# First Batch of Quad Berry



## tatud4life (Jul 24, 2012)

Started my first batch of quad berry today. I can't wait to taste this one!!! I hope it's a hit at our little party in a couple of months!


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## oldwhiskers (Jul 24, 2012)

Looks good so far, man you have been busy lately.


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## tatud4life (Jul 24, 2012)

You wouldn't believe!!! I have to get our drinking habits under control and more cost effective. Lol. This is the fun stuff. Tomorrow, I have at least 4 yards to cut not including my own. Then back to work! I can't wait til next spring. I'm getting a bigger yard barn and turning half of it into my own little wine and pee escape! I'll be spending lots of time down there.


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## nate0001 (Jul 24, 2012)

You should make the tropical variety next (banana, mango, peach, pineapple). Everyone liked that one even better than my quad berry!


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## tatud4life (Jul 24, 2012)

Oooooooo!!!!! That will definitely be one of my next batches!!!


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## tatud4life (Jul 25, 2012)

Is this normal looking?!?! This is about 4 1/2 hours after pitching yeast.


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## DirtyDawg10 (Jul 25, 2012)

That looks like yeast to me. Mine is fermenting like a champion right now. I'm guessing yours will be in another 12 to 24hrs.


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## tatud4life (Jul 25, 2012)

Yeah I agree. It looks like yeast to me. I was worried that I might had killed the yeast or something accidentally. So you think it should take off in a day or so? *fingers crossed*


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## dangerdave (Jul 25, 2012)

Hey, tatud4life! Give us a first name to work with! Every time I type _tatu_, I think of Fantasy Island, "Dee plane! Dee plane!" 

What temp is your fermenter? It sure looks good, with some yeast blooming in the center!


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## tatud4life (Jul 25, 2012)

Lol!!! Da pee boss! Da pee!!!!! The name is Marc. I guess I should have mentioned that a longtime ago. 

The ambient temp is 72. I don't have a thermometer yet, so I'm counting on the ole heat pump to keep everything regulated. It's good to know that the yeast is blooming instead of croaking.


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## dangerdave (Jul 25, 2012)

Ok, Marc. Is there any way for you to get that fermenter up off the floor? It should do fine at 72F, but you could get a couple more degrees if you set it up on something (something sturdy!).

Don't forget to sqeeze the bag and stir up the must real good once or twice daily! Oh, what am I saying! You know what you're doing!


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## tatud4life (Jul 25, 2012)

I've got it sitting on a towel in the floor. Lol. That's really got it up in the air! I don't have anything at the moment to get it off the floor. I'm going to make myself a nice set up in the spring when my new yard barn arrives. I can't wait!

I'm no expert just yet! I'll have to get a few more batches under belt and in my belly before I can lay claim to that monicker!


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## dralarms (Jul 25, 2012)

How many pounds of berries you got there?


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## tatud4life (Jul 25, 2012)

6 pounds. I did squeeze the bag today when I pitched the yeast. I looked like I had murdered someone when I was done! My hands where blood red.


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## dangerdave (Jul 25, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> 6 pounds. I did squeeze the bag today when I pitched the yeast. I looked like I had murdered someone when I was done! My hands where blood red.


 
Perfect!


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## dralarms (Jul 25, 2012)

Sorry. I missed that this was a pee. Lol

I just racked off a 4 berry wine. I used 15 lbs triple berry and 5 lbs strawberries.


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## tatud4life (Jul 25, 2012)

Lol! I'm using blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. I can't wait to taste it!


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## dralarms (Jul 25, 2012)

That's what I used also. This is my second mixed berry wine. I love it.


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## tatud4life (Jul 25, 2012)

I'll be starting a batch of white muscadine this winter from my vines in the backyard. I can't for that. I plan on using the slurry from that to make a batch of pee.


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## southlake333 (Jul 25, 2012)

nate0001 said:


> You should make the tropical variety next (banana, mango, peach, pineapple). Everyone liked that one even better than my quad berry!



Recipe please! How much of each did you use?


