Hard Lemonade

[bigmac58]

Ok, I only have one brew behing me and I've never done a yeast starter. If you do the starter and slowly add the mixture to the starter to get it used to the acid, what keeps the original mixture from spoiling while working on the yeast? Is it because the acid level is so high in the must?

I'm thinking of doing a 2 gallon batch of this to try. I'd like to carbonate this in bottles but have a lot more reading to do on this, seems a little confusting right now.

Thanks!

 

[lylo]

It is a little confusing alright.First off I suggest using pure apple juice and water to build the starter.I used a dry champagne yeast,hydrated with boiled and cooled water,then built it up with apple juice.Towards the end I started adding the lemonade to get the yeast used to the high acid content it was about to be baptized with.Yooper suggests a couple of crushed campden tablets like country wine makers use in their must to keep the lemonade clean while waiting for the yeast.
I am no expert at all on this,however I used to make a lot of country wine andthis was a similar process.I am sure you will here from more knowledgeable people tha me.Good luck.

 

[Theshorey]

So first attempt has finally stopped (damn EC-1118 doesn't like to quit!) and the reviews have been pretty good. Overall opnion was needs 1 heaped tablespoon per 750 mL bottle to back sweeten, and almost no raspberry taste came thru... so next time a less potent yeast, and maybe rack onto fresh raspberries in the secondary...

 

[LoloMT7]

i followed the op's recipe except i used a Huge yeast cake from a 5 gallon batch us-05 and it was going crazy in one hour! Anyone used beer yeast and had good results ?

 

[Pandaren]

Hey guys,

It's recently gotten really hot where I'm at (past 3 days 98+) and apparently won't be getting much lower than 91 for a while. I'm in an apartment with no a/c, so I've had to make due with temps as best I can, but it's not really cooling off much in the night either. Anyway, it's been going about 4 days now and has been fermenting between 74 and 85 for the majority of the time.

Are these high temps a big deal for something like lemonade? I used champagne yeast, not beer yeast, and added 2 lbs cane sugar and 1 lb ultra light dme.

 

[BrewerBear]

You will probably be ok, time will tell. You may need to let it sit a little longer to let any possible off flavors mellow out.

 

[LonestarHB]

Has any one used sweetened dry lemonade powder to prime for an added lemonade kick?

 

[alchemedes]

I know this is not same as the Skeeter Pee recipe, but I was just curious if it would be benificial to do late additions of lemon juice to avoide a "sulfer-dioxide" problem? I was sorta comparing the two recipes and the SP recipe says the following:

"Periodically check the gravity. When it gets down to around 1.050, add the other 3 tsp of nutrient the second tsp of energizer, and the last bottle of lemon juice; vigorously mix it in. Don’t be afraid to introduce some oxygen to the mix at the same time. This late addition of yeast food and oxygen helps reduce the likelihood of your batch developing a sulfur-dioxide problem."

So, would it be benifical to try and follow the same logic with this recipe. Has anyone had this problem? Has anyone had to degas this recipe?

 

[alchemedes]

Bump. Anybody?

 

[CA-LT1]

Never had a problem, but you do need to degas, unless you want to wait a long time

 

[FlashJT]

For anyone that's done both this and Skeeter Pee, what is the difference between the two? Do you have a preference of one over the other? They seem so similar I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to try this recipe when I'm already working on a Skeeter Pee.

 

[LonestarHB]

I have both in the primary, they are quite different SP seems brighter on lemon flavor and hotter and HL seems a bit more mellow and drinkable in larger quantity but less in your face lemon

 

[rdkopp0153]

Is anyone using a stir plate for their starter?

 

[Theshorey]

I've been using the "Simply Lemonade" product... I take about a cup of my lemonade/sugar/water mix and dilute it with another cup of warm water, then pitch my yeast and let it go for a good 30 minutes, add a little more of the lemonade mix & wait another 30 minutes, then dump the whole "starter" into my bucket and stir up up good to get the air into it. I've done a couple of smaller batches this way and they've all taken off good... could be because I'm using EC-1118 too though

 

[rdkopp0153]

I was worried I'd killed my yeast, but all seems well for now.
My diluted started was going well, bubbly, think krausen on top then after a few additions of concentrated "must" and 24 hours later, things died out.
I tossed it the primary anyway, nothing happened for 24 hours, so I bought some more yeast and was going to make another starter and take it more slowly adding concentrate. I got home with the yeast, and the primary is bubbling like crazy now!
I'm wondering if my starter being on a stir plate helped it reach it's peak faster? I'm just happy things are fermenting!
It's always easier to see after the fact, but patience is the name of the game.

 

[Heckle]

I forgot to stop mine and it went way down to 0.994 I put in some campden and sorbate about three days ago. Now I want to back sweeten. What is best to backsweeten with? I have some lactose I can use or should I skip that and pick up a can or two of concentrate? I plan on kegging this.

 

[CA-LT1]

I've just used another can of concentrate with good results.

