First shot at Dragon's Blood

[sgtdean68w]

Hello my name is Jason and I have an addiction! It's not necessarily to drinking wine, but more making it. I love trying new ideas, so when I read about the DB I had to try it, and when I read that it can be done in such a short time I got even more excited! I bought a new carboy (mine are being used), I bought the ingredients, and last night I made a mess... I mean I started my DB. From what I read on the 15 day post it seems that proper temperature regulation is important. I wrapped my buckets (I only have 6 gallon buckets so I split it between 2 to make it less messy) in a blanket and stuck a heating pad between them. After sitting about 21 hours I checked the temp, 76 degrees, and added yeast. I re-wrapped and now the waiting game. While I was shopping today I picked up a 20 gallon food grade "trash can". I plan to put my carboy in the can surrounded by water with an aquarium heater in there regulated to 78°. The best part is when I make my large batch of chocolate strawberry wine this summer I can use the can as a primary! Anyways after all of that rambling here's a couple pictures of my progress so far. I'll continue updating as I go with more pictures.

 

[sgtdean68w]

Apparently my phone didn't want to attach the pictures the first time

 

[seth8530]

Ha, well welcome to the forums and keep having fun.

 

[sgtdean68w]

Last night when I went to stir and measure everything, my temp had gotten up to 92°. I turned the heating pad off and I'm just going to keep it covered today and see what I get for temperature. There was an awesome cap on top, but my question is, did I possibly just damage my yeast?

 

[seth8530]

Depends on the yeast strain you used. If you get your yeastie beasties too hot they can sometimes stall out or make off flavours.

 

[sgtdean68w]

I used 1118. I just looked and it's range is 50-86 hopefully I got to it soon enough!

 

[seth8530]

My guess is that it will most likely be alright. I imagine any flavour defects that might have been caused by overheating should get covered by the acid and sugar at the end. However, I tend to prefer cold ferments over hot ones to be honest.

 

[sgtdean68w]

Following the directions, I stirred, measured, and squeezed today. I pitched the yeast on Friday and I'm already down to 1.006 sg. That works perfectly because I leave tomorrow and essentially won't be back until Sunday. That'll leave my "partner" with less work (she'll be happy). Hopefully I'll be ready to rack into a carboy on Sunday!

 

[dangerdave]

I've run the temp up accidentally on mine once or twice when I first started making wine. Don't worry, Dean.

You are doing the right thing, I think. Remove heat, wrap, and let it sit and finish out. It will be just fine.

 

[sgtdean68w]

When it got too warm I removed the heat. The next day it was still warmer than I prefer so I removed the blanket. Last night it was perfect so I wrapped to maintain the temp. I guess we'll find out tonight If held steady

 

[sgtdean68w]

When I returned home last night I checked the SG, same as what out was 3 days ago so I racked it, degassed it, stabilized it, and put it in its water bath to clear out. I'm excited to see how soon it'll clear out!

 

[chris400]

Mine cleared in about 6 days

 

[cmason1957]

When I returned home last night I checked the SG, same as what out was 3 days ago so I racked it, degassed it, stabilized it, and put it in its water bath to clear out. I'm excited to see how soon it'll clear out!

Water bath? Now there is a new step to me. Where did you get that step and what is it supposed to do?

 

[sgtdean68w]

Water bath? Now there is a new step to me. Where did you get that step and what is it supposed to do?

I've got my carboy sitting in a 20 gallon brute container that is filled with water and that water temperature is being controlled by an aquarium heater. I'm experimenting with temperature control and how it effects the process

 

[4score]

This thread just ended.

How did it turn out?

 

[sgtdean68w]

It turned out really well. I even froze some into a wine slushy and that turned out perfect!

 

[Hunt]

I like the water bath idea. Did that seem to help clear the wine faster than adding chemical clearing agents?

 

[sgtdean68w]

I just did that to maintain a constant temperature. I still used the Sparkaloid

 

[dangerdave]

Good job, Dean. I'm glad it turned out well.

 

[blackspanish777]

Hope mine turns out that well! I am about a week and a half from being ready to bottle!