DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[winemaker81]

@winemaker81 …….So if i understand what you are saying, taste the musk to see if i need to add lemon juice or not? If it has good peach flavor but it is insipid probably so. Will adding Lemon juice on the secondary fermentation hurt anything if it is tasting flat at that point.

No. I adjust acid by taste before bottling. I'm not sure I could adjust acid pre-fermentation, even if I wanted to.

I do a lot less initial correction than a lot of folks. I used pH test strips, and if the pH was between 3.1 and 3.8, I didn't usually adjust acid before fermentation.

Last fall I purchased a pH meter (yeah, finally moving into the 21st century), but my overall methodology will remain the same.

 

[BigDaveK]

I'm going to tag team with @vinny and add a bit -
I add citric acid to fruits where that's predominant natural acid like in raspberries and cranberries. I also think it adds a nice fresh crispness to flower wine. Lemon juice and lemon zest can possibly affect flavor, which can be a wonderful addition, when used wisely. I never use Realemon. My mouth detects a metallic aftertaste. I used it in my first skeeter pee during lockdown because that was all I had available - and I still tasted it in the finished wine. Don't know what it is?!

I just checked, @Billdean , and peaches have mostly malic acid followed by citric, FWIW.

 

[Billdean]

Well heres what I have done.
4# of peaches
1# of bananas
46 oz of pineapple juice

I followed Daves recipe exactly except for the lemon juice. I used 46oz of pineapple juice instead. After mixing real good the SG was at 1.086. PH was at 3.98. I thought the PH was on the high side so I added about a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of lemon juice concentrate. It brought the PH down to 3.66. I will check everything tonight when I pitch the yeast. Hope I did all right. Thank You for helping me!
@winemaker81
@BigDaveK
@vinny

 

[BigDaveK]

Well heres what I have done.
4# of peaches
1# of bananas
46 oz of pineapple juice

I followed Daves recipe exactly except for the lemon juice. I used 46oz of pineapple juice instead. After mixing real good the SG was at 1.086. PH was at 3.98. I thought the PH was on the high side so I added about a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of lemon juice concentrate. It brought the PH down to 3.66. I will check everything tonight when I pitch the yeast. Hope I did all right. Thank You for helping me!
@winemaker81
@BigDaveK
@vinny

You're welcome. This is an exciting hobby and I'm still learning myself. The wonderful people here definitely shortened my learning curve.

I like pineapple juice and have used it in a couple wines. It's not overpowering and it's a bit like a chameleon - it "kinda" tastes like strawberries and it "kinda" tastes like bananas and I think it gives the perception of boosting those flavors. It might do the same for peaches.

 

[wineview]

I made a carrot blood following the recipe exact, only using home juiced carrots. I tried it yesterday. It was jaw dropping good. I am shocked. I am going to bottle it right away.

Ph would probably be your guide for lemon/acid additions. 3.4?

@BigDaveK?

@vinny How much Carrot wine did you make ? One gallon, three, five?

 

[vinny]

@vinny How much Carrot wine did you make ? One gallon, three, five?

3 1 gallon batches with different recipes. The carrot blood was by far the best.

 

[wineview]

Two questions about back sweetening DB. I racked to secondary and gave it a dose of K Meta and Potassium Sorbate. I would like to keep it there for three months before bottling. At bottling time, do I need to add another dose of Potassium Sorbate if I choose to back sweeten or is that first dose enough? Also, has anyone ever tried using a simple syrup instead of sugar to back sweeten?

 

[winemaker81]

Two questions about back sweetening DB. I racked to secondary and gave it a dose of K Meta and Potassium Sorbate. I would like to keep it there for three months before bottling. At bottling time, do I need to add another dose of Potassium Sorbate if I choose to back sweeten or is that first dose enough? Also, has anyone ever tried using a simple syrup instead of sugar to back sweeten?

Do not add more sorbate. You can overdo it, which will produce off flavors. Once is enough.

There's no need to add sorbate before backsweetening, so I add at that time. The commonly quoted dosage is 1/2 tsp per 1 US gallon / 4 liters, although always read the package of any additive before using. I've not heard of a different formulation, but it's better safe than sorry.

A lot of folks use syrup for backsweetening. IME you need to stir it in as much as granulated table sugar, as it's thick and doesn't want to blend in. I suggest blending syrup in warm (90-100 F, 32-38 C) as it will dissolve easier.

 

[wineview]

Do not add more sorbate. You can overdo it, which will produce off flavors. Once is enough.

