DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine
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Bhushan Thatte
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I have made at least 7 batches of DB and every time tried for variation in tartness. But my friends liked the most with very less tratness.
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Anyways, I have observed that DB ahs made fruit wine makes enjoy making of DB and of course tasting with friends... I am quite fascinated by this wine. Hope every one who has made this wine will agree to me.
++++ I need help please ++++
I am making DB according to the Dave’s recipe with a little larger amount of blueberries. I want to fill my 14 gallon carboy but I only have 2, 6,5 gallon primary so I fermented 2 buckets dry and I’m ready to rack it to the carboy and I will start fermenting another bucket today so it will probably take another 10 days to complete. My question is: Should I add sorbate and kmeta for 14 gallons or add the amount for 10 gallons that I currently have and add additional dosage once the 3rd bucket is racked to the carboy. I hope I’m clear with this explanation.
I am making DB according to the Dave’s recipe with a little larger amount of blueberries. I want to fill my 14 gallon carboy but I only have 2, 6,5 gallon primary so I fermented 2 buckets dry and I’m ready to rack it to the carboy and I will start fermenting another bucket today so it will probably take another 10 days to complete. My question is: Should I add sorbate and kmeta for 14 gallons or add the amount for 10 gallons that I currently have and add additional dosage once the 3rd bucket is racked to the carboy. I hope I’m clear with this explanation.
My solution would be to dose for the 10 gallons, then rack the next batch into the other bucket when complete and dose in that before adding to the 14 g container.
I have a question also. What do you plan on doing about the headspace in the 14 gallon container while the other is fermenting?
I have a question also. What do you plan on doing about the headspace in the 14 gallon container while the other is fermenting?
As for the headspace. The 2 buckets that I have now are at 0.998 so it is still working. Once I rack to the 14 gallon carboy the headspace will be filled with CO2 so I think I'm safe for the next 10 days.
I'm just curious if anyone tried to use glycerin in the DB process. I used it for my strawberry and also for banana wine and I was quite happy with the results.
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We just bottled our first batch and it's amazing already! We used 4c sugar to back sweeten and it seems perfect.
Based on start and end SG, the abv is 12%, but the recipe says the abv will be increased a bit from the natural sugars from the fruit. Does anyone have a guess as to what the actual abv is? It seems pretty potent!
Based on start and end SG, the abv is 12%, but the recipe says the abv will be increased a bit from the natural sugars from the fruit. Does anyone have a guess as to what the actual abv is? It seems pretty potent!
@raelynn I don't have an answer for you about the final ABV; I just figure it's close enough using the sg numbers, especially since the added sugar to sweeten increases volume and therefore decreases the ABV a bit.
Don't forget to record how many gallons you made! Post in the thread 'How many gallons of Lon D's Skeeter Pee have been made?' (Since DB is a variation of SP, both get recorded there.)
Enjoy! I have found both DB and SP to be drinkable right away, but they really smooth out over time. I managed to hang onto a couple bottles of each for a year and they are wonderful! I am going to start a new batch of DB soon so it will have time to age for a while before next spring/summer.
Don't forget to record how many gallons you made! Post in the thread 'How many gallons of Lon D's Skeeter Pee have been made?' (Since DB is a variation of SP, both get recorded there.)
Enjoy! I have found both DB and SP to be drinkable right away, but they really smooth out over time. I managed to hang onto a couple bottles of each for a year and they are wonderful! I am going to start a new batch of DB soon so it will have time to age for a while before next spring/summer.
The best way and I think most accurate is to measure SG right before adding yeast so it's usually 24 hours after mixing fruits, sugar and water. That way fruits will release a lot of sugar and the measurement is more accurate.
I do have readings from before and after, and all are 1.080. Temperatures varied from 26C to 21C, but even adjusted for the temperature, it looks like it's a pretty solid 12%. It finished at .992. If I wanted to boost the abv by a couple % for next time, what would be the best way?
Sugar content changes year to year depending on so many variables. Doing what @Ericphotoart suggests gets you in the ballpark. My pear juice was 1.020 before adding sugar but solid fruits might hold on to a bit of their sugar.
Easiest way to boost ABV is to start at a bit higher SG. I usually do around 1.090 + or -. Another option to significantly boost is step feeding. Just have to be sure the yeast can handle the higher alcohol content
Easiest way to boost ABV is to start at a bit higher SG. I usually do around 1.090 + or -. Another option to significantly boost is step feeding. Just have to be sure the yeast can handle the higher alcohol content
Thank you, I really appreciate it! If I chose a yeast that can handle 15%, and step fed until fermentation stopped, can I assume that I have reached 15% and the yeast is dead? Or is there another way to measure the alcohol impact that step-feeding is having?
