Elderflower Power

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4menter

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I picked a freezer full of Elderflowers last year and only just got the chance to use a few of them. I decided to make Elderflower cordial but on a larger scale than before 15ltrs this time and it has turned out lovely. All my moaning is forgotten as they sip away at it.
I thought I'd have ago then at some Elderflower and white grape wine DJ x2, so I did, and it was a pleasure to make the scent in the air was really nice and even now I cant help smelling the top of the airlock for the fragrance (anyone else do that?). The down side is my hydrometer is missing so I had to leave out OG. I want to leave a little sweetness to them so I'll keep testing it, for the sake of science you understand! :)
 
Others have mentioned that it is better to add the cordial after the first racking, and adding it over a few days, so that the aroma isn't driven off by the CO2. If you've been smelling it a lot throught the airlock you might have lost some of the aroma.
 
Sounds nice. I did an elderflower champagne and it was so lovely, like drinking flowers. Still have a couple left come to think of it. :cheers:
 
I hadn't considered that, I will have to add some after if fragrance is gone but to be honest I cant see that happening as it is strongly infused, thanks though.
I want to have a go at Elderflower champagne now too :thumb: sounds lovely.
 
I made some EF wine using bottled cordial (Belvoir, no sulfates etc), put most of it in at the start, then the rest of it in during the secondary.

Tastes strongly of EF.
 
Dr D How would you rate the finished wine you made from Belvoir cordial on a scale of 1-10?
4
 
4menter said:
Dr D How would you rate the finished wine you made from Belvoir cordial on a scale of 1-10?
4

I made it quite strong, about 16% abv so it is difficult to compare to a commercial wine as it has EF and more alcohol, but it is actually pretty damn good. Nice amount of acidity from the lemon in the EF cordial, added grape tannin too. Straight after bottling maybe a 6 although a very good 6, as the EF adds a lot of flavour and aroma. My wife enjoyed it a lot, as she loves EF drinks. Very pale, straw yellow colour once bottled, fermented and cleared well. I'm keeping the 4 remaining bottles to age for a month or so, so I'll let you know how it turns out with some time in the bottle.

I'm making another batch as I was so impressed with the first: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=51007
 
I'm trying an elderflower champagne just now (it's in the fermentor). First time trying to brew anything that's not beer.

I've noticed all I can smell are the lemons, I wonder if I've maybe added too much but also I was expecting the fermentation to foam up like beer does so I spent the last two days in a panic wondering if it was actually fermenting or not. Go the odd bubble floating to the surface and a little sound like crackling and all the elderflowers I missed have floated to the surface..

I gave in last night and added more yeast (beer yeast as it's all I had in the house), this morning, still no foam but it sounds like snap crackle and pop in there!

I'm really interested to see something that's different to what I'm used to and how it all works.
 
Some wines don't froth much, especially those made from thinner juices without much pectin and fibres.

The mead I'm making didn't froth at all, was able to brim it to the neck during highly active primary fermentation without it bubbling through the airlock. No long chain carbohydrates in honey so nothing to make a decent bubble with.
 
4menter said:
Dr D How would you rate the finished wine you made from Belvoir cordial on a scale of 1-10?



Finished wine, plus a few weeks in the bottle has come on very well, tastes like an actual white wine, but with a strong EF taste/aroma. Wife prefers it like that but I'm adding less EF to the next batch, going for 2/3 bottle per 4.5 L DJ.

I'm glad I'm making another batch and it has improved in the bottle so I'm keeping the remaining (2 :drunk: ) bottles to age.
 
I must have made a mistake with the elder flower wine i made a few years ago.....it pretty much smelled like a pigeon loft.

Elderberries, beautiful....elder flower...not for me.
 
Things are looking good for my elderflower sparkling wine. The gravity is down to 0.991 guess it was fermenting away no problem :)
I'm more excited about this than I normally am about beer.
 
It has turned out well and very strong, Importantly my wife really likes it. I definitely will be making this again too.
DrD thanks for reply and link.
 
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