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## southlake333 (Jul 25, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> Is this normal looking?!?! This is about 4 1/2 hours after pitching yeast.
> 
> View attachment 5031



Totally normal looking...for now. But soon, SOON I TELL YOU...there will be fruity foamy goodness frothing at the mouth of the bucket and threatening to soil your entire room!!! :<

Ok, maybe its not THAT violent, but this stuff does foam up quite a bit so you will end up having to clean up some spillover considering how full your bucket is. I did too. No biggie, just be prepared.


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## tatud4life (Jul 25, 2012)

I have already taken measures to handle that. I have a towel down under it to catch the spillage. Keeps my wife from killing me. Lol


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## tatud4life (Jul 26, 2012)

I'm starting to get a little worried. It has been 31 hours since I pitched the yeast and nothing. The specific gravity hasn't changed any and there is not any foam on top!! Am I worrying for no reason? Please say that I am!! This stuff tastes too good for it not to ferment!!


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## roger80465 (Jul 26, 2012)

*Ferment*



tatud4life said:


> I'm starting to get a little worried. It has been 31 hours since I pitched the yeast and nothing. The specific gravity hasn't changed any and there is not any foam on top!! Am I worrying for no reason? Please say that I am!! This stuff tastes too good for it not to ferment!!



Believe it or not, mine took nearly 10 DAYS to begin fermenting. I think my basement was a bit cold. I put it on the back porch for the weekend in 100 F temps and when I came home it was bubbling like crazy. It's done now and tastes pretty darn good. Long story short, may need to warm up the pee.


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## keena (Jul 27, 2012)

Just hope that you don't have to flush the pee.... 

Haha couldn't resist


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## tatud4life (Jul 27, 2012)

Well, I gave my berries a squeeze, checked the specific gravity, and gave it a good stirring last night. This morning, it had a nice foam cap and sounded like a bowl of rice Krispies!!!  I guess that was all it needed!!!


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## tatud4life (Jul 27, 2012)

This is what it looked like this morning!!


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## DirtyDawg10 (Jul 27, 2012)

Nice! I knew it would get going.


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## tatud4life (Jul 27, 2012)

I was worried, but now it has turned into excitement!!!!


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## Boatboy24 (Jul 27, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> I was worried, but now it has turned into excitement!!!!



That happens sometimes when you "give your berries a squeeze". 

Looks like it's moving along well.


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## tatud4life (Jul 27, 2012)

Yeah! My wife laughed when I told her I was "going to squeeze my berries." I noticed a quite a but if yeast in the bag of berries.


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## DirtyDawg10 (Jul 27, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> I noticed quite a bit of yeast on my bag of berries.


 
They make an ointment that should take care of that


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## tatud4life (Jul 27, 2012)

Lol!! That's funny right there. I don't care who you are!!


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## tatud4life (Jul 28, 2012)

Checked my pee last night and the gravity is down to 1.060!! It is foaming like crazy now!!!


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## dangerdave (Jul 28, 2012)

Congrats, Marc! I knew you'd get it going! It looks perfect. Sometimes you just have to squeeze those berries to get the party started! Works for me anyways! 

My wife gets a real kick out of me "squeezing my berries", too. She always giggles.


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## tatud4life (Jul 28, 2012)

Yep! All it takes is a squeeze of my berries and that's when the fun begins!! I squeezed the pee out of them today!!


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## tatud4life (Jul 29, 2012)

Checked my batch today and the specific gravity was 1.016. If that keeps up, it will be done by tomorrow. That is 6 days to ferment dry with 2 of those days having no activity at all!!!!! I think that is pretty impressive!! If I do say so myself. I think it will not only catch up to my batch of pee, but I think it will be ready to drink before the first batch!


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## southlake333 (Jul 30, 2012)

Yeah, this stuff ferments much faster than normal pee. Just remember it will taste green for a few weeks.


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## tatud4life (Jul 30, 2012)

Yes sir!!! The majority of it won't be consumed until October. That is when we are having our little zombie party!


