Dragon Blood in 15 days!!!

[11C_Recon]

Isn't that lovely! And where did you get the cool hugging monkey bottle?

http://www.ourniche.com/wine/Affentaler-Pinot-Noir/

Funny, I have a batch of DB in a couple of these bottles as well. They make a Riesling too. I used to be able to get them from a Military Post Exchange.

 

[jamesngalveston]

good link, thanks.....now if you ever see one with a hummingbird are a goose, let me know.

 

[wineforfun]

Will post back more in a month or two on my DB Choco-Lime. I took the regular DB recipe(using extra fruit) and used lime juice instead of lemon juice. Once done fermenting, clearing and backsweetened, I added 3 oz. 85% dark chocolate pieces to a 1 gal. carboy of it. It has been in there for four weeks now and I will be bottling it this weekend. I took a sip the other night and I think it has high hopes. Berry flavor with a hint of chocolate. Didn't take a very big sip so am curious how it will be in a glass.
Thanks to Julie and Dan for the help on the chocolate addition.

 

[Jericurl]

Dragon Piss

Or....er...something along those lines.

I cook, bake, and make soap. I have discovered that it is almost fundamentally impossible for me to follow a recipe without changing, tweaking, adding, subbing, leaving out, or replacing something.
I really had every intention of making dragon blood as is, absolutely no changes.
But.....then my right brain stepped in and took over. Here is what I ended up with:

1 bottle (48 oz) 100% Lemon Juice
1 11.5 fl oz can of frozen grape juice concentrate
water to about 5 gallons (then more added to bring to 6 gallons after adding everything)
20 cups sugar
1 tsp tannin
4 tsp yeast nutrient
4 tsp pectic enzyme
3 lbs mixed berries frozen fruit
4 lbs prickly pear fruit
10 lime leaves, torn in half
6 campden tablets
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

SG punched out at 1.090.

I managed to stop myself when I went outside to harvest some peppers and tomatoes from the garden. I was eyeing the mint, lemon thyme, lavender, rosemary, and basil and thinking..yeah...I could add that.
Luckily the voice of reason finally stepped in and said stop!
So...this may or may not turn out.
If this doesn't turn out, I know I can duplicate this mix for future "virgin party drinks," since this tastes awesome.

Oh, eta:
Just as a bonus brag, I just unmolded a few soaps. The 2nd pic were my favorites. The scent is a blend I made from vanilla, oak, lemongrass, and ginger. I am seriously considering figuring out a wine that contains these elements. It smells absolutely divine

 

[jamesngalveston]

I think you are very light on the fruit part, i would imagine that 1 teaspoon of the extracts will do nothing with 6 gallons of water.
the prickly pear and mixed berries sounds pretty good....i would add another bag of mixed berries before it starts a really good ferment.
just saying.....

 

[Jericurl]

I've got 24 hours to sit out, waiting on the campden. I can definitely add more fruit during that time frame. I won't be adding yeast till tomorrow afternoon.
I didn't want to overdue the extracts....maybe I will add a little more tonight and let it all marinate. I want it to just have a hint of the vanilla and almond, not anything that will overpower. I can taste it in the bucket now (but then again, cilantro tastes like dirty dishwater to me) so I was going a little easy.

 

[Jericurl]

James, how much more fruit would you add?

 

[dangerdave]

I only use the normal six pounds of fruit for my award winning Dragon Blood. It turns out great every time! Some other folks use more fruit, I know, but I usually stick to the original recipe. I have to admit, I have no idea what prickly pears taste like, so I don't know how much flavor they will lend to your wine. I think if you added another 3lbs of berries, you wouldn't taste the prickly pear, or the extracts you added. The vanilla and almond extracts sound like a great idea by the way!

I did notice that you added your fruit directly to the fermenter (not in a bag). I have always believed that squeezing the fruit daily has a big effect on the outcome of the DB recipe. If it turns out light on fruit flavor, that may have something to do with it. I am very interested in your potential results with this one. Please keep us posted.

"Dragon Piss" Funny!

 

[hawk022499]

We'll, I'm into my 12th day on my 1st try at DB (my second attempt ever at wine making.) I came home from the firehouse this morning and my DB looks pretty darn clear. I posted a few pics in the "recipe" section.

One thing I did notice. My 6gal carboys have the ribs in them. My DB looked really clear, but a bit darker than others as noted on other thread. But, when I grasped the carboy on each side and gave it a quick back and forth about a 1/4" each way a few times (not enough to disturb lees at bottom but enough to create a sort of vibration) fine lees started falling straight down the sides from the horizontal ribs that you really couldn't see just sitting there. None of the bottom sediment moved. This stuff fell pretty quickly so I should be able to do this a few more times today and rack tomorrow.

Left in place this unseen sediment may create cloudiness when racking for back sweetening. So I would suggest maybe the same to others who don't use/have filtration. Might save time in the long run getting it all out in one step instead of waiting several days after racking for clearing of the hidden/unseen fine sediment now suspended in the wine again.

Just a thought from a new guy.

Thanks for all your posts, tips, and suggestions to help us new to this...