 

[bigmac58]

I'm trying this again after trying this last year and having a catasrophic failure with my bucket lid developing a crack and letting in the gnats and who knows what else. This round I'm using a 1 gallon carboy with drilled stopper and airlock which should keep the nasties out. I prepared this last afternoon and had activity in the airlock by evening. Today, the airlock is bubbling happily at a rate of about 4/min. The starting gravity I had should let this finish at about 9%. That is probably a good round number I hope.

 

[BrewerBear]

Looks good so far.I'm sure this batch will turn out fine.

 

[thiessenace]

I know i might be a bit out to lunch. But could this be possible with any canned concentrate. I was thinking about doing a ice tea. Maybe try some fruitopia with a nice kick.

 

[The1Greenguru]

hello been thinking of trying some hard lemonade. If you don't mind what does it end up tasting like can I get the best description. of the flavor Thanks for your time GG also do you have or know a good recipe for 5-6 gallon batch with the use of frozen concentrate juice or do i find a 1 gallon recipe and just add it up to 5-6 gallon batch thanks

 

[mike_in_ak]

i followed the op's recipe except i used a Huge yeast cake from a 5 gallon batch us-05 and it was going crazy in one hour! Anyone used beer yeast and had good results ?

Any update on this? I was thinking about using an S-04 cake.

 

[overpunch]

My keg is full of mead, and I've got 5 gallons of this hard lemonade that's now clear in my carboy on the yeast cake. Since I can't carb it in the keg, is it okay to leave it on the lees? Or should I rack it into a bucket and let it sit until the keg is avaliable?

 

[D_Nyholm]

My keg is full of mead, and I've got 5 gallons of this hard lemonade that's now clear in my carboy on the yeast cake. Since I can't carb it in the keg, is it okay to leave it on the lees? Or should I rack it into a bucket and let it sit until the keg is avaliable?

How long will it sit there? I would be worried about it having too much headspace in a bucket. If you have a carboy, maybe you can put it in there?

I've left things o. Yeast for almost 2 months and haven't had any problems, but I would think it would be longer in your case since you have mead and that may not go too fast?

 

[overpunch]

Well, it's sparkling mead...so maybe it'll go a little faster. But I'd be looking at ~3 months minimum to empty the keg. I could bottle once it gets down to 1/4th full.

I don't have another carboy. I was thinking of racking into the bucket and leaving it there or racking into the bucket, cleaning the carboy, and racking it back (but i'd be worried about infection/oxidation doing the latter option).

 

[Yooper]

Well, it's sparkling mead...so maybe it'll go a little faster. But I'd be looking at ~3 months minimum to empty the keg. I could bottle once it gets down to 1/4th full.

I don't have another carboy. I was thinking of racking into the bucket and leaving it there or racking into the bucket, cleaning the carboy, and racking it back (but i'd be worried about infection/oxidation doing the latter option).

None of those are good options. Too long on the lees can cause some bad flavor, and a wide headspace will oxidize it. You don't have another keg or carboy? I'd make sure it's in a carboy, and topped up.

If not, I'd bottle it.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Well, it's sparkling mead...so maybe it'll go a little faster. But I'd be looking at ~3 months minimum to empty the keg. I could bottle once it gets down to 1/4th full.

I don't have another carboy. I was thinking of racking into the bucket and leaving it there or racking into the bucket, cleaning the carboy, and racking it back (but i'd be worried about infection/oxidation doing the latter option).

I've done the swap to bucket and then back to carboy before and had luck. The good thing about the lemonade is that it doesn't oxidize as easily, at least skeeter pee doesn't. This may be slightly different since it isn't as high in alcohol and acid, but I think it may be your best option.

 

[overpunch]

I went with the bucket-swap method. I sterilized my bucket and autosiphon, spritzed some co2 into the bucket with a couple of crushed campden tablets, and covered it with the hose in there from the autosiphon. Siphoned off the lemon-wine, and then I cleaned out the carboy. Spritzed some co2 into the carboy, and then siphoned the bucket into the carboy. Topped up with some R/O H2O out of a freshly opened gallon jug. Another spritz of co2 and I put the airlock back on. The alcohol content was pretty high; no sweetness detected.

My fingers are crossed.

I plan on adding sugar and doing a natural carb when I have a free keg.

 

[overpunch]

I went with the bucket-swap method. I sterilized my bucket and autosiphon, spritzed some co2 into the bucket with a couple of crushed campden tablets, and covered it with the hose in there from the autosiphon. Siphoned off the lemon-wine, and then I cleaned out the carboy. Spritzed some co2 into the carboy, and then siphoned the bucket into the carboy. Topped up with some R/O H2O out of a freshly opened gallon jug. Another spritz of co2 and I put the airlock back on. The alcohol content was pretty high; no sweetness detected.

My fingers are crossed.

I plan on adding sugar and doing a natural carb when I have a free keg.

Update: I did the natural carb w/ sugar. It's now semi-sweet, sparkly, and clear. No off flavors.

 

[The1Greenguru]

hello been thinking of trying some hard lemonade. If you don't mind what does it end up tasting like can I get the best description. of the flavor Thanks for your time GG also do you have or know a good recipe for 5-6 gallon batch with the use of frozen concentrate juice or do i find a 1 gallon recipe and just add it up to 5-6 gallon batch thanks

But everyone I try tastes better then the one days before great recipe