has finally stopped (damn EC-1118 doesn't like to quit!) and the reviews have been pretty good. Overall opnion was needs 1 heaped tablespoon per 750 mL bottle to back sweeten, and almost no raspberry taste came thru... so next time a less potent yeast, and maybe rack onto fresh raspberries in the secondary...
 
i followed the op's recipe except i used a Huge yeast cake from a 5 gallon batch us-05 and it was going crazy in one hour! Anyone used beer yeast and had good results ?
 
Hey guys,

It's recently gotten really hot where I'm at (past 3 days 98+) and apparently won't be getting much lower than 91 for a while. I'm in an apartment with no a/c, so I've had to make due with temps as best I can, but it's not really cooling off much in the night either. Anyway, it's been going about 4 days now and has been fermenting between 74 and 85 for the majority of the time.

Are these high temps a big deal for something like lemonade? I used champagne yeast, not beer yeast, and added 2 lbs cane sugar and 1 lb ultra light dme.
 
I know this is not same as the Skeeter Pee recipe, but I was just curious if it would be benificial to do late additions of lemon juice to avoide a "sulfer-dioxide" problem? I was sorta comparing the two recipes and the SP recipe says the following:

"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."

So, would it be benifical to try and follow the same logic with this recipe. Has anyone had this problem? Has anyone had to degas this recipe?
 
For anyone that's done both this and Skeeter Pee, what is the difference between the two? Do you have a preference of one over the other? They seem so similar I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to try this recipe when I'm already working on a Skeeter Pee.
 
I have both in the primary, they are quite different SP seems brighter on lemon flavor and hotter and HL seems a bit more mellow and drinkable in larger quantity but less in your face lemon
 
I've been using the "Simply Lemonade" product... I take about a cup of my lemonade/sugar/water mix and dilute it with another cup of warm water, then pitch my yeast and let it go for a good 30 minutes, add a little more of the lemonade mix & wait another 30 minutes, then dump the whole "starter" into my bucket and stir up up good to get the air into it. I've done a couple of smaller batches this way and they've all taken off good... could be because I'm using EC-1118 too though :)
 
I was worried I'd killed my yeast, but all seems well for now.
My diluted started was going well, bubbly, think krausen on top then after a few additions of concentrated "must" and 24 hours later, things died out.
I tossed it the primary anyway, nothing happened for 24 hours, so I bought some more yeast and was going to make another starter and take it more slowly adding concentrate. I got home with the yeast, and the primary is bubbling like crazy now!
I'm wondering if my starter being on a stir plate helped it reach it's peak faster? I'm just happy things are fermenting!
It's always easier to see after the fact, but patience is the name of the game.
 
I forgot to stop mine and it went way down to 0.994 I put in some campden and sorbate about three days ago. Now I want to back sweeten. What is best to backsweeten with? I have some lactose I can use or should I skip that and pick up a can or two of concentrate? I plan on kegging this.
 
I'm trying this again after trying this last year and having a catasrophic failure with my bucket lid developing a crack and letting in the gnats and who knows what else. This round I'm using a 1 gallon carboy with drilled stopper and airlock which should keep the nasties out. I prepared this last afternoon and had activity in the airlock by evening. Today, the airlock is bubbling happily at a rate of about 4/min. The starting gravity I had should let this finish at about 9%. That is probably a good round number I hope.

394776_4029077657380_1465812498_n.jpg
 
I know i might be a bit out to lunch. But could this be possible with any canned concentrate. I was thinking about doing a ice tea. Maybe try some fruitopia with a nice kick.
 
hello been thinking of trying some hard lemonade. If you don't mind what does it end up tasting like can I get the best description. of the flavor Thanks for your time GG also do you have or know a good recipe for 5-6 gallon batch with the use of frozen concentrate juice or do i find a 1 gallon recipe and just add it up to 5-6 gallon batch thanks
 
LoloMT7 said:
i followed the op's recipe except i used a Huge yeast cake from a 5 gallon batch us-05 and it was going crazy in one hour! Anyone used beer yeast and had good results ?
Click to expand...

