DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[Bobber16]

I just made my first batch of DDDB and I am astonished! It's not even bottled yet. When I racked it to prepare for bottling I tasted it and it tasted just like a light fruit juice. It fermented from SG 1.085 to 1.002 so it should be at least 11% ABV but there was absolutely no alcohol taste. Even at just 11% this could be deadly. Anybody else have a result like this?

we just made our first batch, a Strawberry/Peach/Mango/Pineapple blend and it is very good. I absolutely love this recipe, no alcohol taste at all. my next batch is going to be a Strawberry/Rhubarb blend.

 

[pandakatelyn]

I think I have a stuck fermentation.
I started a dragonfruit triple berry blend on 3/27 with a starting sg of 1.100. I used a new yeast(premier redstar rouge) that took about 2 days to start foaming and show signs of it working. It dropped about .10 a day until 4/9, and now it's been at 1.040 since then. No more signs of foaming in the bucket. Is it truly done, or is it stuck?

 

[Johnd]

I think I have a stuck fermentation.
I started a dragonfruit triple berry blend on 3/27 with a starting sg of 1.100. I used a new yeast(premier redstar rouge) that took about 2 days to start foaming and show signs of it working. It dropped about .10 a day until 4/9, and now it's been at 1.040 since then. No more signs of foaming in the bucket. Is it truly done, or is it stuck?

Your yeast should handle SG of 1.100, so that's not an issue. pH can sometimes play a part here, and unless you have testing capability, we'll explore the other options, which are fermentation temperature and yeast nutrients.

Your yeast will operate in the 65F - 85 F range, probably best in the mid 70's, what temps are you keeping the wine at during fermentation?

Many times our musts are deficient of the required nutrients to support good yeast activity, and they require the addition of nutrients, did you use any sort of nutrients in the preparation of the must or during fermentation?

 

[pandakatelyn]

Your yeast should handle SG of 1.100, so that's not an issue. pH can sometimes play a part here, and unless you have testing capability, we'll explore the other options, which are fermentation temperature and yeast nutrients.

Your yeast will operate in the 65F - 85 F range, probably best in the mid 70's, what temps are you keeping the wine at during fermentation?

Many times our musts are deficient of the required nutrients to support good yeast activity, and they require the addition of nutrients, did you use any sort of nutrients in the preparation of the must or during fermentation?

It's been kept at 75f with a brew belt. I used the recipe for dragonsblood with yeast nutrients and energizer in the beginning. I unfortunately don't have pH testing equipment.

 

[Rembee]

In the past, I have had similar problems with premier redstar rouge yeast. Not to say that you are experiencing the same problems as I have had. Just from my own experience with this yeast, I stopped using it. I started using Lalvin 71B yeast with much better results.
It's hard to say what your particular problem may be without knowing the ph. But you could try a different type of yeast starter such as the 71B and see if your fermentation starts back up. I would try a starter using a cup of your DB at 15 to 20 minute intervals until you have added 3 cups to the starter. Then add this back to your DB and see if fermentation resumes.

 

[PJ805]

Has anyone tried to carbonate their wine and if so how? This is probably a dumb thought (and not recommended), I'm toying with the idea of carbonating it with a sodastream?

 

[toadie]

I carbonated my skeeter pee with sugar added to the bottling bucket. Worked great. I just bottled a raspberry dragon blood with added dextrose in the bottling bucket. Seems close to being carbonated. I also added 1/2 c of erythritol for a hint of added (non-fermentable sweetness). I'll prob try it on the wknd. Cheers.

 

[Johnd]

It's been kept at 75f with a brew belt. I used the recipe for dragonsblood with yeast nutrients and energizer in the beginning. I unfortunately don't have pH testing equipment.

Sounds like a good time to build a starter with a little "no additives" apple juice (a quart or two) and some Lalvin EC-1118, let it get going strong, then slowly step feed the DB into it, doubling the volume of must each day. IE, day 1 that you have good fermentation with two quarts, add two quarts of DB to it, then you'll have a gallon going. Day 2, add a gallon of the DB to the starter, then you'll have two gallons going, etc., etc..., by day 4, you should have the whole shooting match working again. You could just try pitching the EC-1118, but step feeding may work better in this case.