Part of why I really want to be sure is because our legal blood-alcohol level to drive here is 0.05 (which is basically 1/2 a drink per hour), so if we have friends over, they will need to know in order to calculate when they are safe to go home.
Yeast tolerance is an approximation - so no, you can't necessarily use that as the ABV. Depending upon conditions, the yeast may stop early or go beyond the stated tolerance.
You can measure each step of the feeding and use those numbers added together for the approximate ABV calculation.
For example:
Original sg 1.090
Sg at first feeding (before adding sugar) 1.020
Sg after adding sugar 1.030
Final sg .990
Calculation:
((1.090 - 1.020) + (1.030 - .995)) x 131.25
Or .070 + .035 = .105 so the ABV equation would be .105 x 131.25, which is 13.78%.
If you do more "steps", measure the before and after sg each time and add them to the sg part of the equation.
Note: the number used to multiply to get the ABV varies depending upon the amount of alcohol. I just use 131.25 but for my purposes, I don't need an exact number. I also don't worry about the additional volume when I add sugar for backsweetening, or for the volume I lose to lees. The only way that I know of for a home winemaker to get the exact ABV would be to send a sample to a lab.
You can measure each step of the feeding and use those numbers added together for the approximate ABV calculation.
For example:
Original sg 1.090
Sg at first feeding (before adding sugar) 1.020
Sg after adding sugar 1.030
Final sg .990
Calculation:
((1.090 - 1.020) + (1.030 - .995)) x 131.25
Or .070 + .035 = .105 so the ABV equation would be .105 x 131.25, which is 13.78%.
If you do more "steps", measure the before and after sg each time and add them to the sg part of the equation.
Note: the number used to multiply to get the ABV varies depending upon the amount of alcohol. I just use 131.25 but for my purposes, I don't need an exact number. I also don't worry about the additional volume when I add sugar for backsweetening, or for the volume I lose to lees. The only way that I know of for a home winemaker to get the exact ABV would be to send a sample to a lab.
@raelynn I think @Jovimaple pretty much covered the math. It's a simple process. Everyone should try it at least once.
The reasoning behind step feeding is that the yeast might not be able to handle all the sugar at once and will konk out too soon. So we string along the little sugar junkies as long as possible.
I'm currently working on a pear dessert wine, all juice, the ABV is a bit under 15% and I just did my third feeding. Still fermenting like gangbusters. Depending on how it goes I might try a fourth feeding. Alcohol is the first thing I taste and then great pear flavor. Like I said it's a dessert wine so eventually it will be heavily back sweetened.
Good luck!
The reasoning behind step feeding is that the yeast might not be able to handle all the sugar at once and will konk out too soon. So we string along the little sugar junkies as long as possible.
I'm currently working on a pear dessert wine, all juice, the ABV is a bit under 15% and I just did my third feeding. Still fermenting like gangbusters. Depending on how it goes I might try a fourth feeding. Alcohol is the first thing I taste and then great pear flavor. Like I said it's a dessert wine so eventually it will be heavily back sweetened.
Good luck!
When you have both the starting SG and the ending SG, the rest is easy. Subtract them and then multiply by 131. But if you neglected to record the start SG or if you added things during fermentation, another method is required. I personally use the Honeymann method. Use your favorite browser to get the details. It is nearly as accurate as a lab test.
Just curious. What would you consider acceptable accuray for the home wine maker? Personally, plus or minus half a percent is fine.
I just do the calculation that I listed above, and I call it good. I have never had my wines tested, and I generally don't pay attention to added volume except when I make Skeeter Pee, because I add a gallon of lemon after fermentation is complete.
Dragonblood can be consumed right away, although I usually like to wait a couple weeks after bottling to make sure any bottle shock has corrected itself.
Last night my wife and I drank the last 2 bottles of Dragon Blood (triple berry) that I started July 4 of this year. I regret we consumed all previous bottles earlier. After 3 months it was just delicious!!! The berry flavor was just WOW, very smooth and backsweetened just right. I have another batch of DB (quad berry) but I will start a triple berry DB in a few days again, exactly the same recipe and I hope I will get the same results. My notes are very detailed.
