Elderflower Champagne... time to get going!

[Hilary B]

Wimbish, don't worry. The sediment is just the yeast deposit. With some wines you would rack it off but don't worry. You won't even notice it taste-wise.

Ohbeary. Glad someone said that about the lovely Hugh. I wanted to but didn't have the nerve.

I LIKE Hugh, but a lot of his cooking ideas are not half as clever as he thinks.... I would always tend to filter his 'cookery' (and drink making) ideas through previous experience of making other similar things.

[JanetKent]

Used the 'River Cottage' recipe, luckily Mum had lots of flowers on her tree. Didn't start on its own, so added a little wine yeast after 3 days and now it's bubbling away nicely...kitchen smells lovely!

Hello
l was thinking of having a try at Elderflower champagne but l don't know where to find champagne yeast. Does anyone know please ? l am just outside Canterbury Kent. Also - should l use plastic bottles or glass ? l've read a few horror stories of glass bottles exploding which sound v v dodgy !!
Thanks
Janet

[Alison]

Hello
l was thinking of having a try at Elderflower champagne but l don't know where to find champagne yeast. Does anyone know please ? l am just outside Canterbury Kent. Also - should l use plastic bottles or glass ? l've read a few horror stories of glass bottles exploding which sound v v dodgy !!
Thanks
Janet

You can get the yeast easily on ebay but to be honest you shouldn't need to add any yeast as there should be sufficient natural yeast in the flowers anyway. I'm too scared to use glass bottles (and I'd have to buy them anyway) so use old pop bottles which can expand a bit to warn me if they are getting too pressurised. You can then easily let off a bit of gas by cracking the top a bit. If you do want to use glass then make sure you use grolsch style ones not ordinary win bottles or ones with screw top lids.

[JanetKent]

You can get the yeast easily on ebay but to be honest you shouldn't need to add any yeast as there should be sufficient natural yeast in the flowers anyway. I'm too scared to use glass bottles (and I'd have to buy them anyway) so use old pop bottles which can expand a bit to warn me if they are getting too pressurised. You can then easily let off a bit of gas by cracking the top a bit. If you do want to use glass then make sure you use grolsch style ones not ordinary win bottles or ones with screw top lids.

Thanks Alison. l looked on ebay but could only see beer yeast and apprently there are many kinds of yeast for different sorts of drinks. l'm told l need to find Champagne yeast and that is what l'm having problems with because l am rural and find it hard to get out to main shops often.
l think with all the scary stuff l'm hearing about exploding glass bottles that l shall go with the plastic ones as you say. You can see when the pressure is building lol
l have already made Elderflower cordial - have 3 litre bottles in the fridge and it is quite strong and needs to be diluted so the 3 bottles will go very far. Because the elder flowers in the garden may be gone by the time l've found this yeast l'm wondering if l could dilute one of the bottles of cordial l've made and make about 3 ltrs of 'champagne' with that ? Any thoughts on that ??
Thanks

[sarraceniac]

Bottled my first 10 litres of champers this morning at 6 o'clock. Was very upset when my local council decided to re-plant the common land just down the road from me with 'civilised' plants and dug up all the elders, hawthorns, blackthorns (sloes) and dog roses (hips) that we have harvested for years and put in cultivated shrubs instead. They have spent £175,000 of our money putting in nice tarmac paths which no one will walk on, a picnic area that no one will eat in and a phoney looking pond for any passing child to commit suicide in. I'd put it in the 'Minor Rants' thread, but it is major. Found another source of elders a couple of miles away, my own Black Lace is not big enough to produce enough flowers (would they give me pink champagne?). Had to start fermentation of the current lot with just a pinch of dried bakers' yeast which is quite good enough to get it to kick in. Done it before and never used fancy yeasts.

[JanetKent]

Bottled my first 10 litres of champers this morning at 6 o'clock. Was very upset when my local council decided to re-plant the common land just down the road from me with 'civilised' plants and dug up all the elders, hawthorns, blackthorns (sloes) and dog roses (hips) that we have harvested for years and put in cultivated shrubs instead. They have spent £175,000 of our money putting in nice tarmac paths which no one will walk on, a picnic area that no one will eat in and a phoney looking pond for any passing child to commit suicide in. I'd put it in the 'Minor Rants' thread, but it is major. Found another source of elders a couple of miles away, my own Black Lace is not big enough to produce enough flowers (would they give me pink champagne?). Had to start fermentation of the current lot with just a pinch of dried bakers' yeast which is quite good enough to get it to kick in. Done it before and never used fancy yeasts.

Oh that's a REAL shame and l can totally understand why that has angered you. There is just far too much of this sort of thing happening - and when do the people get asked ???
Thankfully Elder and Hawthorn are common plants and they don't mind where they grow so hopefully you can find another source nearby soon. Do you know anyone with a large garden that might plant these lovely things in their garden ? you could offer a bottle of champers every year
l'm very interested to hear if anyone has used Black Lace pink Elder to make Elderflower cordial or champers because l recently bought that plant for my own garden mostly because it looks so striking...but l am delighted to find that the flowers do have that lovely scent too. lt isn't exactly the same as the wild white variety l have in my garden but close enough and next year l'll be trying it myself. l'm planning to buy many more of these plants now.
l might have to try the ordinary bakers yeast because l just cannot find the other kind. l've already made 3 ltrs of strong elderflower cordial a week ago - do you think l could use that to make champers ??

[abby]

Great advice have made my first batch today .How long does it last in the plastic bottles do you have too drink it immediately ?

[sarraceniac]

Great advice have made my first batch today .How long does it last in the plastic bottles do you have too drink it immediately ?

No. It improves with keeping for at least a year. I actually shared a litre just 2 weeks ago that I made last year, with a neighbour. Luverly.

[rustylady]

At last the elderflowers are out round here, and my first batch is under way.

[Bramble_killer]

er....i bottled some up last night and tonight I had to release the pressure from a few of them. Is that normal? May try another batch this weekend if I can get out to pick some.

[helly]

started my 1st ever batch today aswell, cant wait....

[rustylady]

Mine has now been strained into demijohns (well, 5 and a bit litre water bottles with airlocks fitted). Want to ferment it a bit more before bottling. If it's anything like the ginger beer it will be a cracker!!!

[Waffler]

ok, I have a potential problem.
I set my champagne off last weekend, with a view to bottling this weekend (can't remember which recipe but I'm sure it came off here, though I adapted it last year to great effect) However, when I checked in the week, the flower and lemon parts (the lumpy bits) were going mouldy. I scooped out the majority of the 'lumps' and left it to continue, but am now concerned that this batch is no good. Checked it today and it has a white film across the top, with bubbles in (a bit like those super sticky bubbles you get from super sticky thick bubble mix - those with kids might know what the hell I'm on about!) Putting my ear to it it sounds fizzy. It looks like trad lemonade. No extra yeast was added and I used more than the stated number of flower heads.
What do you reckon? My thinking is that I'll strain it and bottle it tomorrow anyway as I'm keen to get another batch going and time is of the essence. However, I'd appreciate expert advise from you guys...