Howdy there,
Do you have lemons on a tree like mine, occasionally molested by damn marsupials?
Do you have kids piffing lemons at unsuspecting neighbors?
Have you often though, damn i should getting more bang for buck out of my lemons to life ratio?
I pilfered this from BrewCraft so all credit.
Would you make any amendments?
I am almost tempted to try a bittering hop light like a fuggle just for experimental purposes.
Aroma Dr. Rudi maybe with a dry hop?
Hard Lemonade (Alcoholic)
semi-sweet alcoholic lemonade of about 4.5% strength. You can vary the sweetness by varying the amount of lactose in the recipe or make it dry by leaving the lactose out altogether (see notes)
Ingredients:
• 2kg dextrose
• 500g lactose
• 12-24 lemons, sliced or chopped fine including peel
• up to 50g crushed or grated fresh ginger (optional)
• 5g yeast nutrient
• 1 sachet SAFale yeast
• Water to make up 22 litres of wort
Method:
• Heat 5 litres of water then add dextrose, lactose, lemons & ginger & simmer for 20 minutes.
• Sterilize your fermenter according to directions on the sterilizing compound.
• Add about 12 litres of cold water into your fermenter. Strain the hot mixture into the fermenter.
• Top up with cold water to the 22 litre mark add the yeast nutrient & stir well.
• Make sure the temperature is 30C or less & add the yeast, fit a fermentation lock in the lid of the fermenter & half fill it with water.
• The fermentation should start within 24 hours although it usually ony takes a couple of hours to start. When it starts, bubbles should be rising through the lemonade & stream through the water in the airlock.
• Allow the lemonade to ferment until it stops then allow it to settle & clear for 48 hours.
• Prime bottles. Or keg.
• Fill the bottle to about 50mm from the top then seal it firmly with a crown seal or screw cap.
• Store these bottles in a warm place for a week or 2 to allow them to condition.
Notes:
You can vary the quantities of lemons & ginger to suit your own taste.
You cannot use sugar or glucose to sweeten a bottle fermented drink like this because it will cause the bottles to explode. I will prime them with sucrose so
This lemonade is sweetened with lactose which is a non-fermentable sweetener. You can add more or less lactose to suit your own taste. As a rough guide, lactose is about half as sweet as sugar.
