Raspberry Hard Lemonade

[beren]

Oxygen exposure throughout any of this process really isn’t much of a concern since we aren’t dealing with the reaction in the hop compounds. I’m sure being mindful of it is prudent, but nothing I lose any sleep over with this recipe.
In regards to straining/ racking, I think as long as it’s done somewhere during the total process before packaging, will be sufficient.

Oxidation affects wines too. Add sulfites to prevent it, also if you back sweeten add sorbate.

For fun/cheap, I’ve done lemonade wine, triple berry country wine (dragon’s blood) and a fermented cherry limeade. They were all really good.

The lemonade wine especially is dangerous on a hot day after working outside.

 

[MaxStout]

When I added sorbate to mine to stop fermentation, I also added some potassium metabisulfite, which should also help scavenge some O2.

There was a thread somewhere on HBT where they recommended using both to stabilize wine, so I just followed that.

 

[JoeMama]

2 weeks in the ferm cab, and I just racked my very first lemonade onto the raspberries to rest for ~week or so before going into the keg.

This was a 2.5-3gal batch and if it comes out as hopeful as I think it will, I may have to invest in some larger dedicated equipment to keep it on tap. The sample was delicious, and even the wife agreed!

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

I want to make this recipe, but I don't want to split a bag of DME (all I have are 3 lb bags), so plan to mash 1.5 lbs of 2-row, which should get me the same "extract" in 2 gallons of water, as 1 lb of dme would. Do you think I need to boil for more than just a couple minutes?

 

[camonick]

I want to make this recipe, but I don't want to split a bag of DME (all I have are 3 lb bags), so plan to mash 1.5 lbs of 2-row, which should get me the same "extract" in 2 gallons of water, as 1 lb of dme would. Do you think I need to boil for more than just a couple minutes?

I doubt it… just need the sugars and pasteurization temps I think.

 

[JoeMama]

Well, good and bad news.

Good news - I got it kegged, a little carb'd and sampled.
Bad news - In my excitement of racking it, I didn't strain it and now it wont pour steadily/consistently.

Guess I get to re-rack into a new keg but with a brew bag to catch the sediment.

Oh, and even more good news - Its DELICIOUS!!! I definitely foresee larger batches of this in my future!!

 

[BongoYodeler]

Well, good and bad news.

Good news - I got it kegged, a little carb'd and sampled.
Bad news - In my excitement of racking it, I didn't strain it and now it wont pour steadily/consistently.

Guess I get to re-rack into a new keg but with a brew bag to catch the sediment.

Oh, and even more good news - Its DELICIOUS!!! I definitely foresee larger batches of this in my future!!

I'm kind of going through the same thing with my latest batch. I over-crushed the raspberries and didn't strain them sufficiently so it's pouring a little slower than normal. But, not bad enough for me to do anything but keep drinking it.

Glad you like it!!

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Has anyone ever checked the pH of the lemonade before adding the yeast? I don't have the tools to do so, tho google suggests it's likely between 2 and 3, which would probably explain why it's taking so damned long, even with Fermaid K added (used dosage specified on the packaging, but don't recall what it was at the moment).

 

[camonick]

Has anyone ever checked the pH of the lemonade before adding the yeast? I don't have the tools to do so, tho google suggests it's likely between 2 and 3, which would probably explain why it's taking so damned long, even with Fermaid K added (used dosage specified on the packaging, but don't recall what it was at the moment).

Taking so long to start or finish?

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Taking so long to start or finish?

Both! I originally wanted to go gluten free, so I skipped the DME, but after 3 weeks with barely ANY bubbles visible in the fermonster, decided well, no harm in whipping up an extra half-gallon of wort from 1 lb of mashed (& boiled/cooled) 2-row. With this addition, fermentation finally started going with some vigor, and I watched gravity go from 1.044 down to 1.007 in 2 days. That was ten days ago, now it has reached 1.003, but still see bubbles rising.

