Hard Lemonade Recipe Question

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Stovetop535

Stovetop535

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Looking to make something that the wife will enjoy, as well as some of her friends when they come over. She is not a big beer drinker, likes wine but I havent gotten around to that yet, so instead I want to make a flavored hard lemonade-like cherry or strawberry. I found a recipe on here that I would like to follow.

This recipe originally was posted by bknifefight, I found it in a search and hopefully they dont mind me re-posting it. Here is the recipe and link:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/full-hard-lemonade-recipe-348811/
Ingredients (makes 6-7 gallons):

- 12 cans preservative-free Lemonade concentrate (I use Nature's best
brand from Aldi's cause it is cheap, Minute Maid is another option)
- 1 lb Extra light or Pilsen Light Dry Malt Extract
- 2.5 lbs corn sugar
- Yeast nutrient
- Lalvin EC-1118 Champagne Yeast (THIS YEAST IS VERY IMPORTANT, OTHER CHAMPAGNE YEASTS HAVE A HARD TIME WITH THE ACIDITY OF THE LEMONADE, BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE YEAST PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS BELOW AS WELL)
- Potassium Sorbate
- Appx 8 cups regular cane sugar

Rehydrate yeast:

Rehydrate yeast by combining 1 cup warm water with 1 tbsp of lemonade concentrate and just a couple yeast nutrient pellets with Lalvin EC-1118 Champagne yeast, Allow to sit for at least a half hour. You should see vigorous action in the yeast when ready.

Brewing the wort:

In a 2.5+ gal brew pot, combine 1 lb Pilsen Light Dry Malt Extract (DME) with 3 lbs corn sugar to appx 2 gal boiling water. This will give you appx 9% abv when finished. To increase alcohol, increase sugar and/or DME, use less sugar to lower ABV). Stir until completely disolved Remove from heat, and 7 tsp yeast nutrient.

Combine wort in large plastic fermentor bucket with 10 cans lemonade concentrate, and enough cold water to fill bucket to bring total volume to 6 gal. Make sure temp is between 65 - 75 degrees, and take initial hydrometer reading. Pitch in your yeast starter. Put lid and airlock on fermentor and allow to ferment at room temp.

Fermentation:

You should see steady fermentation within 2 -3 days, that will last 1-2 weeks. Allow to ferment completely out before attempting to bottle.

Bottling day:

Take hydrometer reading. You should be right around .998 – 1.002 specific gravity.

In a large sauce pan, add 8 cups cane sugar (or to taste), 2 cans Lemonade concentrate, and 3 cups water and, stirring continuously, bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and disolve 3.5 tsp potassium sorbate. Add lemon/sugar/sorbate solution to a 7 gal bottling bucket. Rack fermented lemonade from carboy into bottling bucket with the sorbate solution, stirring thoroughly.

You can bottle in beer or wine bottles, or you can keg. Even with the sorbate, you will probably get a little bit of carbonation as it sits, but it is usually not enough to pop a cork. I usually keg, and force carbonate.

It is ready to drink on bottling day.
Click to expand...

My question is, after primary fermentation is complete and the lemonade has fermented out, would it work to then rack to secondary and add the potassium sorbate along with campden tablets to hopefully stop additional fermentation, wait a couple days and then add in whatever I wanted to add strawberry or cherry flavor?

The lhbs has some sweet puree in all types of flavors, http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_24_22_23&products_id=837 (same as link).
Instead of adding the 8 cups of sugar, 2 cans of lemonade concentrate and water after fermentation, wouldnt that puree work and effectively sweeten and flavor the lemonade? I am not opposed to racking onto actuall fruit if that would work or give better flavoring. Just looking for a little guidance before I dive headfirst into some lemonade.

Thanks
Alex
 
I'm in the process of doing something very similar except I am using the Skeeter Pee recipe (http://skeeterpee.com/). I made the original recipe this past summer and the wife and I really enjoyed it, but wanted to add a little bit of strawberry flavoring to it. So, I'm following the recipe except instead of adding 6 cups of sugar at the end (after fermentation has stopped), I added 2 cans of a frozen Strawberry Daiquiri mix and 4.5 cups of sugar. I added the sugar and strawberry in small batches until it reached the flavor where we liked it. I haven't bottled it yet (will in the next few days), but based on the samples I've had, it seems to have turned out alright.

In regards to your question about racking and stopping fermentation, you should be fine in doing what you described. It is basically what the author of the Skeeter Pee recipe does and I have gotten it to work twice now. Just make sure to take a hydrometer reading before and after you add the campden and potassium sorbate so you know for sure whether fermentation started up again or not.
 
Anyone have any experience using that sweet purée or something similar? That seems like it could be an easier way to get the flavoring rather than racking onto actual berries.
 
Either. I am in the process of finishing up my kegerator right now and if the lemonade turns out and the wife enjoys it then I will put it on tap. That way I can make the argument that I need more kegs.
 
Just wanted to update this-I went ahead and followed the quoted recipe in this thread. Just a few changes-

10 Cans Lemonade Mix (make sure take out of freezer ahead of time, helps save time)
3lbs corn sugar (meant to put in 2.5, but I had a moment when weighing apparently)
1.5lbs Pilsner DME (3lb bag and I had another recipe that called for 1.5lbs)
Yeast nutrient/energizer-I used half at pitching at the other half 24hrs into fermentation, ended up being 1/2 teasp per gallon for the energizer and 1 tsp per gallon for the nutrient. I did lightly stir when I added the second half additions.

I made the starter as directed-it took closer to an 1 hr 15 min before I had ferm signs. Also I used two 5g packets of 1118 yeast.

I did siphon 1 gallon out of the primary and add it to a separate gallon jug along with 1lb of natural clover honey. I am planning on letting it ferment out and then back sweetening with a variety of things to see what comes out the best. I have some Peach and Cherry Puree (identical to what I listed in my first post), which will be two of the flavors. One will be made as is in the original recipe, and I have not decided on any others yet. I anyone has something they want tested with this lemonade, just let me know. I am open to suggestions.

SG was 1.072 in the primary. I did not take a gravity reading in the gallon jug with the 1lb of honey, but if the calculations online are correct, that should have a gravity of approx 1.078-1.08.
 

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