Dandelion Wine

[agentcooper]

I thought I'd try my hand at a Dandelion wine this spring.  I used my 5 gallon brew bucket but the recipe I used only filled the bucket up to about 2 gallons, maybe a bit less.  It's time to rack it and bottle it but I haven't seen my airlock move to show me it has fermented.  My question is,

Does all the extra space in the bucket stifle the fermentation process?  Should I still bottle it or start over?  Thanks!

[Cedar]

Did it turn a shocking green in 1-3 days after starting it?
Then did it turn a shocking gold which mellowed out?

What yeast/sugar did you use?

Did it bubble at all?

What temperature has it been sitting at?

Cedar

[agentcooper]

No, it hasn't been a green color.  I used a champagne yeast to curb some of the sweetness.  I have not seen it bubble in the airlock but I did not open it until today (3 weeks after brewing).  It has been sitting at room temp, around 65-75 degrees.

[Cedar]

Even though I only used 4 gallons of dandelion flower only, it turned grass green for 2-3 days. Then GOLDEN and then pale gold. I used champagne yeast as well. White sugar.

Mine started working maybe a week after putting it in? And I did not take it out of the carboy for MONTHS. It is not quite like mead, where it will start working, and then won't and then will again on a whim, but mine worked for a LONG time.

I suspect yours is too cold? And if yours did not work at all, I suspect it has not started.. so you might add a bit more sugar (I think you can do that) and see if you can get it working.

Cedar

[Wapakguy]

I agree with cooper, don't bottle it yet.  The large air pocket you have is probably why you aren't seeing the bubbles.  There isn't enough pressure to force them out as vigorously as you are used to seeing.

If you want to rack it, that's fine.  Maybe even add some honey when you do for a little kick to your yeast.  But it needs ferment for a good three months before bottling.  And then age at least another 3.  The champagne yeast is good for a more dry, higher alcohol wine, but it takes longer. 

With my batches, I open the first one thanksgiving to note some of the early characteristics and then I wait until the following spring before I open the next.  It takes a lot of willpower but it's worth the wait!

As an aside, a fun thing I do with the flower castings after I'm done boiling them is set them out and make sun tea.

[AvenueQ]

I just made a batch of Dandelion champagne and one thing I noticed was the bubbles had a hard time escaping through the mat of flowers on top. I could hear it when I listened closely, but I couldn't see it.

It turned out great! It's even better with a little bit of concentrated black tea, takes off a bit of the sweetness.

[Countryguy]

With the season of the yellow lawn ornament soon upon us and with what I expect to be a bumper crop of Dandelions I want to try to do a wine. I've seen a lot of varied recipes and tips or tricks but no follow ups to say "hey, it came out great" or "man this sucks and tastes like gym socks" (to hijack Jack's phrase).

Most all seem to agree to only use the flower petals to keep it from being bitter. Question is, any recipes you all have you like? Most seem to use some amount of 1 or both of oranges and lemons and then sugar of some amount but I saw some talk about using raisins too. The amounts of flower, water, sugar etc seem all over the place. I saw some say pour hot water over the petals and let it set to steep for 48hrs and then strain off the tea, add sugar and fruit and then pitch the yeast. Most seem to use bread yeast but I'm thinking I can do better with maybe Jack's yeast blend.
I'd like to do up about a 5 gal batch. I'm thinking if I make 5 gal of the "tea" I could then try 1 gal batches of a couple different recipes or varied amounts.

so love to hear any thoughts, recipes or tips.

[fritz_monroe]

Any time I look for a wine recipe, I always go to Jack Keller's site.  He is THE name in home wine making.

Jack Keller's Dandelion Wine

[Carver]

I wonder if anybody has made an implement to harvest dandelion blossoms, like a stick tool to pluck them so you didn't have to lean over or crawl on your belly.

[David in MN]

I wonder if anybody has made an implement to harvest dandelion blossoms, like a stick tool to pluck them so you didn't have to lean over or crawl on your belly.

My grandparents had an oddly shaped rake that looked like a saw that caught the heads. I Googled but didn't find one and only found some homebrew message boards dreaming of such a "comb". Not surprising, I think theirs was from the 1800s. Might have been homemade. You still had to pick out the clover and whatnot and separate the green but that could be done on a table.

So the short answer is yes, such a thing has been devised. But good luck finding one today. I know there are people who do it today but my grandparents always talked of dandelion wine as a prohibition thing. When they were young dandelions were everywhere and sugar has always been cheap so... There might not be enough modern demand for production.