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.