Dragon Blood in 15 days!!!

[oldwhiskers]

Keep us up to date.

 

[southlake333]

I'm about to stir up a variation on the Dragon Blood without lemon juice. Just berries (in a bag), sugar, and water. I'm going to bump the fruit up to 12 pounds in two bags, I think. This was my wife's request. The acid level has been getting to her a bit.

Glad to hear you're going to try this. I was going to as well but my carboys will all be full for another 6 weeks. Let us know how it turns out.

One suggestion...as I thought about this recipe I considered how much fruit is normally used in a wine vs how much is used in the skeeter pee variations. I think in order to get enough body with a correct flavor, the fruit should be increased to 3 lbs per gallon (so 18lbs rather than 12). I think part of the reason we are able to do a light bodied berry pee with such a small amount of fruit is because the lemon lends itself towards a light body. But I think removing the lemon would cause a need for alot more fruit to produce a correctly flavored wine.

Beyond that, acid/ph will definitely need to be tested. Good luck!

 

[Dend78]

I think in order to get enough body with a correct flavor...

what if one were to use bananas to get the body? it would require some tinkering but you could swap out body from one source to another and have less acid to deal with and it may help it clear quicker as well. maybe not but its a thought

 

[smack]

I'm about to stir up a variation on the Dragon Blood without lemon juice. Just berries (in a bag), sugar, and water. I'm going to bump the fruit up to 12 pounds in two bags, I think. This was my wife's request. The acid level has been getting to her a bit.

so without the lemon juice i'm not sure its a variation dragon blood. you're making a wine from mixed berries. i'm not sure but i think that's a blush, right? i'm making one now from 5 lbs frozen blackberries, 1.5 lbs frozen raspberries, and 5 lbs japanese plums. they are pretty tart so i think they will take the place of the lemon juice well.

 

[southlake333]

so without the lemon juice i'm not sure its a variation dragon blood. you're making a wine from mixed berries. i'm not sure but i think that's a blush, right? i'm making one now from 5 lbs frozen blackberries, 1.5 lbs frozen raspberries, and 5 lbs japanese plums. they are pretty tart so i think they will take the place of the lemon juice well.

Well, Dave came up with Dragon's Blood so to him its just another variation (which he can give another name). But yes, it would be a mixed berry wine. Depending on how many pounds of berries you add, it could end up a blush, but more likely a deep red. My Tinkleberry is a dark blush using 1 lb of fruit per gallon. Tripling the fruit should make the end result much darker.

Speaking of which, Dave, we need a new thread with pics!

Let us know how your recipe turns out Smack, sounds yummy.

 

[FlashJT]

So I started by first batch of Dragon Blood a couple weeks ago, racked to the carboy last Tuesday with the addition of k-meta, sorbate, and bentonite. I racked again this Monday because I'm going to be out of town this week and I'm trying to have this batch ready to go by the time I go on a sailing trip next weekend.

It's definitely cleared a lot since racking to the carboy, but it looks like it's still got a ways to go. My main concern is that there seems to be a bunch of little "berry bits" still suspended in the wine too, and these don't seem to be in any hurry to fall out. I'm assuming maybe I squeezed the berry bag too much or too hard to get these "berry bits" in the wine? Has anyone else experienced this? Do these eventually fall out or am I going to have to filter somehow? These bits fit through my mesh bag pretty easily, so maybe something like pantyhose?

Sorry for all the questions. Normally I'd just be patient and let things work out over a few months, but given the rushed nature of this batch I'm trying to see what shortcuts are available to get this batch ready for the sailing trip.

 

[southlake333]

You can bottle and drink it even if it isn't totally clear as long as you don't mind that. You could also try adding sparkolloid to help in clearing. Is the trip over labor day weekend (meaning in just a couple days)? If so, don't add any additional clearing agents as they won't have time to drop out. Instead, just bottle and go. Better yet, bottle in 1 gallon jugs and treat it like hooch.

