Winter Versions of Skeeter Pee and Dragon Blood

[Vertumnus]

Hey, so I hear a lot of talk about how these quickly made wines are perfect for warm weather drinking (and boy are they right! ). I was wondering though, about what would be some good wines/recipes/variations of the same quick type that would be perfect for old man Winter and the cold season. Reason I ask is that I have a friend's wedding coming up in December and I'd like to make something cheap and easy to make in large batches that will not only be ready in time, but will also have some time to age a couple months for perfect drinking.

 

[GreginND]

Hmm, good question. How about making one with apple juice and spice it up with cinnamon and cloves. You could even serve it a little warm like a mulled cider. Or cranberry for the holidays - you could also spice that too if you think it would go well together.

 

[Vertumnus]

Those sound delicious! Would you recommend using frozen apples or cranberries in the same manner as one would with Dragon blood i.e. 6-?lbs of the fruit per 6 gallons?

 

[GreginND]

For cranberry, I would use fresh or frozen. Probably can't get fresh ones this time of year. I usually buy a bunch around the holidays and freeze them.

For apple I think I would try frozen concentrate. You will probably want to use more because apple flavor can be a little thin. Maybe cut back a little on the citrus juice too for this one. You can always back sweeten with frozen apple juice concentrate as well to boos the flavor.

 

[Vertumnus]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I've read somewhere in the Dragon Blood thread that 20-24 cans of concentrate should be used to have the same effect as the 6lbs of fruit, that sound about right?

 

[GreginND]

That seems like a lot. But I don't know. I've personally haven't tried using concentrates for Dragon's Blood. I hope someone with more direct experience will weigh in.

 

[fabrictodyefor]

I make a great blackberry/frozen grape juice concentrate Dragon's Blood. I do not back sweeten it....it is more like a dry red and those that have tried it like it the best. I would be glad to pm you the recipe as I am making this for the unofficial Dragons' Blood variation contest and would just as soon keep this recipe to myself, kind of sort of, until after the contest! It is still a fast one, but probably closer to 10 weeks....

 

[Vertumnus]

So I've been thinking on this for a while and I think I've settled on doing an apple/pear style DB, maybe 6lbs of each fruit. Brown sugar, from the little reading I've done, would also do much to punch up the flavor, so I may just replace it outright or do a 50/50 blend with white sugar. And maybe even some cinnamon, though I've never experimented yet with adding spices to ferments. I'm still debating whether or not to keep the lemon in it, I think 32 oz would be good for a nice zest.

If anyone with some expertise in the matter sees this, are there any changes to the recipe I should be aware of to accommodate the different fruit? Does brown sugar present different issues in a ferment?

 

[petey]

I use lime with my cranberries. It's a big hit! The cranberries do take a while to macerate. I use 10+ # of berries and 30oz of lime juice.. Same recipe, you'll love it

 

[joshs]

I use lime with my cranberries. It's a big hit! The cranberries do take a while to macerate. I use 10+ # of berries and 30oz of lime juice.. Same recipe, you'll love it

Do you omit the 3 bottles of 32 oz 100% lemon juice or add the lime juice in addition to the original lemon juice?

Sounds great!

-Josh

 

[knifemaker]

I added four cans of frozen cranberry juice cocktail, to backsweeten, and flavor a batch of skeeter pee. I only used a 32 oz bottle of lemon juice as the cranberry adds tartness of its own. I really like it. this was a five gallon batch. Dale.