I'm stoked for when my hard lemonade is done... It's moving along nicely... From the other that have made it, I know it could take a month before fermentation is complete...
I went with the 3 gallon batch size (carboy)... Recipe I used is:
6 12oz cans pink lemonade concentrate (comes out to being equal to 44oz of sugar from all 6 cans, so that makes the liquid ~61% sugar when mixed to the instructions)
4# store brand honey
water to make 3 gallons total volume
1-1/2tsp DAP
pot. bicarb to offset low PH (putting it into the 3.2-3.4 range). Be careful there, even mixing it in water first will make it foam like a mad dog... Put it in someplace safe (like the bath tub) before adding, and have a blow-off tube setup and ready.
Aerate the must, before pitching in the yeast. Also work to get the honey fully into solution and take an OG reading (I wasn't able to, so I don't really KNOW my OG).
Hydrate your yeast as per it's directions (I picked Lalvin 71B this time, but D47 would also be a good choice) and pitch in.
Install blow-off tube setup and let it rest.
Check on it daily, aerating at least once a day.
Blow-off tube will be necessary at some point, when it foams up on it's own. Good to have installed from the start.
Once fermentation is complete (about a month from when it went active) taste and decide if it needs more sweetness or not. Keep in mind, if you let it bulk age, it will get better. Some of the edge could come off of it over time.
If you want it carbonated (I do) then it will probably be more dry initially. Bottle in something that can handle the carbonation. Beer bottles, Grolsch bottles, Belgian bottles, small champagne bottles all should work. I believe you don't need to use brown bottles for this. I'll probably mix mine up some, just to be different. Of course, I'll be printing out labels for it.
Something to think about too... I might pull off about 1 gallon and add some dried cherries to it for 5-7 days before priming and bottling that part. You can do something along those lines too, if you want. Any flavor combination that you like, or think will be good, is fair game. Just have log entries for it, so you can repeat the recipe later if it's a hit.
I expect mine to be done fermenting before the end of March. Probably ready to drink around end of April... Expected ABV is about 12-13%...
Certainly is NOT "Mike's" product here... :rockin: Going to enjoy seeing how my sister, mother, and brother in law like it... Since they seem to like Mike's hard lemonade, we'll see how mine compares (I've not had Mike's yet)...
OG estimate is 1.089. If it ferments fully, that will make it 12.1% ABV as it stands now... I'm giving serious thought to adding another pound of honey to it.
That would make the OG 1.101, and 13.7% ABV...
I'll probably carb with 3oz of raw sugar to get 2.5-3 CO2 volumes (need to get a temperature reading on the fermenting must)...