Yey. a big day in town for me. managed to get bottles from the recycling centre and plastic stoppers - still to get wire cages. and all the ingredients ready to make the champagne! Can't wait.!
purplegoanna,
Nov 9, 11:24pm
found some, was dropping a delivery of for work and spotted all these white flower heads bobbing about in the breeze, had a closer look and ello ello what have i found growing like weeds amongst what used to be an old garden. Nabbed a few heads and a branch so i could double check on google and yes thats them alright.the plant is just coming into flower now so when i go back in 2 weeks ill be able to nab a whole lot more.
babytears,
Nov 9, 11:33pm
Yey. I'm so glad you found some. So Champers for xmas then! :)
purplegoanna,
Nov 9, 11:58pm
well ive just made up a mini amount with the few flower heads i brought home, what eva comes of that will decide the next lot.your right it does grow like a weed, not at all what i imagined plant wise.
greerg,
Nov 10, 12:42am
They are the number 1 weed in my South Island garden.One neighbourhas a massive elderberry and they come up everywhere in my garden.Worse - the tree appears to be the exact distance from my clothes line that it takes birds to digest the berries so large purple stains on clothes are a regular feature.Have even thought of shifting the clothes line but struck a fair bit of husbandly resistance to that.
purplegoanna,
Nov 10, 12:44am
yip i can imagine purple squids would not be appreciated on nice clean washing! similiar to blackberrys!
mrsmcgoo,
Nov 11, 12:36am
yes yes - me too - my uncle used to make it - deliciously moorish - and potent too!oh how I miss it. :o( I tried to grow some Elderflowers but they died. grr
babytears,
Nov 11, 12:44am
I was watching grow your own drugs on TV last night and he made elderflower/berry throat lozenges. I'm going to give that a go. More to the point though. if by chance you come across Elderflower, you can store them in ziplock bags and put into a chilly bin until you can get to a fridge. he said they can last 2 days in the fridge. perhaps a foraging day trip may be in order
purplegoanna,
Nov 12, 8:29am
ive got his book, the stuff in the small bottle i made up has teeny weeny lil bubbles stuck to the flowers and has this amazing smell slightly sweet gingerbeer-ish but then not quite.hard to describe but delish!
babytears,
Nov 19, 7:59am
Well. it's happening finally. Made up the brew, waited for the fermentation to start - nothing! Added some yeast and now we have lift off. it's starting to smell like a brewery!
kuaka,
Nov 19, 9:03am
Do come back and let us know how it progresses - be very interesting
babytears,
Nov 29, 6:16am
Update: Batch number one: no good. we are in the process of turning it into vinegar. it didn't take off, so we added yeast then it went kinda bitter tasting and sludgey, it seemed like it oxidised. have made 2 more batches, batch number 2 is okay, not quite as I wanted it - faint taste of elderflower, leaving a taint at the back of the tongue, but okay! Batch number 3 looks great and is fermenting perfectly and smells so beautiful and summery. we wont leave this batch too long before bottling! A learning experience :)
kuaka,
Nov 29, 9:27am
Okay, so what - if anything - have you done differently between batches 1, 2 and 3!
babytears,
Nov 30, 3:52am
The first batch we tripled the quatities, left too long before bottling (we think), we added the yeast too late as we were waiting for a natural fermentation to start. while we're not sure, we think this may have caused a stale kind of taste.
Batch 2, followed exact quatities of the recipe (not doubled/tripled), still ha to add the yeast. Tastes okayish, plenty of bubbles
Batch 3: Exactly following the recipe an we'll wait to see the outcome.
I do think though that perhaps (eventhough the flowers were in full bloom)we picked the Elderflower too soon as there was no nautral yeast on the flowers
kuaka,
Nov 30, 8:09am
babytears - just wondering if you harvested your elderflowers in "ideal" conditions, ie, warm sunny day, not humid.Flowers should be nice and light in colour, with no brown discolouration at all.
babytears,
Nov 30, 8:15am
Yes they were, they were in full bloom and perfect picking conditions, no brown bits at all
kuaka,
Nov 30, 9:54am
Hmmm, well I dunno then.I am always a bit suspicious of recipes which rely on "natural airborne yeast".All my recipes use a camden tablet in the mix to sterilise it and kill off any wild yeast, and then yeast and yeast nutrient to get it fermenting.
kuaka,
Dec 14, 9:18am
So do we have an update yet on whether or not the brew is drinkable!
babytears,
Dec 14, 9:28am
Thanks for asking. Yes it is indeed, we've had 2 explosions in our garage - those were wine bottles, all of our champagne bottles are still intact. This batch is far better than our first batch, so summery, we're hoping it will last till Christmas
kuaka,
Dec 15, 9:58am
So the big questions is, do you have a bottle of something which is ready to drink a week after (or even two weeks after) you picked the elderflowers!
babytears,
Dec 15, 8:29pm
Yes they're drinkable, but I definitely think it improves over time
kuaka,
Dec 15, 10:57pm
Is it clear!
purplegoanna,
Dec 16, 12:35am
yes mine was ive only got one bottle left i onlymade 2 though cause i havent been able to get back to the bushes.i cant believe how fizzy it is.nice though.cant wait to do it again, i used plastic soft drink bottles and let a little bit of gas out one day every week. (a hint i found on one thread on another site)
purplegoanna,
Dec 16, 12:36am
mines clear like the colour of wine, theres a few mm's of sediment in the bottle.
2young1,
Dec 16, 1:31am
what does elderberry taste like!ie the flavour! similar to !seen so much on tv on the cooking/garden shows etc and always wondered.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.