elderberry and blackberry wine??????????

[alandkell]

i am gonna ATTEMPT A WINE MIX OF BOTH FRUITS I WANT TO MAKE 23.5 LITRES ANYONE GOT ANY IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO GO ABOUT THIS FROM START TO FINISH AS NORMALLY I USE KITS!
:

 

[rickthebrew]

Ten kilos of blackberries - two kilos of elderberries - all in a bucket with hot water for a few days, crush and stir them.
Strain into your FV and take a gravity reading - add sugar to the required strength, add some lemon juice and yeast and yeast nutrient, the elderberry will take care of tanin.
Ferment out and rack into DJ`s - age for one year then bottle it`ll be worth it.

Or just bottle and drink - still lovely :lol:

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

age for one year then bottle

Why not bottle then age? That's what I do, mainly cos I have need for the DJs! Am I doing something wrong?

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

P.S. as it happens, I have blackberry and elderberry wine on atm, but I hadn't seen this thread when I concocted it!

 

[Moley]

Why not bottle then age? That's what I do, mainly cos I have need for the DJs! Am I doing something wrong?

Nothing wrong at all if you want to get the DJs emptied and re-loaded.

It is said that wine matures better in bulk. I'm not sure why that should be, other than that it would be less susceptible to temperature fluctuations.

However, I have Damson and maybe a few other wines from last year where I bottled 1 gallon but left a further 3-4 gallons in DJs, so just for you I will set up a blind tasting later, get Mrs. Mole to test them and then switch the identical glasses around so I can do the same.

I don't know, the hardships I put myself through for this forum :whistle:

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

Moley, you're such a trooper! ;-)

 

[rickthebrew]

That will be an interesting test Moley as previously i`ve had to bottle country wines due to lack of DJs
I have more so can age in bulk if I need to :thumb:

 

[Moley]

Sorry folks, experiment postponed, we've only just got back from an indoor karting session, everybody aches and most want their beds.

I have found 3 more gallons of the Damson and will bottle at least one of them tomorrow.

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

So my original B+E wine is being cast aside (slight mishap with some sterilising solution )

I went picking yesterday and came back with 8lb of blackberries and 4lb of elderberries. I put all of these in together to soak in an FV, but from looking at a few B+E recipes on here, have I overdone the elder? They seemed to have a bit of a bitter smell to them, is it likely to impair the flavour?

If needs be, I could go and pick some more blackberries today, but I'd really rather not.

 

[Moley]

I can't answer as to whether or not you've overdone the elderberries if I don't know what volume you are making?

That sounds about right for 3 gallons but it would probably be better if you could find another 4 lbs of blackberries and make it a 4 gallon brew.

I wouldn't worry about the elderberry smell, give it a year and that will pass.

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

Ah, so having boiled up and put a 2:1 ratio of blackberries to elderberries into a bucket isn't dreadful?

I'd hoped to make 4 gallons while I was picking but once I'd got home and weighed it all realised 3 was probably more likely.

 

[granda]

this is a very good recipe its a bit more port like but sugar can be adjusted if you like it drierhttp://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2007 ... k-had.html
plus their are lots of other tips and recipes to try