Elderflower Champagne Picture

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seankeggers

Elderflower Champagne Picture

Post by seankeggers » Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:02 pm

Hi Forum..I've cleaned the brew bucket out again as it's been a while and stocks are running low. I've started the summer of with a seasonal brew of elderflower champagne for the gaffer!!! I left it for two days and nowt was happning so i chucked a sachet of champagne yeast in and it's a big bubbling mess now,, smells great. :wink:

2kg sugar
3 lemons
2 tbsp white wine viigar
elderflower heads
10 litres water.

champagne yeast.

Image

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Talisman
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Post by Talisman » Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:14 am

looks interesting, how many heads do you use? its worth a go i thinks
Black Lab Ale - est April 2008
FV 1: Old Spec Hen FG1053
FV 2: Empty
Cornie 1: Empty
Cornie 2: Empty
Cornie 3: Empty
Cornie 4: Empty
Cornie 5: Empty
Bottled: Nowt
http://www.blacklabale.co.uk

anomalous_result

Post by anomalous_result » Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:57 am

Very similar to my Grandma's Grandma's recipe that, although it looks to use a lot more elderflower heads. Elderflower's coming to its end round here, ie it's just right.

mr.c

Post by mr.c » Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:02 am

Only 10 litres water :shock: ? I have used the same Recipes for years but add 20 litres of water to 30 elderflower heads.

Chris The Fish

Post by Chris The Fish » Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:47 am

just to jump in on the post slightly,

my elderflower brew is about ready to be bottled, i was just wondering how much/what to use to prime it, and how long before i should sample it?

great pic btw, that looks exactly like my fermenter at the mo!

seankeggers

Elderflower champagne

Post by seankeggers » Fri Jun 27, 2008 9:04 pm

Yes i picked the flowers on tuesday and got the brew on the go that night, i reckon i used to many heads as the aroma was amazing after just two days so i have now removed the flower heads while the ferment completes. Youve gotta try this one it smells delicious :lol: I dont think this brew will really need priming, its got loads of sugar allready, the brew is so noisy my other half says she can hear it while the tv's on!! :roll: Heres the pic with the flower removed...if only we had smello vision.. :lol:


Image

Duffbeer

Post by Duffbeer » Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:40 am

DaaB wrote:Miles and miles of hedgerow round here and I can't find any :lol:
They're just about done now in most places, the high winds last week didn't do them any favours either.

GTOrichie

Post by GTOrichie » Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:25 pm

we spent the afternoon today looking with no avail all the ones we found are either next to the road or way out of reach, were not giving up yet tho.

GTOrichie

Post by GTOrichie » Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:02 am

We found some altho it was near a infrequently used road so Fingers crossed, It still smells great and has its flowers wide open. If your still keen Daab there's loads around the back of Wimborne just past Badbury rings going towards Blandford near the little overgrown river.

anomalous_result

Post by anomalous_result » Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:38 pm

If there aren't many try it without using so many heads. I've never found the flavour lacking in this:

2 - 3 heads of elderflower
1 gallon of water
1 lemon
1 1/2 lbs sugar
1 tbsp white vinegar

Throw everything in a big enough bowl/pan (quarter the (unwaxed/washed) lemons and add them after juicing) and cover. After 48 hours bottle. After a week or two they'll have gassed up and be ready for drinking.

GTOrichie

Post by GTOrichie » Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:42 pm

glad you found some mate, smells great doesn't it? My computer room smells like a breath of country air now lol.
I love the idea of foraging for things to brew with I'm just not sure what's what as im not very green fingered so I tend not to.

seankeggers

It's In the Bottles!!! For now anyway!!!

Post by seankeggers » Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:40 pm

Well I've bottled the Elderflower Champagne and I took a look at them tonight after just three days and the bottles are absolutely at explosion point i reckon, a couple of them were hissing as the screw caps were not holding the pressure. I had a little taster and it was very tasty, maybe slightly sweet but that might improve, !!! If they dont explode tonight that is!!! :?

coatesg

Post by coatesg » Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:19 am

Interesting approach to put 4 eggs into the brew :shock: :lol:

The smell of elderflowers is lovely with the lemons - the wine I have bubbling away is producing lovely smells through the airlock - slightly more worrying is the bright orange colour :shock: (from the raisins I think?)

anomalous_result

Post by anomalous_result » Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:52 pm

Due to my doing it in a rush I think some of mine's infected. A few bottles have like a little disc of mould on the surface whilst the ones that don't are full of yeasty sediment and are much firmer to the squeeze. Ah well. There's always next year.

GTOrichie

Post by GTOrichie » Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:42 pm

DaaB wrote:I'm not a wine maker of anysort but I would have thought mould in a hedgerow wine like this where it is impossible to clean the ingredient was almost inevitable. Mold that occurs in beers is often harmless and can be removed before racking if t occurs in the fermenter.

If you have bottled in pet bottles, can't you carefully squeeze the bottle to bring the mould to the neck and carefully remove it ?
I wish I had taken the time to ask that now as I chucked a 5gal brew down the drain once because it had a thin layer of mold on the surface, don't I feel silly now. :wall

As for my elder flower fizz it's making a fizzy noise like a glass of coke and there is noticeable activity but I don't have the yeast head that I normally get when brewing cider or ale, is this normal? or should I pitch a little more yeast to make sure?

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