# First shot at Dragon's Blood



## sgtdean68w (Apr 4, 2014)

Hello my name is Jason and I have an addiction! It's not necessarily to drinking wine, but more making it. I love trying new ideas, so when I read about the DB I had to try it, and when I read that it can be done in such a short time I got even more excited! I bought a new carboy (mine are being used), I bought the ingredients, and last night I made a mess... I mean I started my DB. From what I read on the 15 day post it seems that proper temperature regulation is important. I wrapped my buckets (I only have 6 gallon buckets so I split it between 2 to make it less messy) in a blanket and stuck a heating pad between them. After sitting about 21 hours I checked the temp, 76 degrees, and added yeast. I re-wrapped and now the waiting game. While I was shopping today I picked up a 20 gallon food grade "trash can". I plan to put my carboy in the can surrounded by water with an aquarium heater in there regulated to 78°. The best part is when I make my large batch of chocolate strawberry wine this summer I can use the can as a primary! Anyways after all of that rambling here's a couple pictures of my progress so far. I'll continue updating as I go with more pictures.


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## sgtdean68w (Apr 4, 2014)

Apparently my phone didn't want to attach the pictures the first time


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## seth8530 (Apr 5, 2014)

Ha, well welcome to the forums and keep having fun.


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## sgtdean68w (Apr 7, 2014)

Last night when I went to stir and measure everything, my temp had gotten up to 92°. I turned the heating pad off and I'm just going to keep it covered today and see what I get for temperature. There was an awesome cap on top, but my question is, did I possibly just damage my yeast?


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## seth8530 (Apr 7, 2014)

Depends on the yeast strain you used. If you get your yeastie beasties too hot they can sometimes stall out or make off flavours.


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## sgtdean68w (Apr 7, 2014)

I used 1118. I just looked and it's range is 50-86 hopefully I got to it soon enough!


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## seth8530 (Apr 7, 2014)

My guess is that it will most likely be alright. I imagine any flavour defects that might have been caused by overheating should get covered by the acid and sugar at the end. However, I tend to prefer cold ferments over hot ones to be honest.


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## sgtdean68w (Apr 8, 2014)

Following the directions, I stirred, measured, and squeezed today. I pitched the yeast on Friday and I'm already down to 1.006 sg. That works perfectly because I leave tomorrow and essentially won't be back until Sunday. That'll leave my "partner" with less work (she'll be happy). Hopefully I'll be ready to rack into a carboy on Sunday!


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## dangerdave (Apr 9, 2014)

I've run the temp up accidentally on mine once or twice when I first started making wine. Don't worry, Dean.

You are doing the right thing, I think. Remove heat, wrap, and let it sit and finish out. It will be just fine.


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## sgtdean68w (Apr 9, 2014)

When it got too warm I removed the heat. The next day it was still warmer than I prefer so I removed the blanket. Last night it was perfect so I wrapped to maintain the temp. I guess we'll find out tonight If held steady


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## sgtdean68w (Apr 14, 2014)

When I returned home last night I checked the SG, same as what out was 3 days ago so I racked it, degassed it, stabilized it, and put it in its water bath to clear out. I'm excited to see how soon it'll clear out!


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## chris400 (Apr 14, 2014)

Mine cleared in about 6 days


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## cmason1957 (Apr 14, 2014)

sgtdean68w said:


> When I returned home last night I checked the SG, same as what out was 3 days ago so I racked it, degassed it, stabilized it, and put it in its water bath to clear out. I'm excited to see how soon it'll clear out!



Water bath? Now there is a new step to me. Where did you get that step and what is it supposed to do?


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## sgtdean68w (Apr 14, 2014)

cmason1957 said:


> Water bath? Now there is a new step to me. Where did you get that step and what is it supposed to do?



I've got my carboy sitting in a 20 gallon brute container that is filled with water and that water temperature is being controlled by an aquarium heater. I'm experimenting with temperature control and how it effects the process


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## 4score (May 20, 2014)

This thread just ended.

How did it turn out?


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## sgtdean68w (May 20, 2014)

It turned out really well. I even froze some into a wine slushy and that turned out perfect!


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## Hunt (May 20, 2014)

I like the water bath idea. Did that seem to help clear the wine faster than adding chemical clearing agents?


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## sgtdean68w (May 20, 2014)

I just did that to maintain a constant temperature. I still used the Sparkaloid


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## dangerdave (May 21, 2014)

Good job, Dean. I'm glad it turned out well.


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## blackspanish777 (May 21, 2014)

Hope mine turns out that well! I am about a week and a half from being ready to bottle!


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## sgtdean68w (May 21, 2014)

This batch was bottled exactly 3 weeks after I started it


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## 4score (Jun 13, 2014)

Congratulations! What's on deck now? You can't let fermenters and carboys sit idle....can you?


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## sgtdean68w (Jun 13, 2014)

I am leaving today for two weeks of training, but when I get back I plan on making my tropical fruit variant and finishing the black and blue wine I started several months ago.


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## maurtis (Jun 18, 2014)

My first batch of Dragon Blood should be ready for racking in a few days, looking forward to trying this wine! Still deciding on what to try next since my fermenter will be free and I have an extra empty 5 gallon carboy and a bunch of empty 1 gallons...

I cut my teeth on wine making with mead, and while the first few batches turned out pretty good, the expense of the honey was getting me dirty looks from my dear wife. So I will stick to just one gallon batches of those.


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