Okay after reading through this forum topic i have decided to join the search for the illusive holy grail lemonade brew.
My attempt is based loosly on the Nosebleed Hard Lemonade recipe and goes like this (23 ltr batch):
2.5kg Lemons
1.5kg Oranges
5g Pectinaise
1kg white sugar
2kg brown sugar
1kg honey
2 Cinnamon Sticks
2 Star Annise
100 g Ginger
20g Wine Nutient
Super Market Yeast (Tandaco from Coles) coz it was left over from JAOM
Sterilised fruit then rough cut into quarters boiled, cooled added pectinaise and let sit over nite.
Boiled in morning then mashed and let cool to handling temp.
Poured into fermenter through a wine fruit mash bag sitting in a colander.
Squeezed out mash bag into fermenter Transferred Cinamon and Star Annise and 100g of fine pulp no seeds and no skins to fermenter.
Added water to 23 litres and 26 degrees C. Hydro was 1.055
Added wine nutrient (20g) and stirred vigorously for 5 mins aerating and making a big splashy mess
Made 500mls yeast starter with 100g fine sugar and let sit covered fo 60 mins
Pitched yeast sealed and put in cupboard.
Visable fermentation started after 1 hour (blub blub).
Plan on adding a champaign yeast when supermarket one dies and fermenting till below 1.000, then bottling with a Jelly bean in each stubby.
Tasted yum and Sour <_< but not to worry coz it is after all Hard Lemon Ale.
Will post updates.
Here's my update.
Fermented to 0.098 and stopped bubling today (4 days)
Did not have to add any yeast or nutrient during the ferment.
Darn how can i slow down the fermentation time?
Stayed at 26 degrees whole time, maybe this needs to be cooler so ill try this again in winter.
Tastes fine, like lemons but without and ounce of sweetness no yeasty flavour yay.
Im thinking of changing my game plan and kegging this one tommorow with sugar to sweeten then cool in fridge gas and serve at Christmas.
Am surprised at this supermarket yeast fermenting out so quickly and completely same as with my apple cider experiment.
Any thoughts?