Light Lemonade Mead

[mindiB]

How did your light lemonade turn out I have 5 gallons going since 1/23/14 just curious about what to expect

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[gfinockio]

Making a full (5 gal) batch of this tonight. So excited! The bottles I "aged" for 2 months turned out just great, only problem is that I ran out!

 

[mindiB]

Well mine is clearing and still 2 or so bubbles per second

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[mindiB]

This stuff clears on its own nicely think its been 3 weeks this is my second mead first one was jqgm but this one I have hopes for think I'm guna do strawberry lemonade concentrate next time

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[mindiB]

Well its been about 20 days my lemonade is about clear still fermenting I took a taste I used orange blossom honey instead of clover it brings out the lemon flavor its balanced kinda dry like lemon vodka its good

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[mindiB]

Well think I'm guna split my batch half with blueberry and the other just back sweeten with lemonaide I like my lemonade strong ... any thoughts ??

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[gfinockio]

Well think I'm guna split my batch half with blueberry and the other just back sweeten with lemonaide I like my lemonade strong ... any thoughts ??

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Make sure you watch the carb level if you "back-sweeten" - you could just use lemon juice if you want more lemon flavour.

 

[mindiB]

What about one can of lemon concentrate for the 5 gallons Im using 1L swing tops for bottling and I want to stove top pasturize

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[gfinockio]

That should be fine then.

 

[mindiB]

I figured swing tops can handle a great amout of pressure so I don't have to worry about bottle bombs when I pasturize

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[Hopinista]

When you guys make 5 gallon batches, where do you put it for drinking? Cause 5 gallons is a lot of bottles.

EDIT: so is this recipe 4 or 5 gallons of water?

I was like "how is it a lot of bottles!?"

Then I remembered I'm in the mead forum

 

[mindiB]

I like to use 1 gallon jugs to age and 1 leters to test ... drink

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[mindiB]

So I checked my sg today its at 1.002 at 68f I drank the hydro sample it wasn't sweet it wasn't dry it tasted of fermented lemon I used orange blossom honey I plan to get some sweetness back so I'm going to backsweeten satblize with some lemonade concentrate drinking 8 ounces sure got me buzzed tho :::: buzzin:::::

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[mindiB]

So I racked my lemon its been 28 days added lemon and 2 cups sugar campden sorbate plan to add more lemon when I bottle friday

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[Hopinista]

OP, I happen to have everything on hand, but I don't have the lalvin yeast.

I have RedStar Premier Cuvée, Montrachet, and Pasteur champagne. Which would be best you think?

 

[rowsdower44]

OP, I happen to have everything on hand, but I don't have the lalvin yeast.

I have RedStar Premier Cuvée, Montrachet, and Pasteur champagne. Which would be best you think?

I've used Pasteur champagne with no problems.

 

[mindiB]

My batch is done and it was not fantastic. ... I would add twice the lemonade concentrate and use cane sugar to make this taste better or u can go by the OP and cold crash rack and stablize in 7 days do yourself a favor use the D 47 this recipe calls for it ferments out in 14 days this stuff is fantastic in 7 days I let mine go 28 days then racked it and it taste like fermented lemon chardonnay I decided to stablize and back sweeten to get the lemonade flavor back right now ill drink it over ice and its good I hope it gets better after a few months

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[gfinockio]

It does age well.

 

[Hopinista]

Just made this!
Few changes I made:

-Added 1 lb fresh Meyer Lemons (juice + zest)
-Only used 1 lb cane sugar and added 1 extra can of concentrate.
-Used RedStar Pasteur Champagne yeast

Will post my results when ready.

 

[mindiB]

I ended up back sweetening with 4 cans of lemon concentrate now its really good

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[gfinockio]

My second batch turned out really well - and super strong, apparently.

 

[mindiB]

Its been 3 months and this is quite good I work at a winery and brought some for everyone to try and they loved it think I'm guna make more since work donates bottles and corks I think this next time it will be raspberry lemonade

 

[smileyak87]

I have a pink lemonade version going right now. It smells awesome. But I agree a raspberry version would be awesome

 

[mindiB]

Think I'm guna try a lemon raspberry cider first I've got orange passion guava cider going right now its fantastic

 

[ElDochart]

Just finishing my first batch of this up now. Had it fermenting for two weeks, and found that it was pretty much finished. At this point, it was still smelling very yeasty, and had a more pronounced alcoholic flavor. It's been racked, with the zest from 2 lemons, for 3 days now, and it has really mellowed out beautifully. It is super light tasting, and just a little tart, with a wonderful lemon flavor, and I'll be bottling it soon.

OG: 1.060
FG: .995
ABV: 8.53

I used a Savignon Blanc yeast, instead of the Latvin one used in the original recipe. Maybe this is why the ending ABV was a little lower? Either way, it's turning out to be a very tasty mead, thanks for the recipe!

