Undrinkabley dry elderberry wine

[Goodytwobrews]

Hi Folks,
I,m New to the forum but not to (mainly) wine brewing. I am 65 male and have been brewing country wines and kits for about forty years on and off. I have had the full complement of results in that time from a bottle of my bramble which my sister took to a country show and won 'highly recommended' - she told me about ten years after - to some that even the drains had problems swallowing.
I have recently wracked a one year old elderberry which is about the driest wine I've ever tasted - not drinkable and it looks to have perma stained the demijohn a fetching shade of purple...
I have had previous poor results with brewing elderlyberries despite being very careful where I picked the fruit and carefully following the recipe.
Any advice as to 1. how I might make the brew drinkable?
2. where am I going wrong with my elderly berries?
I am presently brewing in a place called Manea (Pro.Mainey) near to Chatteris in Fenland

Best regards Brian :

 

[bobsbeer]

Welcome. :

 

[RobWalker]

you can back sweeten it, but it's also wise to brew it in future with elderberries from a number of trees. my dad recalls reading that some trees make good elderberry wine, some make awful, so a mixture will give you a good average. :thumb:

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

You could try back-sweetening it: add either a non-fermentable sweetener or (if you've already stabilised the wine) sugar, until you get the taste you want.

Also, Elderberry wine takes a long time to mature, so if it still seems a bit rough try leaving it for a couple of years.

 

[tonyhibbett]

I don't think that elderberry on its own makes a good wine. You can mask its deficiencies with sugar, but if you don't like sweet wine, that's no help! Adding glycerine is a good compromise, at 50 g per gallon. Cheapest source Boots.

 

[Jonny69]

Hi Brian, I'm struggling with last year's elderberry wine too. One of mine was a rescue job from a work colleague who had added waaaaay too much sugar to just elderberries and it had fermented all the way to dry. I found it was much improved by mixing it with about 1/3 red grape juice wine and then 'diluting' it to the correct strength with straight red grape juice which sweetened it at the same time. It was very drinkable. Only problem was it was a persistent brewer and no matter how much stabiliser I added, I couldn't stop it re-fermenting, so it's dry again

So what I usually recommend is if you don't want to use unfermentable sweeteners like Splenda, then just sweeten it when you serve it.

I based my addition of red grape juice on Mole's elderberry wine recipe, which has red grape and raisins and I can see why. Here's a link to his recipe and discussion: viewtopic.php?f=48&t=10372

 

[One eye]

Hi Brian

I picked some E/Berries from the side of the road (A141)two years ago, I have 2 x 19lt water bottles full and I don't like the taste of the finished results either

did you pick yours from the roadside ? traffic fumes contamination maybe


could even be the Fenland air, I only live 4 miles from Manea,in the next village

 

[graysalchemy]

How long has it been in the bottle. Elderberry can taste awful due to the tannin when it is young. I needs at least 2 years in the bottle. When I used to make it I brewed far more than I could drink each year in the end I was drinking 7 yr old elderberry wine, Unfortunately I had to give it up due to kids :twisted:

I still have some which are over 12 yrs old and port of similar ages plus one 20yr old bottle of elderberry port. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[alanywiseman.]

Won't help with this wine but for my next batch I am planning adding the elderberries late in the fermentation. So ferment sugar and some concentrate then when almost finished add the elderberries for a couple of days. I have for this from Bill Smiths book Award Winning Wines. It is supposed to produce a fruitier wine with less tannins.

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

Won't help with this wine but for my next batch I am planning adding the elderberries late in the fermentation. So ferment sugar and some concentrate then when almost finished add the elderberries for a couple of days. I have for this from Bill Smiths book Award Winning Wines. It is supposed to produce a fruitier wine with less tannins.

Assuming the tannins are in the skin, that would make sense.

 

[Grand gris]

Hi Folks,
I,m New to the forum but not to (mainly) wine brewing. I am 65 male and have been brewing country wines and kits for about forty years on and off. I have had the full complement of results in that time from a bottle of my bramble which my sister took to a country show and won 'highly recommended' - she told me about ten years after - to some that even the drains had problems swallowing.
I have recently wracked a one year old elderberry which is about the driest wine I've ever tasted - not drinkable and it looks to have perma stained the demijohn a fetching shade of purple...
I have had previous poor results with brewing elderlyberries despite being very careful where I picked the fruit and carefully following the recipe.
Any advice as to 1. how I might make the brew drinkable?
2. where am I going wrong with my elderly berries?
I am presently brewing in a place called Manea (Pro.Mainey) near to Chatteris in Fenland

Best regards Brian :

65 male and brewing for forty years?................is this a brewing forum or a dating site :grin: :grin:

 

[Grand gris]

sorry for the last post

But I don't totally agree with the other posts. I made eldeberry last year and it is by far the best pure red I have made including high end kits.