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## tatud4life (Jul 30, 2012)

Checked again today. It's starting to slow down now. It was at 1.001, so it should be finished tomorrow. Then it won't be long and I'll be drinking it!!!!


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## southlake333 (Jul 31, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> Checked again today. It's starting to slow down now. It was at 1.001, so it should be finished tomorrow. Then it won't be long and I'll be drinking it!!!!



Once it gets below 1.000 you need 3 days of the same SG before its done. So basically, give it 4 more days or so before you call it done.


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## tatud4life (Jul 31, 2012)

Cool! Thanks buddy!


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## tatud4life (Jul 31, 2012)

Checked it today and it is .994. If all goes well, it will be racked on Friday.


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## dangerdave (Jul 31, 2012)

Nice going, Marc. I know, in the Dragon Blood Recipe, I said to stabilize/degas the wine when it gets to SG=1.000. However, as JJ has pointed out, that is not necessary. The recipe was for making it as fast as possible. You can certainly let it go completely dry in the fermenter before proceeding to stabilize. If you have the extra time (as every good winemaker should ), this may in fact be preferable. I have done it both ways with equal success.


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## tatud4life (Jul 31, 2012)

Thanks Dave! I have all kinds of time. I don't "need" the Dragon's Blood until October. I hope it lasts that long. I probably will start another batch anyway. Now, if I could just find 16 oz clear bottles to put it in!!!!! The EZ cap bottles will take crown cap, but they are a little bit expensive.


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## dangerdave (Jul 31, 2012)

The Dragon Blood always goes quick! I've resolved to just make it constantly, trying to get ahead of consumption. Due to a shortage of clear bottles on my part, I have resorted to bottling about a dozen 750ml bottles per batch and the rest in gallon jugs. I keep the gallons in the fridge, and we drink off those. You should see the looks I get when guests stop by, and I pull out a gorgeous gallon bottle of beautiful *red* wine.  ...I just _smile_.


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## southlake333 (Aug 1, 2012)

dangerdave said:


> Nice going, Marc. I know, in the Dragon Blood Recipe, I said to stabilize/degas the wine when it gets to SG=1.000. However, as JJ has pointed out, that is not necessary. The recipe was for making it as fast as possible. You can certainly let it go completely dry in the fermenter before proceeding to stabilize. If you have the extra time (as every good winemaker should ), this may in fact be preferable. I have done it both ways with equal success.



I think I stabilized before waiting the 3 days as well but my SG was .990 so I was pretty sure it was done. I just want to make sure we are at least trying to suggest proper patience...hehe.


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## southlake333 (Aug 1, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> Thanks Dave! I have all kinds of time. I don't "need" the Dragon's Blood until October. I hope it lasts that long. I probably will start another batch anyway. Now, if I could just find 16 oz clear bottles to put it in!!!!! The EZ cap bottles will take crown cap, but they are a little bit expensive.



Other than ordering online and paying ridiculous shipping costs, I haven't been able to find clear beer bottles. Since dumpster diving hasn't worked out for me, I'm stuck using all regular beer bottles for my pee. But I at least do 1 clear wine bottle per batch (sold at my LHBS) so I can compare my batch colors.


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## tatud4life (Aug 1, 2012)

Southlake, I found a place that sells clear 12 is bottles. I'm waiting to see if they sell to individuals and what their price is. If that falls through, I'll resort to buying modelo especial for some friends and letting them drink. The cost should be about the same as from a dealer and there won't be any shipping costs. The price we pay to get what we want. Lol


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## tatud4life (Aug 1, 2012)

Checked again today and gravity was .994. That's 2 days I a row. Looks like Friday will be the racking day!!!


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## oldwhiskers (Aug 1, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> Checked again today and gravity was .994. That's 2 days I a row. Looks like Friday will be the racking day!!!



Looks like this one is ready, congrats.


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## tatud4life (Aug 1, 2012)

Why, thank you! Thank you very much!! It tastes a little tart right now, but I'll wait until its clear to decide how much backsweetening it will need.


