DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[maurtis]

Agreed, I now have one of those wine whips you attach to a drill but when I first started just used a long plastic spoon and stirred, stirred, stirred. Worked fine.

 

[willie]

I am ready to start my first batch of DB. I don.t have any kind of degasser. Is there anything I can use or should I wait until I can order one?

quitertoo, welcome to the DB Thread. I believe I read a few a few months back of folks using a coat hanger rigged as a stirrer attached to their drill. Much easer than stirring by hand.

Will

 

[stef57]

I am ready to start my first batch of DB. I don.t have any kind of degasser. Is there anything I can use or should I wait until I can order one?

Use a spoon or paddle,
I have a degasser for my drill and it sits with my seldom use gear.... I find that I can do a better job with a spoon and some elbow grease.
If you are degassing a full carboy, put in the sink or on a towel, it will likely spill over. you can also draw off a few litres if it is full to the top. Degas your carboy and drawn wine separately then refill the carboy when you're done

I also just started my first batch of DB last night... now I'm debating if I'll use EC-1118 or ICV-D47, might just flip a coin

 

[willie]

I have read that these are the best at taking the least time to degas a carboy full of wine. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/three-prong-de-gasser-and-aerator.html
I use one that is like a two propeller job that I attached to a drill that came with the wine making kit that I bought from the Toy Store during one of their sales at Christmas season 2013. I works fine but I would think the three prong type would be better at getting your wine degassed fast. Just my two cents.

Will

 

[jumby]

I use the three prong type like pictured. After degassing I usually let the wine age in the carboy 6 months to completely degas and clear before bottling.

 

[Val-the-Brew-Gal]

When I first started, I used one of the wine degassers attached to a drill. However, one of the best investments I have made is the All In One Wine Pump. Now I can degas just by transferring back and forth between a couple carboys a few times. Works wonders for that sulfur smell too and for bottling. I love it! It is, of course, much more expensive than a whip degasser but if you have a wish list, I would definitely add it to it.

 

[bkisel]

I have the two blade properer type but just before the last use added a nylon cable tie to each blade. Helped some but still had to finish the degassing with my Vacu Vin hand pump.

 

[quiltertoo]

My fruit is thawing. I decided to use 12 lbs. for a 6 gallon batch. Now I wonder if I should change the 20 cups of sugar. Will the additional fruit add more sugar to the mix? I know the hydrometer will tell me the sg but I don't want the abv to be more than about 12%.

 

[bkisel]

My fruit is thawing. I decided to use 12 lbs. for a 6 gallon batch. Now I wonder if I should change the 20 cups of sugar. Will the additional fruit add more sugar to the mix? I know the hydrometer will tell me the sg but I don't want the abv to be more than about 12%.

From my experience I wouldn't cut back on the 20 cups of sugar. I've been using a whole 10 pound bag which is approximately 23 cups of sugar and been measuring around 11% abv with six pounds of mixed berries. I don't think you'll hit 12% with 20 cups and an extra 6 pounds of fruit unless you might be using some real exotic fruit that contains a whole lot of sugar. Again, just from my experience with 5 batches of DB under my belt.

 

[quiltertoo]

Another question. I bought Great Value 100% lemon juice. I just read the label and it says ingredients: lemon juice from concentrate,sodium bisulfate,sodium benzoate and lemon juice. Has anyone used this brand? Will the preservatives cause a problem with fermenting? I would like to thank everyone who has answered my questions.

 

[geek]

Another question. I bought Great Value 100% lemon juice. I just read the label and it says ingredients: lemon juice from concentrate,sodium bisulfate,sodium benzoate and lemon juice. Has anyone used this brand? Will the preservatives cause a problem with fermenting? I would like to thank everyone who has answered my questions.

I used same brand many times, no problem.

 

[Ctmaro]

Another question. I bought Great Value 100% lemon juice. I just read the label and it says ingredients: lemon juice from concentrate,sodium bisulfate,sodium benzoate and lemon juice. Has anyone used this brand? Will the preservatives cause a problem with fermenting? I would like to thank everyone who has answered my questions.

Real lemon has preservatives also, this is why you wait 12 to 48 hours before pitching the yeast.

I've use this brand of lemon juice and lime juice without any trouble.

Mark

 

[willie]

I used same brand many times, no problem.

Good question and info. I will switch to Great Value next batch.

Will

 

[peaches9324]

And you might also want to treat it like you would skeeter pee and give it a good whipping

 

[SwampDog35]

Has anyone used the Red Star Montrachet yeast with DB?

I forgot to get the Lalvin EC-1118.

Suggestions?

 

[stef57]

Started my first 2 batches of DB on the weekend!! 1 original and a Mango-Pineapple version, the first was pitched on sunday the other this morning, both with ICV-D47. The room they sit in downstairs smells pretty darn good already! can't wait to give them a try

 

[wineforfun]

Has anyone used the Red Star Montrachet yeast with DB?

I forgot to get the Lalvin EC-1118.

Suggestions?

I think everyone making DB has tried almost every yeast out there. If it is all you have, go for it. Lalvin is just the "go to" from the original recipe.

 

[SwampDog35]

Thanks. Got another 6.5 gallons going again last night. So far our test batch has been a hit. It a supply and demand world. I'm running out of supply and my wife is demanding more. ..


I might have screwed up adding more sugar, my starting SG is 1.110... is that a bad thing?

 

[wineforfun]

Not a bad thing if you like high alcohol. I make mine all around 1.095-1.100 now so I end up with 12.5-13%ABV. Just make sure you use plenty of fruit(I use 1.5lbs. per gallon) so you don't drown out the flavor with the alcohol.

 

[quiltertoo]

"When the wine has stabilized below 1.000 for 3 days rack into a clean saniti zed carboy and add potassium metabisulfate and potassium sorbate then degass. " I will have to stir by hand to degass and I wonder if I could rack into a clean sanitized fermenter first. Degass then rack to the carboy. It seems like it would be easier to stir in a bucket than in the carboy. Is there a reason to do this in the carboy?