Red grape Juice, with dried elderberries

The final of my trio of 'enhanced WOWs', (current and raisin being the other two in the recipe section. I get bored, A LOT).

6 litres Asda Red Grape
200 g dried elderberries
1200g sugar
3 tsp youngs super yeast compound
2 campden tablets
1 tsp pectolase

Washed elderberries in hot water, as they stunk of horse ****. The brown liquid washed away, and they actually smell of elderberries now (not much nicer to be fair). Poured a litre of boiled water on them, covered in clingfilm and left most of the day.
Poured the liquid off (into the bucked with the sugar and some more boiling water to dissolve) and crushed the elderberries gently with a potato masher. Chucked them in the bucked with the grape juice, a bit more boiling water to take up to 10L and added 2 crushed campden tabs and the pectolase.

Left for 24hrs, measured SG @ 1.1 exactly, and added yeast. Disaster struck and I'm out of yeast nutrient, pot is empty. As youngs super yeast compound contains nutrient anyway, I'll have to wing it.

Plan is to stir 2-3 times a day for 3 days, then I will strain off the fruit and leave it.

strained off the fruit after 3 days, SG had gone down to 1.05. Didn't have any DJ's ready, so just strained back into another FV.

3 days later transferred to x2 DJ's so I could get it under airlock. Still bubbling slowly even though SG = 0.996 already. Making up *to* 10.5 L wasn't enough, after removing the fruit and very carefully racking (v.little lost), I don't have enough for x2 DJ's so needed to top up maybe a pint of water between the two bottles. (to the neck). Schoolboy error not counting the volume I'd lose removing the pulp.

Tastes fantastic, and very easy to make compared to the currant and raisin batches which I won't be repeating.

Possibly too much Elderberry, as I don't want to age this more than a month or so - I've another batch on with 75g dried elderberry, to find the sweet spot for a cheap and easy WOW (ish) that has some body and is sub £1 a bottle.

Another two batches on the go, as I want to use up these dried elderberries. I've refined the process to minimalise f*** on. Initial taste test is extremely promising.

- 75g dried elderberries, give a very very thorough rinse in cold water.
- Pop them in a glass bowl, and cover with boiling water and clingfilm until cool and plump.
- Clean and sterilise hands, and get stuck in crushing and squeezing the life out of them between fingers - this way you don't crush the pips.
- crush a campden tab in water, and add along with 1tsp pectolase.
- Force the pulp and liquid through a funnel into a 5 litre PET using the handle of a spoon. Leave 24 hrs.
- Dissolve 620g sugar in boiling water, and add to mixture along with 3 litres asda red grape, 1tsp super yeast compound. Put lid back on loosely, chuck in airing cupboard. Shake bottle daily for 3 days.
- Put muslin bag into large funnel, and funnel into into clean DJ, and pour. Much easier than straining from a bucket. Add Airlock and return to airing cupboard - top up 3-4 days later

Hi!
Sound very promising. How long do you leave it in the DJ?
Colin

Bigcol49 said:

Hi!
Sound very promising. How long do you leave it in the DJ?
Colin

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Hi Colin,

This batch (the one I originally posted about) has dates as follows in my diary:

03/02 , Made, SG= 1.1 (SG taken on 4th after 24hrs on campden)
06/02, Strained, SG = 1.05 , into x2 DJ's
10/01, tested SG, and 0.994 so thought it wasnt finished and left it.
22/01, Racked stabilized and degassed, as SG was still 0.994. (stabilized, as still activity in DJ, but SG not budging from 0.994)

Will leave to clear naturally, bottle and drink - hardly worth bulk aging.

Had a taste today when degassing, and it's really rather good. At £1.60 per 100g gallon batch on top of the grape juice, these dried elderberries are so easy to work with compared to the fresh variety. Or perhaps I'm still traumatized from picking and stripping 10lbs worth last autumn

bottled a couple of days ago, possibly the best wine I've made to date..

BUT...

Completely ruined by the smell. From opening to pouring, and in the glass... it stinks like mulled horse s**t

Anyone come across this?

Not in the habit of smelling mulled manure, how you mull it I don't don't know. But elderberries do have a particular stink, it will fade with time hopefully.

Tau said:

Not in the habit of smelling mulled manure, how you mull it I don't don't know. But elderberries do have a particular stink, it will fade with time hopefully.

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haha thanks, I hope i does, as the taste was very surprising compared to the smell (full bodied, a very decent red).

I've got several batches bubbling away, experimenting with less dried elderberries (75g per gallon, rather than 100) so will see if they are as good, and less smelly..

tried another bottle last night, and the smell is half what it was, maybe even better than that.

Absolutely lovely wine, but it's giving me the worlds worst hangovers. 1 bottle and I'm ruined in the morning, and I think I know why.

Camden on initial elderberry 'soak'
Camden when racking, as I intended to bottle for a while.
Camden when clearing, as I didn't know my finings contained it.

Maybe there is something in this sulphite obsession.. I plan to cut out two of the 3 sulphited stages above on the next batch(es) as this is so good.

bottled two more batches today which were made on 09/02 and 22/02. Cleared naturally.