Original lemonade was 5 cans walmart great value lemonade into 2.5 gallons of untreated RO water.
The added half-gallon wort was made with RO water salted to get Brewer's Friend Light and Balanced profile, and a predicted mash pH of 5.4

Hopefully this doesn't come across too much like the stereotypical doofus who significantly alters a recipe and then complains that "didn't turn out well for me" post. Cuz I'm not saying that, I'm just wondering if anyone who's ever made this, ever took a pH reading of their lemonade, before all the other stuff was added.

 

[MaxStout]

Both! I originally wanted to go gluten free, so I skipped the DME, but after 3 weeks with barely ANY bubbles visible in the fermonster, decided well, no harm in whipping up an extra half-gallon of wort from 1 lb of mashed (& boiled/cooled) 2-row. With this addition, fermentation finally started going with some vigor, and I watched gravity go from 1.044 down to 1.007 in 2 days. That was ten days ago, now it has reached 1.003, but still see bubbles rising.

Original lemonade was 5 cans walmart great value lemonade into 2.5 gallons of untreated RO water.
The added half-gallon wort was made with RO water salted to get Brewer's Friend Light and Balanced profile, and a predicted mash pH of 5.4

Hopefully this doesn't come across too much like the stereotypical doofus who significantly alters a recipe and then complains that "didn't turn out well for me" post. Cuz I'm not saying that, I'm just wondering if anyone who's ever made this, ever took a pH reading of their lemonade, before all the other stuff was added.

My first batch (with the DME) turned out fine. Second batch I ditched the DME, for the same reason (I have a couple relatives who are gluten-free). I replaced the DME with some sugar. Fermentation didn't start, even after repitching. I gave up and dumped it.

Now I just cheat and mix up lemonade with the flavor extract and add some rum to the glass.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Now I just cheat and mix up lemonade with the flavor extract and add some rum to the glass.

Can I ask which lemonade and flavor extract brands you are using? I didn't think the great value brand frozen lemonade was all that good...

 

[MaxStout]

Can I ask which lemonade and flavor extract brands you are using? I didn't think the great value brand frozen lemonade was all that good...

I didn't like Great Value that much either--tastes kind of thin. And a 12 oz can only makes 48 oz. I buy Minute Maid concentrate. Costs more, but it has more sugar, and a 12 oz can makes 64 oz.

 

[camonick]

Both! I originally wanted to go gluten free, so I skipped the DME, but after 3 weeks with barely ANY bubbles visible in the fermonster, decided well, no harm in whipping up an extra half-gallon of wort from 1 lb of mashed (& boiled/cooled) 2-row. With this addition, fermentation finally started going with some vigor, and I watched gravity go from 1.044 down to 1.007 in 2 days. That was ten days ago, now it has reached 1.003, but still see bubbles rising.

Original lemonade was 5 cans walmart great value lemonade into 2.5 gallons of untreated RO water.
The added half-gallon wort was made with RO water salted to get Brewer's Friend Light and Balanced profile, and a predicted mash pH of 5.4

Hopefully this doesn't come across too much like the stereotypical doofus who significantly alters a recipe and then complains that "didn't turn out well for me" post. Cuz I'm not saying that, I'm just wondering if anyone who's ever made this, ever took a pH reading of their lemonade, before all the other stuff was added.

I’ve never checked the pH. You did use the EC-1118 yeast correct?

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

I’ve never checked the pH. You did use the EC-1118 yeast correct?

yes, full pack (5 grams) rehydrated per instructions.

 

[camonick]

yes, full pack (5 grams) rehydrated per instructions.

Sorry, I got nothing

 

[camonick]

I didn't like Great Value that much either--tastes kind of thin. And a 12 oz can only makes 48 oz. I buy Minute Maid concentrate. Costs more, but it has more sugar, and a 12 oz can makes 64 oz.

