"Taste Test:
Dry, slightly acidic, and the taste was like diesel. There is something in it that doesn't taste right. Perhaps one of the fruit components like pomegranate or cherry?"
It is early, and the taste may evolve over time. However, I am now a little cautious about experimenting with out-of-the-ordinary frozen fruit mixes such as the one I used on this particular batch. Dragon Blood is usually made with common triple berry mixes (blueberry, blackberry, raspberry).
With that cautionary lesson, I went ahead and purchased a frozen triple berry mix and used the same basic recipe as the previous batch:
Dragon Blood v.2
3 gallons distilled water
17 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp peptic enzyme
2 tsp yeast nutrient
1.5 tsp acid blend (tartaric, citric, malic acids)
3 campden tablets (crushed)
2 kg of "Triple Berry Blend", in a nylon mesh bag (tied-off)
(The only differences are in the slightly higher amount of sugar required to get to the same starting s.g., and the larger mass of berries - which is simply because that was the amount in the bag!)
I started this one week ago. The starting specific gravity was 1.087. It is now 1.048. I'm going to wait a couple of days, check the s.g., and rack to a carboy.