Like others I have read that some elderberries are not as good as others and can only imagine that using berries from a variety of trees works best

good luck :

 

[Goodytwobrews]

you can back sweeten it, but it's also wise to brew it in future with elderberries from a number of trees. my dad recalls reading that some trees make good elderberry wine, some make awful, so a mixture will give you a good average. :thumb:

Thanks Rob,
I carefull took these elderly berries from beside a footpath in rural Flitwick Beds from a number of plants. I have a few years previously picked some from an abandoned industrial estate in Hull which made a brew that attracted interested to Russian assassination squads only. Thanks for your valued advice :party: Brian

 

[Goodytwobrews]

Hi Brian, I'm struggling with last year's elderberry wine too. One of mine was a rescue job from a work colleague who had added waaaaay too much sugar to just elderberries and it had fermented all the way to dry. I found it was much improved by mixing it with about 1/3 red grape juice wine and then 'diluting' it to the correct strength with straight red grape juice which sweetened it at the same time. It was very drinkable. Only problem was it was a persistent brewer and no matter how much stabiliser I added, I couldn't stop it re-fermenting, so it's dry again

So what I usually recommend is if you don't want to use unfermentable sweeteners like Splenda, then just sweeten it when you serve it.

I based my addition of red grape juice on Mole's elderberry wine recipe, which has red grape and raisins and I can see why. Here's a link to his recipe and discussion: viewtopic.php?f=48&t=10372

Thanks Jonny - adding the grape juice at this juncture was not a route that I would have thought of myself . I,ll give it (and other valued pointers a try :drink: Brian

 

[Goodytwobrews]

Hi Brian

I picked some E/Berries from the side of the road (A141)two years ago, I have 2 x 19lt water bottles full and I don't like the taste of the finished results either

did you pick yours from the roadside ? traffic fumes contamination maybe


could even be the Fenland air, I only live 4 miles from Manea,in the next village

Hi - No picked carefully from the side of a footpath last Sept. At the time I was living in Flitwick Beds. I wracked them off the lees about 5 weeks later and sealed them in a dj. Due to moving house they have been left , which I thought would harm naught until a few days ago when I decided to have a home brew day (weather). Being like most folk unable to resist a sip whilst wracking I was appalled at the taste. Happily I have only 5ltrs.
Advice appreciated Brian

 

[Goodytwobrews]

How long has it been in the bottle. Elderberry can taste awful due to the tannin when it is young. I needs at least 2 years in the bottle. When I used to make it I brewed far more than I could drink each year in the end I was drinking 7 yr old elderberry wine, Unfortunately I had to give it up due to kids :twisted:

I still have some which are over 12 yrs old and port of similar ages plus one 20yr old bottle of elderberry port. :thumb: :thumb:

Hi thanks for your advice. My Elderberry vin is not yet a year old. started sept 2012 wracked after 5weeks then left in a sealed dj until few days ago, I decided to wrack it again the other day. the recipe that I am following advises 6 monthly wrackings with a promise of a decent wine in 12 months - better if left as usual.I appreciate that it is to early to drink but would expect some taste to be 'coming through'on a promised in a year plonk...
What did you reinforce your port with?

thanks again Brian :hat:

 

[Goodytwobrews]

sorry for the last post

But I don't totally agree with the other posts. I made eldeberry last year and it is by far the best pure red I have made including high end kits.

Like others I have read that some elderberries are not as good as others and can only imagine that using berries from a variety of trees works best

good luck :

Hi - no offence taken- I have a couple of problems with dating. 1 My parents picked the worst face the could and bashed it with a shovel. 2 My wife would give me hell. However when it comes to brewing wine....... :mrgreen:

 

[Farmbrew]

You could blend it with a bramble or damson wine or other sweetish/fuller bodied red you may have at hand?

When I made wines I always ended up blending due to the dryness...so I eventually made Blackberry and Elderberry wine straight from the must or Elderberry mead.

F

 

[graysalchemy]

What did you reinforce your port with?

Nothing It was about 15-16% going in the bottle, sweetened with demerara sugar.