DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[RocketBee]

We bottled our DB yesterday and, of course, we had a short bottle. My wife and daughters and I tasted the short bottle. Daughters had lots of good things to say, said it might be a little sweet, but my lovely bride used the two most dreaded words: "cough syrup".

As for me, over the short time that has passed after back-sweetening till yesterday, the flavor has improved. The fruitiness has come forward and it seems more tart than before. I can taste the distinct flavors of the lemon, sugar and the fruit. I'm guessing that time will help blend the flavors. @willie you were right...you said two to three months, but the flavor has already improved in just a week.

 

[M38A1]

Fastest DB ferment ever?

I mixed up a double batch of DB and decided to go big with 25lbs of frozen peaches. Mixed everything per instructions but doubled and then a gob more fruit, well..... just because I was curious. I hydrated TWO EC-1118's and put them on top, stirred every evening after removing/pressing the fruit bag. It went like this:

3/16 - Pitch yeast noonish (1.072 starting SG)
3/17 - Stir/76*F
3/18 - Stir/84*F
3/19 - Stir/81*F
3/20 - Measure SG at .990 and 75*F

I've made a bunch of this before but this was super fast by about three days compared to other batches. Was it due to a double yeast addition? I can say that this batch was rolling and noticeably warmer in temp increase. I hadn't planned on it being done so quickly, but when I looked on 3/20 to measure, it was dead/not rolling and .990. So I measured again and it was .990.

Is there benefit/drawback to a fast ferment? I was kind of thinking the slower the ferment time the more opportunity for flavors to present forward.

 

[ljewels4u]

Sure sounds interesting, keep us posted !!!

Yes - curious how it turns out I just started a pineapple wine and used coconut water - cuz I had some I wanted to use up - curious how if it will come through at all? - can't quite tell when you posted originally but - how did it turn out??? cheers

 

[ljewels4u]

I make a peach, mango, pineapple variant all the time and use 9-10 lbs of fruit. It's by far the most popular fruit wine I make.

this combo will be my next batch YUM- I have separate 5g batches going of: pineapple and mango and peach but a blend of all 3 is coming soon! (wonder how it will change if I use peaches from my tree - pitted and frozen, mango from "mango nectar" and Pineapple from dole can pineapple - it's what I have - I'll make a note for myself re the 10lb mark - thanks

 

[RocketBee]

I gave a bottle of my first DB batch to my next-door neighbor. He gave me some feedback that I thought strange. There was some taste feedback which I had requested he provide, but he also said he got really buzzed and that it had a very high alcohol content -- this disturbed me as I figured that it was around 11.5%. So "secondary fermentation" is where my emotions led me. I calmed down after reminding myself that I had followed the instructions very closely and I stabilized properly. But, being a new-be wine maker, I decided to let science tell me whether my brush with panic had any basis in fact. I wanted to make certain that I didn't have any "overpressurization events" waiting for me in my basement.

In short, there was no reason for panic and I've come to the conclusion that my neighbor...he's a lightweight. I cracked open a bottle from my basement and measured the S.G. It read 1.007, which was slightly higher than what I recorded after I back-sweetened (1.006). I tasted, didn't seem to me to be overly alcoholic either, so I think I'm safe. Now I guess we'll have to drink that bottle tonight darn it!

One thing I did notice after I put the reading glasses on was very minute-sized bubbles surfacing in the test jar and also, I noticed a tiny ring of foam forming around the inside circumference of the bottle at the surface of the wine. I don't think that's a problem, but wanted to make certain. I've read very little and don't know much about making sparkling wines, but I'm guessing that's what's happening albeit on a very small scale.

I would love to hear what the experts think. Thanks!

 

[sour_grapes]

I gave a bottle of my first DB batch to my next-door neighbor. He gave me some feedback that I thought strange. There was some taste feedback which I had requested he provide, but he also said he got really buzzed and that it had a very high alcohol content -- this disturbed me as I figured that it was around 11.5%.

 

[crushday]

Started my second batch of DDDB today with a few tweaks... Essentially, I doubled the berries and will only back sweeten with 1/4 cup of sugar (to taste) per gallon instead of the 1/2 cup per gallon in my first edition.

Here’s my notes so far:

Danger Dave’s Dragon Blood, started 4/24/2020 with 64oz of lemon juice concentrate (Kroger), 16 pounds of triple berry from Fred Meyer, 24 cups of sugar, 3 tsp of tannin, 1 tsp pectin, 1 tsp of yeast energizer, mixed all together in a 5 gallon brew pot while thawing and cold soaking. Tomorrow I’ll add water to mix 7 gallons of must so the finished volume will be approximately 6 gallons and pitch yeast EC-1118 when up to correct temp.

 

[RocketBee]

@crushday thanks for your notes and comments. 16 lbs! That's a lot of berries! My daughters and friends are burning through my first batch of DDDB pretty quick. I'm getting feedback that they really like it, but too sweet. As for me, I can still taste the table sugar...was hoping that it would blend in better with the other ingredients by now. I did 2/3 cups per gallon. My next batch likely I will also add more fruit, back-sweeten at 1/2 cup/gallon (maybe less) and was also thinking about using 71B instead of EC-1118.

