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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,

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,

 

post-91341-0-28193800-1465666480_thumb.jpg

 

post-91341-0-69875300-1465666498_thumb.jpg

 

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

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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 love elderflower wine, elderflower juice, elderflower champagne, get the idea yet...........

 

 

I was just saying today I must do some in the next few days as I have a large elder tree in my hedge, I usually use lambrini bottles for mine, they are good and strong, I was told not to use plastic bottles as it tastes funny, but mine don't last long enough to worry about that

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I will give it a go I lost 2 bottles last year sounded like a 12g going off when it popped

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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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 gave by brother a bottle once and he threw it on to the passenger seat to drive home. Two miles from home the cork exploded out of the bottle covering my brother and the cars interior in Champagne. The windscreen was covered in it and the first thing he did was hit the wipers, LOL, but they're on the outside.

He nearly crashed.

He rammed his thumb into the bottle to try and save some and if the cops had stopped him for driving erratically they'd have found a lad stinking of drink who was all over the road but totally sober.

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How long will it last in the bottles as in do you have to start drinking it so quickly?i

Never thought of this really,i'd guess if you let out the gas and let fermenting end it would be a wine,then would age like any other,wouldnt clear well in bottles though I think,

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Well had this opened and it hardly puffed! I think it was my bottling process that killed of fermentation,too much steriliser and not rinsed out enough maybe? I might try again as the flowers are still out,one bottle is gone and was an OK drink,hint of elder and a kick of lemon,still got the other bottle but it's basically just a wine now,but I'll definitely try again cus if a failed batch is OK then a good one must be better??

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My wife made this a few weeks ago.There was a lot of gas built up and had to be let out every day or so(plastic bottles).She had a bottle in the fridge a couple of days ago and opened it last night,She really enjoyed it and will make some again.

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