Hard lemonade

[Lamo]

I have tried making hard lemonade twice now to no avail. First, I used straight lemon juice which didnt work. I next tried a 70-30 mixture (70 lemon, 30 wine grape) which didn't work. Neither one ever even started to ferment. So after waiting 2 days on each of them, I refrigerated it and just drank it as regular lemonade (quite tart). After reading the label on the lemon juice, it may have to do with all the extra preservatives they have added (long list). I am going to try it one more time using freshly squeezed lemon juice to see if that will do the trick. I can think of no other reason, other than the extra preservatives, that would make it not work. I am on a mission. Anyone else ever make hard lemonade? Lamo

[dopplebock]

i haven't made hard lemonade yet but i would almost guarantee it all the preservatives. i would use red star premier cuvee yeast for this however. it's hard working and used for restarting stuck fermentations. it also finishes very clean!
was the water too hot when the yeast was added?

here's a link to some lemon wine recipes, same thing i'm sure.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques48.asp

[dopplebock]

i should add that lemon and other citrus fruits are fermentable, but a bit harder to do than something like grapes. A yeast starter with some added nutrients should do the trick.

[Lamo]

I tried 4 lemons. I peeled the rind off, cut the lemon up and boiled them for a few minutes. After it cooled, I saved the water and then put the boiled lemons in a makeshift cheesecloth bag ad squeezed everything out that I could. Put all the juice and water in a 2 liter and filled it the rest of the way with water. Started it yesterday. Today, I see, it is perking along. My conclusion is that the difficulty was the large amount of preservatives in bottled lemon juice. This concoction that I made is VERY lemony (which I like). May need to sweeten slightly once it finishes. I will let you know.

[ezcaps_phpbb3_import2]

I have tried making hard lemonade twice now to no avail. First, I used straight lemon juice which didnt work. I next tried a 70-30 mixture (70 lemon, 30 wine grape) which didn't work. Neither one ever even started to ferment. So after waiting 2 days on each of them, I refrigerated it and just drank it as regular lemonade (quite tart). After reading the label on the lemon juice, it may have to do with all the extra preservatives they have added (long list). I am going to try it one more time using freshly squeezed lemon juice to see if that will do the trick. I can think of no other reason, other than the extra preservatives, that would make it not work. I am on a mission. Anyone else ever make hard lemonade? Lamo

Most of the hard lemonade recipes I've seen call for using frozen canned lemonade. Has anybody ever tried this?

[dopplebock]

haven't tried the frozen canned lemonade, sounds like the best bet if there is not too many preservatives.

only three lemons? i don't know, doesn't sound like enough...you may end up with a very light bodied drink.

[ezcaps_phpbb3_import2]

Here is a hard lemonade recipe:

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate. Look for a brand that has no potassium sorbate listed as an ingredient. I recommend a pulp-free variety if you can find it.
3.25 cups of sugar (770ml)
Almost 2 liters water (remember the head room)

Make the lemonade from concentrate, add sugar, and add EZ Caps yeast. Ferment. Place in fridge. Citrus juices take longer to clarify.

[Casketmaker]

I make hard lemonaid every spring but I have never made it EZ Caps. I buy lemon juice by the gallon and yes it is full of preservatives. To make it fermentable simply boil it. After boiling the juice let it cool then put it in a bottle and shake it hard to release any sulfer gas that may still be in it. I mix the lemon juice as directed for making lemon aide except I use a hydromiter to add suger to make the projectel alcohol level 17-18%. This leaves the finished product semi sweet. since the yeast will be completely dead after this fermentation (due to high finished alcohol level) you can back sweeten without the risk of "bottle go boom" syndrome.

I lost my EZ Caps kit in a move a few years ago but I am ordering a new one now. The first thing I'm going to make is a hard lemon aide with high bubble content.

[saramc]

You can recycle the lees from the bottom of your existing E-Z cap creations, or pitch a new yeast...but regardless you need to try SKEETER PEE (from www.skeeterpee.com). The original, inexpensive, quick, easy to make, easy to drink, naturally fermented, lemon, hot-weather, thirst quencher. If someone is able to re-create this, but in a method and smaller quantity for E-Z caps, then by all means post it.

[CheapWineMaker15]

Skeeter Pee Recipe A.K.A… Scotty’s Hard Lemonade This is a simplified version of the Skeeter Pee Recipe for the E-Z Caps system.

Lemons and citrus can be hard to ferment, yeast nutrient, yeast energizer and tannin aid in the fermentation process. These can be bought online or at most local wine/beer making supply stores.

1 bottle of 32oz 100% lemon juice green bottle (ReaLemon) don’t use whole bottle.

20 ounces Lemon Juice
3.25 cups sugar
1/8 tsp tannin at start
1.25 tsp. yeast nutrient, spread out at ¾ teaspoon to start then ½ teaspoon at 14 days
1/2 tsp. yeast energizer, spread out at ¼ teaspoon to start then ¼ teaspoon at 14 days
Fill water to line on two liter, 90% full so you have head room at top of bottle
1/8 teaspoon Yeast
Check at 21 and 28 days until desired sweetness and flavor are acquired.
1/16th teaspoon Potassium metabisulfite to finish
1/8 Teaspoon Potassium sorbate to finish

Here is the original recipe and information for the full process to make 5 gallons. http://skeeterpee.com/?page_id=17