Any update on this? I was thinking about using an S-04 cake.
 
My keg is full of mead, and I've got 5 gallons of this hard lemonade that's now clear in my carboy on the yeast cake. Since I can't carb it in the keg, is it okay to leave it on the lees? Or should I rack it into a bucket and let it sit until the keg is avaliable?
 
overpunch said:
My keg is full of mead, and I've got 5 gallons of this hard lemonade that's now clear in my carboy on the yeast cake. Since I can't carb it in the keg, is it okay to leave it on the lees? Or should I rack it into a bucket and let it sit until the keg is avaliable?
Click to expand...

How long will it sit there? I would be worried about it having too much headspace in a bucket. If you have a carboy, maybe you can put it in there?

I've left things o. Yeast for almost 2 months and haven't had any problems, but I would think it would be longer in your case since you have mead and that may not go too fast?
 
Well, it's sparkling mead...so maybe it'll go a little faster. But I'd be looking at ~3 months minimum to empty the keg. I could bottle once it gets down to 1/4th full.

I don't have another carboy. I was thinking of racking into the bucket and leaving it there or racking into the bucket, cleaning the carboy, and racking it back (but i'd be worried about infection/oxidation doing the latter option).
 
overpunch said:
Well, it's sparkling mead...so maybe it'll go a little faster. But I'd be looking at ~3 months minimum to empty the keg. I could bottle once it gets down to 1/4th full.

I don't have another carboy. I was thinking of racking into the bucket and leaving it there or racking into the bucket, cleaning the carboy, and racking it back (but i'd be worried about infection/oxidation doing the latter option).
Click to expand...

None of those are good options. Too long on the lees can cause some bad flavor, and a wide headspace will oxidize it. You don't have another keg or carboy? I'd make sure it's in a carboy, and topped up.

If not, I'd bottle it.
 
overpunch said:
Well, it's sparkling mead...so maybe it'll go a little faster. But I'd be looking at ~3 months minimum to empty the keg. I could bottle once it gets down to 1/4th full.

I don't have another carboy. I was thinking of racking into the bucket and leaving it there or racking into the bucket, cleaning the carboy, and racking it back (but i'd be worried about infection/oxidation doing the latter option).
Click to expand...

I've done the swap to bucket and then back to carboy before and had luck. The good thing about the lemonade is that it doesn't oxidize as easily, at least skeeter pee doesn't. This may be slightly different since it isn't as high in alcohol and acid, but I think it may be your best option.
 
I went with the bucket-swap method. I sterilized my bucket and autosiphon, spritzed some co2 into the bucket with a couple of crushed campden tablets, and covered it with the hose in there from the autosiphon. Siphoned off the lemon-wine, and then I cleaned out the carboy. Spritzed some co2 into the carboy, and then siphoned the bucket into the carboy. Topped up with some R/O H2O out of a freshly opened gallon jug. Another spritz of co2 and I put the airlock back on. The alcohol content was pretty high; no sweetness detected.

My fingers are crossed.

I plan on adding sugar and doing a natural carb when I have a free keg.
 
overpunch said:
I went with the bucket-swap method. I sterilized my bucket and autosiphon, spritzed some co2 into the bucket with a couple of crushed campden tablets, and covered it with the hose in there from the autosiphon. Siphoned off the lemon-wine, and then I cleaned out the carboy. Spritzed some co2 into the carboy, and then siphoned the bucket into the carboy. Topped up with some R/O H2O out of a freshly opened gallon jug. Another spritz of co2 and I put the airlock back on. The alcohol content was pretty high; no sweetness detected.

My fingers are crossed.

I plan on adding sugar and doing a natural carb when I have a free keg.
Click to expand...

Update: I did the natural carb w/ sugar. It's now semi-sweet, sparkly, and clear. No off flavors. :tank:
 
The1Greenguru said:
hello been thinking of trying some hard lemonade. If you don't mind what does it end up tasting like can I get the best description. of the flavor Thanks for your time GG also do you have or know a good recipe for 5-6 gallon batch with the use of frozen concentrate juice or do i find a 1 gallon recipe and just add it up to 5-6 gallon batch thanks
Click to expand...

