Elderflowers

calumscott · Jun 17, 2013

So the flowers are opening in Oxfordshire. :thumb:

I want to make some elderflower champagne, the plan being to ferment out a decent elderflower wine to dry then batch prime and bottle in beer bottles just like I would normally...

...OK so not the most elegant packaging for a champers style but what the hell, it works!

I understand it's a pint of flowers to the gallon, is that right?

Can you freeze the flowers until you collect enough? Ideally I'd just like to grab a few heads here and there on my way home from work until I have enough then brew...

LeithR · Jun 17, 2013

Hi Calum,
I haven't made it for years but am planning to again this year. I used Ben Turner's recipe:-
1 pint flowers
either 1Kg WGJ or 900g Sultana's
1 tsp citric acid
350g Sugar
4.3L approx water
Prime and bottle
He does suggest that you pick and use the flowers on the same day to avoid the cats pi** flavour which sometimes can happen.

Just checked, this morning, on the situation in my locale and they are just forming so it will be another week or 2

Good luck :thumb:

Moley · Jun 17, 2013

I've got no idea about freezing flowers, but I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't work.

I can't remember the quantity of flowers either, without checking my notes tonight, but I think it's around 10 heads to the gallon.

When you cut the heads, put them into a black dustbin sack, tie the neck of the bag and leave them overnight. When you untie the bag, take a head and give it a good shake, the vast majority of the petals should just fall off and then you can throw away all of the green stalks.

calumscott · Jun 17, 2013

Thanks guys!

I'm going to start collecting, doing the bin bag thing and freezing and then see how we go.

I think two or three gallons should do the trick! :)

Moley · Jun 17, 2013

I've just found the original link for the black bag method.

See here and scroll half way down the page for the English translation.

I've tried it, and it really does work. :thumb:

John46 · Jun 17, 2013

Moley said:
I've got no idea about freezing flowers, but I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't work.

I can't remember the quantity of flowers either, without checking my notes tonight, but I think it's around 10 heads to the gallon.

When you cut the heads, put them into a black dustbin sack, tie the neck of the bag and leave them overnight. When you untie the bag, take a head and give it a good shake, the vast majority of the petals should just fall off and then you can throw away all of the green stalks.

Excellent, I came on here to ask how to collect the flowers, this seems like a great way to do it.

On my many walks I have seen Elderflowers everywhere. I have two huge trees in my garden that are a mass of flowers, I'll be leaving them for the berries, while I go out and plunder all the trees in my area for the flowers. I don't have any champagne bottles so I'll just be making wine and cordial out of it.

Anyone have a good recipe for making cordial?

Tim_Crowhurst · Jun 17, 2013

I've just recently got the recipe for elderflower cordial used by my cousins in Cork. I've not used it myself - I'll be making my first batch later this week - however it is about the best elderflower cordial I've tasted.

50 â 60 flower heads
4lbs (1.8kg) sugar
2 and Â¾ oz (78gms) citric acid
2 lemons
2 pints (1150ml) water

Method:

1Carefully shake the flower heads to remove any insects and cut off any excess stems.
2Bring the water to boil in a large stainless steel pan.
3Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar until it has dissolved.
4Add the grated rind of the lemons. Slice the lemons and add them to the pan.
5Add the citric acid and stir well.
6Add the flower heads. Push them down into the water and stir several times.
7Cover the pan and leave overnight.
8Next day, strain off the juice, squeezing the flower heads to remove all liquid.
9Strain the juice again, this time through a muslin cloth or similar, to remove any small bits.
10Bottle. Can be used immediately and will keep for months/years!
11This cordial is very strong so you only need to use a little in a glass â experiment until you get your ideal strength.
12Adding fizzy water instead of still water, moves it up a rung!

Grand gris · Jun 17, 2013

Going back to the first post

If you ferment it dry will priming to make it fizzy still work?

I thought you would ferment most of the way and then bottle for champagne?

calumscott · Jun 17, 2013

Grand gris said:
If you ferment it dry will priming to make it fizzy still work?

I thought you would ferment most of the way and then bottle for champagne?

Yup, it'll work.

The idea is to ferment it right out, then you have a known ABV and you know you have no sugar left.

You don't stabilise (obviously) then add a known quantity of sugar, I'm thinking in the "really quite fizzy" bracket, 7g/l or thereabouts. The residual yeast, gets going on that new sugar and produces the CO2 in the bottle.

