elderflower fizzy

[the big lebowski]

hi all,im having a spring clean and getting my home brew stuff ready ,this year i fancy making elderflower shampers, i was going to make it in a hombrew pressure barrel as i wanted to make about 25 liters ,i have the recipe for 1 gallon but not for bigger amounts ,anyone got any ideas ? also will a barrel be strong enough ?25 liters is alot to clean of the walls ,any info welcome cheers

[Guest]

hubby has only made it once and it didn't have that sort of fizz to it. It was a swill it round the glass to get it to do something sort of fizz, It was very nice, light, flowery and easy going. However ours was a very basic home made fizz (reused food grade plastic buckets and bottles and about it really. Sugar, water and flowers possibly some other bits but it was a while ago) Good luck.

[Bigmallly]

Not sure of what advice you are looking for TBL but the obvious answer is to multiply the ingredients by 5. Am I missing something?

[More basil]

The beauty of elderflower champagne is that you use the yeast already on the flowers to make the fizz. This is also half the fun of it as you never know if you are going to get a gentle fizz or something that will blow your house apart. It isnt made in a barrel but in individual bottles

So...

The fermentation takes place in the bottles like 'real' champagne.. I now use plastic water bottles after a few explosions. Only fill the bottles 3/4 and if they start to expand, let out a little of the pressure.

Basic recipe:

Boil 4 litre of water with 450 gr sugar. Leave to cool. When cool, pour over at least 7-8 lovely ripe flower-heads and 2 sliced organic lemons. I usually use at least double the amount of flowers but bear in mind that the more flowers you use, the more yeast and hence the more risk of explosions. Leave for 24-48 hours and bottle. Filter and pour into very clean bottles ONLY 3/4 full. The drink is ready after about 3-4 weeks.

The flowers are best picked when they are just ripe and open and smell a little of muscat

If you want a sweeter and less explosive mixture use less flowers. The yeast of course 'eats' the sugar to make the alcohol. I usually end up with a very crisp, frothy drink that is a joy to open on a winter's evening with a surprising kick. It smells of concentrated mid summer. Elder is 'the healingest herb' according to some witches. It certainly brings joy when you drink it.

Worst explosion so far: 2 kitchen shelves, one teak tray, largest piece of plastic left from bottle 1 square centimeter... But just keep an eye on it and you'll be fine...

[Guest]

I usually end up with a very crisp, frothy drink that is a joy to open on a winter's evening with a surprising kick. It smells of concentrated mid summer.

I was led to believe this had to be drunk within a few months and was not meant to be kept until winter. Wine was ok to store but not fizz. Anyhoo how long do you usually keep it and any noticeable difference?

[simon12]

I have never made it but I think its supposed to be very highly carbonated (like champagne) which a pressure barrel is not suited to. Depending on the quality of the barrel it should vent excess pressure (over 10 psi) so if you don't mind it being less carbonated it should be fine but many barrels don't vent exactly as they should and leak from the tap. It would be very rare for the barrel to burst or anything totally disastrous.

[More basil]

The recipe is a family recipe and I think we all keep some for winter. It's a bit of a tradition to have some on the shortest day of the year. Most of the residual sugar will by then have been transformed into alcohol so it is a dry drink and certainly not for drivers. But the floral taste and scent remains. I had some the other day on a particularly dank February day to remind me of mid summer- and I have in the past come across a forgotten bottle in May and it was still good.

I guess it could go off if there isn't enough yeast on the flowers to transform the sugar into alcohol. The only time it went wrong for me was once very early in the process before bottling it when the flowers went mouldy overnight but this was before the yeast had started its 'alchemy'. I make elderflower cordial too and tend to freeze this to preserve it as it of course does not contain alcohol (and it can then be used for instant sorbet).

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

When I've done it previously I have initiated the initial fermentation in a 25L bucket with a loose fit lid covered in clean tea towel (with huge elastic band to stop bugs getting in), I have used Lalvin EC-1118 Champagne yeast (to give a reliable fermentation and higher Alcohol content ~ 10 - 12% which can be stored for longer). The resultant liquid is then strained into PET bottles and primed with sugar (if left to ferment out).

As with anything there are a myriad of recipes/approaches.

If you rely on the yeast on the flowers, you will likely get about 1.5 - 3% ABV and a very pleasant drink.

You may be able to store it in a pressure barrel after fermenting, I guess not much different to fizzy lager.

[the big lebowski]

hi all, thanks for the replys ,thats given me some things to think about ,bm i thought just times it by 5 was the way to do it but wanted to be sure ,thanks for all the help ,cheers

[meteor]

By gum I like the sound of this Elderflower champagne. I'll have to give it a go this year, must get the nephews and nieces to save their fizzy drinks bottles for me.

[the big lebowski]

I`ve been looking into this abit more and dave I will use the yeast you mentioned ,the barrel I will save for my beer as its new and I want to try it out ,what does "PET" stand for ? I`ve heard of these type of bottles are they extra strong bottles ? any advice welcome cheers

[rustylady]

Polyethylene terephthalate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[the big lebowski]

wow thanks rustylady that's great,cheers