dandelion wine?? help

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Plumeja

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me and my girlfriend went out and picked a whack for flowers, 2.5kg, a few weeks ago and this is what i did with them.
steeped them with for 30 mintues
2 oranges zest and juice
1 lemon zest and juice
2 cm cube of ginger root
4 cloves
4 kd of suger
this is in 12l of water
added three more liters or so after to help cool it dow
strained out all the pulp, and yes there was green parts in there. too much work to get rid of them. let it cool and added champagne yeast. then it sat for a week in the bucket racked into carboy. i think when i rack it next ill put a campton tablet in there for good measure.
it is still very cloudy and gassy. any tips. i tried it when i racked it holy crow was it every gingery i hope that dies down. i plan on bulk aging it for a few months and then bottling it.
oh ya the carboy is not full at all it is only 15 liters is that a problem there is alot of co2 in there to keep the oxygen out.

cant think of anything else to tell you guys just need advice if im in the right direction
 
No need for the Camden tab. It will not really do much.

It's prob ok for a few days while the fermentation finishes up, but you need to top it up to keep out o2.
 
Do I just top it up with water. Won't that dilute the wine down if I add like 8 liters of water? Oh I don't know what to do on this one
 
Do I just top it up with water. Won't that dilute the wine down if I add like 8 liters of water? Oh I don't know what to do on this one


2.5kg of blossoms.... you two must have picked blossoms for quite a while!!

I do not recommend topping up with 8L of water, you will dilute everything and be most unhappy. (the ginger will likely calm down with time since you added in primary).

Since you are looking at an actual volume of 15L/almost 4gal is there any chance you can source a 12L carboy and a gallon glass jug or 4-1 gal glass jugs? What about a 5gal carboy and add 1 gallon of (SG1.090) sugar water or 1 gal of white grape juice? If you had to dilute with one gallon of a sugary solution you will still maintain alot of the flower power due to the mass qty you initially used.
 
What should I add if I want to age it for longer then six months. Should I put sulfite in it?
Thanks
 
You are definitely, definitely going to want to age it longer than 6 months. I find you need to let that dandy lion wine age at least a year or year and a half for it to mellow out a bit. Before that it tastes pretty hot.
 
What should I add if I want to age it for longer then six months. Should I put sulfite in it?
Thanks

Yes, you will want SO2 on board as it bulk ages. If you never added k-meta at the start, and you likely did not since you steep the flowers, you can add 1/4 tsp per 5 gallons (1 Campden tab per gallon) to carboy once it is dry and then add 1/8 tsp per 5 gallons (1/2 Campden tab per gallon) on a quarterly basis. Just crush the tab well and dissolve it in a bit of your dandelion wine and pour it back in carboy. Be sure it is all dissolved, you can even warm the wine to help the powdered tablet dissolve. (I hate Campden tabs).
 
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