Elderflower Champagne... Best Recipe??

MrsCrafty

Be careful and used strong bottles and store outside. I did this last year and came home late one evening to find all of our neighbours outside in their gardens. One of them was about to call the police because they thought someone was shooting.

It was my elderflower fizz smashing through wired champagne bottles.:o

Farway

Barneysmom wrote: »

Have you got the catpeetree elders?
I really believe there are different types of elders, and one smells just like cat pee.

I know from making my wine, when I used to go to Hereford to a particular place to get the berries and some trees you just didn't go near as they smelt horrible.

I used to make elderflower champagne, and like you found there are two types of flowers, the nice ones & catwee ones, always avoided using the cat ones

floyd

Farway wrote: »

I used to make elderflower champagne, and like you found there are two types of flowers, the nice ones & catwee ones, always avoided using the cat ones

This is true, I smell every flower head before putting it in my bag. They are particularly pi*sy if they are damp so try and pick in full sun on a dry day

Pink.

Hi rainbow,

As this thread has dropped down the board I've added it to the main thread on elderflower champagne because your query may help others.

Pink

MrsCrafty

I just wanted to add something to this. Mine was fermenting in the bucket, covered by muslin for nearly 2 weeks. I have only bottled it today. I am absolutely sure that this is the way forward. I did add yeast to mine though.

I will let you know.

metherer

Evening all.

Hubby and I made a batch up this evening, using this recipe http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A593363.

At the moment its in a plastic stacker box, and I'm tempted to keep it in there longer than 24 hours. Alternatively, we have a load of demi johns and the curly bits that go in the top to let the gas off. Would these let all the fizz out, or only enough? We have a load of plastic bottles ready and waiting for the finished tipple.

MrsCrafty

metherer wrote: »

Evening all.

Hubby and I made a batch up this evening, using this recipe http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A593363.

At the moment its in a plastic stacker box, and I'm tempted to keep it in there longer than 24 hours. Alternatively, we have a load of demi johns and the curly bits that go in the top to let the gas off. Would these let all the fizz out, or only enough? We have a load of plastic bottles ready and waiting for the finished tipple.

As long as you have a cloth over it, between the lid, I would leave it. However, I did think about transferring to DJ's but didn't have time so left in huge fermenting bucket with muslin and the lid loosely on top for nearly 2 weeks. I doubt if I will have to release too much gas but it still had rising bubbles when I looked closely.

metherer

Thanks Mrs Crafty. x

annie123

Last night hubby and I thought we'd have a 'taster bottle';) of it before handing it out for xmas.
I've made it many, many times before with no problems, so no idea what happened this year. Its flat and not sweet enough.

Is there anything I can do to it/with it to make it fizzy and tasty? I have 30 litres of it :eek:

annie123

First time ever no one has any ideas