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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
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Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions
#21604375 - 04/27/15 03:22 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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This is my first time ever making wine and I've decided to go with this recipe
3 qts dandelion flowers 1 lb white raisins 1 gallon water 3 lbs granulated sugar 2 lemons 1 orange yeast and nutrient
Pick the flowers just before starting, so they're fresh. You do not need to pick the petals off the flower heads, but the heads should be trimmed of any stalk. Put the flowers in a large bowl. Set aside 1 pint of water and bring the remainder to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the dandelion flowers and cover tightly with cloth or plastic wrap. Leave for two days, stirring twice daily. Do not exceed this time. Pour flowers and water in large pot and bring to a low boil. Add the sugar and the peels (peel thinly and avoid any of the white pith) of the lemons and orange. Boil for one hour, then pour into a crock or plastic pail. Add the juice and pulp of the lemons and orange. Allow to stand until cool (70-75 degrees F.). Add yeast and yeast nutrient, cover, and put in a warm place for three days. Strain and pour into a secondary fermentation vessel (bottle or jug). Add the raisins and fit a fermentation trap to the vessel. Leave until fermentation ceases completely, then rack and add the reserved pint of water and whatever else is required to top up. Refit the airlock and set aside until clear. Rack and bottle. This wine must age six months in the bottle before tasting, but will improve remarkably if allowed a year. [Adapted recipe from C.J.J. Berry's First Steps in Winemaking]
Some changes I'm making to the recipe: -I'm not using the whole dandelion heads, only the petals with little bits of green that isn't worth me picking out -I plan on adding .25-.5 extra lbs of sugar because I read 2 lbs of sugar/gallon is for a dry wine, 2.5 for semi-dry and 3lbs for sweet. Is this true? -I'm also using champagne yeast since that's the only non-beer yeast I found at the store. I've read that it won't make sparkling wine, which is a plus. -crushing and adding campden tablet to the dandelion/water mixture that sits for two days.
Some questions: When it says "crock or plastic pail", it basically means fermentation vessel, right? Like my 5 gallon carboy? I doubt I'd be adding yeast to everything and letting it sit without an airlock in a warm place for 3 days. And then it says "Strain and pour into a secondary fermentation vessel (bottle or jug). Add the raisins and fit a fermentation trap to the vessel." Why should I strain and pour into another vessel? Wouldn't I want as much flavor as possible? Why shouldn't I add raisins to the first fermentation vessel?
I really really don't want to screw this up since it took me 4 hours to pick all the dandelion petals. Most of them have already gone to seed so it was a hassle to walk around picking them all. I'll give out some +5 mushrooms to those with helpful knowledge. I'll also keep this updated and take pictures for those who are interested.
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Fog1
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21604440 - 04/27/15 03:37 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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I would follow the directions
Your champagne yeast will eat all of the extra sugar and make a dry wine...
A fermentation pail/bucket would be your first vessel
Also the Carboy would be a great secondary vessel...
Good luck and try drinking it after 9 months to a year
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
Posts: 3,006
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: Fog1]
#21604488 - 04/27/15 03:49 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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The recipe called for 2 lbs of sugar so wouldn't 2.5 lbs of sugar + champagne yeast make it semi-dry?
And my 5 gallon carboy is the only fermentation pail/bucket/vessel I have. I would need to have an airlock on my first vessel because fermentation would have already begun after 3 days, right?
Why couldn't I just add the yeast and everything to my carboy, cap it, and let it sit until fermentation stops, and then siphon it off into a 1 gallon water jug and let it age?
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Fog1
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21604580 - 04/27/15 04:05 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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Yes you could
I have a book on brewing let me consult it ...
You will make wine just not so sure you will enjoy the flavors... I will get back to you in a matter of minutes
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
Posts: 3,006
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: Fog1]
#21604619 - 04/27/15 04:13 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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Cool. It just seems odd that the recipe calls for me leaving the yeast and everything open and exposed for three days because fermentation will have already started. It seems like it would turn into vinegar.
I'm a bit weary of recipes on sites/blogs like these.
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Fog1
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21604658 - 04/27/15 04:21 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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I would try adding all the ingredients in the manner instructed.... You can always add the raisins to your carboy and i would use an airlock... I hope this helps....
Have you made much wine or mead ?