 

[Hopinista]

Mine is going on 3 months in the bottle. I added 2 pounds :f fresh Meyer lemons and used redstar premier cuvee. It's very dry and highly carbonated, it's excellent and looks just like champagne, I love it!

 

[rockydog101]

Hi all,

I made this. It's been sitting for almost two months. Has a nice flavor.

Question: Should this be stabilized and put into wine bottles, or lets say add a can of frozen lemonade concentrate and put into beer bottles and let it carb up?

 

[rowsdower44]

Hi all,

I made this. It's been sitting for almost two months. Has a nice flavor.

Question: Should this be stabilized and put into wine bottles, or lets say add a can of frozen lemonade concentrate and put into beer bottles and let it carb up?

It's really up to what you prefer. All the times I have made it, I have stabilized it and put it into wine bottles. In this way, it reminds me of a dry white wine with a lemon taste. If you like sparkling mead, you can definitely carb it into beer bottles.

 

[ctufano]

i am gonna talk to my wife about this. id be interested in trying. i like lemonade. hate wine. may like this ;P

 

[KageBrew]

Just check on this batch... Bit it looks like it's separated... The op recipe has been in the fermenter for about 2weeks and its got what looks like a huge yeast cake on the bottom. But little to no foam on top... Should I gently mix it up to get the particles floating around?

 

[rowsdower44]

Just check on this batch... Bit it looks like it's separated... The op recipe has been in the fermenter for about 2weeks and its got what looks like a huge yeast cake on the bottom. But little to no foam on top... Should I gently mix it up to get the particles floating around?

No, that's natural. Yeast, trub, etc. fall to the bottom when fermentation is over. Take a gravity reading to verify that fermentation is complete.

 

[KageBrew]

Thank you all who are still watching this thread!

Its been about a month since this brew has been in the fermentor for me. I want to transfer the mead to a secondary to help clear it up some. How low should I let my SG get before I transfer?

It started at 1.071.
After checking it last night it is at 1.020.

The OP said it should get to be as low as 1.000, and nothing was said about transferring it.

Any help here would be great!!

 

[rowsdower44]

How low should I let my SG get before I transfer?

You should wait until fermentation is complete before transferring. If you used D47 yeast, you should get down to 1.000.

 

[KageBrew]

You should wait until fermentation is complete before transferring. If you used D47 yeast, you should get down to 1.000.

Awesome. Thanks for the reply!
I did use D47 with 5.5# of honey, 2# corn sugar and 4 tubes of lemonade.

 

[WisePrey]

Walmart didn't have the Minute Maid "premium" Lemonade, so I just grabbed 4 cans of the Walmart frozen lemonade. Checked online and it looks like they both have the same ingredient list.

Edit - Have another question, no new posts so just adding it on here

Does the yeast settle on the bottom of meads like it does with beer? I think this is something that I will always want to have around and am curious if I can just rack a new batch of this right on top of the old yeast and be good to go?

Actually planning to make a regular lemonade and then do a batch using a flavored lemonade (probably strawberry).

Thanks!

 

[CKuhns]

A bit late but saw non-one replied. Yes Yeast settles out as lees in Mead. Rack off lees in secondary if > 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Many yeasts will throw some off flavors if left too long. I never allow to sit on the lees for more than 30 days or so. (Others have differing opinions and as i said some lees throw off flavors some throw nice flavors. D47 IMO can go a bit longer.)

 

[homebrewer_99]

I'm surprised this is still making the rounds.

I apologize for not replying to your questions, but the truth is I haven't even been on HBT for years.

I'm not really back now...just doing some searching for a couple of recipes.

As for the sweetness, I used some potassium sorbate to stop fermentation before backsweetening and bottling.

 

[Wovensummers]

Just started a gallon batch tonight with raspberry lemonade. Excited to try it. Thanks for the recipe.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I just got a "Like" notice for this thread today and thought I'd revisit it.

After reading through many of the comments I got curious about how many bottles I had left of this batch from 2009. I have 3. Two 1/2 gal jars (brown glass) and 1 750ml bottle (clear glass).

This batch was bottled in August 2009, making it 8 years and 9 months old. It has also never been chilled.

The picture above was taken with a flash so it looks darker than it really is.

The picture below was taken without a flash and shows it's true color:

This mead has a very light nose and body, it's held on to it's citrus flavor and has a hint of honey present on the tongue. IMO, this is one FANTASTIC tasting wine. I would not mind paying $40 for a bottle of this off the shelf.

After a glass of this I'm thinking it's (way past) time I make another batch.

OK, now I only have 2 bottles left...

 

[Deb]

I just got a "Like" notice for this thread today and thought I'd revisit it.

Hey, HB Bill.

I just started getting into making mead and I’m going to modify these instructions for part of the batch to make a lavender lemonade mead. I’m debating on adding some Lavender extract that I have for my Kombucha or going with some fresh flowers a week before bottling. I’m really excited about this. Thanks so much for posting this recipe and for checking in from time to time.