Elderflowers?

daz501

i've been brewing my wine/ale for 72 hours now, and i added a small packet of yeast last night as there was no "activity" i.e. bubbling of the liquid.

Is this normal?

Also, I didn't use the elderflowers immediately. I left them drying out for about two days before actually getting down to business. Also I have not used as much sugar as some recipes sugest.

floyd

This is my 4th batch of elderflower fizz and I've never had any bubbling without having to add additional yeast first, there just doesn't seem to be enough natural yeast to get it going (I did try bottling one lot with no added yeast and it just stayed flat, no gas produced at all). I normally only add a pinch of yeast though and leave it for 3-4 more days to see if it starts to bubble.
If the elderflowers still smelled of elderflower and hadn't gone pis*y then it should be fine, I've used frozen ones with no detrimental effect on flavour. With less sugar you will get less alcohol and possibly less gas as there is not as much to feed the yeast and help them replicate and produce CO2 and alcohol

Scotsbride

No elderflowers in scotland either yet! but heaps of cow parsley and pignuts

daz501

I'm still not getting any bubbling whatsoever, and it's been in since Sunday night. The thing is, I'm doing in my attitc which is usually warm all the time. Recently it has been chilly at night and I think it isn't warm enough up there. I'm seriously considering bringing the lot downstairs into a warm room, but this will involve transferring it all using buckets, and reoxygenating the liquid.

Would anyone advise that I do this - move to a different room?

floyd

I moved my last batch from the hall because it was too draughty into the lounge in front of the patio doors which are South facing, this super-charged it and it was fizzing wildly so I left it a few more days to calm down before bottling it.

How much less sugar did you use? To get no bubbles with an entire sachet of yeast in there would suggest there isn't enough food for them to do their work and this might be why it isn't producing any bubbles yet. If its a real hassle to move it, I would first try making up the difference in the amount of sugar between what most recipes suggest and what you used then wait 2-3 days and see. If that doesn't work then I'd move it

oldtractor

I have just bottled my first lot of elderflower cordial

daz501

6

floyd wrote: »

How much less sugar did you use? To get no bubbles with an entire sachet of yeast in there would suggest there isn't enough food for them to do their work and this might be why it isn't producing any bubbles yet. If its a real hassle to move it, I would first try making up the difference in the amount of sugar between what most recipes suggest and what you used then wait 2-3 days and see. If that doesn't work then I'd move it

I have used about 6kg of sugar to 30 litres of liquid.

I have added another kilo today..

Edit - It's been a warm day today, and I just checked the attic, and there is some very gentles fizzing taking place. If I add more sugar I suppose it will give it more kick.

I added baker's yeast last night - only two small sachets - so hopefully this has kick started it.

The thing is, I've seen recipes that claim that no yeast is needed because of the natural presence of it in the elder.

PippaA

Here in Buckinghamshire they have been out for a while and are now going over.

cootambear

floyd wrote: »

This is my 4th batch of elderflower fizz and I've never had any bubbling without having to add additional yeast first, there just doesn't seem to be enough natural yeast to get it going (I did try bottling one lot with no added yeast and it just stayed flat, no gas produced at all). I normally only add a pinch of yeast though and leave it for 3-4 more days to see if it starts to bubble.
If the elderflowers still smelled of elderflower and hadn't gone pis*y then it should be fine, I've used frozen ones with no detrimental effect on flavour. With less sugar you will get less alcohol and possibly less gas as there is not as much to feed the yeast and help them replicate and produce CO2 and alcohol

All yeast is natural. If it didn`t obey the laws of the nature ie the Universe, it would cease to exist. perhaps with a slight `pop`.

annie123

For anyone having trouble getting it to fizz........its need agitating.
Either stir it every 6 hours or so if its in a tub, or if its in big bottles (I use 25 ltr water containers) give it a shake (open the screw top and hear it that wonderful escaping fizz sound)
I also leave it for 7-10 days before I strain off and bottle.

I use this recipe http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A593363 and it tastes wonderful