DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

SwampDog35 said:

So let me get this right, You don't have to snap down the lid during the "Primary Fermentation Time"? Only after you put everything into the Secondary?

I've put the lid over the bucket with a towel draped over it. Is this okay?

Thanks

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I never seal the primary bucket with the lid. I use a large tea towel and put a bungee cord around the bucket to hold it snugly down. I have pesky fruit flies in the summer (though they are already making an appearance), along with cats that occasionally get in my brew room so I like to make sure the towel is going to stay in place.

Late to the Bandwagon but...

Dragon Blood is fantastic! Yes, I know you are all scratching your heads and wondering what took me so long Yes I am going to start another batch soon as everyone as suggested . Has dangerdave been given guru status or its equivalent?

CheerfulHeart said:

Dragon Blood is fantastic! Yes, I know you are all scratching your heads and wondering what took me so long Yes I am going to start another batch soon as everyone as suggested . Has dangerdave been given guru status or its equivalent?

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Well I don't know about guru status but, Danger Dave is certainly held in very high regard.

Will

Just wanted to say hi to everyone since it has been pretty quiet in the thread lately. For the first time in a long time, I don't have any Dragon Blood fermenting or clearing! I figured it was time to clean up and clear out the wine cellar before I make any more.

I found a few bottles of DB that are coming up on a year old...I think it is time to do a taste comparison to see how they have aged! I think Dave himself prefers his under 6 months old so it will be interesting to see what I and a couple (impartial...lol) testers have to say.

Anyway, I hope everyone is making great wine!

I'm fixing to start a batch of Dave's Sweet Strawberry Tart. Any input from anyone who has made it would be awesome. I've heard it has had clearing problems with some people. Also does everyone really add all of the lemon juice? It seems like a lot. I'm gonna throw it all in the fermenter this week.

Val-the-Brew-Gal said:

Just wanted to say hi to everyone since it has been pretty quiet in the thread lately. For the first time in a long time, I don't have any Dragon Blood fermenting or clearing! I figured it was time to clean up and clear out the wine cellar before I make any more.

I found a few bottles of DB that are coming up on a year old...I think it is time to do a taste comparison to see how they have aged! I think Dave himself prefers his under 6 months old so it will be interesting to see what I and a couple (impartial...lol) testers have to say.

Anyway, I hope everyone is making great wine!

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Curious to see what you think of the year old DB.

I have tried numerous ones anywhere from 9mos. to 1 yr.
For me, they are no better than the 3-4 mo. mark.

Val-the-Brew-Gal said:

Just wanted to say hi to everyone since it has been pretty quiet in the thread lately. For the first time in a long time, I don't have any Dragon Blood fermenting or clearing! I figured it was time to clean up and clear out the wine cellar before I make any more.

I found a few bottles of DB that are coming up on a year old...I think it is time to do a taste comparison to see how they have aged! I think Dave himself prefers his under 6 months old so it will be interesting to see what I and a couple (impartial...lol) testers have to say.

Anyway, I hope everyone is making great wine!

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We tasted a bottle of Original recipe last summer that was 9 months old and were disappointed. We are of the belief that, Dave's 6 Month time table is right on for us.

Will

wineforfun said:

Curious to see what you think of the year old DB.

I have tried numerous ones anywhere from 9mos. to 1 yr.
For me, they are no better than the 3-4 mo. mark.

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No better, but no worse? I know some people feel that the taste notes actually deteriorate (I think Dave feels it gets a spicy undertone that he doesn't care for).

JSquared said:

I'm fixing to start a batch of Dave's Sweet Strawberry Tart. Any input from anyone who has made it would be awesome. I've heard it has had clearing problems with some people. Also does everyone really add all of the lemon juice? It seems like a lot. I'm gonna throw it all in the fermenter this week.

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When I made mine, I used a product called Lallzyme C-Max (which is a super concentrated pectic enzyme....you use about a 1/16th of a teaspoon in a 6 gallon batch) and it cleared within the normal DB time table. I followed the recipe exactly including all of the lemon juice...I think Dave says that gives it the tart part of the Sweet Strawberry Tart.

Val-the-Brew-Gal said:

No better, but no worse? I know some people feel that the taste notes actually deteriorate (I think Dave feels it gets a spicy undertone that he doesn't care for).

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Yeah, I have had some that I noticed no difference at all and then I have had some that I felt went "flat" and actually lost some flavor.

I made a version of Jericurl's Christmas DB which I will hold on to some for a year. Curious to see how it tastes. It used numerous spices, anise and was put together a little different than the traditional DB.

I haven't and probably won't make any DB for awhile as I have other things fermenting and I don't drink it fast enough(within that 3-6 month window), plus I still have 10+ bottles on my racks.

wineforfun said:

Yeah, I have had some that I noticed no difference at all and then I have had some that I felt went "flat" and actually lost some flavor.



I made a version of Jericurl's Christmas DB which I will hold on to some for a year. Curious to see how it tastes. It used numerous spices, anise and was put together a little different than the traditional DB.



I haven't and probably won't make any DB for awhile as I have other things fermenting and I don't drink it fast enough(within that 3-6 month window), plus I still have 10+ bottles on my racks.

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I'm very interested in you Christmas variant! Have you tried it yet or are you waiting until Christmas? I would like to hear what you did, I've been thinking about doing a spiced Christmas wine.

JSquared said:

I'm very interested in you Christmas variant! Have you tried it yet or are you waiting until Christmas? I would like to hear what you did, I've been thinking about doing a spiced Christmas wine.