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: Fog1]
#21604799 - 04/27/15 04:52 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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I followed a recipe called "honey-shine" which was essentially distilled mead. I wish I would've just stuck to the mead though since it lost a lot of flavor being distilled.
I just found a quote on this page about why your transfer from one vessel to another after 3 days
Quote:
The timing of the transfer has long been the subject of debate. In most of the 20th century, the commonly accepted procedure was to ferment for three to five days and then transfer regardless of specific gravity. The set number of days was usually arrived at by averaging the time it took to ferment enough sugar to reduce the specific gravity to between 1.050 to 1.030. The idea was to get the wine under airlock so it could begin a true anaerobic fermentation, or fermentation without access to oxygen. The reason for this is because this is when the yeast converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide while extracting energy from the transformation. More recently, it was discovered that yeast create a micro-anaerobic environment around themselves as they submerge by using whatever oxygen atoms are trapped in the spaces between molecules surrounding them. Only when they float up to the surface are the possibly exposed to oxygen, and after the first 48-72 hours atmospheric oxygen has been replaced with carbon dioxide created by fermentation. Thus, the old idea of getting the wine under airlock quickly to create an anaerobic environment was shown to be mostly irrelevant and a new practice was adopted.
So I guess it's just to provide a little bit more oxygen for the yeast? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Regardless, I think the original recipe I posted is a bit unclear when it says "cover" and not "cap"
I also don't understand the point in saving a pint of water and adding it at the end. I'll just have a pint of water sitting on the counter for a week or more.
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21604807 - 04/27/15 04:55 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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I will probably add grapes at the end though. Hopefully everything I'm typing out is easy to understand, I'm sorta racking my brain over this while trying to make a shopping list of stuff I need to buy, how much yeast nutrient to add, etc.
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Mental Taco



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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21604836 - 04/27/15 04:59 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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-------------------- Did you not know that the royal hunting grounds are always forbidden?
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Fog1
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: Mental Taco]
#21604883 - 04/27/15 05:08 PM (9 years, 23 days ago) |
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: Fog1]
#21605998 - 04/27/15 08:31 PM (9 years, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
Fog1 said: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/dandelion.asp
This seems to clarify some of your questions
This was helpful. Thanks.
I guess I'll do this recipe, since he said it was the only one he could vouch for, but I still don't understand why I'd stir it everyday for 10-14 days and not attach an airlock.
Quote:
1 qt dandelion petals ¾ lb chopped or minced golden raisins 2 lbs finely granulated sugar 3 lemons, juice and zest 3 oranges, juice and zest 1 tsp yeast nutrient 7½ pts water wine yeast
Prepare flower petals beforehand. Put water on to boil and pour over dandelion petals in primary. After 2 hours, strain, press and discard petals. Return water to heat and bring to low boil. Stir in citrus juice and sugar, stirring well to dissolve. Add citrus zest and chopped raisins. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. When room temperature, stir in yeast nutrient and activated yeast and recover. Stir 3 times daily for 10-14 days. Strain into secondary and fit airlock. After 3 weeks, rack into sanitized seconary, top up and reattach airlock. When wine clears, wait 30 days and rack, top up and refit airlock. Repeat racking procedure every 3 months for 9 months. Rack into bottles and age 6-12 months longer. [Author's own recipe]
Back when I was researching moonshine, I remember reading something about shaking up your mash in the carboy to help supply the yeast with oxygen, but I can't understand how leaving the fermenting wine exposed to oxygen would be beneficial at all.
I wonder if this is just a typo or something. Maybe when he says "recover," he means cap it with an airlock?
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21606021 - 04/27/15 08:38 PM (9 years, 22 days ago) |
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Also, do you guys know what "7½ pts water" means?
7 parts water? 7 pints water? What's the A mean?
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
Posts: 3,006
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21606045 - 04/27/15 08:41 PM (9 years, 22 days ago) |
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and I just answered my own question about leaving the melt exposed for the first few days.
Quote:
* The Primary Fermentation will typically last for the first three to five days. On average, 70 percent of the fermentation activity will occur during these first few days. And in most cases, you will notice considerable foaming during this time of rapid fermentation.
The primary fermentation is also called an aerobic fermentation because the fermentation vessel is allowed to be opened to the air. This air plays an important roll in the multiplication of the yeast cells.
