DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[Jdub]

Thanks Will.

I went searching for some of the triple berry blend. No one around me seems to carry it. I can buy individual bags of the berries though. Anyone know the approximate ratios of each?

I have seen triple berry at WalMart and Trader Joes. I went with 4 berry blend because its what my local grocery store had. That batch turned out really good. My wife never drinks alcohol but said she wouldn't mind a glass of my DragonBlood now and then!! I am finishing another batch that's half cherry and half 4 berry. I also started a 3rd batch that's just blackberries and blueberries. Try making the original and then try whatever sounds good to you!!

 

[Tony49]

Made the original recipe a few months ago. Surprising how fast this goes.
My second batch will have 6 pounds of the berry mix into a 5 gallon carboy .
Fifteen ounces of the Real Lemon instead of thirty. And back sweetened with a can or two of Welches concord concentrate.
Thank you Dave for a great early drinker.
Tony...

 

[bkisel]

The DB recipe is very versatile. Besides making a bunch of different berry batches I've used the Db recipe, with minor tweaks, for making a peach wine (using 14 lbs of peaches) and an apple wine (6 gallons of freshly pressed cider. Apple wine is still bulk aging).

 

[Jericurl]

My 3rd batch is done with primary and coming out of the bucket tonight. I could put the cherry batch back in the bucket and add the fruit bag. Or I could just put the cherries in the carboy. If I add them straight to the carboy do I mush them up first? Should I puree them?
Thanks!

If your SG is below 1.01, just add your additional fruit to your secondary. As long as they are frozen first, then thawed they really shouldn't need any additional mashing, cutting, etc.

 

[CheerfulHeart]

When to add Riesling concentrate?

I have a can of Alexander's Riesling concentrate I plan to use in a batch of DB. The fruits will be white grapes, pineapple, peaches and strawberries. It's a blend called Fruit Salad sold at Walmart.

Should I add the concentrate to primary as part of the 6 gallons of water, or in addition to the 6 gallons of water? I would like to use it to add body to the DB.

 

[willie]

I have a can of Alexander's Riesling concentrate I plan to use in a batch of DB. The fruits will be white grapes, pineapple, peaches and strawberries. It's a blend called Fruit Salad sold at Walmart.

Should I add the concentrate to primary as part of the 6 gallons of water, or in addition to the 6 gallons of water? I would like to use it to add body to the DB.

I have never used Alexander's concentrate but if its a fairly large can then I would add it as part of the 6 gallons of water. I have used Wally World's mixed fruit you describe and it makes a real nice batch of what I call Tropical DB. Good luck.

Will

 

[CheerfulHeart]

Thanks, Will. The can of concentrate is in the neighborhood of 48 ounces so I will follow your advice and include it as part of the 6 gallons. I appreciate the advice. It confirms what I was thinking.

I love this particular fruit blend from Wally World! Last time I used this blend, it made a DB that tasted a lot like Riesling with a hint of pineapple and peach so I was glad to find the forgotten can of Riesling concentrate in my supply locker. At least I know the flavors will all "play well together".

 

[Ctmaro]

Thanks, Will. The can of concentrate is in the neighborhood of 48 ounces so I will follow your advice and include it as part of the 6 gallons. I appreciate the advice. It confirms what I was thinking.

I love this particular fruit blend from Wally World! Last time I used this blend, it made a DB that tasted a lot like Riesling with a hint of pineapple and peach so I was glad to find the forgotten can of Riesling concentrate in my supply locker. At least I know the flavors will all "play well together".

I find that when I use White Grape Juice concentrate, that my wines need to age some where around 6 months. If not, the taste seems to have a sharp alcohol edge to it.

Mark

 

[calvin]

Blueberry.

I'm going to start a blue blood. Any advice on how many pounds of berries per gallon?

It's good to be back!

Thanks everyone

 

[JetJockey]

I prefer 1.5# per gallon, but I haven't tried 2#/gal. I will the next time because I want a fuller blueberry taste.

 

[Thig]

I used 10lbs for 5 gallons and it turned out great.

 

[willie]

Last year I used 12 lbs. of Wyman's blueberries and ended up adding a little Blueberry Extract to kick up the flavor up little bit. Turned out great.

Will

 

[calvin]

What yeast?

 

[JetJockey]

Funny you ask, I just did a comparison of these three with three 6-gal batches of Fredonia. I have used the 1118 and 1116 with DB. I can't notice much difference in the Fredonia batches. I guess the 1116 and 1118 are very similar in % ABV and temperature ranges with the 1116 being a little lower on the top temp end. 1116 is supposed to bring out the fruit taste a little more. Sorry I can't help more, but maybe my taste isn't sensitive enough to discern the difference. Don't think you could go wrong with any of the 3! Look at the temp range and %ABV for your intended fermentation. Better yet make 3 batches and compare!

 

[calvin]

Thanks everyone! Is Dave still on his hike? I've been MIA for a while.

 

[calvin]

Here we go!

12 gallons
24# of frozen blueberries
20# of sugar. Right about 1.070
1116 yeast

 

[calvin]

almost forgot the oak!

 

[willie]

Thanks everyone! Is Dave still on his hike? I've been MIA for a while.

Calvin, Dave posted on here a little while back. He didn't say anything about his hike that I can remember. I would think he would be done with it by now. Maybe he will post and give us some information on how his hike went.

Will

 

[sour_grapes]

Thanks everyone! Is Dave still on his hike? I've been MIA for a while.

Calvin, Dave posted on here a little while back. He didn't say anything about his hike that I can remember. I would think he would be done with it by now. Maybe he will post and give us some information on how his hike went.

Will

See this thread, especially this post:

Danger Dave dissapointingly posted that after 909 miles he needs to terminate his trip for medical reasons. He had posted previously that his feet were bothering him and recenlty sought medical advice. Dr. apparently told him to stop the trip before any permanent damage is done.

Congratulations Danger Dave. You've accomplished something that many of us wouldn't likely even consider. You should be very proud of your journey, I enjoyed following it on FB.

 

[calvin]

Wow 909 miles. That's pretty darn good. I don't know if I would have made 100. I also looked for Dave on FB to see how his trip was going but couldn't find him.