Looking great everyone! Don't worry about the extra lemon juice, Hawk. If it's not right for you, reduced it in your next batch. But I think you'll like it fine.
As to the color being darker: It has been my experience that the citric acid in the lemon juice has a profound extraction effect on the skins and pulp of the fruit used. This is the main reason, I think, that we can make a nice fruity batch of wine from a mere six pounds of fruit. After dozens of batches and numerous attempts to improve the recipe, I am yet---for my taste---to improve any on the original recipe except for cutting the lemon juice by half.
Recently, I have tried a batch without the brew belt, allowing the must to ferment at room temperature (in my basement, that is about 68F). The DB, which was racked from primary to carboy yesterday, is much lighter in hue that any I have ever made. Usually, my DB ferments at temps approaching 90F at the peak of fermentation under brew belt. This higher temp may also contribute to positive extraction from the skins. In addition, I have always taken my frozen fruit and microwaved it to thaw before placing it in the bag and dumping the extra juice and bag into the fermenter. This time, I dumped the frozen fruit into it's mesh bag and placed it in the must to thaw on it's own overnight, before pitching the yeast. Now I am reading about how beneficial microwaving your must can be in wine making. After this experience, I am going back to microwaving my fruit and jacking up the fermentation temp on my DB. The EC-1118 can tolerate the higher temp, and both factors seem to positively effect the outcome of the wine.
Always experimenting. Always learning. Sometimes, I learn new things. Other times, I affirm what I already knew.
![[Upgraded] 9Pcs Tree Root Growing Box with Drain Holes, Half Transparent Plant Rooting Propagation Ball & Metal Core Twist Ties, for Fast Propagation Plants (Size M)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/514MWQxtWOL._SL500_.jpg)
