DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[jamesngalveston]

what are you talking about..what kind of riding, horse,surfboard,skateboard,jetski,, etc.

 

[ckvchestnut]

Haha! Well mainly horse riding! I love dressage - high school of horse training! Lol but my main passion is simply bonding with the magnificent animals!

 

[ckvchestnut]

I have no problem with questions, Carolyn.

First, I fermented with 12 pounds of fruit in two bags. I think your 11.5 pounds will do fine along with the bananas. I have tried bananas before, in my Dragon Blood Especiale. My unsophisticated pallet couldn't tell the difference, but my wife---my inspiration---is not a fan of the "butteriness" of some wines. That was some time ago, so---inspired by you---I may revisit then once again.

After the wine was completely clear, I racked it off the Sparkolloid into a carboy where I had stuffed (literally, through a big funnel) three pounds of blueberried and their accompanying juices. I let it sit like that for a month, stirring it up once a week. In the end, the blueberries setteld out nicely. I then filtered and added a little bit of sugar for balance (it didn't need nearly as much as normal due to the flavor added by the extra blueberries).

It did come out darker red than the regular blueberry DB version, but it's still technically a "blush". Straight blueberry wine will use more like 5-6 pounds of fruit per gallon. Now that would be very dark!

You seem to be a very energetic and creative lady. I see many great DB versions in your future. Keep at it!

Thanks again Dave... I'll be making sure my avg tests are inline and trying the fruit/sugar combo as per the DB instructions. This is just unreal that we could have something this accessible and so amazing thanks again to you and Lon!

 

[JetJockey]

Carolyn,
Excuse my ignorance, but what are avg tests? I'm familiar with PH, TA, SO2 tests, but not the term avg.

On that note, for people testing their DB, what are good targets for PH, TA, and SO2? I did see that Dave had used his new PH meter on his last batch of DB. My problem is that I don't know what to shoot for or an acceptable range.

 

[ckvchestnut]

When I said that - I meant when I go to try a new fruit that wasn't in Dave's recipe I would try to make sure my ta, ph and s02 would be in a healthy range or at least try to! I don't think there were any specific parameters for DB as I know Dave is not a tester per se. But I was apprehensive on working with a new fruit which I wasn't sure of what the outcome would be for brix, TA, ph and s02 would be - since it's not in the recipe. I am a newbie! But if I detect an imbalance of anything I'll be able to make changes if needed. I guess I was referring to the fact that I can't just put any fruit with any recipe and make a miracle happen lol

 

[dangerdave]

Like I've said, I'm more of a taster than a tester. More like an artist than a chemist. Not saying which is better. It's just how I learned.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I agree with dave, i taste, dont test. its dragon blood not a premier chilean malbec, we are using lemon juice, that throws a lot of test out of balance.
If i was spending 150 to 200 on juice and making a wine that would be aged for a few years, I would test and test. Not for dragon blood. Its meant to be a young drinker, lots of flavor,with a hint of lemon. Come oN.

 

[ckvchestnut]

Oh yes I should mention that I also don't test db we use so much water so it's not as important as if you are doing straight juice. I have only tested so far, when I'm making wine from my own grapes or elderberries. If I taste something that is way off then I go and get my at test kits out or ph strips. I don't have a fancy gadget - yet.

 

[ckvchestnut]

Not sure where to post this but check this out for color and clarity! Immediately after I put the sparkolloid in last night I got almost a half inch of sediment and it was clearing rapidly... This is what the port looks like this morning.

View attachment 13302

I think you can see one of the oak cubes that sank on the bottom right of the bottle. Does anyone know if oak cubes affect the overall color of the wine?

 

[jamesngalveston]

I bought this tester, Vinmetrica SC-300 SO2, pH & TA Analyzer Kit about 5 mos ago...I used it three times when making my blackberry wine.
All three times the results were about the same for so and ph....this was wild blackberries...after that I just put it in the corner, never use it anymore.
I am looking for a co2 tester for wine, thats all i am interested in.

 

[ckvchestnut]

Interesting lol I'm definitely not at the point where I can justify shelling out so much for that gadget...

 

[twoyappydawgsbrewery]

I think I have messed up my first batch of DB. I used pineapple juice instead of the lemon juice as I was looking for a tropical berry wine for spring time. Yesterday I racked from the fermenter into the carboy to add my clarifier (Superkleer). As I was finishing the final pouch of superkleer and mixing well and I tasted the remaining juice from the spoon it had a sour (spoiled) taste to it. The kind when fruit goes bad and has that sour taste to it. Do you think this will fade away in a short time or is it just a spoiled batch?

I really wanted this to turn out great, but is my first time making a fruit wine? I have been beer brewing for almost 2 years now, so I'm used to sanitizing everything.

 

[ckvchestnut]

It may not be a spoiling issue... I find some fruit stinks like barf when it's fermenting. Sometimes my apple wine stinks like that and it seems sour early on. So it could be just that it's young... However, it could also be a c02 issue? Did you degas THOROUGHLY prior to adding the super Kleer?

 

[ckvchestnut]

And I just bought 2 large cans of pineapple juice to add to my tropical variation that I'm making today. How much pineapple did you use?

 

[twoyappydawgsbrewery]

I have degassed a great bit prior to the clarifier and when adding the clarifier I stirred a good bit also the get it mixed well and to try to degass a little more.

I used a large can of pineapple juice, 45oz I think it was. I have heard a few bad things about using pineapple juice, like it sours. I find this out after the fact.

 

[JetJockey]

Not sure where to post this but check this out for color and clarity! Immediately after I put the sparkolloid in last night I got almost a half inch of sediment and it was clearing rapidly... This is what the port looks like this morning.

View attachment 13302

I think you can see one of the oak cubes that sank on the bottom right of the bottle. Does anyone know if oak cubes affect the overall color of the wine?

Carolyn,
I can't open the attachment. It said file not found.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I have made a pineapple dragon blood using 25 large cans of pineapple juice and I have made the tropical version using pineapple, it did not smell very good while making, taste was ok...after clearing and bottling and about 6 mos of aging it was very good...kinda of an earthy taste but good.

 

[ckvchestnut]

what did you use to degas it with? Did you read the thread on tropical daze variation of DB? it seems to me that people had luck using pineapple juice but it was different fruit, not the triple berry. Is it clearing without a problem and was it the same SG reading for at least 3 consecutive days? what did it taste like before - was it always sour? You didn't use any more pineapple juice than the called for amount of lemon juice, so I really don't think it's a sour - gone bad issue unless somehow something got contaminated.

 

[JetJockey]

I have degassed a great bit prior to the clarifier and when adding the clarifier I stirred a good bit also the get it mixed well and to try to degass a little more.

I used a large can of pineapple juice, 45oz I think it was. I have heard a few bad things about using pineapple juice, like it sours. I find this out after the fact.

One way to check for CO2 is to take a small glass like a shot glass or jigger glass and put some of the wine in it. Cover the glass with your hand and shake the glass vigorously. Listen to the glass as you take your hand off. If it puffs or sprays, there is probably CO2 left to get out.

 

[ckvchestnut]

Carolyn,
I can't open the attachment. It said file not found.

Sorry Bob! I had been trying to change the photo from my app on my phone and I deleted but then couldn't upload the new one. I caught another cube falling so I wanted to post this pic instead. This is going to be brilliant when it's done!