Elderberry Wine...

[Munch]

Ok..... made this 3 weeks ago and it bubbled away like a gooden..... it has now stopped bubbling why?

All seems too early to me

[VirginVegGrower]

Mine has slowed off too - think TwoSheds mentioned it does this. Mine is due for a racking in less than two weeks so am not too bothered.

[Two_Sheds]

yep, every time I make an elderberry wine the fermentation gets stuck and I have to do a restart

[VirginVegGrower]

Thanks to GN for the recipe and all others for the advice. I now have sixteen bottles of finished wine. It becomes slightly addictive though as I am now brewing Damson and Apple wines...

[Two_Sheds]

Elderberry & Banana "sherry"

I've just racked my two DJs of elderberry (one has banana in it too).

So this is the one we opened last night, it's been in the bottle 3 years. I think it's like a cream sherry ~ very drinkable, but strong

This makes 2 DJs (10 litres). It's a strong wine, up to 20%. The initial SG will be 1.020-1.030.

4.6kg elderberries/sloes/raspberries (I used up whatever was in the freezer)
900g very ripe (black) bananas
500g dates
500g washed, chopped sultanas
1134g (40 oz) sugar (not all at once! it goes in in increments)
2 tsp tartaric acid
1tsp tannin (a cup of strong black tea)
yeast nutrient
pectolase
yeast, a strong one like Gervin No.6 (or ask for a port yeast)
1 oz oak granules (optional, but recommended). Add these towards the end of fermentation.


Cover thawed fruit with 8oz sugar (dissolved in boiling water) in your fermenting bin.
When cool, add pectolase & yeast. Ferment for 4 days.

5th day: strain the liquid into sterilised DJs, add 20oz sugar dissolved in boiled water (let the water cool, don't put boiling water on the yeast). Top up the DJs to the neck with more cooled boiled water. Fit airlocks.

Test the SG weekly: when the SG falls below 1.000, add 4oz sugar until you've used the whole 40oz up (keep records).

When fermentation is complete, rack & leave to clear (the time will depend on temperature, try to keep it around 20c). Once clear, add Campden tablet & bottle it. I left it to mature for 3 years.


Apols for the confusing measurements, I've quickly typed this up from my pencilled notes.
I've also noted that it tasted "watery, rough" after 5 months in the DJ, then it was very dry. At this stage I added the oak granules.