 

[nick5429]

So ... it doesn't sound like anyone's had a problem with it after reading through most of this thread, but in starting my first batch of Dragon Blood it kinda rubbed me the wrong way dropping all that un-sanitized fruit into the must.

Is using un-sanitized ingredients in fruit wines typical?

As an educational experience, if one wanted to sanitize the fruit, what would be the best way?
Boil it? Seems like that would alter the flavor...
Add some KMeta on the first day and pitch on the 2nd day like normal, since we're waiting a day anyway to drive off preservatives?

I mixed up my must about 6 hours ago; I suppose there's still time for the latter if it's going to bother me... Any input?

 

[dangerdave]

I'm not exactly sure how the frozen fruit industry works (I'd have to do some research), but I'd resume in order to pass with the FDA, the fruit would have to undergo some kind of santization and/or decontamination. If you're concerned, do it your way. It sounds to me that you know what you are doing.

The best of luck to you!

 

[smack]

So ... it doesn't sound like anyone's had a problem with it after reading through most of this thread, but in starting my first batch of Dragon Blood it kinda rubbed me the wrong way dropping all that un-sanitized fruit into the must.

Is using un-sanitized ingredients in fruit wines typical?

As an educational experience, if one wanted to sanitize the fruit, what would be the best way?
Boil it? Seems like that would alter the flavor...
Add some KMeta on the first day and pitch on the 2nd day like normal, since we're waiting a day anyway to drive off preservatives?

I mixed up my must about 6 hours ago; I suppose there's still time for the latter if it's going to bother me... Any input?

In answer to your question, quite often when making fruit wine, you do just as you've suggested, hit it with some k meta, wait a day, then pitch yeast. With skeeter pee and variations like dragon blood, I'd venture a guess that the acidity of lemon juice is sufficient for killing off those unwanted nasties. Just a guess.

 

[twistedvine]

following

 

[dangerdave]

In answer to your question, quite often when making fruit wine, you do just as you've suggested, hit it with some k meta, wait a day, then pitch yeast. With skeeter pee and variations like dragon blood, I'd venture a guess that the acidity of lemon juice is sufficient for killing off those unwanted nasties. Just a guess.

I completely agree.

 

[nate0001]

Man. Having problems on new strawberry rhubarb variant. Forgot to add bentonite.

Very few bubbles come out when trying to degas further.
Added more pectic enzyme.

Still nothing. Any idea what else I could try? It's been a few weeks already.

 

[kevinlfifer]

Are there any posts on a Strawberry addition/variation to SP. I can only find a Strawberry wine recipe. I have about 20 lbs of frozen strawberries to get out of the freezer before my wife flips out (again)

 

[tatud4life]

From what I can tell, just thaw them out, put them in a strainer sack, and throw them in the primary. I guess you could use the dragon's blood recipe and just substitute the strawberries for the other berries.

 

[smack]

From what I can tell, just thaw them out, put them in a strainer sack, and throw them in the primary. I guess you could use the dragon's blood recipe and just substitute the strawberries for the other berries.

exactly

 

[southlake333]

FYI, for anyone that does not plan to drink the 15 day recipe within a month, this is what will happen.

I pitched the yeast on 6/11, bottled on 6/26 and now a little over 2 months later my bottles have that much sediment.

 

[tatud4life]

I wonder what it is! You would think that all the sediment would've settled out after fermentation and clearing has finished.

 

[southlake333]

It is most likely yeast but the important thing to note is that visibly clear doesn't mean it is fully clear. This is why people bulk age wine for months and months (which I am now going to start doing even with skeeter recipes).

 

[DirtyDawg10]

That stinks! Mine ended up just under a month from pitching the yeast to bottling. No sediment in mine still. Mine cleared after the 15days but I didn't have time to bottle it until later. One thing that may be an issue is I try to rack the wine off the sediment once it clears and let it sit another week or so before bottling. If you try to bottle with the sediment still in the carboy it is very easy to stir up the sediment and end up bottling some.