I’ve always used the Great Value and haven’t tried the name brand stuff. I’ve always thought mine finished weaker (ABV) than the written recipe. I might splurge and try the more expensive concentrate next time.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Sorry, I got nothing

My take-away is that the malt (or DME) is a KEY ingredient, "normal" lemonade, even with Fermaid, is just going to be a bit too sour for EC-1118 to perform well, especially with RO water, unless it's got the buttload of nutrients that actual grain contributes.

 

[camonick]

My take-away is that the malt (or DME) is a KEY ingredient, "normal" lemonade, even with Fermaid, is just going to be a bit too sour for EC-1118 to perform well, especially with RO water, unless it's got the buttload of nutrients that actual grain contributes.

That could be very true. I’ve never looked into the traditional skeeter pee recipes… I’m not sure how they’re getting them to ferment.

 

[BongoYodeler]

My take-away is that the malt (or DME) is a KEY ingredient, "normal" lemonade, even with Fermaid, is just going to be a bit too sour for EC-1118 to perform well, especially with RO water, unless it's got the buttload of nutrients that actual grain contributes.

Possibly. I've never taken a pH reading, most likely because I don't have a meter.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

That could be very true. I’ve never looked into the traditional skeeter pee recipes… I’m not sure how they’re getting them to ferment.

I suspect they are using tap-water with fairly high HCO3- values that buffer the pH a bit, but that's just a guess... Gonna make two new very-small batches next soon, with "REAL" MinuteMaid frozen lemonade (per the instrux on the can):

• one with plain RO water
• another with my tap water (which is has HCO3- of 165-ish ppm)

OR MAYBE

Just get the best-rated SodaStream Alternative (it's Drinkmate), and stop worrying about details...

 

[BongoYodeler]

I’ve always used the Great Value and haven’t tried the name brand stuff. I’ve always thought mine finished weaker (ABV) than the written recipe. I might splurge and try the more expensive concentrate next time.

Yeah, not sure where I got the 6.5% info when I wrote up this recipe, but I've never gotten it to finish that high. Mine usually finishes between 5.5 and 6%. I've always used store brand lemonade concentrate, so that may indeed be the difference.

 

[MaxStout]

The cans of concentrate will give the grams of sugar per serving. From there, you can calculate the overall sugar content of the must.

I'm still scratching my head over the 2 different outcomes I had. First one (with DME) turned out great. Second one (no DME and I subbed more sugar) wouldn't get off the ground. Odd that DME would be the key, as wine yeast is made to ferment simple sugars. And pH? Both batches probably had same or very similar pH and the first one worked. I checked the Minute Maid juice cans and no preservatives at all.

Years ago I made a 5 gallon batch of strong hard lemonade from some recipe I found (don't recall the source). It was 7 cans lemonade and 3 cans of limeade concentrate, and several pounds of sugar. OG was something like 1.120! Pitched 1 packet EC-1118 rehydrated with GoFerm, and added a little nutrient to the must. Fermentation barely got going. After a month, SG was only down to 1.080. I repitched another packet of 1118, rehydrated, and some yeast energizer to the must. Two weeks later. down to 1.062. Second repitch. After 7 months total, SG was down to 1.018, same as it was 2 months before. I stabilized with metabisulfate and sorbate and bottled. Around 13% ABV, it tasted good with just a little heat. But I won't try anything that ambitious again.

 

[HBT_Admin]

2 weeks in the ferm cab, and I just racked my very first lemonade onto the raspberries to rest for ~week or so before going into the keg.

This was a 2.5-3gal batch and if it comes out as hopeful as I think it will, I may have to invest in some larger dedicated equipment to keep it on tap. The sample was delicious, and even the wife agreed!


View attachment 867444

How's it coming along? Ready for a mug of it yet?

 

[JoeMama]

How's it coming along? Ready for a mug of it yet?

I have had several mugs and lessons learned.