 

[jamesngalveston]

as Dave stated, I did notice that you added your fruit directly to the fermenter (not in a bag). I have always believed that squeezing the fruit daily has a big effect on the outcome of the DB recipe.
Since you will not be able to squeeze the fruit, are get all the flavor out,
I would add more of each fruit, maybe a bag of berry and about 4 lbs more
of the tunas.

 

[Jericurl]

I added another two lbs of strawberries. I also poured the whole mess into another ferment bucket with a paint strainer in it.
Lifted it out and squeezed it until my hand cramped up. Then I tied the top of the bag into a knot and tossed it back into the bucket. S.G. already worked it's way down to 1.030. Yeast is absolutely going mad. I think the pouring managed to add in some oxygen and made it super, super happy.
Juice is really dark, thick looking, and is still delicious. I added a little more lemon juice.
I'm pretty excited about this one. I think it's going to be a winner.

 

[jamesngalveston]

good for you....learning is all ways awkward...u will get there.

 

[Jericurl]

Down to 1.010.

I just realized that I don't have any Potassium Sorbate. If I move this to my secondary today, let it go completely dry, and don't backsweeten until it's not dropping anymore lees at all, will not adding any potassium sorbate matter?

 

[dangerdave]

Now you're looking good, Jericurl!

As to the sorbate, my sources say:

"Potassium sorbate, a widely used food preservative, is added in small quantities to sweet or semi-sweet wines to prevent further sugar fermentation. It is the only practical way for the home winemaker to guarantee that fermentation will not restart in the bottle.

For many years winemakers successfully produced sweet wines without it, and some still do. No one says you can't make sweet wine without sorbate, they only say it is riskier. To reduce this risk you can:

• Use a yeast with low alcohol tolerance.
• Make sure there is no yeast activity in any sweet reserve you add.
• Rack the wine very carefully and filter with as fine a filter as you can.
• Store the wine in very cool conditions.
• Pray—and drink the rest of the wine up fast if you begin to notice a spritz."

If you don't use any sorbate, it's a coin toss as to whether fermentation will restart in the bottle. It's up to you. Feeling risque? Bottle and pray! More safely conscious? Order some sorbate. It's not very expensive.

 

[LoneStarLori]

I thought I read on one of these posts that there is a newer version of the DB than the one posted on the first page. I skipped to most of the pages and can't find one. Am I delusional and just imagined it?

I think I want to try a batch but not sure what it really is. Can someone explain what it tastes like? Is it real sweet or anything like a wine cooler?
Thanks, Lori

 

[jamesngalveston]

I dont know what your starting sg was, but if it was enough for you to have at least 12 percent abv, and its ferment completely dry, and you have racked enough to where there is 0 lees...you dont have to add sorbate.
I rarely use it any more.

 

[ckvchestnut]

Hey all I'm racking mine to the secondary tonight! Getting excited! I posted my first stab at a DB label for it on the labels thread, would love to hear what you think!

 

[dangerdave]

I thought I read on one of these posts that there is a newer version of the DB than the one posted on the first page. I skipped to most of the pages and can't find one. Am I delusional and just imagined it?

I think I want to try a batch but not sure what it really is. Can someone explain what it tastes like? Is it real sweet or anything like a wine cooler?
Thanks, Lori

The newest version of the pdf file containing the DB recipe is attached below, Lori.

As for what it is: I began my wine making in July 2011. First, I made a kit to get my feet wet. Then, I jumped out on my own. That August, the first two batches of wine I made were based on Lon DePope's Skeeter Pee Recipe. One was original lemon, but with the other, I took a chance. I dumped six pounds of some wonderful berries---that I found in the freezer section at Walmart---into the must. I fermented to dry. Cleared with Sparkolloid, then sweetened to taste.

This is a picture of that first batch after it cleared...

Over time---tweaking the recipe a little---I reduced the lemon juice to 48oz, skipped the second doses of energizer and nutrient that Lon called for in his Skeeter Pee, and placed the fruit into a bag so that it could be squeezed daily for better extraction (I call that the Presser Method).

If you make it like I do (in the recipe), it will taste like a berry sweet tart. Following bottling, the tartness receeds over time, while the berry favor comes forward. I designed this recipe to make cheap delicious wine to drink while my "good stuff" ages. Since sharing my recipe with others on this site, folks have made numerous amazing variations.

I hope you get a chance to try it, Lori. Good luck. Questions are welcomed. Keep us posted on your progress. We never tire of DB stories.

Don't forget the pics!

View attachment Wine_Made_Easy 2.0.pdf

 

[Jericurl]

Ok. I'll rack into my secondary as normal. At some point I'll order some sorbate (next time I put in an order...which, lets be honest, won't be long), and then treat my wine the next time I rack. I'll backsweeten at that time.

I don't like adding a bunch of stuff if it isn't necessary, but I'm guessing if I like my wine on the sweeter side, I'd better get used to the sorbate.

eta:
James, my starting was 1.090

 

[Jericurl]

Prickly pear wine on the left, Dragon's...whatever on the right.