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## southlake333 (Aug 2, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> Southlake, I found a place that sells clear 12 is bottles. I'm waiting to see if they sell to individuals and what their price is. If that falls through, I'll resort to buying modelo especial for some friends and letting them drink. The cost should be about the same as from a dealer and there won't be any shipping costs. The price we pay to get what we want. Lol



Lucky! I'm jealous. I have a few clear bottles (like 4) that I've come across but I don't drink much Corona or Modelo and I would prefer not to buy a bunch just to get bottles. Maybe in time I will though.


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## southlake333 (Aug 2, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> Why, thank you! Thank you very much!! It tastes a little tart right now, but I'll wait until its clear to decide how much backsweetening it will need.



Congrats! Yep, sounds like its time! Mine was tart for a few weeks. Thankfully I ended up back sweetening just right as after a few weeks it was perfect. But that sure is hard to do when the wine is young and funny tasting. Below are my notes:


6/26 - Sweetened with 5 cups of inverted sugar to SG of 1.007 and bottled. This did not seem sweet enough but it did have a "young wine" taste to it. Following my experiments with batches #3-#6, I am opting to stick with 1.007 to see how it ages. In the forum threads on this wine, 1.006 appears to be a good SG to finish at.


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## tatud4life (Aug 2, 2012)

That company I was talking about seems to be ignoring my inquiry. I'll give them a couple more days. I don't drink beer, so I'll have to rely on others for the bottles. I would much rather have the modelo bottles, but cost will play a big factor in it.


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## tatud4life (Aug 2, 2012)

Gravity was .994 for the third day in a row! Tomorrow is racking day!!


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## tatud4life (Aug 3, 2012)

Racked it today!! Hopefully, I'll be sweetening in 2 weeks.


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## dangerdave (Aug 3, 2012)

It'll clear quick! Watch it!


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## tatud4life (Aug 3, 2012)

I can't wait!!!


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## oldwhiskers (Aug 3, 2012)

Looking good!


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## tatud4life (Aug 4, 2012)

I could be wrong, impatient, or delusional but it looks like my Zombie Spit (Dragon's Blood) has already cleared overnight!!!! I'm goin to give it a week to make sure, but DANG!!!!! That was fast!!!


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 4, 2012)

Once it starts, it goes fast! 

I actually racked, degassed and stabilized a Cellar Craft Sterling Merlot a few weeks back that cleared overnight. I was amazed. I still have it in that Carboy, just to be sure, but it's been done a while.


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## oldwhiskers (Aug 4, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> I could be wrong, impatient, or delusional but it looks like my Zombie Spit (Dragon's Blood) has already cleared overnight!!!! I'm goin to give it a week to make sure, but DANG!!!!! That was fast!!!



You must have done a good job degassing.


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## tatud4life (Aug 4, 2012)

I guess so. I'm going to put it in front of some light and see if it really is clear.


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## tatud4life (Aug 4, 2012)

Here it is in the light. What do you guys and gals think? Look clear to you?


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## dralarms (Aug 4, 2012)

Looks pretty clear. I'd leave it for a few days and then rack it off again.


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## DirtyDawg10 (Aug 4, 2012)

I'd give it at least the full week. Mine cleared pretty quick too. I'm going to rack and sweeten mine tomorrow and bottle it next week. I could have bottled it this weekend probably but I'm not going to rush it. Plus I am getting some 1gal jugs next week for this stuff.


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## tatud4life (Aug 4, 2012)

Yeah. I planned on waiting 2 weeks so 1 week will be a piece of cake!! Lol. I also have to wait on bottles. I have to contribute to my coworkers alcoholism to get them though.


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 5, 2012)

Looks pretty clear, but like you said, give it more time. 

Does that "regular" Carboy handle work on that Better Bottle?


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## tatud4life (Aug 5, 2012)

It's ok. Not the greatest thing but it was all my local winery had. It slipped off my original batch. Luckily, it was only an inch off the floor so no spillage. I don't really trust it.


