Hugh's Elderflower Wine.Anyonetriedit? Edit- Now Bottled!!

[Stoney]

I saw his programe on channel 4 last week and thought i'd give it a shot!!! I only saw the making of it and not his final product...so im guessing it tasted nice.

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/ch ... e_p_1.html

Its been a few days with no action now so I have added some cider yeast (which I was told was ok to use??? comments appreciated)

Hopefully the next few days Ill see some action!

 

[commsbiff]

I would like to know how you get on with this. Watching Hugh make that on the telly is the whole reason I started to look into making stuff at home. I have lost sight of my original aim (making his elderflower champagne), and now find myself here on this site and starting out on the long road of beer (and soon wine) brewing :

 

[Stoney]

No worries hahaha....Ill keep you posted

 

[Stoney]

Well just so you know....It has been three days and there was no action so I have added some yeast....it was cider yeast as my local brew shop is closed so couldnt get any wine yeast (apparently it should be ok...gulp)

 

[Greg]

It's great. We made a large batch last year and were drinking it for most of the summer.

There is a typo on that recipe though, it should be 16L not 6L. 2KG of sugar in 6 litres will make a pretty strong brew!

We used a champagne yeast to ensure we got a decent result.

Its a nice refreshing, lemony drink, a little bit like Lemon hooch. Watch out though as it can be pretty explosive. Chill before opening and open over the sink (or better still outside!)

Enjoy your brew!

Hugh is a genius!

 

[Stoney]

It's great. We made a large batch last year and were drinking it for most of the summer.

There is a typo on that recipe though, it should be 16L not 6L. 2KG of sugar in 6 litres will make a pretty strong brew!

We used a champagne yeast to ensure we got a decent result.

Its a nice refreshing, lemony drink, a little bit like Lemon hooch. Watch out though as it can be pretty explosive. Chill before opening and open over the sink (or better still outside!)

Enjoy your brew!

Hugh is a genius!

Ahhhh...that typo has done me know favours at all......grrrrr!!!!!!!! I must admit when I did it I thought...jesus thats a hellava lota suger....but hey I did it anyhow....

 

[Stoney]

Ive got 2kgs of suger in 6ltrs of water...I made the brew 4 days ago now and and added yeast yesterday.

Ive been reading up and your totally right...so anyone know if its too late to add some more water and maybe some more water????

 

[tubby_shaw]

No it's not too late as 2kg of sugar in 6L of water will give a specific gravity of 1.125
No ordinary yeast will get that to ferment
Adding 10L of boiled cooled water will give a gravity of 1.047 and an alcohol content of 7% :thumb:
I would add another yeast though to be on the safe side

 

[Stoney]

Thanks tubby,

Will do that tomorrow!

I have checked on it tonight and its fermenting like hell (since i put the cider yeast in).

I am going to get another bucket to put it in tomorrow and split it in two, mixed with the extra water.

I have now also got hold of some champayne yeast which on the packet says it is enougth for 23Ltrs.

Tomorrow after I have added the extra water I will have 16Ltrs...

So do you think I should add about half the pack (enougth for 11.5Ltrs) because Ive already added some yeast previously which is working????

 

[tubby_shaw]

Good news on the fermentation :thumb:
You could just leave it to ferment out without diluting but it would end up rather sweet
The dried cider yeasts that are available in this country are "Champagne" yeasts :thumb:
If it is fermenting and doesn't smell really bad I wouldn't add more yeast :)
Use it in another batch :thumb:

 

[Stoney]

Well I'm back from a few days work....Ive just bottled....and tried some of the remaining....

I doubled the amount of water after being told about the recipe mistake, but it does seem a little watery...I aint got a clue whether it will get stronger now its being bottled...or whether Its too later to make it stronger? I must admit its pretty potent on the alcohol side I'd say but tastes a bit like watered down whiskey...

Researching further It seems that some people say the original works fine and some people say its just far too strong and syrup like. So not really sure..

I'd be interested to hear other peoples results on the same drink.

If I get round to trying this again soon (may have a crack as its pretty simple)

I think I'd either go for the six litre method or try doubling the amount of elderflower I put in as well as water (so 50 heads and 12ltrs water) while keeping the sugar at 2kg.

I will post results in a few days time when me and me mates have had a session on it.

 

[commsbiff]

I'm moving house next week, and when I get the chance I may do a 20L batch. Sticking to the original quantities. It's so cheap, I'm not too bothered if it doesn't turn out like I hope. Let us know how it is after a couple of weeks :thumb:

 

[Stoney]

Hello People,

Just to let you know I just tried a bottle of the Elderflower Champayne and it was well nice!!!

I shared a litre with 2 others and it tasted great.

It didnt taste as watery as it did when I bottled it. It was pretty fizzy and you can taste to alcohol but not too overpowering. I feel a little light headed after my share and it was wikid sitting in the sun with mates drinking my own brew.

Im tempted to make some more today as I cant see the next 11 bottles lasting long now. I think in terms of ingredients I will stick to adding the extra 6 litre on top of hughes recipe but make sure I put it in straight away when preparing rather than leaving a few days. I may add an extra lemon or even lime to it..and even go to the top end of the amount of flowers to put in.

Hope yours tastes as good as mine.

Stoney

 

[commsbiff]

Nice one Stoney :thumb:

 

[Moley]

I've just started off a batch of this, can only make 14L though, my bigger buckets are all in use.

Just one question, Hugh Furry Wotsisface's recipe includes two tbsps of white wine vinegar. Why?