wine with no demijohn and elderflower champagne help

joisey

elderflower...

I managed to pick the last few okish heads as I wanted to give it a go, but didn't pull my finger out fast enough and also bought a nice new bucket and slom bottles from ikea.. followed the 'hugh' recipe and it says if no foamy stuff after a couple of days to add some yeast, so I bought some youngs brewers yeast today from wilkinsons, and have added a teaspoon...

how long is it till it starts doing its thing? It smells delicious in there at the moment!
the ikea slom bottles are glass with a grolsch style fastening, how often should I release the carbon dioxide?? If I open the bottles regularly won't this turn the champagne vinegary???

2nd question -
what other wine/champagne recipes can I make using the bucket and slom bottles as the brewers yeast needs using within 3 months, and I don't want to waste it... plus there seems to be lots of wild blackberries around me hmmm

thanks!

Gigervamp

Don't use those bottles for the elderflower! They're not made to withstand the pressure according to Ikea. Use cleaned and sterilised pop bottles instead.
The champagne won't really get going until it's in the bottles and under pressure. You shouldn't need to add yeast.
Have a look at the elderflower champagne threads on the river cottage forum, here's one thread and here's another.