Dandelion Wine Oversteeped

[Cass2711]

Hi All,

I'm brewing my first ever batch of wine - found a good recipe for dandelions so thought I would use it.
Only problem is I did something very stupid - the recipe called for the petals to steep for three days before boiling, but life got hectic and...well...it was 5 days before I began to brew!
I'm just at the stage now where I'm about to add the yeast, lemons, oranges and raisins (sugar already in). The mix is giving off a strong vinegar smell, mixed with a sweet musty tinge.
Should I just bin the concoction? Have I doomed this batch with potentially toxic bacteria?
I was so excited to brew my first batch too. I spent the best part of a lifetime collecting and freezing petals! Can't believe I've messed it up so quickly!

 

[Rice_Guy]

If it smells like vinegar I would toss it.
The recipe I started with has one strip petals and heat inactivate with boiling water, no ambient temp steeping with sugar.
yes, it takes a lifetime,
my procedure is to 1) strip petals into a cottage cheese carton 2) add a teaspoon of water, cover with a saucer, and microwave for a minute (ie pasteurized) 3) store in the fridge till I have enough for a batch of wine.

This is stable since pasteurized and can be frozen.

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Cass2711, and welcome.
I have yet to make a dandelion wine (hoping this year to break my maiden over (as they say in cricket) ) but the classic British home wine maker - CJJ Berry writes in his 130 New Wine Making Recipes (first published 1985) that you should not steep dandelions for more than 3 days otherwise..."the wine will have a foul bouquet". and that sounds a lot like this is what you are experiencing. Now, if the issue is bacteria or mold then I would think that if you simply added a campden tablet (K-meta) that would be enough to kill any unwanted fungi or bacteria or yeast. If the foul aroma is caused by something else in the flowers then the Campden won't help.

 

[Rice_Guy]

A food science answer:
@BernardSmith is correct that adding campden (metabisulphite) combined with decreasing pH to 3.5 or less combined with alcohol will kill most contaminating organisms.
However, metabisulphite will not remove any food poisoning chemicals which MAY have been produced in the five days which it has been sitting. What is the risk? we have classes of organisms as salmonella, listeria, coliform, staphylococcus or mold which grow at pH above 4.0 and with no alcohol and with oxygen and with sugar. You have provided the required conditions where they may grow. With sugar and dandelion you have low nutrient content so any growth is limited. Ok,, of these the molds and staph have enough pathways that some of them to produce toxins which could make you sick. Your reaction to toxins is dose related and you won’t drink a whole gallon in one sitting so risk of a mild stomach ache is low. An estimate of risk is 1 out of 1,000,000 chance that it makes you sick. The other families of organisms cause intestinal infections and killing them by making wine removes the risk. The really bad deadly organism is Botulism which requires high pH with anaerobic conditions, you had oxygen so there is no risk of botulinum. CONCLUSION ,,, it shouldn’t kill you.

Flavor, if the flavor has deteriorated at the start of fermentation this will carry into the finished wine. ,,,,,, Did you like the taste?

The rules which factories have to follow would not let me do this fermentation commercially

 

[Cass2711]

Thanks all - I chucked the batch. Better to be safe than sorry! Ah well, there's plenty more dandelions to pick!

 

[Rice_Guy]

My wife will let you have some of ours if you need more, ,,, after all it seems to be only a two week heavy flower season.

... Ah well, there's plenty more dandelions to pick!