Hard lemonade / Skeeter 4 Summer 2019

[Blacksmith1]

I just racked mine last night. Does this clear, or will it stay cloudy like lemonade?

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Mine was cloudy last night after 3 days in bottles conditioning. It had only been in the fridge for about 6 hours.

 

[bmd2k1]

I just racked mine last night. Does this clear, or will it stay cloudy like lemonade?

Mines always cloudy. [emoji111]

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

So I popped another bottle of this last night, had my girl try it and she gave the cursory, "It's pretty good!" OK I think that could really mean good or bad. Then she asked me if I had another one cold, the real test. With her endorsement seems like I'll be doing variations of this all summer.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Let it settle a few days and racked it again today. Cleared some but not see through. Light layer of lees and sediment. Stole a taste at room temp and WoW! I see why this is popular. It needs nothing other than to chill. It tastes like homemade lemonade with light sugar. I've never been a fan of candy sweet lemonade so this is perfect. I have no idea what the ABV is.

Tomorrow this is history!

 

[EricaM]

I racked lemon-berry yesterday, after several days of no airlock movement. Since it was in a carboy already, I could also see no bubbles at all and a layer on the bottom. It's about 10% abv. Still cloudy, but tastes much better. I can taste both the lemon and the berries. It's very dry and needs to be sweetened. I tried some in a cup with lime cordial to sweeten and it tasted like cough medicine, so that's not going to work. Cran-raspberry cocktail was better, but all I could taste was the cranberry, so that won't work either. I may add plain sugar, or just leave it as it is and mix it with 7-up when I drink it.

My blueberry is still working after 3 weeks and so far it's at 16% and tastes very strongly of alcohol... and blueberries.

 

[OpenSights]

I want to keg, but the bubbles won’t stop. Longest ferment I’ve ever had!

 

[EricaM]

Gonna jack up 1gal with some jalapenos [emoji111]

Ooh, I was thinking of doing this with a little bit of mine. My brother-in-law loves spicy. Can I add some jalapenos in after it's done fermenting and let it sit with them for a month, then bottle?

 

[bmd2k1]

Ooh, I was thinking of doing this with a little bit of mine. My brother-in-law loves spicy. Can I add some jalapenos in after it's done fermenting and let it sit with them for a month, then bottle?

I only add after fermentation is complete [emoji111] I use bottled & sliced jalapenos from Sam's Club -- 10 or so per gal.

Cheers [emoji57]

 

[EricaM]

I only add after fermentation is complete [emoji111] I use bottled & sliced jalapenos from Sam's Club -- 10 or so per gal.

Cheers [emoji57]

Thanks for the information. That's great!

 

[bmd2k1]

Thanks for the information. That's great!

And I've found it only takes a few days to take on a very nice kick [emoji12]

 

[Blacksmith1]

taking a break from mowing the lawn. 80 deg, 78% humidity, gotta have some lemonade.....

 

[Blacksmith1]

I may have taken a few too many breaks. This stuff is potent...

 

[EricaM]

I racked mine today.
I had already added the clearing agent a while ago and it's nice and clear now. I thought it needed something to make it taste better since it's quite sour and bland, so I tried some jalapeno and sugar in a cup with it and that was fantastic, so I added jarred jalapenos to the carboy when I racked it. Since I added "fruit", even though it's not fermenting, do I need to do the clearing agent again later? Is that a bad thing to do? Will it stay clear without it?

Also racked blueberry today and added the clearing agent.
It's very strong. Planning to let it sit with oak cubes once it's clear.
I'm thinking about adding some juice to cut the alcohol and sweeten it a bit. Would white grape juice be a good choice, or is there something else that works better for blueberry?
Sorry about all the questions, I'm quite new to this.

 

[EricaM]

I only add after fermentation is complete [emoji111] I use bottled & sliced jalapenos from Sam's Club -- 10 or so per gal.

Cheers [emoji57]

I added peppers from a jar to mine a week ago. Added 10 per gallon. It still didn't have any heat a few days later, so I scored a fresh jalapeno and dropped that in. Today, still no heat, but it tastes and smells like jalapenos. Can you think of any reason why there's no burn?

 

[bmd2k1]

I added peppers from a jar to mine a week ago. Added 10 per gallon. It still didn't have any heat a few days later, so I scored a fresh jalapeno and dropped that in. Today, still no heat, but it tastes and smells like jalapenos. Can you think of any reason why there's no burn?

Sorry...no clue on that [emoji15] The jarred jalapenos I get from Sam's work great all the time. Good luck -- maybe a pepper expert here can chime in with some insight.