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Already did it and it is awesome. I bottled it February 28, 2015.
It has that fruit flavor with a nice hint of spice/anise. I actually added some anise seeds into my 1 gal. carboys and let them sit for two weeks, in addition to what was used in the recipe.
I couldn't find licorice root so I used star of anise. This drops alot of sediment so make sure and use a mesh bag.
I am not sure if this was a 5 or 6 gal. recipe. I think it is for 6 gal. You make pm her.

Here is the recipe. I hope Jeri doesn't mind. If so, I apologize. Make sure and give her kudos on it. It is a good one.

CHRISTMAS 2013 WINE

3 LB TRIPLE BERRY BLEND (RASP, BLUEBERRIES,BLACKBERRIES)
5 LB MIXED FRUIT BLEND (PEACHES,STRAWBERRIES,CANTALOUPE,PINEAPPLE AND GRAPES)
1 LB FIGS
2 BANANAS
1 LB DARK RAISINS
3 CLOVES
2 LICORICE ROOT STICKS, BROKEN
1 40 OZ LEMON JUICE
2 11 OZ CANS OF WHITE GRAPE CONCENTRATE
1 T TANNIN
4 tsp. yeast nutrient (stir)
2 tsp. yeast energizer (stir)
3 tsp. pectic enzyme (stir)
SUGAR TO SG OF 1.09
BOIL 1 GALLON OF WATER WITH BANANAS, RAISINS, CLOVES, LICORICE ROOT.
pasteur champagne yeast

wineforfun said:

Yeah, I have had some that I noticed no difference at all and then I have had some that I felt went "flat" and actually lost some flavor.

I made a version of Jericurl's Christmas DB which I will hold on to some for a year. Curious to see how it tastes. It used numerous spices, anise and was put together a little different than the traditional DB.

I haven't and probably won't make any DB for awhile as I have other things fermenting and I don't drink it fast enough(within that 3-6 month window), plus I still have 10+ bottles on my racks.

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I made the Christmas version too and really, really liked it but I have some left over as well so I am hoping it still tastes good next fall/winter.

Thanks for the input on how your DB's have held up. I too am making some other wines right now that I know will age better since I am not drinking them up fast enough. But the summer is young....lol.

Val-the-Brew-Gal said:

I made the Christmas version too and really, really liked it but I have some left over as well so I am hoping it still tastes good next fall/winter.

Thanks for the input on how your DB's have held up. I too am making some other wines right now that I know will age better since I am not drinking them up fast enough. But the summer is young....lol.

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As I have mentioned before last year our Christmas wine was Blue Blood, 100 per cent blue berry wine. It was a favorite with friends and relatives. It didn't last longer than a month or two.
Next up another 6 gal. Batch of Danger Dave's Sweet Strawberry Tart. Now this stuff really does not last long. LOL Oh boy this summer might be great if it ever stops raining.

Will

willie said:

As I have mentioned before last year our Christmas wine was Blue Blood, 100 per cent blue berry wine. It was a favorite with friends and relatives. It didn't last longer than a month or two.

Next up another 6 gal. Batch of Danger Dave's Sweet Strawberry Tart. Now this stuff really does not last long. LOL Oh boy this summer might be great if it ever stops raining.



Will

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When you say Blue Blood, did you use the Dragon Blood recipe and only use blueberries? I have 6 blueberry bushes so blueberries are free! I tried a non DB blueberry recipe and it took forever to ferment and I never could get it to ferment dry. I was wondering how this one turned out. I have blueberries in the freezer and on the vine. And we would welcome some rain to cool us down. We have been under a heat advisory since Monday with temps in the triple digits next week!

JSquared said:

When you say Blue Blood, did you use the Dragon Blood recipe and only use blueberries? I have 6 blueberry bushes so blueberries are free! I tried a non DB blueberry recipe and it took forever to ferment and I never could get it to ferment dry. I was wondering how this one turned out. I have blueberries in the freezer and on the vine. And we would welcome some rain to cool us down. We have been under a heat advisory since Monday with temps in the triple digits next week!

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I am sure that is what they used as DB can be made with any berry or melon.

The christmas version a completely different tasting DB. It really only carries the DB name with it since it is based off of that.

I made a batch with blueberries that will be bottled tomorrow. I used a combination of the Dragon blood recipe/technique and Skeeter Pee. I bagged 5 pounds of frozen blueberries in nylon and followed the daily steps of temp/gravity/squeeze/stir and she fermented dry in one week. Mama enjoyed her daily glass of the mixture from the hydrometer tube, even though it got progressively dryer each day. After racking and allowing to clear for.another week, I racked it, back sweetened with 5 cups of sugar and reracked it into the carboy to sit for another week. Mama made me fill a couple bottles for her to enjoy this past week and enjoy she did. I found this to be a simple, tasty beverage that is pretty much ready to drink within about 3 weeks. Thanks for the help.

Dave's Sweet Strawberry Tart Recipe

I have spent a lot of time searching here for Dave's Sweet Strawberry Tart recipe without success. Would someone please point me to it.

Mountainjack said:

I have spent a lot of time searching here for Dave's Sweet Strawberry Tart recipe without success. Would someone please point me to it.

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This is the 15th result when searching Sweet Strawberry Tart in the search box at the top....

wineinmd said:

This is the 15th result when searching Sweet Strawberry Tart in the search box at the top....

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Thanks