Hard lemonade question

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Hard lemonade question

Postby macklikescheese » Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:40 pm

I went to the store today to buy different juices in preparation for my ez caps that I should get on Thursday. I had been reading up on this forum and I read that lemonade was hard to ferment because of the preservatives. At the store today I came across a cheap (3 for $5) bottle of lemonade that said it was 100% juice no preservatives. Do you think this will work to make hard lemonade? If so, do you guys have any recipes? I also bought cherry-apple juice and some apple cider to use once I get my ez caps in the mail. All of the juices said the juice was from concentrate. I hope the lemonade will work. It would be an easy, cheap way to make it.
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Re: Hard lemonade question

Postby ezcaps » Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:29 am

macklikescheese wrote:I went to the store today to buy different juices in preparation for my ez caps that I should get on Thursday. I had been reading up on this forum and I read that lemonade was hard to ferment because of the preservatives. At the store today I came across a cheap (3 for $5) bottle of lemonade that said it was 100% juice no preservatives. Do you think this will work to make hard lemonade? If so, do you guys have any recipes? I also bought cherry-apple juice and some apple cider to use once I get my ez caps in the mail. All of the juices said the juice was from concentrate. I hope the lemonade will work. It would be an easy, cheap way to make it.


I would definitely start out with the applie cider and cherry-apple juice first. They will be easier to start and finish than the hard lemonade.
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Re: Hard lemonade question

Postby macklikescheese » Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:01 am

That's what I planned on doing, at least to just get the hang of it. But do you think after I do those, the lemonade I bought would work? Is there anything special I would need to do?
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Re: Hard lemonade question

Postby macklikescheese » Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:13 am

I went ahead and did all 4 bottles yesterday (I also went an bought some pear juice). They all seem to be working fine. The caps are all puffed and split in the middle and the bottles are pressured. The only one that seems to foam on the top is the lemonade one, but the cap is split and all. So, I hope the lemonade will work. It certainly seems like it is going to, but the bubbles don't seem to be going yet. I added a bit more sugar and yeast and I shook the bottle to get everything mixed. The cap is no longer spilt but I expect it will be tomorrow. I really hope so. Do you think I should do something else or just let it try and do it's thing. I have all the bottles covered with a blanket and a heating pad place in between the bottles.
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Re: Hard lemonade question

Postby ezcaps » Sun Jun 17, 2012 1:19 am

macklikescheese wrote:I went ahead and did all 4 bottles yesterday (I also went an bought some pear juice). They all seem to be working fine. The caps are all puffed and split in the middle and the bottles are pressured. The only one that seems to foam on the top is the lemonade one, but the cap is split and all. So, I hope the lemonade will work. It certainly seems like it is going to, but the bubbles don't seem to be going yet. I added a bit more sugar and yeast and I shook the bottle to get everything mixed. The cap is no longer spilt but I expect it will be tomorrow. I really hope so. Do you think I should do something else or just let it try and do it's thing. I have all the bottles covered with a blanket and a heating pad place in between the bottles.


If the bottle feels firm and its fermenting I would let it do it's thing. Let us know how it turns out.
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Re: Hard lemonade question

Postby BodhiDrama » Wed Jun 03, 2015 12:21 pm

I had great success with a bottle of "Simply Limeade" and some unbleached cane sugar syrup (simple syrup made with organic turbanado). I will say that I had some trouble at start due to the acidity. Lemons, limes, and pineapples have a high acid content, which seems to slow the initial fermentation.
The process took about two weeks, and the yeast went dormant at a lower alcohol content than other juices with the same sugar content and sugar added. I put the 2l in the freezer for 30 minutes, then into the fridge for 1 hour to clarify, I added a tablespoon of syrup to each of my final bottles (grolsh) and the lemonade filled up about 5 bottles with some head room. After a week in the fridge, secondary fermentation added a nice fizz to the lime flavor. The result was a ~9% alcohol content sweet lime cider. Tasted of key lime pie with faint notes of molasses.
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Re: Hard lemonade question

Postby ezcaps » Sun Jun 07, 2015 12:32 am

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
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