There's no need to add sorbate before backsweetening, so I add at that time. The commonly quoted dosage is 1/2 tsp per 1 US gallon / 4 liters, although always read the package of any additive before using. I've not heard of a different formulation, but it's better safe than sorry.

A lot of folks use syrup for backsweetening. IME you need to stir it in as much as granulated table sugar, as it's thick and doesn't want to blend in. I suggest blending syrup in warm (90-100 F, 32-38 C) as it will dissolve easier.

Yes I have used simple syrup in some wines. I was curious why the DB recipe is specific about using granulated sugar.

 

[winemaker81]

Yes I have used simple syrup in some wines. I was curious why the DB recipe is specific about using granulated sugar.

I don't have a real answer, but my guess is that granulated sugar was used by DD, and he recorded what he used. Most people have continued to follow the recipe as-is, since it works. There is no reason you can't backsweeten with anything you choose.

 

[vinny]

Yes I have used simple syrup in some wines. I was curious why the DB recipe is specific about using granulated sugar.

I'm gonna take a guess that it is designed to be fast and easy.

Sugar is the path of least resistance.

 

[wineview]

Fast and easy is probably a good way to describe DB.

 

[cmason1957]

Although, I will add (and this is from memory and I have slept many times since then), there was a DB contest that several members entered wines into, it's documented here somewhere. Dan ended up winning it and I believe he back sweetened with Strawberry Margarita Mix or something like that. I believe that his winning recipe was added to that thread. There may well have been some other alterations done.

 

[wannab1]

About to pull a skeeter pee batch off the yeast and wondered if starting a dragon blood on top of that yeast cake would be a good idea? I have plenty of dry yeast if it would be better to clean everything up and start fresh.

 

[Jovimaple]

About to pull a skeeter pee batch off the yeast and wondered if starting a dragon blood on top of that yeast cake would be a good idea? I have plenty of dry yeast if it would be better to clean everything up and start fresh.

Personally, I don't see the point. I have had perfectly fine results from using new yeast.

I can see why going the other way - using yeast from a dragon blood batch in a skeeter pee - might impart some fruit flavor but I have always used fresh yeast.

 

[BigDaveK]

About to pull a skeeter pee batch off the yeast and wondered if starting a dragon blood on top of that yeast cake would be a good idea? I have plenty of dry yeast if it would be better to clean everything up and start fresh.

It would almost certainly work and it's the basis of "second" wines. I've done it successfully twice. As a matter of fact, last year after 5 batches in a small room I successfully made a wine without adding yeast, using just what was in the air. They were all 1-gallon batches, not important, and I was curious. If you want to experiment, go for it. Otherwise, there are enough variables and unknowns in wine making so I now always use fresh yeast...but the experience has become part of my toolbox.

 

[David Violante]

So… another question about DB… I made 3 gallons with mixed fruit bags that had blueberry, strawberries, and raspberries. It’s been about 6 months and it still has a bit of a cherry medicine taste, crossed with a capri sun on steroids. It’s at 0.990 and I backsweetened to 1.000 which is just enough. It has a little bitter taste still. I also added some grape tannin which helped the overall complexity. The pH is 3.0. I also added some lime juice. All helpful. I’m wondering if anyone has made similar type corrections to their DB, considering that these ‘corrections’ are quite subjective, of course. It still has a capri sun taste, but maybe more complex now. Truthfully, I’m still not entirely sure what it’s supposed to be, other than what I’ve made it to be. I’ve probably sampled it a bit too much making “corrections”...

 

[Jovimaple]

@David Violante My DB made with blueberry, strawberry, and blackberry had some sort of flavor I didn't care for at first. I think it was from the blueberries. I did end up backsweetening a lot; as I've mentioned elsewhere, Hubby leans toward the koolaid side of sweetness. He really liked the DB and I didn't care for it due to the flavor I mentioned above.

Fast forward a year and wow! It smoothed out and that sharp blueberry-ish flavor is much better! So much so that I'm planning to make it again, but this time I will definitely age it longer, although with a new batch of frozen berries, it could turn out completely different. I have some FWK grape seeds that I might throw into primary, just to see what that does.

 

[David Violante]

@Jovimaple Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm slowly moving in the direction of ensuring I'm making more red to have on hand while also making other 'quick drinkers' to help stave off the temptation of opening bottles. The taste/flavor is s l o w l y dissipating in the DB. I'll give it more time. As it's warming up here, time for more Skeeter Pee.

 

[wineview]

I really don't want to deplete my bottle inventory on DB since it is a quick drinker. Can I rack into Carlo Rossi type gallon jugs and screw down the cap? How long would it last in this type of storage on a cool basement floor. Ambient temperature right now is 62 F.