But everyone I try tastes better then the one days before great recipe
 
Hey all,

I started a hard lemonade on my own before discovering this thread and I've run into a "problem."

When I made this (started 6/5/13), I just pitched dry yeast straight into 1 gallon of store bought organic lemonade along with anough dextrose to bring gravity to 1.065. I used 1/5 pack of red star champagne yeast when I pitched.

Things started off ok, albeit slowly (I added yeast nutrient once fermentation got off to a nice start) and I had decent activity in my airlock for about 3 days. Then all of the sudden things started going downhill and a few days later... I could barely see small streams of bubbles floating to the surface and now another few days later (day 6) things have now slowed to a halt with no airlock activity and no stream of bubbles. Now I know I should take a gravity reading, but there's still undissolved dextrose at the bottom of my gallon container, so I know its not done. [the yeast in my apfelwein chewed right through undissolved dextrose]

Since I didn't make a starter, did I end up sending my yeast on a suicide mission? Should I rehydrate another round of yeast to repitch? Or am I just being impatient and just need to wait it out?

Side note: Same exact problem in a perry I made. Same exact process and time frame.
 
pkrath84 said:
Hey all,

I started a hard lemonade on my own before discovering this thread and I've run into a "problem."

When I made this (started 6/5/13), I just pitched dry yeast straight into 1 gallon of store bought organic lemonade along with anough dextrose to bring gravity to 1.065. I used 1/5 pack of red star champagne yeast when I pitched.

Things started off ok, albeit slowly (I added yeast nutrient once fermentation got off to a nice start) and I had decent activity in my airlock for about 3 days. Then all of the sudden things started going downhill and a few days later... I could barely see small streams of bubbles floating to the surface and now another few days later (day 6) things have now slowed to a halt with no airlock activity and no stream of bubbles. Now I know I should take a gravity reading, but there's still undissolved dextrose at the bottom of my gallon container, so I know its not done. [the yeast in my apfelwein chewed right through undissolved dextrose]

Since I didn't make a starter, did I end up sending my yeast on a suicide mission? Should I rehydrate another round of yeast to repitch? Or am I just being impatient and just need to wait it out?

Side note: Same exact problem in a perry I made. Same exact process and time frame.
Click to expand...

Try stirring up to introduce some o2. Probably just stalled on you. Also add some more nutrient and energizer to help them along.
 
I realize that this thread is quite old, but I was thinking of trying it for my first ever batch. If I don't plan on carbonating at the end, could I cork it?
 
I guess you could, not sure why though. I haven't don't any really long aging on this, but it doesn't seem to get better with the time I have put on it. It does clear up though. If you let it finish all the way out, it's pretty dry, like white wine. I like to let it drop to about 1.025, then keep cold.
 
CA-LT1 said:
I guess you could, not sure why though. I haven't don't any really long aging on this, but it doesn't seem to get better with the time I have put on it. It does clear up though. If you let it finish all the way out, it's pretty dry, like white wine. I like to let it drop to about 1.025, then keep cold.
Click to expand...


I think i'm going to do hard lemonade (the recipe that Yooper posted). I don't plan on aging it at all. I like the size and look of the cork bottles. Think I could use flip top bottles? I guess I'm just curious if there is a mandatory way to bottle or if I have other options with this recipe. I'm a little hesitant regarding the bottling choices because I plan on back sweetening it and I wouldn't want to create any bottle bombs.
 
You can bottle it anyway you like. If you back sweeten it with fermentables, you will make bottle bombs unless you kill the yeast or keep it cold
 
Down sized this for 2 gallon and it tastes good but would like more lemonade flavor. Should I have added more concentrate? Has a good kick.
 
I did one using 2 cans for a gallon. And 2 1/4 cups of cane sugar. After one month it tasted like homemade lemonade.

How many did you use for the 2 gallon batch?
 
4 cans concentrate and 2 1/2 cups cane sugar. OG was 1.100 and SG was .992. I like it just want a more lemonade flavor.
 

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