Dragon Blood in 15 days!!!

[tatud4life]

I believe so and there is no such thing as a stupid question.

 

[southlake333]

Dumb question here..... Is the tropical quad berry made the same way as the Dragon blood, just different fruit.

Well, since I haven't made it yet, I can't say for sure. But yes, the basic idea will be the same. I currently have 2 x 4lb bags of the tropical fruit mix so my thought right now will be to use the basic Dragon's Blood recipe, using either 6 or 8lbs of fruit (since I have 8) and cutting the lemon juice down to 80 oz or so.

 

[ShelleyDickison]

Yeah that's what I was planning on. 8 lbs fruit and half lemon juice.

 

[DirtyDawg10]

Thanks guys! Can't wait to try it out. It actually looks an even darker shade of red IRL.

 

[dangerdave]

Dumb question here..... Is the tropical quad berry made the same way as the Dragon blood, just different fruit.

I made my Blue Macaw Tripical Fruit Wine using the same method (slightly modified) as the Dragon Blood but used no lemon juice. The first batch came out very sweet. Some people liked it, but I thought it was out of balance a little. So, to the second batch I added some extra acid blend. I just bottled that one yesterday. My lovely wife says it's better...but...I told her it still needs more acid, as those tropical fruits (strawberry, mango, peach, pineapple) are all sweet.

"So," I asked myself, "why don't you just make a skeeter pee version with the tropical fruit?"

And here you guys are discussing that very thing. That's what I'm going to do, add a bottle of lemon juice to the next batch to give it some balance. I should peally start testing the PH of my musts.

 

[southlake333]

I made my Blue Macaw Tripical Fruit Wine using the same method (slightly modified) as the Dragon Blood but used no lemon juice. The first batch came out very sweet. Some people liked it, but I thought it was out of balance a little. So, to the second batch I added some extra acid blend. I just bottled that one yesterday. My lovely wife says it's better...but...I told her it still needs more acid, as those tropical fruits (strawberry, mango, peach, pineapple) are all sweet.

"So," I asked myself, "why don't you just make a skeeter pee version with the tropical fruit?"

And here you guys are discussing that very thing. That's what I'm going to do, add a bottle of lemon juice to the next batch to give it some balance. I should peally start testing the PH of my musts.

I went ahead and got my next batch of quad berry as well as the tropical berry started last night. Unfortunately I added all the ingredients (including water) and THEN added the sugar, so now I probably have around 7 - 7.5 gallons of each...lol.

But overall, here's the recipes. Standard Dragon's blood recipe with the following modifications
- both have 8lb of fruit
- both have 5.5 gallons of water added
- both have 80oz of lemon juice
- both will have enough sugar added to bring the SG up over 1.080.

The end result here is probably going to be 7 gallons (instead of the 6 I was aiming for) but with 8lbs of fruit and 80oz of lemon that should be fine.

 

[Hokapsig]

3 Questions:

1. What's a good finishing SG which makes the Dragon blood sweet enough, but not so sweet as to overwhelm the berry flavor?

2. What's the amount of time to age so that the true berry flavor comes out and hits its peak?

3. How long can Skeeter Pee or Dragon Blood age and still be good for drinking (is there a length of time when it starts to go down hill? If so, what is that time period?)

 

[southlake333]

1. I did 1.007 for mine and I think its perfect.
2. A month in the bottle made a huge difference.
3. No clue (not sure if anyone has had it last very long...lol)

 

[oldwhiskers]

1. I like 1.006.
2. Two months really seems to be good with the rough edges smoothed out, my OG is 1.100.
3. Don't know, it just doesn't last very long.

 

[DirtyDawg10]

Tried mine today after sweetening it on Friday morning. It was very good. A lot of flavor.

 

[Dend78]

started my first 3gal batch of pee/dragons blood with an addition of watermelon on friday, followed dave's version aside from I added in extra frozen blueberries and like 1/2lb of fresh watermelon that wasnt going to be eaten, with that small of an amount it probably wont do anything flavor wise, but the aroma slaps you in the face.

started Friday 8/10/2012 - yeast added 8/11/2012 after 24 hours
temp stays about about 70-72*
SG was 1.85ish or 20% ABV (side note here may need a better hydrometer or I need to learn to read it better)

today SG is sitting around 1.80 as its sound like a fresh can of soda

 

[southlake333]

...SG was 1.85ish or 20% ABV (side note here may need a better hydrometer or I need to learn to read it better)...

1.085 is around 11.5% abv so maybe you just need to learn to read it better.

 

[Dend78]

1.085 is around 11.5% abv so maybe you just need to learn to read it better.

I dont doubt that a bit

i just applied my rookie hydrometer calculations to it okay the temp is 75% and its friday so thats an extra 8% right there add the 3 and carry the one bingo 20%

 

[southlake333]

I dont doubt that a bit

i just applied my rookie hydrometer calculations to it okay the temp is 75% and its friday so thats an extra 8% right there add the 3 and carry the one bingo 20%

Lol...nice calculations! Mine are similar to that when counting calories on a diet...

I usually shoot for 1.080 myself so you'll be happy with 1.085. I also ferment at 75%. In a couple weeks you'll have some yummy goodness to enjoy!

 

[Dend78]

I hope my only concern is im like a 3 year old I want to drink it now!!!

 

[roger80465]

Not totally sure which category this belongs in but Dragon's Blood seems to be the closest. I just completed my first batch of SP and was debating how to sweeten. I considered and tried the skeeterita approach but was not very well received. However, the remaining 4+ gallons of pee was mixed with 2 cans of frozen cranberry pomegranate concentrate and was greeted with open enthusiasm. My middle daughter (who really doesn't drink wine of any type) just took the bottle and walked away. My older daughter (also not a wine drinker) grabbed it back and decided it must be shared. Needless to say, it was a hit. While not a clone of Dragon's Blood, it will be my version. Thanks for the inspiration. I may have to start another batch soon in order to have some left for Christmas.

 

[oldwhiskers]

That's the beauty of Skeeter Pee, Lon and DangerDave Have inspired a lot of people with the recipe and variations of the recipe. It all gets people to thinking and experimenting to make variations that have the flavors that they like.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Thanks Dangerdave !
I made my first batch of dragon blood and it smell wonderfull !!
I cant wait till bottling time, I made a skeeter pee several years ago, but decided to try it again as I have alot of people stopping over in 4 weeks or so.
Thanks again Dave !!

will I have to back sweeten ?

 

[tatud4life]

Vacuumpumpman, you will have to back sweeten. I believe Dave's recipe called for 4-5 cups of sugar for back sweetening. I just done mine last Friday. I'm going to sneak a taste this Friday to see how things are going.

 

[CastleWines]

Going to try my first batch, has anyone used a juicer?, I have used a juicer on many of my fruit wines with great success.