Dragon Blood: Triple Berry Skeeter Pee

[ShawnDTurner]

Jv. White zinfidel or white merlot works great

 

[scottvin]

not sure if this has been covered or not but for my yeast nutrient, I used DAP and for yeast energizer, I user Fermaid-K - does that sound correct?

 

[jamesngalveston]

i would top off with a like kind of wine, if there is one.
maybe a berry type of wine, strawberry, etc.
i would not use water, are just juice...i guess you could use strawberry liqueur are a berry vodka.

 

[Tripplett]

I'm getting ready to rack and sweeten my DB, I was wondering what anyone has used to top-up with? I know I'm going to be short and I would like to get some suggestions on what has worked well with other. Thanks for any help.

White Zin is what I used as well. Or, later you can use an earlier batch of DB.

 

[Elmer]

1st batch is bottled and done.
24 bottles.
That means this weekend by the pool I will probably drink a few!

 

[jamesngalveston]

Fantastic elmer...looks really good.
heres something i do so i have my bottles all at the same level, are really close.
I cut a cork in half..then glued it on a small peice of flat plastic.
i insert in all my bottles and mark the bottom of the cork with a marker
when i fill, i fill to that line.
that way there are within a 1/2 gap between wine and cork.
great job elmer.

 

[Elmer]

The last bottle on the right was the absolute bottom of the carboy. I was hoping I only got a 1/2 a bottle so I could have just drank it instead of corking.
I try to fill evenly, but I am doing it manually over my sink and like me, it is far from perfect.
when it is alittle over I keep a glass next to me and fill the glass to even the bottles out.
I then drink what is in the glass!

 

[JetJockey]

Elmer,
Not trying to sell anything, but the All in One Wine pump made by bottling a breeze! All filled to the same exact level and no spills. It made my degassing and racking actually fun as well. Talk to Steve aka. Vacuumpumpman. It the best piece of equipment I've bought for wine making!

 

[Elmer]

Elmer,
Not trying to sell anything, but the All in One Wine pump made by bottling a breeze! All filled to the same exact level and no spills. It made my degassing and racking actually fun as well. Talk to Steve aka. Vacuumpumpman. It the best piece of equipment I've bought for wine making!

I understand and have heard it before.
However, my only 3 hobbies and getting quite expensive: Comicbooks, Golf & Wine.

As It is I have to buy a Winerack to house the 18 gallons I am about to bottle, which is probably going to cost me $100
Not to mention clear wine bottles for the DB, Etc....Etc....

It is tough for me to tell my kids they cant eat this week because daddy needs some new stuff for his wine!
The Pump has to wait!

 

[dangerdave]

It looks perfect, Elmer. Can't beat that true DB color. Let us know how it fairs at pool-side!

 

[jamesngalveston]

I agree with jetjockey....I do not have an allinone wine pump, but I do have a vacuum pump,resivoir,racking filling and filtering system, that I made my self. And Steve, aka Vacuumpumpman gave me pointers on that..
If your going to keep making wine, I would get one from the above, are make one...
If i had to do over, I would have bought one...but i am kinda gadget person , had to try to make my own.
Steve had them on sale, not sure if he still does, contact him.

 

[Hunt]

Well I bottled my first batch last night. I had about 375ml left after all the bottles were filled so I got that nice and cold and drank it right down. Very tasty. I ended up with the equivalent of 28 bottles. I used 6 1500ml bottles. the rest were 750ml. per daves instructions im giving them a week in the bottles before drinking to avoid bottle shock.

 

[wineforfun]

Hunt,
Make sure and save some of it for 2-3 months and you will be amazed at how different/better it tastes then.

 

[Hunt]

Hunt,
Make sure and save some of it for 2-3 months and you will be amazed at how different/better it tastes then.

Yeah I have a few marked so that I don't open them for 3 months 6 months and a year.

 

[dangerdave]

Nice, Hunt!

I gave up bottling all of my DB some time ago. From a six gallon batch, I usually fill 2 or 3 one gallon jugs and put them in the fidge behind the bar for instant cold beverages. The rest gets bottled---a few 1500ml bottles to take to parties, and the rest in 750ml bottles for gifting.

You better get some more going! I'm hoping the 18 gallons I'm just finishing up will get us through the summer!

 

[stevolution]

I'm going to be starting my very first batch of this hopefully tomorrow as long as my fermenter is free.. After hearing about this for some time now and being recommended it by another member..
Just gotta go to the store and grab some sugar and berries. Which brings up my first question. Is it ok to use on 1 lb bags of each fruit instead of the mixed triple berry. ie. 2x 1lb of each berry..

Thnx I'm so excited to start this one and even have a great idea for my labels already, have a friend drawing them up as we speak

 

[JetJockey]

I don't have tons of batches of DB under my belt, but with everyone trying different combinations of fruit, including only blueberries, etc. this recipe is so flexible. There shouldn't be any problem with buying fruit in one # or 3# bags. Just make sure your ratios of ingredients are correct, i.e. 6# fruit is the original recipe, so 3# of fruit is 1/2 recipe ingredients.

Have fun, you'll love it. All of my friends, including non-wine drinkers really enjoy it and ask for more!

 

[stevolution]

Got my fruit and sugar!!! Gonna get started right after dinner..

 

[stevolution]

Ok so I have my first batch of DB in my primary .. Started with a SG of about 1.072. My only concern at this point is I didn't relize I was out of airlocks until after making the batch.. So I covered with the lid and put a paper towel over the airlock hole moistened with easy clean.. If there is a better way please let me know. I will be try ping to pick up another airlock tomorrow as long as someone is open. If not will this be ok until Saturday? Also when squeezing the fruit bag how hard should I be squeezing ?

 

[Tess]

this was my first wine. I thought I would never make another batch and that most of Ya'll who said it was wonderful were out of your minds!! Im not a raspberry anything fan , unless it covered in chocolate. I cracked open a bottle the other night. Its been in the bottle for a few months now. What a difference. I now fully understand why ageing anything is the way to go. The other fruits are beginning to come forward and its not so raspberrish!! Yuk!! I will be making this again!!! Im really pleased with the outcome of this light wine!! Live and Learn!!