 

[OpenSights]

At 49 days I’m at 1.040 which means I’m at 9.45%. I think it tastes a bit boozy with sweet body and just the right amount of tart at the end. I would like to ferment out more of the sugars, even though I’m still getting a nice healthy bubble every two seconds, I’m thinking of pitching some champagne yeast. I can always back sweeten by adding more lemonade.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Mine was ready at 30 days.

 

[OpenSights]

Yeah, but I screwed up and made it from memory. OG was 1.121 or something stupid. I have it written down, just not with me.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Sooooo, lemon flavored jet fuel?

 

[OpenSights]

Lol! Pretty much. Everyone who’s tried it, including two professional brewers really like it. I think it’s a little too hot. If I do pitch more yeast and bring the ABV up to say 12% and back sweeten with 1:2 (a can of lemonade diluted to half strength) should bring the ABV back down while retaining the flavor?

I guess what’s bugging me about it is I intended it to be a light crisp refreshing alcoholic drink that goes down easy and you can put a pint away without noticing... IMHO, it’s more like a mixed drink and 4 ounces is more than enough.

I have a board meeting tonight so I’ll bring a half pint and get more feedback. My club’s main focus is to brew following the BJCP, but also include wine, cider and mead.

Edit: This is one of three beverages I made for family reunion, so I really don’t want it too high in ABV. I’d like to see it around 5-7%.

 

[EricaM]

Sorry...no clue on that [emoji15] The jarred jalapenos I get from Sam's work great all the time. Good luck -- maybe a pepper expert here can chime in with some insight.

Thanks. I'll taste it again when I rack it off the peppers, which should be soon... whatever day I'm awake enough. My brother in law recommended adding capsaicin alone, since it already tastes like peppers, but I'm a little afraid of handling the powder and having it in the house with small children. Maybe I'll look for something diluted in a solution.

 

[bmd2k1]

Thanks. I'll taste it again when I rack it off the peppers, which should be soon... whatever day I'm awake enough. My brother in law recommended adding capsaicin alone, since it already tastes like peppers, but I'm a little afraid of handling the powder and having it in the house with small children. Maybe I'll look for something diluted in a solution.

When ya just eat one of those sliced peppers is it hot??

 

[EricaM]

When ya just eat one of those sliced peppers is it hot??

Yes. The jarred peppers I added were quite hot. And I had added one slice to a glass of wine before I added any to the carboy, and it made the wine in the glass hot. Not sure what's going on. Maybe I should add another jar and get the extra spicy kind...

I wonder if maybe the peppers sank to the bottom and then only spiced the wine on the bottom? I'm going to go give it a stir and then sample again.

Edit: Mystery solved. I stirred it and then it had burn, so apparently the heat was all at the bottom of the carboy or something.

Thanks for the suggestion for how many peppers/gallon. It's just the right amount of heat. Now I just need to sweeten and bottle.

 

[Blacksmith1]

The heat is carried in the oils that are in the peppers. That's what you need to get in suspension long enough to transfer to your beverage. And it shouldn't take long to do so.

 

[OpenSights]

Sooooo, lemon flavored jet fuel?

One more pro brewer and my club board, most anyway tried it. They all liked it, but all agree with me... not a drink for over 4 oz!

So I got to thinking after our meeting and a few beers... why pitch champagne yeast just to back sweeten and dilute, maybe mess with the flavor in a bad direction, when I can just dilute and throw in a can of concentrate. It’s still active with a pinch of nutrient, new sugar and an extra gallon of water....

 

[Blacksmith1]

OG was 1.121

Maybe less sugar next time?

 

[EricaM]

One more pro brewer and my club board, most anyway tried it. They all liked it, but all agree with me... not a drink for over 4 oz!

So I got to thinking after our meeting and a few beers... why pitch champagne yeast just to back sweeten and dilute, maybe mess with the flavor in a bad direction, when I can just dilute and throw in a can of concentrate. It’s still active with a pinch of nutrient, new sugar and an extra gallon of water....

I'm having this problem with my blueberry. Any ideas of what is good to dilute blueberry wine with?

 

[OpenSights]

Maybe less sugar next time?

Absolutely!

 

[OpenSights]

I'm having this problem with my blueberry. Any ideas of what is good to dilute blueberry wine with?

What’s your recipe, OG, current gravity and yeast? Any advice from me is pretty much guessing based on my limited experience.

I’ve been thinking of making a blueberry wine. I have a source, 30lbs for $30. IIRC I got between 3 to 4 gallons last year.