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Elderflower Champagne


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Seeing as the elderflower are out and I've got the brewing bug thought I'd give this go,as I say quite often I like things simple so had browse and found this one,from river cottage...   Ingredients

That's the same recipe I've been using for 7 or 8 years now and it's nice and simple. I also make my Ginger Beer the same way. Careful how you store it, it can be very volatile and can explode. I ga

Hopefully i don't have that happen but it's smells real good at the minute so got high hopes for this one...

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I don't think it's very strong to be honest, drank a litre of the stuff the other day and I havnt gone blind yet

Me neither... I'm thinkin vodka or gin to give the one you gave me more wallop! :rolleyes:

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I made two 5 gallon buckets of elderflower wine last year = 10 gallons :duh:

We have 8 gallons left, - it is 14% proof.

We made 10 gallons of elderberry wine the previous year and my dragon was pissed every night for two months. She fecking loved the stuff but tended to argue with the mirrors a lot. :laugh:

The elderberry is way, way better than the elderflower.

 

atb

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had a bottle last night for my birthday :icon_redface: it takes longer to open it due to the fizz than it does to drink it lol :laugh:

Be a change from a pint of lager tops thou ?????? :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

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had a bottle last night for my birthday :icon_redface: it takes longer to open it due to the fizz than it does to drink it lol :laugh:

Be a change from a pint of lager tops thou ?????? :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

chinese meal 3 bottles of proseco and a bottle of elderflower champagne not bad for a school night :tongue2:

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I made three gallons this year, then put it into in demijohns with an air trap. Syphoned it off into 1 litre olive oil bottles with flip tops. It was quite flat, so added a spoonful of sugar to each. Now they really pop. Was Ideal for those hot evenings, cold from the fridge. Wife and I were drinking a bottle between us. It was very heady. Definitely alcoholic. Got a BBQ this weekend. Bunny burgers and elderflower champers. The good life indeed!

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  • 9 months later...

Seeing as the elderflower are out and I've got the brewing bug thought I'd give this go,as I say quite often I like things simple so had browse and found this one,from river cottage...

 

Ingredients,

8 elderflower heads

800g sugar

Yeast,if using

Yeast nutrient

4 lemons,zest and juice

 

Method

 

Dissolve the sugar in 2 litres hot water in a fermenting bucket, then top up with 3 litres cold water. Allow to cool.

 

Aerate and add the elderflower florets, lemon zest and juice and the yeast nutrient.

 

Pitch the yeast or, if you like a bit of excitement, don't.

 

Elderflowers come ready stocked with wild yeasts and it can be interesting to see how things turn out.

 

Leave to ferment.

 

If you did not add yeast and fermentation has not started after 3 days then it is time to give the thing a kick-start with a packet of Champagne yeast.

 

After 6 days of fermentation, strain the must through boiled muslin into a fresh fermenting bucket, leaving the lees behind. Cover the bucket and leave for a few hours for the dust to settle, then siphon into your bottles of choice.

 

Your sparkly is about ready to drink after a week, and in any case a week is a good time to check to see how things are going.

 

You can release a little excess pressure by easing the lid off, though as noted this is a little tricky if you have used Champagne bottles.

 

If you are still worried then put the lot in the fridge to stop the yeast making any more carbon dioxide and drink it as quickly as you can.

 

I'm going to be putting it in pop bottles and releasing the pressure as and when needed,also I found varying amounts of flower heads from six to twenty in the recipes and as I picked ten just stuck the lot in,

 

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I'll update when I bottle it,hopefully turn out ok...

Sorry this is a dim question but what does 'aerate the flowers' mean? Shake them around a bit?

Ready for first cordial pick here, thought I'd also have a go at the pop this year.

I'm thinking screw-top wine/ ol oil bots, once it's ready to bottle. (Good idea?) Never done any fermenting before.

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Best to pick the flowers early in the day as well. They smell like cat pi55 in the afternoon.

 

Our tree is nearly blooming and I have one bottle left from the 23L I made last year. The Mrs don't like it so I will be making some more next week.

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@Pinnacle, I know what you mean about the cat piss thing, although I also wonder if the end result (certainly with cordial) is actually signif different regardless of the aroma when picking. (I do generally pick AM but warm sun, damp mist, the cordial is always pretty nice).

@ Cornishdog, did you use glass or plastic bottles?

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