DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[jojabri]

So I popped open a bottle of Blackberry DB that was bottled March 3rd. 8 weeks ago it was good, now it's truly AH-MAY-ZING!!! The blackberry flavor has jumped out and the sweetness blossomed!

How is it that one can fall in love over and over??

 

[Hunt]

My starter isn't quite ready. is there any problem with letting the must sit for a total of 36 hours instead of 24 or should i just send it in now. the starter is about 2 cups of apple juice starter and aprox 1 quart so far of db must. I wanted to add another quart of must to help the starter acclimate better before pitching.

 

[bkisel]

So I popped open a bottle of Blackberry DB that was bottled March 3rd. 8 weeks ago it was good, now it's truly AH-MAY-ZING!!! The blackberry flavor has jumped out and the sweetness blossomed!

How is it that one can fall in love over and over??

That's great!

I find DB amazing with just 8 days of bottle aging.

 

[dangerdave]

My starter isn't quite ready. is there any problem with letting the must sit for a total of 36 hours instead of 24 or should i just send it in now. the starter is about 2 cups of apple juice starter and aprox 1 quart so far of db must. I wanted to add another quart of must to help the starter acclimate better before pitching.

That should be fine, Hunt, if that's how you're doing it. I just rehydrate my yeast for 15 minutes in warm water and stir it in. Haven't had an issue.

The rest of you, keep lovin' on the DB. So many variations, and so few carboys!

 

[user 31015]

Tried the blackcurrant last night with a drop of sugar and it was quite quaffable - "alcoholic Ribena!" a friend described it as.

In not too long a time I will need to back sweeten it. Does anyone have any guidance on how to do this right? I know I can pull some wine out and measure and add sugar, etc, etc, but I am not confident that I won't make it too sweet, or not sweet enough.

 

[bkisel]

That should be fine, Hunt, if that's how you're doing it. I just rehydrate my yeast for 15 minutes in warm water and stir it in. Haven't had an issue.

The rest of you, keep lovin' on the DB. So many variations, and so few carboys!

With now 9 kits and 2 batches of DB (2nd DB not yet bottled) under my belt just pitching the yeast right on top of the must has worked fine. Zero, nada, no fermentation issues whatsoever. This 2nd batch of DB I'm currently working on had SG 1.076 go to 0.990 with no problems. I personally think that if your must is in the 65F-85F range there is no need for re-hydrating before pitching EC-1118. [I'm assuming the yeast hasn't passed its shelf life. I don't know if this would be true for other yeast strains.]

 

[dangerdave]

Yes, that is what most kits say to do, and I have done it with success. Somehow, actually following the product instructions just gives me more confidence, so I usually rehydrate.


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[Hunt]

I just wanted to try a starter just for the fun of it and see if there is any difference in taste. Call it my first experiment lol

 

[beggarsu]

My starter isn't quite ready. is there any problem with letting the must sit for a total of 36 hours instead of 24 or should i just send it in now. the starter is about 2 cups of apple juice starter and aprox 1 quart so far of db must. I wanted to add another quart of must to help the starter acclimate better before pitching.

A yeast starter for me is water, sugar, nutrient and yeast about 250 ml ml and is frothing adn dropping lees in about 90 - 120 minutes - adding 100 ml of must at that point - if it froths within 45 min to 1 hour , then both the must and the yeast are ready.

Only very rarely will it not take off like that and if that happens there is a serious problem that you have to get more of the must involved in the starter or splash rack the must if you got too much sulphide in it..

 

[bkisel]

Yes, that is what most kits say to do, and I have done it with success. Somehow, actually following the product instructions just gives me more confidence, so I usually rehydrate.


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I hear you Dave. I got a chuckle yesterday as I was reading instructions for the clearing agents. Two plastic packets joined together with instructions on them and a paper label on the entire packet with instructions that vary from the first agents instructions. I fell back to doing as I've done with the kits D1 stir 2 minutes then add D2 and stir 2 minutes. First DB batch cleared fine and this second patch looks pretty clear already with less than 24 hours clearing time.

 

[Rosa321]

I hear you Dave. I got a chuckle yesterday as I was reading instructions for the clearing agents. Two plastic packets joined together with instructions on them and a paper label on the entire packet with instructions that vary from the first agents instructions. I fell back to doing as I've done with the kits D1 stir 2 minutes then add D2 and stir 2 minutes. First DB batch cleared fine and this second patch looks pretty clear already with less than 24 hours clearing time.

