[mike1987]

ive got half a carier bag in the fridge that i picked last night im gonna get some more tonight and set some off ive been choping and changeing a few recpies so when ive done the Champagne ill post it here

[MoreWhisky]

Just had a look at the Hugh recipe on channel 4 to remind myself what has to be done.

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/elderflower-champagne-recipe#comments-top

It says this is a slightly different recipe from last yr    last yrs was perfect for me! did anybody write down last yrs recipe as i want to follow that one, i think it had more sugar and more flowers?

Also i cant remember if we primed the bottles with a bit of sugar?


I must remember to write recipes down , just saving the links is a bad idea.

Cheers MW.

[MoreWhisky]

Well thats my first 'brew' on the go. im gona do about 5 this yr 

[lancashiregardeninggal]

I've just read the whole of this thread and I just wondered if anyone could tell me - do you remove all trace of stalk?  For example in HFW's recipe it says about 15 flowerheads but doesn't say whether to remove all of the stalk 

[MoreWhisky]

I have used 25 flower heads and more sugar, as that recipe has been 'diluted' this yr. As for the green stork i cut it down to the point where you still keep all the flower whole. Ive never had a problem with this bitterness.

Also i do add some champagne yeast (£1.20 packet enough for 2 brews). I use this yeast as it specifically for sparkling wines and withstands a higher temperature.

Oh and mine is smelling lovely.

[lancashiregardeninggal]

Thankyou for the quick reply - most of them around here are just coming into flower and so I am gonna have a stab at it - never made wine before or brewed anything else for that matter!

[Growster...]

Thanks to all this chat here, we've spent the morning wandering round every elder tree, sniffing the flowers...

I think I'll wait until the berries get going, then the fun starts...

[MoreWhisky]

Thanks to all this chat here, we've spent the morning wandering round every elder tree, sniffing the flowers...

I think I'll wait until the berries get going, then the fun starts...

I personally prefer the flower champagne, but i do make jam with the berries.

[LittleRedHen]

I have mine sitting in a plastic fermenter right now thinking about what to do next.  Some of the flowers I used were a bit past it, so I added a few fresh ones today and a little more wine vinegar, a sprinkling of yeast, and God help me, acouple glasses of water.  WTH am I doing?  Goodness knows how it will turn out now!  Never made it before!

[MoreWhisky]

I went camping this weekend and took 4 litres.

This ended getting shared between  three of us,  I also took this out first while we where all sober so got a true feel of how strong it was. We certainly  knew we have had a drink  . and one of my friends didnt drink anything else all night. The only think commented on was that it was a bit sweet after a few glasses (not that this minor quib stopped anyone going back for more).

Ive only got 1 litre left now, so going to start the second batch tomorrow.

For any mathematicians out there who knows the recipe will notice that leaves a missing litre... well as i said i went camping with my friends for one night and i asked my wife to degass the two remaining bottles morning and night. She forgot to degass on sun morning and went out. As soon as i got back and opened the door i knew she had forgot to degass lol one pop bottle blew the lid off and there was champers all over the kitchen he he.

So tomorrows off to collect some more flowers from my favourite place, im going to cut the lemmons to 3 and only 1kg of sugar this time.

[mike1987]

MoreWhisky are you using the hfw recpie if so when completly fermented it will be arround 9% however the comments about sweetness sugest otherwise
*my recpie makes 2 gallons
120grams elderflower (when stripped from the stalks)
1100 grams sugar or 1500 if not using apple juice
1 liter apple juice pure (not form concentrate)
1 pkt champagine yeast
1 stp yeast nutrient
1 tsp pectic enzyme
3 or 4 lemons (juice and zest)
the methoed
clean and sterilise all equiptment
disolve the sugar in about 2 liters of boiling water then add the flowers and another kettle full of water
add the apple juice (if using) and the lemon juice/zest
top up the water to the 2 gall mark on your bucket
mix well and add the yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme
cover the bucket and leave for a week or untill the hydrometer (if you have one) reads below  1.001
syphon threw through a muslin bag into 2 demijohns and fit a airlock
important or you may end up with dangrously high pressure in the bottles
allow to ferment untill the bubbles stop passing through the airlock or the hydrometer reads less than .998
syphon into sterile bottles leaving as much of the sediment behind as you can and add 1 tsp of sugar for every liter of wine seal the bottles and leave in a warm place for a day or 2 then move to a cold place untill it is clear

if you wan perfectley clear wine the read this disgorging champagne altho i never really leave it for a year and dont mind a bit of sediment

[Kleftiwallah]

The annual holiday has crept up on me. .  . . Do I have time in three or four days to get a batch of elderflower champers underway, or should I wait until our return and hope the flowers are still acceptable ?      Cheers,   Tony.

[mike1987]

pick them and freeze them better than risking them being past it when you get back
or if you could get a batch underway in d.j's instead of buckets then it would be fine and not need racking for at least 2 weeks and would probably be ok for up to a couple of month altho i would not recomend it as the flowers will start to turn and the yeast may die off to the point where once in the bottles you wont be able to prime it

[Kleftiwallah]

Thanks for those words of wisdom Mike.  Trouble is no room in't freezer.  Cheers,   Tony.

[mike1987]

demies it is then lol that or do without elderflower champagne  if it fails and you cant get a fizz in the bottles due to leaveing it too long and the yeast dieing then all is not lost as you will still have elderflower wine almost as good but not quite