Dandelion wine

[Ang]

May 17, 2016 I started a gallon batch of dandelion wine.
May 23 I racked to secondary at SG 1.080. The 1/2gal jugs had almost 2" head space and now I have what appears to be a ring of pollen inside my secondary jugs. I will be racking them this weekend so it can clear longer. I have heard of a "veil of Flor" in making sherry. I used EC1118 and original Gravity was 1.148, after some unexpected help from my 4yr old.
My question is: is it pollen, Flor or rot? This is my first experience with flower wine and never made such a sweet must before.

 

[dorfie]

after a month i am thinking your wine is not yet clear right? it's likely just lees or sediment from the flowers that is floating.
However if you are really concerened and it is growing/discoloring or making an off flavor or smell you could rack it after taking a sanitized utensil to scoop the stuff off the top, then just cleaned really well and campdened the wine, seemed to work.
I seem to remember this with my dandelion last year, but don't have my notes handy.

 

[Ang]

Almost two months now. I haven't broken the airlock so I'll make note of it and see when I rack it what SG/ ABV and character it has. I'm hoping its normal, looking forward to enjoying the famous Dandelion Wine I've always heard of but never tried!

 

[BernardSmith]

Don't forget that dandelions are a diuretic - They make you pee...

 

[Ang]

Is it worse than coffee or beer? I just want it to be worth the effort to make!

 

[BernardSmith]

I would not be overly concerned. Dandelion wine can be quite delicious. No question. There is a long folk history of dandelion wine.
As for beer: Well, as they say in Scotland, When you drink beer at a bar the beer is never bought , only rented.
When it comes to dandelions, the truth is I am not sure whether the flowers have the same effect as the leaves - It is really the leaf that has the diuretic effect. (see for example http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3155102/ )
My post was intended more as a friendly joke. I did not intend to raise your blood pressure. Sorry.

 

[dorfie]

Is it worse than coffee or beer? I just want it to be worth the effort to make!

I never experienced any diuretic effects from my dandelion wine, at least not that i have noticed.
I think that is is worth it to make, however it does really need to have some age to it to come into its own. Mine is almost two years old now i think that it is really good! before it was ok, but maybe a bit off. So don't be too bummed if your first taste doesn't live up to all the hype, it probably will later!

 

[Ang]

Great! Maybe I will "time capsule" a couple for special occasions. I started some Skeeter Pee last night and I will clear and stabilize the Dandelion later today. I prefer dry wine but I think the Skeeter Pee would require some sweetener, is Dandelion very good dry? If the taste needs to age how do I judge my sample tonight for whether to sweeten or not?

 

[dorfie]

Ang-
I left most of my Dandelion completely dry. I too prefer dry to sweet. I did sweeten some of the batch, only a little so it was just off dry. I always sweeten to what tastes good at that moment, but I keep in mind that after aging the sweetness normally becomes more pronounced, so don't go overboard.

What was the recipe that you used? Just curious. Mine used lemon and orange rind and juice, grape juice, and then I also used some orange blossom honey to add body and a little sweetness, and of course a massive amount of dandelion petals, no green calyx.

back to the question. I make several glasses with scale-able amounts of sweetener in it. for example I'll have one completely dry, one that has 2% one that has 5% one 10% so on. Then we try them and see which we like the most.

 

[Ang]

That's a great setup! I tried my Dandelion last night and I love it the way it is. My husband almost scooted his face on the floor he didn't like it so much! It's young and he doesn't drink he just humours me occasionally, maybe not so much in the future but I laughed myself silly at his reaction!
I racked both batches together to eliminate head space and my final Gravity is 0.988!
Original Gravity was 1.148, isn't that 15+% ABV? I thought you needed Turbo Yeasts to get that high, I assumed I'd have a sweet wine left after the EC1118 was poisoned off!

 

[Ang]

I used the Home Winemaking Handbook recipe with acid blend and raisins. If you want I can post the recipe less the 4 yr olds "help" [emoji6]

 

[dorfie]

Well that is good that you like it! be careful drinking it with that high of an ABV! are you sure that your original reading was accurate? EC1118 can take a wine up to 18%, even higher if you step feed it and all. however your numbers would indicate an ABV closer to 20-21% which seems too high to be correct, but stranger things have happened! is there a strong alcohol taste?

 

[Ang]

Yes it was strong but surprisingly smooth. I have kept track fairly well but I do still have some trouble reading my hydrometer properly. For example: I posted 0.988 and my notes say final SG 1.018. Maybe I sampled too much before testing. I'm sure the original SG was very high from the extra bag of sugar so I will recheck my final SG after it clears and I go to bottle it. So far I am sure I will make this again even if I have to drink this batch over ice or pressed. Thanks everyone for your thoughts!!