Hi!

[BrewRat]

I an new to the forum and just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. I'm from the Midlands (Worcs) and am new to the homebrew scene. My dear late mother used to brew anything she could get her hands on from the fields and hedgerows around our house. She was an excellent brewer although her red wines made from elderberry, damson & blackberry were extremely dry and used to make me grimace when i sipped them which wasn't often! I loved her elderflower champagne and recall exploding bottles in the upstairs cupboard!

I was inspired to take up homebrewing myself and started with elderflower champagne. The first year it was a great success and people said I could have sold it but the last two years have been not so successful and this year I poured the whole lot down the sink! I'm not sure what went wrong. It cleared to a lovely colour but tasted too acidic. I never use Campden tablets but use a pinch of yeast and more sugar than it says in the recipes (I amalgamated two this time). I think I may have used too many lemons and left it in the fermenting bin too long before demi'ing. I've found it such a hit and miss process.
This year i also made a rhubarb & ginger and this is a beautiful light pink in colour. It's still fermenting slowly in its demi.
Anyway, it's great to be part of this community. If anyone has any helpful hints, i would love to hear about others' experiences!
Thank you.
 Sue

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum Sue.

 

[BrewRat]

Thank you!

 

[The Baron]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Rwilts]

Welcome..

 

[An Ankoù]

It's good to see someone following in the old traditions, but things have moved on apace since your mum's time and there should certainly be no exploding bottles. I see some of the recipes for elderflower champagne which are still passed around on this and other forums and I shudder: bottle bombs are lethal! Rather than rely on internet recipes, I'd get a good book on country wine-making and read up a bit on the theory- it's not rocket science, but it needs taking on board. I started in the 70s with CJJ Berry's First Steps in Winemaking; it's a sound book and is still in print. I then moved on to brewing beer so haven't kept up with the wine-making literature.
Good luck and welcome to the forum. Keep us informed of your adventures.

 

[BrewRat]

Hi, Thank-you for your reply. I have never had any exploders! It was something we were used to in the 70s though. These are the books my mum used..I notice one is a CJJ Berry!

 

[BrewRat]

Photos won't upload...the CJJ Berry book is Amateur Winemaker Recipes and the other is Home Made Country Wines collected by The Farmers Weekly

 

[An Ankoù]

Hi, Thank-you for your reply. I have never had any exploders! It was something we were used to in the 70s though. These are the books my mum used..I notice one is a CJJ Berry!

Glad to hear it. Not being a great winemaker these days, I make rhubarb, elderflower, blackberry and elderberry, I've never needed to go further than Berry's First Steps. Nevertheless, I love reading brewing and winemaking literature so I'll keep an eye open for the Farmer's Weekly one.
All the best.

 

[user 44889]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I too am a hedgerows forager and brewer. Got a2 gallon batch of Blackcurrant on the go at mo and will be starting a 2 gallon batch of BlackBerry very soon ( just picked 16lbs off them). Sorry never done a Elderflower Champagne, only a still one which was to sweet and floral so can't help you there.
Do you keep a wine making diary, if not it's a good thing to do... for disasters and ones that are great like your first Champagne.
There is a mine of knowledge on this forum and im sure someone will be able to help.
Happy Brewing