I immediately kegged it from secondary but learned that I should have run it through a filter/bag as it clogged my keg.
Once it was filtered into a new keg, it pours, looks and tastes delicious.

I just recently had a deck built around my pool and this is definitely going to compliment my pool side floats when the weather warms up.

 

[dmbrew48]

Great idea - saw this before and didn't get to it.
Picked up remaining materials not in inventory to do a 2.5 gal batch, but frozen raspberries are not available at the moment.
Fresh are just coming in and thinking a vodka rinse would be needed - thoughts? and also ratio berries to vodka (12 oz to a half cup????) and soak time?
Thanks & brew on.

 

[MaxStout]

Great idea - saw this before and didn't get to it.
Picked up remaining materials not in inventory to do a 2.5 gal batch, but frozen raspberries are not available at the moment.
Fresh are just coming in and thinking a vodka rinse would be needed - thoughts? and also ratio berries to vodka (12 oz to a half cup????) and soak time?
Thanks & brew on.

Vodka rinse would be a good idea if you're using fresh berries. Put just enough in to wet the berries, maybe have it all in some mason jars or the like. Shake them up to get them well coated with the vodka, let it sit a while, perhaps an hour or two. Just enough time for it to sanitize. The vodka might get a little infusion from the berries. Then you could add it all to the fermenter.

 

[JoeMama]

Great idea - saw this before and didn't get to it.
Picked up remaining materials not in inventory to do a 2.5 gal batch, but frozen raspberries are not available at the moment.
Fresh are just coming in and thinking a vodka rinse would be needed - thoughts? and also ratio berries to vodka (12 oz to a half cup????) and soak time?
Thanks & brew on.

OR another thing you can do is a quick blanch of the fresh raspberries (to kill the nasties) and THEN freeze them to burst their cell walls and increase availability.

The vodka soak works as well and can also be used to up your ABV should you desire to.

 

[dmbrew48]

Thanks for the suggestions, had not personally used the vodka method, but knew it would be needed - local brew club folks have used it for their jalapeño /mango ales.
Wasn't sure about the blanch method and results to raspberries flavor / color loss.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Thanks for the suggestions, had not personally used the vodka method, but knew it would be needed - local brew club folks have used it for their jalapeño /mango ales.
Wasn't sure about the blanch method and results to raspberries flavor / color loss.

I've only used frozen raspberries but I would think each method would properly sanitize the berries. Although if it were me I think I'd go with the blanch/freeze method. Seems like it would result in a better raspberry color and flavor than just a vodka soak.

 

[dmbrew48]

Thanks for input - maybe I am overthinking it.
I've used blanching for veggies, but not fruit (softer surface items). One resource says the "soft outer shell" will absorb water & dilute the flavor. Course (other than us in the homebrew world) blanching resources are not in the beer brewing mode. I'm guessing pureed fruits run through a pasteurization (heating) process. Seems like a swim in vodka might more quickly kill the nasties & be a less impactful to the fruit (my local brew group opts for this route).
What's the used adjective: it's an exbeeriment.....

 

[camonick]

Update and modification:…
It was discussed previously about the differences in frozen lemonade concentrate. I have always used Great Value (Walmart) concentrate and never felt like I was getting the ABV content described in the recipe. I did some shopping around at my limited stores I have access to here in BFE northeast Colorado. I found another brand at a small local grocery store called ‘Our Family’. It contained much more sugar than the Walmart brand, mostly in the form of high fructose corn syrup. Walmart brand also contains Stevia extract too, which I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I also did recipe research and found this on our forum. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/full-hard-lemonade-recipe.348811/
It uses 2.5 pounds of corn sugar instead of one.
I made a batch today using the higher sugar content lemonade and the extra sugar. I ended up with an OG of 1.064
We’ll see how strong it is in a month or so.