75g dried EB, 3L asda grape per gallon, plus the usual. Sugar was 620g per gallon i think, but I'd need to check my diary.

This I think is the sweet spot, its flipping lovely - heavy and strong. I've even bottled and corked the 11 bottles (drinking the 12th now) as I want to lay them down for a while to see how the elderberry matures in 3 and 6 months.

I'll still buy kits when tesco have a sale, and @richytrue and I are doing a 30 bottle California Con soon, but I think I've found my go-to brew.. Total **** on with the dried elderberries, but lovely.

Fancy giving this a go GDog so when you have time please can you give us the final version with accurate update on Campdens and sugar etc? Stage by stage 😉

Vinotinto said:

Fancy giving this a go GDog so when you have time please can you give us the final version with accurate update on Campdens and sugar etc? Stage by stage ������

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No worries mate, here you go:

6 litres Asda Red Grape
150 g dried elderberries
1240g sugar

- Thoroughly 150g rinse elderberries in running warm water over a sieve.
- Place elderberries in a large pyrex jug/bowl, pour 1 litre boiling water over, cover in clingfilm and leave a good few hours.
- Pour the liquid off into a FV/Bucket.
- Wash and sterilise hands, and get stuck in squishing the life out of the berries. If you don't want purple fingers, you could use the end of a rolling pin (covered in clingfilm, or you'll ruin it), but try not to crush the pips.
- Chuck the squished berries into the bucket.
- Add 2 tsp pectolase
****- Crush 2 camden tablets, and add to the bucket, and leave 24hrs****
- The following day, add 6 litres Asda Red Grape to bucket.
- Dissolve 1240 g in a litre of boiling water, chuck in bucket.
- Add 2 tsp super yeast compound.
- Stir 2-3 times a day for 4 days.
- Place a straining bag over a large funnel (wilko do a HUGE one), and pour the bucket equally into two Demijohns. Top up each DJ right to the top with mineral water, and add airlock. Never froths a bit.
- Allow to ferment out, and bubbles to stop. I tend to leave an additional week, as there seems always to be activity still in the DJ.
- Rack onto 1 Camden tablet per DJ, and degass by whatever method you prefer.
- Leave to clear naturally, and bottle.

You could of course half everything and do just a gallon, which I have also done once fermenting the lot in a plastic 5 litre water bottle, but I've found with the additional **** on using dried elderberries you may as well make 12 bottles as it's no more work really. I'm planning a triple batch as soon as I get more berries from the LHBS.

N.B 1. I've made batches both WITH the camden tablets early on (where ****stars**** are shown), and without, and I've had no problems without. Maybe the boiling water is enough to kill any bugs, and I'm sticking with that from now on to reduce headaches.

N.B 2. I've stopped using finings, as my wilko sachets contains suplhites. I'm also in no rush to drink, as a batches that I made at the beginning of Feb are much better now. In fact, I've just made a batch I plan leaving bottled for 3 months before even tasting. (hence the Camden at final racking)

I've not measured the initial SG, but I reckon it's the same as the earlier attempts (1.1) where I used more berries (200g), but slightly less sugar.(1200g)
Final SG has been 0.990 - 0.994 on various batches. Normally 0.990.

Well done that Dog. Good boy!
Thank you

I know there are plenty of sources for the elderberries but where did yours come from?

I would imagine that some sources are better than others.

Vinotinto said:

I know there are plenty of sources for the elderberries but where did yours come from?
I would imagine that some sources are better than others.

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ebay I think, from a home brew shop as I couldn't get to my local one. About £8 per 500g I think, and they were branded (Young's if I remember correctly, the bag is binned now)

Will get my next bag from my local shop, I'm sure they are all the same.

It adds c £1.30 to a batch of asda grape WOW (per gallon)

Cheers. Never froths a bit? Do you mean it froths a bit or never froths?

........... and how close does this come to a proper red? Or is it more close to a Rosé?

Vinotinto said:

Cheers. Never froths a bit? Do you mean it froths a bit or never froths?

........... and how close does this come to a proper red? Or is it more close to a Rosé?

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haha never froths at all, so no worries filling right to the DJ neck on day 4/5

Its a full on red, you can't even see if it's clear in the DJ without drawing off a glass and holding up to the light.

The Elderberries are here. Watch this space!

Vinotinto said:

The Elderberries are here. Watch this space!

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Brilliant, let me know how you get on.

I'm about to buy some more - even though I have 29 bottles already! (12 brewing, the rest bottled)

I'm leaving some to see how they improve , curious to see what it's like after 3 months. Drinkable straight away though, with relatively low Elderberry content. (my 'real' elderberry wine isn't getting tasted for 12 months).

Fermentation takes a while mind, even in my airing cupboard at 22-24 degrees. I put x2 Dj's in there on 09/03, one is finished, the other is still bubbling every 30 secs.

Bit of a delay but the berries are now soaking ready for tomorrow. they already smell like socks.