Has anyone made Elderflower champagne and have you got any tips for me?

[fizzpops]

We want to try this at the weekend but the recipes I have found vary in advice and quantities.

Any tried and tested recipes?
How is it best stored when fermenting?
What did you decant it into - glass or plastic?

Ooh thanks NR

I used a fab recipe that was in the Guardian a couple of years ago. I used brown, glass screw top bottles, which I got through work from a chemical suppliers (read: I had some in the back of my car from site work and they didn't see their way back into the store cupboard). You can get those glass bottles with flip top stoppers from Ikea, I'm sure they are only about £1 or so.

Matthew Fort's Elderflower champagne

Like what my Granny used to make. A truly miraculous drink: the delicate flowers contain enough yeast to produce their own natural spritz. The murky, non-alcoholic fizz with its ineffable flavour of muscat was one of the haunting memories of my childhood.

36 elderflower heads

1 lemon

680g caster sugar

2 tbsp white-wine vinegar

4.5 litres water

Make sure there are as few insects as possible on your elderflowers. Put them in a clean bucket, along with the juice of the lemon, its rind without any pith, sugar and vinegar. Add the cold water and leave for at least 24 hours. You may have to stir it from time to time, to dissolve the sugar. Strain into sterilised bottles. Screw on the tops (or do whatever you have to do with the tops - I have some old-fashioned lemonade bottles with those flip-over caps). Leave for two weeks. Check the fizziness from time to time and let off any excess build-up: you don't want the precious bottles exploding like bombs.

What I am intrigued about is the quantities of sugar to elderflower heads and how much it all differs.

Perhaps I will try a different recipe and then can get some idea (a virtual tasting ) of what difference it makes.

I made the recipe with few flowers earlier on and plan to to the HFW one in a few days, the recipes seem to differ loads don't they !

Yes it's weird isn't it? I wasn't at all sure that my heads of elderflower counted as large, so I put about 6 in, rather than 4. Mine is all bottled up sitting in the shed now so I shall report back in a few weeks

In the thread that nr linked to, someone gave a tip about how to stop bottles exploding so I have done that.

The roof has collapsed on my shed so i've decided to store them down the side of my house in the alleyway, it's pretty cool down there ( under an elder tree ironicially !)

I hope it's nice, my fiance was most confused about what i was up to earlier on so i'd be nice to surprise him with a half decent tasting brew.

I wonder how different then 2 drinks are.

Did you read the bit about some flowers smelling of cat wee and some smalling like bananas while you were doing your research ?

I found 2 bushed with flowers which smelled completly different neither like pee or fruit confused !

I have never come across elder that smells of bananas sadly - I think it all smells of cat wee to be honest

lets hope it tastes better eh

I make cordial - am going into school to make it with the yr 2/3 class nxt wk.

i'm going to have a try at the gorse wine they made on river cottage. as soon as i can get it dept to unblock the website....

Spicemonster did yours look frothy before you bottled it ?

Mine just looks like still water, i don't know if i should add a pinch of yeast or leave it for a bit longer than 24 hours.

help !

No, not at all Worzsel. It looked like wee actually

Apparently, as long as you didn't wash the flowers (you didn't did you?), the flowers cause the fermentation process to begin. Am slightly worried by the sludge of sugar left at the bottom of the nappy pail I used to mix mine in as I have a feeling that the sugar turning to alcohol is quite critical.

It's going to be an anxious two weeks

I didnt wash it atall, nor did i pick off any bugs (i realised earlier on) so there should be lots of flavout

I am going to bottle in it a bit then.

I was massivly impressed with 12p bottles of water from tesco.. if it works the whoe concoction will have cost me less that £2 !

Mine still doesn't appear to be doing much

My brother convinced me that we should try making this and I think we've dicovered Elderflower Vodka ! :0

Ooh hello Worzsel. We opened a bottle last night and it was slighty disappointing. It was fizzy but very, very slightly and it tasted just like elderflower cordial! Whether or not it will become more exciting as the summer progresses I don't know. Have you tried turning your bottles over and back up again to see if there's any bubbles (assuming you don't want to open one to test)

Watch out guys and make sure they are actually elderflowers...also I don't think there are any about right now! HOTH has a secret ginger beer recipe. I have prevented him from using it to date as apparently it does get a bit out of control...

Lol Spacehopper there was plenty of Elderflowers around in June when this thread was born

My Elderflower champagne was yummy. I stil have 2 bottles saved !

My only problem with it was that it wasn't really alcoholic enough [piss head].

I'm Worzselmummage BTW.

I'd love the Ginger Beer recipe if you've got it

My Mum has been telling me tales of a Ginger Beer Plant that they used to share between the neighbours or something...