Here's how important. The little packets of yeast that is generally called for in a five gallon wine recipe will typically be multiplied up to 100 to 200 times during the few days of primary/aerobic fermentation. Without air this multiplying stage is hindered. That is why it is important that you do not use an air-lock during the first few days of a fermentation and allow the fermentation to be open to air.
http://www.eckraus.com/wine-making-101
I can post pictures of this process, if anyone's interested.
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MattyBear
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21643114 - 05/06/15 06:41 AM (9 years, 14 days ago) |
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Quote:
tito123 said: I'm sorta racking my brain over this
Racking...his brain....classic wine making pun
I just started drinking my first Ethiopian style honey wine. It took about 6 months of ageing before it was palatable.
If I were you I would place my primary fermentation somewhere where if it foams over it won't be a pain to clean up. I set mine on a baking tray. Have fun!
-------------------- Here's what we can do to change the world right now, to a better ride. Take all the money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over , not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace. ~Bill Hicks~ Looking to build up a print library
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: MattyBear]
#21646334 - 05/06/15 09:34 PM (9 years, 13 days ago) |
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Ethiopian honey wine sounds wonderful. I put my gallon batch in a large ~5 gallon pot for primary.
I waited last minute to call around several lowes and home depots the other day, assuming that at least one of the stores would have 7/16 ID vinyl tubing but none of them did. So I have to wait on an online order to come in.
I guess it's not a big deal but I guess I'll have to pour/strain it into my gallon carboy. You don't think this will introduce too much oxygen do you?
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
Posts: 3,006
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21646428 - 05/06/15 09:48 PM (9 years, 13 days ago) |
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Actually, it's getting here tomorrow. So no problem.
Could you send me your ethiopian style honey wine? I had some for the first time a few months ago and thought it was awesome.
What's the difference between and regular mead?
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MattyBear
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21647853 - 05/07/15 06:43 AM (9 years, 13 days ago) |
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Not sure the difference. I just read last night that it is a type or style of mead, but maybe the word "Mead" encompasses any fermented honey drink. I started a new batch last night flavored with lemon grass, mint and ginger. I think its 3C honey to 1 gal of water. Cover with cheese cloth at room temp for 3 to 4 days. Airlock for 3 to 4 weeks and drink or age. For my new recipe I will keep it under air lock until I see the bubbles stop then pull and bottle. I think I almost popped a few bottles last time. i had one bottle with a cork in it on a shelf and came in later to find the cork pushed up to the shelf above it. It was slightly effervescent and sweet so we will see how the new batch works out. I also have an Asian pear wine aging now in some jugs that I will be trying in a couple months. The color is very strange though. Asian pears are green and beige and orange and the wine has a slight purple color to it. We will see
-------------------- Here's what we can do to change the world right now, to a better ride. Take all the money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over , not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace. ~Bill Hicks~ Looking to build up a print library
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tito123


Registered: 01/23/10
Posts: 3,006
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: MattyBear]
#21649513 - 05/07/15 02:54 PM (9 years, 13 days ago) |
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That sounds awesome. If you have a link to a recipe, could you send it to me?
Also, I think I fucked up racking from my primary vessel to carboy.
I soaked my auto-siphon and tubing in diluted bleach water, siphoned a little bit of bleach water, and then siphoned a bit of hot water but as I was doing this, I remembered there was an amazon review saying not to let some parts of the siphon get too hot or somethingC(I'm gonna check in a sec)
My melt wouldn't start siphoning when I pumped it. It may have been because I needed to strain out the dandelion petals, and other stuff first?
Not sure what the problem was but hopefully my auto-siphon isn't messed up. I just bought it.
I ended up pouring it straight into the carboy with a metal strainer and siphon, spilling some melt on the floor. and oxygenating it, and not being sanitary at all. hopefully it still tastes good though. My airlock is starting to bubble.
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MattyBear
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: tito123]
#21656115 - 05/09/15 06:19 AM (9 years, 11 days ago) |
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This is from the book wild fermentation.

-------------------- Here's what we can do to change the world right now, to a better ride. Take all the money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over , not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace. ~Bill Hicks~ Looking to build up a print library
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tito123

Registered: 01/23/10
Posts: 3,006
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Re: Chronicling my first attempt at dandelion wine and some questions [Re: MattyBear]
#21658119 - 05/09/15 04:56 PM (9 years, 11 days ago) |
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Perfect.
Thank you
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