Walmart

Our Family

 

[BongoYodeler]

Update and modification:…
It was discussed previously about the differences in frozen lemonade concentrate. I have always used Great Value (Walmart) concentrate and never felt like I was getting the ABV content described in the recipe. I did some shopping around at my limited stores I have access to here in BFE northeast Colorado. I found another brand at a small local grocery store called ‘Our Family’. It contained much more sugar than the Walmart brand, mostly in the form of high fructose corn syrup. Walmart brand also contains Stevia extract too, which I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I also did recipe research and found this on our forum. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/full-hard-lemonade-recipe.348811/
It uses 2.5 pounds of corn sugar instead of one.
I made a batch today using the higher sugar content lemonade and the extra sugar. I ended up with an OG of 1.064
We’ll see how strong it is in a month or so.

Walmart
View attachment 873751

Our Family
View attachment 873752

Interesting. I’ve never used the Walmart brand, but have used the generic brand found at Albertsons, our local grocery store. I verified it didn’t contain potassium sorbate or artificial sweeteners, but I never took notice of the actual sugar content. Worth noting, I’ve also never approached the abv called out in this thread but I just assumed it was a misprint when I copied over the recipe. I’m looking forward to seeing your results, and your opinion of the flavor at the higher abv, if you attain it.

 

[camonick]

Interesting. I’ve never used the Walmart brand, but have used the generic brand found at Albertsons, our local grocery store. I verified it didn’t contain potassium sorbate or artificial sweeteners, but I never took notice of the actual sugar content. Worth noting, I’ve also never approached the abv called out in this thread but I just assumed it was a misprint when I copied over the recipe. I’m looking forward to seeing your results, and your opinion of the flavor at the higher abv, if you attain it.

I also noticed the Walmart brand was only 11% juice while the other is 15%. When I was racking through the strainer into my fermenter, I thought to myself that it smelled more lemon-y.
I’m making this to take to a camping trip at the end of May that the brew club I just joined is hosting. Supposed to be a family weekend.
If this finishes at or near 1.000 it could be north of 8%!

 

[beren]

Has anyone ever checked the pH of the lemonade before adding the yeast? I don't have the tools to do so, tho google suggests it's likely between 2 and 3, which would probably explain why it's taking so damned long, even with Fermaid K added (used dosage specified on the packaging, but don't recall what it was at the moment).

So the trick with stuff like that is to add most of the lemon after fermentation is done. Check the recipe for skeeter pee

 

[MaxStout]

I also noticed the Walmart brand was only 11% juice while the other is 15%. When I was racking through the strainer into my fermenter, I thought to myself that it smelled more lemon-y.
I’m making this to take to a camping trip at the end of May that the brew club I just joined is hosting. Supposed to be a family weekend.
If this finishes at or near 1.000 it could be north of 8%!

Another factor: the amount of sugar in the concentrate varies quite a bit from brand to brand. The cans usually don't state the quantity, but you can look at the calorie count on the label to infer the amount. Also, about the Wallyworld brand, a 12oz can only makes 48oz of lemonade; Minute Maid makes 64 oz. Sometimes, the cheap brand isn't so cheap.

 

[beren]

For lemon you are better off using bottles of lemon juice and adding the sugar yourself. Apple is a bit harder…

 

[camonick]

Newest sample of RHL. Using the better lemonade concentrate definitely makes a big difference despite the higher cost. This might be the best batch I’ve made so far. Right at 8% ABV too.

 

[MaxStout]

For lemon you are better off using bottles of lemon juice and adding the sugar yourself. Apple is a bit harder…

Make some limoncello. After you zest a bunch of lemons for that, you can juice them for lemonade.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Newest sample of RHL. Using the better lemonade concentrate definitely makes a big difference despite the higher cost. This might be the best batch I’ve made so far. Right at 8% ABV too. View attachment 875436

Looks great. What brand of concentrate did you use?
This is what I've been using. I wanted to pick up enough for a batch the last time I was in the store, but they didn't have any - zero!! I guess it's not lemonade season here yet.