DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[ou8amaus]

It is still in the primary bucket so access to oxygen should not be an issue. I may also just be paranoid and be imagining the smell... but an ounce of prevention...

 

[jamesngalveston]

what yeast did you use.

 

[ckvchestnut]

You said you had a lid, is it on loosely or does it have an airlock? If not it could just be sulfur being trapped under the lid and when you open it up you get that whoosh of smell. Or c02

 

[ou8amaus]

The lid is on but not snapped down, but taking off the lid is where I am noticing the faint smell. I lied about following recipe exactly, as I am using K1-V1116 yeast. I have had good results in the past with fruit wine using this yeast...

 

[ckvchestnut]

Ya it could be just that the lid is closed I leave mine open just a crack on one side if I'm not using a towel to cover the top instead. I usually use a towel secured by bungee cords. More air but my fermenter is too full right now do I have lid but since there are no fruit flies this time of year I'm leaving one side open by just 1/2 an inch. For more air or for gas release.

 

[ou8amaus]

I will try that right now. SG has gone from 1.086 to 1.04. Temp steady at 25 Celsius. ..

 

[ckvchestnut]

That's great! It sounds like a good normal ferment! You're almost ready to rack to the carboy in a few days.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I always ferment db to .990 in the primary without a lid are air lock.
I have seen batches go from 1.000 to .990 in 24 hours open.
I have seen batches go from 1.000 to .990 in 10 days when moved to a carboy.
Guess what...they taste the exact same, and they have the exact same amount of abv.
Like most things in wine, its the makers choice..
THat said.
I never add sorbate until the wine is clear.
I rack when dry, leaving as much sediment behind as i can.
Then rack two days in a row
Then hit with supler kleer. Wait for it to clear, add sorbate and
Backsweeten and bottle.

 

[buffalofrenchy]

Just started the db batch last Sunday. Using premiere cuvee for yeast. SG down to 1.044. Only made a couple of winexpert kits before and havent seen so much activity in those. Anything look normal to experienced winemakers? One pic is before stirring. The other is after stirring. The must becomes chunky looking.

 

[jamesngalveston]

looks perfectly normal...and healthy.....

 

[knockabout]

So I couldn't resist. I am starting my 1st batch of DB today. I am so appreciative of all the knowledge shared here. Thanks to all!

 

[ckvchestnut]

So exciting! Any wait to hear everyone's updates! I'm bottling mine tonight or tomorrow... Then will start my blueberry/quad berry batch. Still waiting to transfer my tropical one out of my fermenter or I'll have to split my batch up into 2 - 6gal fermenters.

 

[jamesngalveston]

Updates: lol
lets see
6 gallon batch of the fruit original. day 5 finished dry,adding sk today
6 gallon batch of mustang grape ...day 5 finished dry,adding sk today
6 gallon batch of peach port....clearing
3 gallon batch of mango..... ready for bottles
3 gallon batch of blackberry/strawberry....ready for bottles
6 gallon batch of strawberry.....ready for bottles
thats for the summer time drinking...

 

[dangerdave]

Can you just clarify, for a newbie, exactly what you did differently, Dave? So after adding the clarifying agent, and racking to another carboy, you added more berries? How much? For how long did it sit?

Rosa: I was using store bought frozen berries which I got at Walmart. It was a 3 lbs bag. I thawed them in the microwave and stuffed them and their juices through a big funnel into a carboy, then racked the wine into it. I let it sit there for three weeks. I did stir it up a couple of times along the way, just for good measure.

If you are using berries you picked yourself, don't forget they will need to be sulfited to get rid of any rogue yeasties. Just do what you did to the fruit you used in the primary.

If you need further help, just ask.

buffalofrenchy: Yours looks perfect!

 

[oreoman]

I'm going to be starting Pumpkinman's TD. To those that have done it--
1)did you use the mixture of yeasts? And did you measure out 1 gm/1 gal?

2) did you use go ferm?

3) did you oak ?

Any suggestions? Thanks.


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[dangerdave]

Dave,

I notice that you're using buckets that have spigots (like bottling buckets for beer-making). Are you able to use these spigots for racking or do they suck a bit too much causing the lees to get transferred as well? I had some good results using the Better Bottle with rotating racking attachment for a pumpkin beer I made 2 years ago which had a great deal of trub.

Even though I had an auto-siphon, I still hated having to hold it in place while it drained - and I had bad luck with the accompanying clip actually holding it in place without slipping and stirring up the trub.

Thanks,
Keith

Keith: The spigoted buckets are great! When you are racking off the gross lees (draining the bucket through the spigot), it doesn't hurt at all to get a little of the lees along the way. I have never had a problem getting "too much" of the lees going through. It's all going to fall out at clearing ayway, so it's not an issue. If you let your wine sit undisturbed for a few days at the end of primary fermentation, most everything settles nicely on the bottom.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I am not sure what PumpkinMans TD is but I have done a few batches of tropical dragon blood using the frozen tropical blend at walmart, along with lemon juice and 1/2 pineapple juice and 1/2 water.
I used pasteur red yeast and I used superferment..
I do not oak any dragon blood. I want the full taste of fruit, not of a smoky wood.

 

[jamesngalveston]

After all the batches and varieties i have made, everyone including myself would rather drink the original version...just something about that makes it a perfect hot summer day wine....kinda like haveing a freshly brewed iced tea when your hot from working in the yard...except your by the pool, chilling and drinking.....

 

[oreoman]

•Water to about six gallons

•20 cups of white granulated sugar (looking for a SG between 1.085-1.090)

•8 cups Honey use to bring SG up to desired amount

•2 – 48 oz Cans Dole Pineapple Juice

•1 tsp. tannin

•4 tsp. yeast nutrient

•2 tsp. yeast energizer

•3 Tsp Acid Blend

•3 tsp. pectin enzyme

•12 lbs. of Mixed Fruit Blend (Pineapple/ Peach/Mango/Strawberry/Grape) I put the fruit in a nylon drawstring bag or two if necessary, this will make for a much cleaner brew. I take a spring clamp and hold the drawstring in place so I don’t have to fish for them later.

•Yeast, 1 gram of yeast per gallon of Must. Lalvin 71B-1122 & ICV D47 blend,( you can use any of the following as well. DV10, QA23 - (Saccharomyces cerevisiae bayanus

•Go Ferm – 1.25 Gram per each gram of yeast used

•½ -1 Oak Infusion spiral stick

•2 oz untoasted oak.

•20 oz. Raisins, chopped


This is Pumpkinman's recipe. Do most follow this or just sub the tropical fruit for the berry fruit?
Sorry I couldn't get it in the shaded box-- newbie.


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[jamesngalveston]

looks like a good recipe to me...
i use superferment instead of the nutirent/engergizer combo.
i dont measure my yeast ..i use one packet for each 6 gallons...and i feed it superferment in 3 stages...