Best easy hard lemonade recipe?

Just finished my first batch of cider, with much help from the forums . I was hoping someone could point me in the direction of a good hard lemonade recipe. This seems to be the most popular: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/good-hard-lemonade-27966/

but it doesn't give much detail for a beginner. In his recipe does he mean just table sugar or corn sugar? Any champagne yeast? I have some red star pasteur Champagne yeast that I am trying to use. Will that suffice? Can I do this in my carboy even though it wont fill it up very much? Or would it be easier to do in a bucket? If using a bucket can I just place the lid over it gently or a cloth instead of airlock? Thanks.

I made Yooper's lemonade a while back. She has step-by-step instructions and it turned out awesome!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f79/hard-lemonade-68144/

I take 2 bottles simply lemonade and add 2 cups of regular white sugar and one packet of lavlin 1118 yeast. Takes about 3-4 weeks in a 1 gallon jug.

Isnt skeeter pee basically hard lemonade? Seems to be pretty popular, never made it.

I have made this and it is very good https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/light-lemonade-mead-128099/ I also have made a modified version 8 cans concetrate 4 pounds honey and 4 pounds sugar,topped off to make 6 gallons. Both recipes have been very good.

FuzzeWuzze said:

Isnt skeeter pee basically hard lemonade? Seems to be pretty popular, never made it.

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More like lemon wine actually. My blueberry skeeter pee is ready for bottling next weekend just a thought: Mikes Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff ruined the term "hard lemonade", at least for me.

Thanks guys I might try yoopers then... Would it hurt to use the yeast mentioned above? Also, do I need yeast nutrient and energizer? Don't have any atm and want to do something with the extra champagne yeast I have. Thanks.

Also, can I use a bucket or should I use a carboy?

HoboBrewing said:

Thanks guys I might try yoopers then... Would it hurt to use the yeast mentioned above? Also, do I need yeast nutrient and energizer? Don't have any atm and want to do something with the extra champagne yeast I have. Thanks.

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Boil some bread yeast and throw in. You can ferment in anything you like the yeast don't care.

yea you gotta put something in it as far as nutrient and energizer. The acid stresses the crap out of the yeast... gotta give them a little help

BrewerBear said:

Boil some bread yeast and throw in. You can ferment in anything you like the yeast don't care.

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Why bread yeast over champagne yeast? Doesn't bread yeast tend to leave a bad taste?

Also, wouldn't boiling the yeast kill them?

He's referring to boiling bread yeast and throwing it in as nutrients for the champagne yeast... Its an alternative to buying yeast nutrients

Sleepyemt said:

He's referring to boiling bread yeast and throwing it in as nutrients for the champagne yeast... Its an alternative to buying yeast nutrients

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Does that work? Brilliant if it does.

Yes it works,the yeast will feed on the dead yeast.

BrewerBear said:

Yes it works,the yeast will feed on the dead yeast.

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Awesome idea! Bread yeast seems much cheaper than yeast nutrient.... Maybe I'll just do that. Also will champagne yeast be fine with this, or would it be beneficial to get something better.

www.skeeterpee.com. Follow the instructions. This stuff is awesome and easy. If you don't have a yeast cake just use some red star premier cuvée and rehydrate it with the must for a couple of days. Simple, cheap, and good.

Won't boiling kill the yeast?

Never mind. I finally read a little farther down. Sorry.

I have made my first cider. Remember, I don't like beer; my first beer was a Russian Imperial Ale for my husband. But I do like cider. I read a lot of recipes. I watched a lot of YouTube. Then I went to the store. There is a great orchard just a Ross the rive from us, but isn't quite time for cider yet. I went to my grocery store. I bought apple juice. Two bottles, each three quarts. I used yeast from my local shop, My Old Kentucky Homebrew! I can't remember what kind of yeast, but he will know. I put them both into my small three gallon glass carboy, airlock on and watched and waited. It was fairly active for about four to five days. I waited five more and bottled it. I do like it. It is a bit drier that I really prefer, but I still like it. My cider loving friend said (several times) that it tastes just like Crispin to her, her favorite! So - success!! Personally I am finding a yeast smell from it. Is this a bad thing, and immature state of the cider, or just the way it is. I only used half the package of yeast since I was only making two and a half gallons.

I'd recommend this recipe. It turned out absolutely amazing!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/full-hard-lemonade-recipe-348811/

I finished my first batch of Skeeter Pee and took it to a party least weekend. It was a big hit. I will make another batch soon.