Dragon Blood: Triple Berry Skeeter Pee

[Geronimo]

My personal favorite for anything but red wine is Kieselsol and Chitosan (Super Kleer). Sparkaloid is excellent too. IMO use the cheapest one that gets the job done fastest without stripping aroma or flavor. For me, Kieselsol and Chitosan work in about 12 hours, and I always have a ton of it laying around from red wine kits.

Word to the wise: never attempt to clear until you are 100% sure you have degassed. You will wind up with these weird dumplings floating around in the carboy and no matter how hard you try, a little sediment will end up in the bucket (and your bottles). The solids need to settle and compact in the carboy. Superkleer and Sparkaloid do a great job of this, bentonite is really susceptible to getting sucked into the siphon.

 

[beardy]

My personal favorite for anything but red wine is Kieselsol and Chitosan (Super Kleer). Sparkaloid is excellent too. IMO use the cheapest one that gets the job done fastest without stripping aroma or flavor. For me, Kieselsol and Chitosan work in about 12 hours, and I always have a ton of it laying around from red wine kits.

Word to the wise: never attempt to clear until you are 100% sure you have degassed. You will wind up with these weird dumplings floating around in the carboy and no matter how hard you try, a little sediment will end up in the bucket (and your bottles). The solids need to settle and compact in the carboy. Superkleer and Sparkaloid do a great job of this, bentonite is really susceptible to getting sucked into the siphon.

Thanks for the info!
I'll have to try the other ones then

 

[stevolution]

Well my DB is clear and I am going to rack off into another carboy and add some sugar... If need be can i top of with my island mist strawberry merlot I just made a week ago?

 

[jamesngalveston]

i would rack first, see how much room is left, your sugar will make up some of the volume, then top off with your merlot.

 

[stevolution]

i would rack first, see how much room is left, your sugar will make up some of the volume, then top off with your merlot.

Ya I guess I didn't figure on the sugar taking up that much room.. Newbie mistake.. I actually had to remove a little wine to fit all the sugar.. I ended up adding the full 5 cups as me and my wife like a bit of sweeter wine... I can see how people would think this wine isn't for them though.. We tasted some and it has a little bit of a burn to it.. Hopefully it's just young and will get better and I didn't just mess something up..

 

[rhythmsteve]

The lemon, iced tea is as follows..... I cut the skeeter pee recipe (Lon's original in half) and I brew 3 gallons of tea in a coffee maker (8 tea bags and 1/2 cup of sugar per gallon) I start the Pee out as you would normally do for primary fermentation, then after it starts to take off I add the rest of the half pee recipe, an add the 3 gallons of tea. Better to brew the tea the same day as you add the rest of the ingredients, and let it cool to room temp before adding, or u could neutralize ur already active yeast

 

[jamesngalveston]

thanks, i want to try it, when i have time.

 

[dangerdave]

Wow! You guys are really going at the DB! Nice!

I made it back from my trip, and plan to do my yeast comparison soon (in the Lab). Glad everyone is making good wine!

I need to upgrade to a way to test my acid levels. I'd like to know where mine sits upon completion, then I can advise others when they ask. That seems to be the only issue for most with the DB; achieving the right acid level for their personal taste.

 

[jamesngalveston]

what acid level....every batch i have made has been perfect. and i get heartburn easy...welcome back dave...

 

[wildcat2013]

Well I don't know what I did wrong, but my 3 gallon batch came out horrible. I bottled it a few months ago and hoped the harshness would go away, but I opened a bottle last night and it's not any better. The closes thing I can compare it to is cough syrup. I think it's time to dump this batch and admit defeat.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I have made lots of dragon blood, and lots of variants.
Not sure what you did. None of mine have came out less the excellent.
Maybe in the backsweeten...how was it before you bottled.

 

[dangerdave]

I'm with James. I know it doesn't help, but I have yet to make a batch that wasn't at least very good. The recipe is as fool-proof as I can make it. You (wildcat) may be the first I've heard to make a bad batch.

Don't be affraid to try again. Could just be a fluke.

 

[jamesngalveston]

Now that I have my big batch of db going, I am going to experiment with a db that will hit like 15 to 18 percent and still have balance , flavor , and a nice finish to it.

 

[Elmer]

I have made a bad batch of DB.
Stuff tasted great, but did last long enough!

 

[jamesngalveston]

elmer, you gotta think big.

 

[Tripplett]

Wildcat I am with the rest. Maybe it was a small mistake of teaspoon as compared to a tablespoon? Who knows but at about $20 for 6lbs of fruit, sugar, and stuff I agree to try again. I made mine with quadberry fruit from Trader Joe's (raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and strawberry). i used just 1 bottle of lemon and back sweetened with only 3 cups after tasting. It was ok after a month. After 3 it was good. Now, after 7 it's awesome. Too bad there are just two bottles left.

I too made a batch with no lemon. It was strange, like a rose wine but different. When I back sweetened I added 4 cups straight up with no tasting since the prior DB batch was a little under sweetened. Big mistake. I think due to no lemon the sweetness really came through. It's still in the carboy while I figure out if I'm going to blend it with the next batch or bottle it for those that like a sweeter wine.

 

[FABulousWines]

My batch is going good; down to 1.025 last evening.

Every time I squeeze that fruit bag there is one singular thought that comes to my mind: Now I know where Dave got the name! This stuff sure looks like blood! I will, however, need to come up with a more conservative name as my wife is not fond of drinking something with blood in the name.

I am waiting to taste the end product for inspiration...

And speaking of squeezing the fruit bag...there's not much left to squeeze at this point, LOL.

 

[jamesngalveston]

dragon berry....lol
pretty much just seeds left in the bag

 

[Tripplett]

Since mine has 4 berries I called It" quad berry wine (with just a hint of citrus)". I had to come up with something different as well. The idea of "blood" on the label wasn't going over well. Just make something up.

 

[beardy]

Would the same time frame apply if I used apple juice instead of water in the dragon blood recipe?