Frosty's Brew
by Frosty

This spring I gathered my family and out we went to a remote field to pick dandelions. Hahaha.... Little did any of us realize how long it takes to gather 15 quarts of dandelion heads. So about two hours later we staggered back to the car with sore backs, yellowish/orange hands, and our prized bags of floral booty.

The day after the primary fermenter had been set up, I wandered downstairs.... Whew! Is that the cat box getting a little ripe? Sniff... No... Not there... Sniff... Hmmm, not there either... Sniff... Whew! This brew stinks! For those that decide to make this wine be forewarned, for the first week or two it'll stink up a storm!

Dandelion Wine (1 Gallon)

  • 3 litres (3 quarts) flowers
  • 1.2 kg (2 lb 11 oz) sugar
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 orange
  • Wine yeast
  • 150 ml grape concentrate or 450 g (1 lb) raisins.
  • Water up to 4.5 litres (1 gallon)

    The three secrets to a good batch of Dandelion Wine are as follows:

  • 1) The right amount of flowers.
  • 2) Use only fully opened blooms.
  • 3) Soak the flowers no longer than three days maximum.

    Gather your flower heads from an area that is not sprayed with chemical poisons for weeds or insects. Bring some friends and family to help you out... Gathering the flower heads takes a long time if you make 5 gallon batches of wine like me. Pick only the fully open blooms with as little stem as possible.

    Now at this point you could wash the flowers with cold water to rinse off any dirt, bugs, etc... I however decided to not wash mine after seeing all the pollen on my hands and deciding that washing would lose the pollen and perhaps some of the flavor. If you do this make sure to filter your wine and to not select flowers from an area where chemical sprays are used.

    Put the flowerheads into your primary fermenter (big bucket) and pour 7 pints of boiling water over them (for 1 gallon batch, multiply the quantity of boiling water up for larger batches). Let sit for no more than three days covered (two days will actually do it) and stir once daily.

    Strain the liquid into your secondary fermenter. After juicing the fruits, boil the sugar and fruit rinds in some of the liquid for about an hour (don't use the white pith). Allow this boiled brew to cool and then add your wine yeast and some yeast nutrient. Once the yeast has been activated in the brew, add to the secondary fermenter.

    Let the mixture sit for about a week and then rack once with a good filtering. Add the raisins/juice and let sit until fermentation is ended. If the flavor of the wine is quite good (and it better be after all this work!) the raisins would likely but usable as an addition to deserts or other delightful dishes. Enjoy!

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