DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[Elmer]

Finally got my 2 cups of sugar, brought my SG up to 1.080.
Dropped in some lalvin 1-118 last night.

As of this morning there is a nice layer of frothy stuff on top.

Since I am fermenting in the basement and brew belt broke, this is gone to be a cold ferment!

 

[dangerdave]

It's true. Dragon Blood (in it's original form) will not please everyone. But it is manageable. You can tweak the recipe to make it as you like it. More fruit, different fruit, less acid, more sugar, oak, etc. I was lucky enough that I got mine right (the way I like it) he first time. But I've been experimenting with it ever since. It does seem to go through it's own---sometimes unpredictable---form of evolution.

I personally did not go much for the Dragonette. I added that version to the file because I thought others might enjoy it. We all have different taste.

Last night, I bottled 54 Dragon Blood (with one old Seagrims Gin bottle, just for fun) and a number of gallon jugs for the fridge from my 18 gallon batch. Twenty-three days from start to finish. That should hold me for a while!

Atsa lotsa Dragon Blood!

 

[ckvchestnut]

That's awesome and looks lovely Dave! I bottled 6 of my 9 gals over the weekend an it's pretty decent. After having it with the lemon I think I'll enjoy always using the lemon. 3 gals I'm keeping on heavy toast Hungarian oak for awhile to see how that goes.

 

[Rosa321]

Rosa and others who are finding the flavour and acidity issues:

How much lemon did you use and fruit for a 6 gal batch? I just made the dragonette version which has NO lemon. I have to say that I think I like the original version a tad better and seems more fruity. But I have never used the full amt of lemon called for but always MORE fruit. Perhaps if you just tweaked your recipe you will find the DB that suits you best.

Without the lemon in my dragonette I perceive a slightly less fruity flavour - but I only backsweetened to .998 or 1.000. It went dry to .990. While I'm not a sweet freak, I do find that my other two batches at 1.010 were much more fruity right from the get go an those were higher abv as well. But I am determined to keep bottles from this drier batch for longer to see what aging does to the overall fruitiness and flavour profile. Some food for thought. I still haven't done a batch of DB that I haven't liked. And I too like SO many styles of wine from bone dry big reds to fruity whites, blushes and sultry, buttery chards.

I used the lemon juice called for in the recipe. 48oz. How much do you use???/
Thanks!

 

[ckvchestnut]

Hi Rosa, I used 40 oz in my first batch (my local Walmart sells a 32 oz bottle as their largest size) so the 2nd time I only used the 32oz liked both batches very much. Also made slightly more than 6 gals so I could have the extra for top up.

 

[Rmstuck]

When finished is this wine similar to white Zinfandel or more of a fruit wine?

.??? Anybody????

 

[JetJockey]

I've just finished my Blueberry DB and was doing some back sweetening tests for preferred SG. I used 9 3/4 pounds of home picked blueberries that were picked in the summer of 2013 and frozen. I thawed them on 1/14/14 and placed them in a fine nylon bag, added 3/4 gal water, and added 1/4 tsp k-meta and pectic enzyme and let sit for two days to let fruit break down. I used 48 oz. lemon and added sugar to an SG of 1.10. Ferment took 10 days to get to .990 and then removed fruit. After five days, the final SG was 0.988.

Cleared with Sparkolloid and let it sit for 9 days, then racked. I then cooked 6 cups of frozen store bought blueberries with 1.5 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar for 20 minutes. Then strained through mesh bag and added sugar to SG = 1.00. Let sit for 5 weeks because everyone says straight blueberry takes longer to come around. Racked it into a 5 gal carboy and two 1/2 gal jugs for testing.

I tasted it throughout the process and now the final SG 1.00 wine as well as the batch at SG 1.01 has an indescribable off taste . The taste has been there all along. The carboys were very full, so it shouldn't be oxidation. My rackings were done by vacuum.

Is this just what blueberry tastes like or could freezer burn affect the taste. Is having frozen berries for 7 months too long?

This is my first straight blueberry batch and my first 15% ABV batch. Also I used James's instructions on the simple syrup with fruit for more flavor (1st time for this, too). I'm going to miss him!!

Any help would be appreciated! The taste isn't chemical, metallic, moldy, or anything else I can describe. I can obviously taste the higher alcohol, but there is another off taste.

 

[TableSeven]

.??? Anybody????

I ended up here and making it because of being told it was like a sangria, that's my kind of wine, I like the sweet but not sickening sweet wine.