Are you referring to the two packets in 'Super Kleer'?
I ask because the first time I used it, I used the directions on the front, added one right after the other. It cleared very fast.
The second and third time I used it, I followed the instructions on the back, and I got clumping and/or it took a really long time to clear (I'm at least a month into clearing on my latest batch).
I'm just wondering if I should go back to adding them together, rather than hours apart....

 

[calvin]

Are you referring to the two packets in 'Super Kleer'?
I ask because the first time I used it, I used the directions on the front, added one right after the other. It cleared very fast.
The second and third time I used it, I followed the instructions on the back, and I got clumping and/or it took a really long time to clear (I'm at least a month into clearing on my latest batch).
I'm just wondering if I should go back to adding them together, rather than hours apart....

The only time I used superkleer. I poured one in then stirred. Then poured the other in immediately. My skeeter pee was crystal clear in 24 hours


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[bkisel]

Are you referring to the two packets in 'Super Kleer'?
I ask because the first time I used it, I used the directions on the front, added one right after the other. It cleared very fast.
The second and third time I used it, I followed the instructions on the back, and I got clumping and/or it took a really long time to clear (I'm at least a month into clearing on my latest batch).
I'm just wondering if I should go back to adding them together, rather than hours apart....

Yes, Super-Kleer. With my kits the same clearing agents have always come in two separate packets but when I buy it at my LHBS the two agents are together in a single packet but in separate, what I'll call, pockets.

My feeling is that it should be fine either way just so long as they're added in the correct sequence and within 24 hours of each other. Could it be that there is something unique about the process and DB?

So far with all my wines, both kit and DB, the wine has cleared in 24-48 hours using the super-kleer agents.

 

[photoactivist]

Are you referring to the two packets in 'Super Kleer'?
I ask because the first time I used it, I used the directions on the front, added one right after the other. It cleared very fast.
The second and third time I used it, I followed the instructions on the back, and I got clumping and/or it took a really long time to clear (I'm at least a month into clearing on my latest batch).
I'm just wondering if I should go back to adding them together, rather than hours apart....

One of the aspects we discovered over at the Skittles Wine thread was that not all musts respond to Superkleer alone. We had to treat our murky wines with 1/4 tsp amylase enzyme before the chitosan and kieselsol would actually clarify the wine. Could be the situation with your second and third times...

After I turned my supplier on to amylase, he told me he uses it 100% of the time now. I don't, but there are times when superkleer isn't superman. It's not often, but sometimes.

As for my method, I usually add chitosan an hour after the kieselsol. Almost everything clarifies in one day, two to three at the longest.


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[Julie]

There can be several different reasons why your wine would be cloudy. SuperKlear or Sarkleloid will normally clear your wines but if you have a pectic haze you would need to add pectic enzyme and if you have a starch haze you would need to add amylase.

 

[bkisel]

Well my second batch of DB now gets to "bulk age"

for a week or so while my wife and I go on vacation. Really interested to see how much a difference this batch will be from the first considering it has been made with an organic five berry blend (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, cranberry and cherry) and a bit less back sweetening.

This batch is in one of my Italian carboy's which means I'll be getting 31 maybe even 32 bottles from this batch. I cut back on the amount of water added from what the directions indicate so only wound up with about half a cup extra of wine. First batch I made, filling with water to the 23L primary bucket line, I wound up with way to much wine left over. I'm guessing you'd want to add water up to about 1/2"-3/4" below the line to wind up closer to 23L/6 gal. of finished wine.

 

[sour_grapes]

If any of you are interested in swapping, I have proposed a 3-for-1 swap here:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f131/dragon-blood-three-one-44957/#post509852

 

[jojabri]

If any of you are interested in swapping, I have proposed a 3-for-1 swap here:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f131/dragon-blood-three-one-44957/#post509852

I would but I haven't made an original tripleberry batch. I can't find the berry mix here. All mine are quadberry, tropical, strawberry, or blackberry (or tea, but that's still in the works.)

 

[Hunt]

It's only been about 3 days and already my SG is at 1.010 I should be able to remove the fruit tomorrow morning and let it finish fermenting one of the fastest fermentations to date

 

[dangerdave]

I've had a batch in the bottle in as little as two weeks. Some folks have done it faster. Do not be concerned. It will be good.