Elderflower slime!....mmmm....

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matilda333

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Elderflower slime!....mmmm....
« on: June 05, 2012, 17:13 »
Its that time of year again, elderflowers are out in bloom so lets make alcohol from them!

So, I have elderflower champers once or twice before, however for the past 2 attempts it has turmed out with a very slimy, thick and syrupy consistency.
I gave up on the batch I created last year but as the same thing has happened this year I have decided to persist and dilute with water before bottling to see if this makes a difference.

The recipe I was was:

4 litres hot water
700g sugar
Juice and zest of four lemons
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
About 15 elderflower heads, in full bloom
A pinch of dried yeast (you may not need this)

How to make elderflower champagne
1. Put the hot water and sugar into a large container (a spotlessly clean bucket is good) and stir until the sugar dissolves, then top up with cold water so you have 6 litres of liquid in total.

2. Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently.

3. Cover with clean muslin and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. Take a look at the brew at this point, and if it's not becoming a little foamy and obviously beginning to ferment, add a pinch of yeast.

4. Leave the mixture to ferment, again covered with muslin, for a further four days. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into sterilised strong glass bottles with champagne stoppers (available from home-brewing suppliers) or Grolsch-style stoppers, or sterilized screw-top plastic bottles (a good deal of pressure can build up inside as the fermenting brew produces carbon dioxide, so strong bottles and seals are essential).

5. Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for at least a week before serving, chilled. The champagne should keep in the bottles for several months. Store in a cool, dry place.

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Any suggestions as to the cause of this could be would be gratefully appreciated, I searched for some solutions on the internet but have not come up with any answers!  :(
« Last Edit: June 05, 2012, 17:26 by matilda333 »

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Lardman

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Re: Elderflower slime!....mmmm....
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2012, 17:46 »
http://www.homewinemaking.co.uk/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1306343413

Any help ? I've always found they smell like cat pee to me, so I haven't tried it.




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matilda333

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Re: Elderflower slime!....mmmm....
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2012, 17:58 »
Thanks for the link...

I am wondering whether to cut my losses and try an alternative recipe to see how it compares.... Well.... as soon as this rain holds off long enough for the flowers to produce some yeast without it being knocked off again!... fingers crossed!  :unsure:

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Lardman

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Re: Elderflower slime!....mmmm....
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2012, 18:27 »
That's H.F.W. recipe isn't it ?

Personally Id add 1 tsp champagne yeast & 1 tsp of yeast nutrients after it has cooled, mother nature is good - but there's no harm in helping with a bit of science  :D
 

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Lardman

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Re: Elderflower slime!....mmmm....
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2012, 13:56 »
bumped into this last night

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/archive/index.php?t-4495.html

Id have a bash at lockwood1956's recipe on 09-06-2010, 09:43 AM if you're after another recipe.

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matilda333

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Re: Elderflower slime!....mmmm....
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2012, 18:42 »
Ahh, thank you for passing this on Lardman... I think I may give this one a go and see how it compares.... i'll keep you posted  :)

The concerns about the HFW recipe keeps popping up on my internet searches too, as highlighted in that link- an interesting point...

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waxwing

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Re: Elderflower slime!....mmmm....
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2012, 20:16 »
I don’t know how this came around or for how long I’ve made it, but this is an interesting alternative.
Using a white wine kit and make it. What I also do is make the kit in a bucket of elderflowers. I also make the wine sweet and strong. After 3 days I strain it into a demijohn. In November I siphon the wine into a clean bucket then I add a bottle of cheap gin. Then bottle it. :)
Don’t drink it like wine even though is seems pleasant it will have you on your back if you’re not careful.  ;)

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ilan

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Re: Elderflower slime!....mmmm....
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2012, 22:39 »
It baffles me most if not all commercial brewers spend a small fortune on keeping their own particular strain of yeast pure keeping out the miriad of bugs and yeasts which will cause all sorts of nasty off flavours and taints . so why take a chance , The best way to make a elderflower wine is to start with a couple of ltrs of grape juice juice of a lemon or better still an acid mix about 1 lbs of sugar  and a decent yeast  2 ltrs of water  get it all fermenting for a week or so  then pick your elderflower with care some are just cats pee others are very delicate put these into about 1/2 ltr of boiled hot water then rack of the fermented brew into a new demijon and add the strained elderflower liquid and an oz or so of sugar . 
This is the first age that has ever paid much attention to the future which is ironic since we may not have one !(Arthur c Clarke)



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