I'd say fruit wine, now mind you I haven't tasted it sweetened & finished, only along the way. Unsweetened a friend compared it to a red he had from out of state. Sweetened but not cleared I was asked if it had grapefruit in it. Finished product, I'll tell you in 3 weeks.

 

[Rmstuck]

I ended up here and making it because of being told it was like a sangria, that's my kind of wine, I like the sweet but not sickening sweet wine.

I'd say fruit wine, now mind you I haven't tasted it sweetened & finished, only along the way. Unsweetened a friend compared it to a red he had from out of state. Sweetened but not cleared I was asked if it had grapefruit in it. Finished product, I'll tell you in 3 weeks.

Thank You. I tried first day sweetened and thought oh gross. But after a couple days it is getting better I'm just wondering what to expect.

Thanks again.

 

[ckvchestnut]

It's definitely fruity... 3-4 weeks more and to will have a lovely fruit wine.

Jet jockey: that's is odd about the blueberry... Was there a lot of snow on the blueberries, indicative of freezer burn? Does it taste a tad "stale"?

 

[wineforfun]

I used the lemon juice called for in the recipe. 48oz. How much do you use???/
Thanks!

You may try lime juice in place of the lemon. I have made versions with the lime and it isn't as acidic. It has a different makeup to it. I prefer the original(or close to it with a few tweaks) but the lime version is good too.

 

[dangerdave]

When finished is this wine similar to white Zinfandel or more of a fruit wine?

I'm sorry I missed this, Rmstuck.

I created the DB recipe because my wife was drinking some raspberry white zin and a "Cafe Zin". Those would both qualify as "fruity white zin", so it might lie inbetween. It comes out a little more tart---from the lemon juice---but yes, it's light and fruity, and as sweet at you want it.

 

[dangerdave]

Any help would be appreciated! The taste isn't chemical, metallic, moldy, or anything else I can describe. I can obviously taste the higher alcohol, but there is another off taste.

Darn, Bob. I'm sorry if it's giving you fits. If you can't discribe it, it's pretty hard to figure out what it might be.

 

[JetJockey]

W Ermine (aka WWW), Stale may be what I was looking for. I'll keep that in mind as I taste some more tonight. i saw a little frost, but not what I'd consider out of the ordinary!

Dave,
Good news is that I'm not finicky about what I drink. I'm persistent and I have 3/4 of a bottle plus 6 more gallons to get it figured out! I'll keep you posted as I narrow it down.

 

[Rosa321]

As an update, I added sugar and strawberries to a glass of Dragon's Blood and it was GOOD.
So at least I can doctor that up and not waste it.
Not sure what will become of the blueberry I have "aging" or the Dragonette I am fermenting.
I hope I'm not wasting 12 more gallons of wine!
Hopefully, at worst, those can be doctored, too! lol

 

[JetJockey]

Rosa,
This is a forgiving wine and most likely can be saved! If you ever need to WASTE any, I'm only a couple of hours away!

 

[Julie]

As an update, I added sugar and strawberries to a glass of Dragon's Blood and it was GOOD.
So at least I can doctor that up and not waste it.
Not sure what will become of the blueberry I have "aging" or the Dragonette I am fermenting.
I hope I'm not wasting 12 more gallons of wine!
Hopefully, at worst, those can be doctored, too! lol

take a hydrometer reading after you sweeten a bottle, now check that with what you have aging. It will be easier for you to fix what is in a carboy than what is in a bottle.

 

[dangerdave]

Julie is right. You want get it at least close to what you want before you bottle. Aging in the bottle will not fix everything, as much as the DB might improve.

Thanks, Juile, for helping field questions in our little part of the forum. DB makers are a unique group, and we like your company.

 

[PoppaCork]

It's true. Dragon Blood (in it's original form) will not please everyone. But it is manageable. You can tweak the recipe to make it as you like it. More fruit, different fruit, less acid, more sugar, oak, etc. ]

Dave, I'm going to try a DB variation with only bananas. I am going to used 30 lbs. of chunked up banana with peels on, and 30 lbs. without peels.(trying for some flavor from this light fruit) I read somewhere that banana peels have a lot of tannin.
My question is, do you think I should use less tannin, or none at all because of the banana peels?(it's a 6 gallon batch) Am I over thinking this?

 

[sour_grapes]

Dave, I'm going to try a DB variation with only bananas.

Wouldn't that be better named "Dragon Bile"?