 

[crushday]

@RocketBee - I’m not a fan of sweet wine so for my first batch I varied from DD and only back sweetened 1/2 cup of sugar per gallon. But, it was too sweet for me. My business partner’s wife love it, however. I’m looking for a fruitier, less sweet rendition which is the reason for the 16 pounds of berries and back sweetener plan. Of course, all will be to taste.

As far as yeast, I have EC-1118 and D-47 on hand. Have you tried D-47?

 

[RocketBee]

As far as yeast, I have EC-1118 and D-47 on hand. Have you tried D-47?

I have used D-47 on my first few attempts at mead which tastes like crap. I've learned since then that D-47 is temperature-sensitive (at least in mead where the must is a nutrient "desert"). So I'm thinking that if I was to use that, I would need to keep it nice and cool. What are your thoughts about changing up the yeast in DDDB?

 

[crushday]

My only experience with D-47 has been with Chardonnay. Having used EC-1118 and D-47 to ferment Chardonnay, I have been very pleased with the results of the D-47. I would consider the EC-1118 a work horse yeast thats job is to get the job done. I think we could agree that 1118 doesn’t contribute to the process other than that.

If I use D-47 on my DB, it might produce a “fruitier” wine which is what I want - but if the collective hasn’t use it before on DB, not sure I want to be the first.

 

[hounddawg]

My only experience with D-47 has been with Chardonnay. Having used EC-1118 and D-47 to ferment Chardonnay, I have been very pleased with the results of the D-47. I would consider the EC-1118 a work horse yeast thats job is to get the job done. I think we could agree that 1118 doesn’t contribute to the process other than that.

If I use D-47 on my DB, it might produce a “fruitier” wine which is what I want - but if the collective hasn’t use it before on DB, not sure I want to be the first.

yawl are way beyond a ole country hillbilly like me, D-47 is nice for your fruit aromas , but another workhorse that retains a more fruity aroma/flavor, works in nutrient lacking meads, and dry fruit wines, have yawl ever give K1V-1116 a try, and if it is not right there you can start with D-47 and when you get K1V-1116 it will take over from D-47 extremely well since both help hold fruitiness,
sorry to but in, just a sleepless night, done stirred every things, and just doing a little reading, sorry if i have intruded,
Dawg

 

[RocketBee]

From the Scott's Laboratory Winemaking Handbook:

"Lalvin K1 (V1116)™ is one of the highest ester producing strains in our portfolio. When fermented at low temperatures (16°C/61°F) with proper nutrition, it is a strong floral ester producer, especially in neutral or high-yielding varieties."

A few high-dollar words in there, but I think the handbook agrees with you @hounddawg. Have you used K1V in DDDB?

 

[hounddawg]

no, never made DDDB, i have only made all the native fruits and berries in my neck of the woods, never a kit, nore from grape except possum grapes and muscadine which are distant kin i think,,,, , and all my wines are from scratch, funny i have planed for years to give DDDB a try, i hear about it yearly, who knows i get these few wines i got going kicked back now would be as good as any time, right now i got 5#-6's of SP, 3#-6's of banana, 3#-6's of strawberry, and getting ready to start 2#-6's of tart cherry,
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

oops's forgot i also got 3#-6's of blackberry and elderberry blend bubbling too
Dawg

 

[crushday]

@hounddawg Sorry you had a short night. Thanks for adding to the discussion. I don’t have K1 and my local store is closed due to CoVid. I could likely get some from Amazon but haven’t checked. I think for this round I’ll stick with what I have on hand and go with the 1118 as I know it will work with decent results.

 

[crushday]

Update: I added 4.5 gallons of water and was able to get to the 7.5 gallon mark on my fermenter. 16 gallons of berries takes up a lot of real estate in this universe. After stirring it all together I got an initial SG of 1.089 but I expect that to go up some. Once the must temp is in the mid 60’s I’ll do another gravity reading and pitch the yeast. I’ll add nutrient between 40-50 and get ready for smooth sailing.

 

[fsa46]

@hounddawg Sorry you had a short night. Thanks for adding to the discussion. I don’t have K1 and my local store is closed due to CoVid. I could likely get some from Amazon but haven’t checked. I think for this round I’ll stick with what I have on hand and go with the 1118 as I know it will work with decent results.

1118 is all I ever use for SP or DB and never had an issue with fermentation or going completely dry.

 

[RocketBee]

I agree @fsa46 EC-1118 is very reliable and my results have been very similar to yours. However, just wondering with a different yeast what it would do to the flavor profile. I think 71B, D47 and according to @hounddawg K1V would be adding a layer of fruitiness or fruity aroma to DB that you don't get from EC-1118. By the way @crushday I did a search and found 3 or 4 folks who've tried D47 in DB, but I didn't see any commentary afterward (not that I looked very hard for it).

 

[hounddawg]

wine making is like life, death is only last lesson learned on earth that is,,,
Dawg