Just like beer. :thumb:

astraman1 · Jun 17, 2013

i think the only problem you will come across is once defrosted they will be all wet so you will have to strip them off the stalks first then freeze them

you may aswell just take the bin bag and grab them all in one go and leave them in the bag and you know the rest

im lucky i have a tree literally 15 ft from my house i think this year im going to try an berry wine

calumscott · Jun 17, 2013

Yeah, that was the plan, I'm going to grab them, bag them, shake them, freeze them...

divingdavey · Jun 18, 2013

LeithR said:
Hi Calum,
I haven't made it for years but am planning to again this year. I used Ben Turner's recipe:-
1 pint flowers
either 1Kg WGJ or 900g Sultana's
1 tsp citric acid
350g Sugar
4.3L approx water
Prime and bottle
He does suggest that you pick and use the flowers on the same day to avoid the cats pi** flavour which sometimes can happen.

Just checked, this morning, on the situation in my locale and they are just forming so it will be another week or 2

Good luck :thumb:

Hi, does priming above just mean add some sugar? I'd like to make some eldeflower wine but would be nervous about fizzing it up (I don't want to have exloding bottles and am new to homebrewing)... Could I use the above recipe and just not 'Prime' for a nice wine? Or could I use Stablizer and then add sugar to sweeten to taste without the risk of an exposion

?

Also, does the pint of elderflowers refer to the flowers with the green stalks still attached?

Thanks

RobWalker · Jun 18, 2013

if you want sweet and highly fizzy, just keep sugar syrup on hand in the fridge...

calumscott · Jun 18, 2013

Start 'em young!!!

One big bag secured... :)

LeithR · Jun 18, 2013

@divingdavey,
Yes, you need to add sugar once the fermentation has stopped but no stabilizers/campden tabs have been added, the yeast still needs to be viable in the wine. Adding a small amount of sugar as priming sugar will convert into Co2 and if you follow the route of bottling up, leaving the primed wine in the warm for a couple of weeks then moving into the cold for 2/3 weeks. This will put some fizz back into the Elderberry champers (just the same as for beer really).

You will also need to think about using bottles which will withstand pressure so you need PET bottles or Beer bottles. Re-using Champagne bottles usually doesn't work very well unless you put a fair amount of effort into it.

calumscott · Jun 18, 2013

Champoo bottles are ideal because you can crown cap them. Trouble is they are a different size to beer bottle caps so you need a capper that can take the bigger size.

Which is why I'm going beer bottles...

calumscott · Jun 18, 2013

Just had a phone call from my Mum...

Who said "I once did an elderflower and grapefruit, it went fizzy like champagne". So once I'd got over wondering how she managed not to explode bottles (maybe they made them stronger back then?) I extracted the recipe from her. Sounded perfectly sensible apart from the leaving the heads out for the flowers to dry and drop part...

Can't remember the detail but it involved rinding and juicing grapefruit and lots of sugar but I like the idea...

So I'm going with (for 5 litres):

1pt Elderflowers
1ltr White Grape Juice
1/2ltr Grapefruit Juice
550g Sugar
Yeast Nutrient
1tsp Pectolase (to deal with the grapefruit juice)

Fermented to dry then primed at 2.6 vols (roughly 7g/l)

oldjiver · Jun 18, 2013

I have made elderflower champagne using crown capped beer bottles a while ago. It was obviously very dry so I found the best way to serve it was to get the bottles very cold as this keeps the gas from stirring up the yeast. Then make up a thick sugar syrup, add the desired amount to a posh jug and gently decant the bottle into the jug. You wont lose much gas and you can serve it into champagne flutes clear. You may be able to find a hard settling champagne yeast.

anthonyUK · Jun 19, 2013

Hi Callum,
I use these in Champagne bottles - http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cgi ... 5578#a5578

They work well and for sparkling wines the hollow cap can be used to collect the sediment if the bottles are stored inverted.
You'll also need some cages but both of these items are reusable.

If your Elderflower champers is lacking flavour and too dry add a bit of Elderflower cordial when serving :thumb:
Lowicz syrups are also good for this especially Raspberry.

I like the sound of the grapefruit. I think that would work well.

calumscott · Jun 19, 2013

Thanks guys!

I haven't collected champers bottles yet, being mostly consumed by beer brewing... But I've started collecting now.

So this year is all about the wine rather than the presentation!! I'll do some digging to see if I can get a suitable yeast that will settle out and stick...

As to dry? Well I like the real thing Extra Brut so that shouldn't be a problem! :)

Elderflowers

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