Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Since there are a few other threads that the subject has pretty much taken over, I thought it was time to make a thread just for it...
I'm making a 3 gallon batch of hard lemonade (it's just sooooo haaaaard!)... Ingredients are as follows:
6 12oz cans pink lemonade concentrate
4# store brand honey
1 packet Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast (hydrated)
1-1/2tsp DAP
Potassium Carbonate (or bicarbonate) to bring the PH to a better level for the yeast.
Blow-off tube installed into carboy bung hole
water to fill to 3 gallons.
Expected ABV: 13-14%
I started this back on 2/22/11 and it was foaming like a bastard when aerated once a day, after about 4 days. It took that long since I wasn't able to mix the honey in properly from the start. I used PH test strips to see where the must PH was early on and use potassium carbonate to increase it closer to the range that the yeast is ok with. The honey has since gone fully into solution, and fermentation has calmed down. I have a feeling that it's on it's way towards being complete.
Normal time frame, depending on if you feed it enough, and get the PH at least high enough to not stress the yeast, is about 2-4 weeks fermenting.
I'm planning on carbonating this, so using bottles rated for beer. If you don't want to carbonate it, I would either pick a yeast that won't go above your ABV target (so it doesn't finish dry) or you'll need to stabilize it before back sweetening it (also stopping the yeast from eating more sugars introduced later)...
I'm not along in that I'm thinking of using another can of concentrate to carbonate with. In the 3 gallon batch, that would be no more than 1/2 a can, depending on how high a carbonation you want. I'll add half of the can of concentrate to the batch about 1-2 weeks before I plan to carbonate it up (so in another week or two) reserving the balance for carbonating. I'm thinking that instead of cooking the concentrate, I'll use a sanitized spatula to mix it in as I rack into the bottling bucket. I do hope that the extra 1/2 can will help bring back some of the color the must had originally. It's gotten much lighter since fermenting really kicked off.
I'm also considering adding dried cherries to the must before priming (about a week or so before) to add that flavor. But maybe I'll just add one or so to some of the bottles, so that some will have that flavor in them, while other bottles wont'... Still on the fence there, but I do have time.
If you decide to make this as well, or have a batch running, post up how it's going... I'm about to pull the blow-off tube from mine (sometime today most likely) and install an airlock. Now that it's not foaming anymore.
I'm making a 3 gallon batch of hard lemonade (it's just sooooo haaaaard!)... Ingredients are as follows:
6 12oz cans pink lemonade concentrate
4# store brand honey
1 packet Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast (hydrated)
1-1/2tsp DAP
Potassium Carbonate (or bicarbonate) to bring the PH to a better level for the yeast.
Blow-off tube installed into carboy bung hole
water to fill to 3 gallons.
Expected ABV: 13-14%
I started this back on 2/22/11 and it was foaming like a bastard when aerated once a day, after about 4 days. It took that long since I wasn't able to mix the honey in properly from the start. I used PH test strips to see where the must PH was early on and use potassium carbonate to increase it closer to the range that the yeast is ok with. The honey has since gone fully into solution, and fermentation has calmed down. I have a feeling that it's on it's way towards being complete.
Normal time frame, depending on if you feed it enough, and get the PH at least high enough to not stress the yeast, is about 2-4 weeks fermenting.
I'm planning on carbonating this, so using bottles rated for beer. If you don't want to carbonate it, I would either pick a yeast that won't go above your ABV target (so it doesn't finish dry) or you'll need to stabilize it before back sweetening it (also stopping the yeast from eating more sugars introduced later)...
I'm not along in that I'm thinking of using another can of concentrate to carbonate with. In the 3 gallon batch, that would be no more than 1/2 a can, depending on how high a carbonation you want. I'll add half of the can of concentrate to the batch about 1-2 weeks before I plan to carbonate it up (so in another week or two) reserving the balance for carbonating. I'm thinking that instead of cooking the concentrate, I'll use a sanitized spatula to mix it in as I rack into the bottling bucket. I do hope that the extra 1/2 can will help bring back some of the color the must had originally. It's gotten much lighter since fermenting really kicked off.
I'm also considering adding dried cherries to the must before priming (about a week or so before) to add that flavor. But maybe I'll just add one or so to some of the bottles, so that some will have that flavor in them, while other bottles wont'... Still on the fence there, but I do have time.
If you decide to make this as well, or have a batch running, post up how it's going... I'm about to pull the blow-off tube from mine (sometime today most likely) and install an airlock. Now that it's not foaming anymore.