Lemonade "Wine"

[torilen]

I'm placing this under the wine thread because I used champagne yeast and there are no grains or hops in it.

I looked up a couple of recipes for hard lemonade, and figured I could give it a try. I've been a bit worried to, since I have read the acid makes it difficult to get it fermenting.

I heated 1/2 gallon of water with 2 cups of sugar to mix the sugar in well. Once it was cooled to about 110F or so, I zested in 2 large lemons and juiced in 5 large lemons. I also scraped in some of the pulp from the juicing. I proofed some bread yeast and pour about 1 tablespoon or so into it (for nutrient). I poured the lemonade into my 1 gallon carboy (on top of the bread yeast) and swished it around good. Then I poured in 1/2 packet of the champagne yeast (which happened to be from the fridge - used the other half Friday).

It was fermenting well within an hour. Maybe it is because I used the bread yeast for nutrient...maybe it was fresh lemon and zest and such. Anyhow...for anyone looking to make hard lemonade, hope this helps.

I'll keep you posted on how it tastes. Should be easy to let it ferment to dry and backsweeten with fresh lemon juice, water, and sugar.

 

[bernardsmith]

There is a pleasant variant on your recipe that people know as Skeeter Pee and the recipe calls for the use of a yeast slurry you have made from another wine as the fermenting yeast for the SP. The idea is that the yeast in the slurry will have become more tolerant of the higher acidic levels found in the lemon juice. SP , however, uses reconstituted lemon concentrate rather than fresh lemons... The folk who make this swear by it..

 

[z-bob]

You can also make Skeeter Pee with dried wine yeast without having to massively overpitch it; just don't add all the lemon juice until after the fermentation is going vigorously. Add one bottle at the beginning, another bottle once it's bubbling good, the last bottle a few days later.

Use a powerful yeast like EC-1118 or Premier Cuvee or champagne yeast.

The quick fermentation is probably the bread yeast. Don't worry, the champagne yeast will kill it.

 

[torilen]

The yeast I used was Premier Cuvee (sorry, I thought that was a champagne yeast).

My main reason for attempting this is because, as you have pointed out...other recipes (the most notable being the SP, from what I have seen) use either juice concentrate or bottled juice. That stuff never tastes the same. I needed to work it out using real lemons, with the zest and pulp and all. Much better flavor to start with.

 

[z-bob]

Don't be sorry, PC is a champagne yeast. And I'm pretty sure it will kill (and eat) the bread yeast.

Keep us posted on how it develops

 

[bransona]

I would hate myself if I didn't sub to this thread. Good luck, m8!

 

[Apple_Jacker]

Did you happen to taste it before adding the yeasts? What was the starting gravity?

 

[torilen]

I don't have a hydrometer yet (hopefully in another month or two), so I don't know the gravity to begin with. I did taste it. It had a light sweet taste, and a super-bright lemon taste without being super tart. I'm thinking, once backsweetened with a bit of sugar and fresh-squeezed lemon juice mix, it should taste wonderful.

Of course, I've been wrong before...my apple ciders have not come out very well so far. I make great ginger beer, though...so we'll see.

 

[torilen]

Okay. This has been fermenting good since Friday. I gave it a taste this morning, and I will be pulling it tomorrow - will have been on for 7 days. It is tasting GREAT! Quite honestly, I could probably get away without any backsweetening at all. Though, my plan is to add just a touch of sugar and fresh lemon juice for sweetening.

The lemons were about $3.40 for all 5. The gallon of water was $0.88, and I only used 1/2 of it. Not sure how to measure the cost in sugar or electricity. The yeast, I would say, cost maybe $0.40.

All in all, I'll give it an even $6.00, and I'll end up with the equivalent of 4.7 12oz bottles. Not too shabby.

I would say, if you want to make a good hard lemonade - this might be a recipe to try.

 

[torilen]

Well, this is the coolest thing ever. I went ahead and pulled my hard lemonade tonight after dinner. For the backsweetening:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons sugar

Come to find out, this stuff tastes a lot like lemonade with tequila in it.

Go figure.

I'll be drinking some this weekend, so I'll be able to tell you if it has some good alcohol in it (you know, if it hits you good.

 

[bransona]

Did you stabilize or pasteurize?

 

[torilen]

I put most of it in the fridge. I did make my first attempt at pasteurizing, though. I don't think I could stabilize, since it was still fermenting slightly. I wanted to pull it now, though...the taste was good and I didn't want to take a chance of it going south on me.

I have a whole mess of canning jars, so pasteurizing is fairly easy for me, without worrying about jars breaking. I've canned lots of fruit preserves, so it is familiar to me.

I have the jar sitting on the counter in the kitchen. I'm going to check it in the morning to see if it is still sealed good, or if the top has popped off. That will tell me if the yeast is dead or not.

I assume you're asking if it changed the taste or not? I don't know yet. I will let you know, though.

 

[bransona]

Well, I was just curious in general. That's included. I really hope this works out for you! Then I'll make it work for me