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## dangerdave (Aug 6, 2012)

Looks awesome, Marc! Like you said, leave it set for a week at least. As clear as it looks, it will get clearer. Then I usually rack it, back sweeten, and let it sit for another week. I think it's gonna be great. Way to go!

Edit: If you see any sediment sticking to the sides of the carboy, give her a little jiggle to dislodge that stuff and let it settle. I'll usually do this several times during it's week of clearing.


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## ShelleyDickison (Aug 6, 2012)

We had a party last night and me and five other women went through 10 bottles. Now I know why people make so many batches of it.


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## oldwhiskers (Aug 6, 2012)

ShelleyDickison said:


> We had a party last night and me and five other women went through 10 bottles. Now I know why people make so many batches of it.



That's the beauty of Skeeter Pee, it's real good, easy to make, and has a shorter aging requirement. I'm getting ready to start a new batch, stopping by Sams on the way home from work.


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## tatud4life (Aug 6, 2012)

dangerdave said:


> Looks awesome, Marc! Like you said, leave it set for a week at least. As clear as it looks, it will get clearer. Then I usually rack it, back sweeten, and let it sit for another week. I think it's gonna be great. Way to go!
> 
> Edit: If you see any sediment sticking to the sides of the carboy, give her a little jiggle to dislodge that stuff and let it settle. I'll usually do this several times during it's week of clearing.



Thanks Dave! The sides look good so far. Nothing hanging around. I'm going to have to hide it until our party. And make at least 1 or 2 more batches. I just can't wait to drink this stuff!!


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## nate0001 (Aug 6, 2012)

tatud4life said:


> Thanks Dave! The sides look good so far. Nothing hanging around. I'm going to have to hide it until our party. And make at least 1 or 2 more batches. I just can't wait to drink this stuff!!


Just be careful. It goes down easy. Wasn't paying attention once and accidentaly drank a whole bottle while playing a computer game.


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## tatud4life (Aug 6, 2012)

Lmao!!! I foresee many inebriated nights in my future. I think I spelled that right. Lol


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## keena (Aug 6, 2012)

dangerdave said:


> Edit: If you see any sediment sticking to the sides of the carboy, give her a little jiggle to dislodge that stuff and let it settle. I'll usually do this several times during it's week of clearing.



Exactly what I do with all my wines. They always have stuff sticking to the ridges so I spin the carboy back and forth a couple inches and it all beaks free


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## tatud4life (Aug 18, 2012)

Well, the company I asked about the 12 oz bottles never replied to me. So, I have resorted to buying modelo and having some co workers empty them for me. I should have enough bottles to use on my first batch pretty soon. I know companies are busy and probably don't want to deal with individuals, but come on! They could've at least told me to piss off!!!! Oh well. I'll have the bottles that I want.


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## keena (Aug 18, 2012)

If anyone is from Wisconsin and is drinking beer for beer bottles, spotted cow its the way to go. Labels come off Sooo easy, just soak in hot water and they fall off and a quick easy hand wipe takes all the glue off, and they are exactly the same as the bottles from the home brew shops!


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## tatud4life (Sep 2, 2012)

Finally got it bottled!!!  Man has the flavor intensified over the last 2 weeks!!!! It gets more delicious every day!!!!


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## oldwhiskers (Sep 2, 2012)

Looks good, congrats!


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## tatud4life (Sep 2, 2012)

Why thank you! Thank you very much!!


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## dangerdave (Sep 3, 2012)

Nice job, Marc! Put a few away for about six months. It gets rediculously delicious!


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## tatud4life (Sep 3, 2012)

Thanks Dave! I can't believe how much the flavor has changed already!!! This stuff is delicious!!


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## dangerdave (Sep 4, 2012)

I'm already fairly "famous" amongst my friends, family, and coworkers for my Dragon Blood. You better make some more. With the fame comes high demand!

Soon you'll be known far and wide as the "Quadberry King"!


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## tatud4life (Sep 4, 2012)

Lol!!!! I'm going to make another batch next week before my grapes are ready to crush and ferment. I've already had to put a bottle in my wife's curio cabinet for some reason. Lol.


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