 

[kevindevo]

I finally had time to bottle my 1st Haskap Dragon blood tasty, red as blood ,clear . 2nd batch started put 12lbs. of haskap instead of 8lbs. I would like a bit more berry flavor. 10 - 750ml bottles for special occasion and try to age a couple and 2 - 5litres bags for the camp and topping up. If you count the bottles there's only 9 one is already gone.
bottoms up,
Kev.

 

[Basilhaydens]

Anybody ever made this with the frozen cherry berry blend bags you get thats beside the berry medley bags?

 

[pandakatelyn]

Anybody ever made this with the frozen cherry berry blend bags you get thats beside the berry medley bags?

I have! It was a huge hit and I actually prefer the cherry blend. Its subtle but the flavor is there.

 

[Basilhaydens]

I have! It was a huge hit and I actually prefer the cherry blend. Its subtle but the flavor is there.

Did you do it with the lemon juice? Was it still the same color as the original?

 

[pandakatelyn]

Did you do it with the lemon juice? Was it still the same color as the original?

I did use lemon, and it was a bit deeper red than the original.

 

[G259]

Has anyone tried to carbonate their wine and if so how? This is probably a dumb thought (and not recommended), I'm toying with the idea of carbonating it with a sodastream?

Interesting idea, I used to have a Sodastream, maybe I have it here somewhere . . .

 

[BernardSmith]

It is an interesting idea but don't forget Sodastream is designed to carbonate water and not sugar water so if you have back-sweetened the wine you may find that it does not behave quite like water. I would imagine that you may need to use the plastic bottles that they "provide" rather than a wine bottle.

 

[G259]

Absolutely, use the Sodastream bottles!

 

[winemaker81]

Has anyone tried to carbonate their wine and if so how? This is probably a dumb thought (and not recommended), I'm toying with the idea of carbonating it with a sodastream?

A SodaStream should work, but the instructions of the one my parents had decades ago warned specifically against carbonating anything other than water, as the mechanism will get gummed up with sugar. You risk damaging the machine unless you can clean it really well, assuming you can clean it. [Haven't seen the current generation of SodaStream, so I don't know what it looks like.]

If carbonating a dry wine, do it like beer -- add 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar just before bottling, and bottle in beer bottles. Leave in a warm place for at least 2 weeks. This cannot be done with a backsweetened wine as sorbate will prevent the renewed fermentation, and if sorbate isn't used, dangerous pressure could result if the sugar level is too high.

Last fall my son made a cherry cider kit, and he carbonated using drops (tablets) he purchased at our LHBS. We bottled in beer bottles and it worked quite well. You can use champagne bottles, although those require 2 drops to carbonate.

When I first started making beer, I bottled in quart Nehi bottles, but I have no idea if those are this in existence.


EDIT: My comment regarding the drops are wrong. The drops my son used, Brewers Best Carbonation Drops, are sugar (27% Glucose and 73% Sucrose) and will not work with sorbate and should not be used if there is residual sugar, to avoid dangerous pressure levels.

 

[ramcowboy41]

DangerDave’s Dragon Blood Wine
My name is David C. Land (dangerdave). I am a firefighter from southern Ohio who started making wine in August 2011. Like most of you, I began slowly, but was soon bitten by the wine bug and started making many kits in my spare time. After gaining this valuable experience and understanding of the wine making process, I ventured out on my own. My very first homemade recipe was Lon DePoppe's original Skeeter Pee. I was amazed that anyone could make a good cheap wine so quickly. After varying degrees of success, I went about modifying Lon's recipe into a process that reflected both my own desires for my wines, and the processes I had come to understand. Here, I will impart the recipe I developed that has become popular among a diverse group of wine makers. It is specifically designed to make good wine cheaply and quickly while waiting for your kits to age. There are no secrets in wine making. You, my fellow wine makers, are more than welcome to use or modify this recipes or process for your own wine making pleasure. Enjoy!

The recipe is formatted for a six (6) gallon batch. To make a larger or smaller batch, simply do the math. Doubling the batch to twelve gallons would require twice the listed ingredients, while making a three gallon batch would only take half.

READ THROUGH THESE STEPS COMPLETELY BEFORE BEGINNING, TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO FINISH YOUR WINE.

Always make sure anything that touches your wine is both cleaned and sanitized, and record everything you do!


Do you do any step feeding of yeast nutrient

 

[Jovimaple]

I followed the recipe regarding nutrient and energizer for my DB.

 

[AJH89]

When you say 6lbs of fruit do you mean 6lbs per gallon?