Make Elderflower Champagne - A Taste of Spring - Elderflower Fizz
A question posted on Jamie Oliver’s Forum asked what is your favourite picnic item? Shortly after I’d suggested the good ol’ pasty another member listed elderflower cordial, recounting memories of Eastern European summers awash with homemade elderflower beverages. There followed various links to pages that gave the recipe and details how to make various elderflower drinks. This immediately reminded me of the fun I’ve had over the years making elderflower champagne and I offered to write up my method of brewing this sparkling summer delight sometimes called elderflower fizz.
Making elderflower champagne is easy:-
- Go pick half a dozen full elderflower heads ideally on a sunny day when they are most fragrant.
Half fill a clean bucket with 2 gallons of cold water (thats 10 Litres for my Euro chums)- dissolve 2lbs (1kg) of white sugar into the water
- shake any debris and insects clear from the elderflower heads and immerse in the water
- Cut two lemons in half squeeze juice into water and throw in the squeezed halfs
- add a splosh (4 tablespoons) of white wine vinegar
- stir gently and cover with a clean tea towel
- leave for 24 hours stirring occasionally
After 24 hours, sterilise plastic carbonated drinks bottles - 10 x 1 litre lemonade/pop bottles are ideal - and strain jugfuls of the liquor through a sieve or muslin cloth into the bottles and screw the plastic tops on firmly.
Leave for a week and the naturally occurring yeast on the elderflower heads begins to ferment with the sugar creating a very weak alcohol content but lots of carbon dioxide.
Lots of CO2 = Big Elderflower Fizz
NB I emphasise using plastic screw top bottles as personal experience and folk lore have taught me that homemade elderflower champagne causes
- corks just pop out and the contents just overflows to leave a sticky mess,
- glass bottles to actually explode embedding shards of glass into the surrounding surfaces and the contents to cover everything in a sticky mess
- a combination of both of the above makes for a nerve wracking experience whenever in the space the elderflower champagne is being stored and inevitably ends up in a sticky mess
If you use plastic bottles you will at least notice the stretching and rounding if the pressure becomes too great and can release the gas (or drink it).
One clever storage idea was to use a duvet to cover the bottles to absorb the impact and mop up any unwanted sticky mess
If stored in a cool place and the bottles remain in tact, elderflower champagne can be kept for over a year - until the flowers begin to appear again for the next batch.
Enjoy!
I can remember my Mum taking me and my friends out to a local field to pick elder berries so that they could be turned into wine. I never did taste the end result but I’m rather curious. Anyway, we don’t have any wine making equipment any more.
Use plastic fizzy drinks bottles … That’s a great tip.
Thanks
Hi, I found your blog via Google while searching for ELDER FLOWERS and your post regarding Elderflower Champagne - A Taste of Spring - Elderflower Fizz - The Pasty Muncher looks very interesting for me.
My grandma used to make elderflower champagne and she always put slices of bread into the liquid too. Don’t know why. I always thought it was to give it extra fizz with the yeast in the bread?
I remember my parents making this when I was about four or five. For years after this, in to my adult life the smell of elderflower would transport me back to that time ans all the associated memories. Im 40 this year and last year, my parents made some for the first time since I was a child. we drank it together with my own daughter. Sadly my mother died last October, but we finished the last of the champagne a few weeks back. My Dad and my 6 yr old daughter made some last week together and we just finished making some more. This drink is wonderful and will always remind me of my mum and my childhood. I hope my daughter will always remember it as well.
Great to see all these thumbs up - this year as well as Elderflower Champagne the Muncher household is trying a batch of elderflower cordial.
PS - My Homebrew Guru, Richard of Cheers Winemaking and Brewing Sutton hinted that elderflower champers was a perfect mixer with Gin….Cheers!
My daughter made some Champagne and we all got ready for the tasting session. I removed the cork with a loud bang and the contents shot straight up to the ceiling. About an egg cup full remained which tasted delicious.
I’m rolling my sleeves and trousers up ready to have a go!
I made some elderflower champagne at the weekend, after a day or so you could see the bubbles in the bottle but now i cannot see any bubbles.
Will it still be fizzy??
I have also got some which I haven’t bottled yet because I ran out of bottles, is it okay to bottle it three or four days after??
Mark said:
I made some elderflower champagne at the weekend….
it should become fizzy in the bottle - beware see comment number 7 from Sandy
As for the four day old stuff…your half way to wine with that although the dreaded vinegar fly might have got their already.
Hi, I live in London and am keen on making some Elderflower Champagne.
I went over to my local park today and collected quite a few flower heads.
I have read on other websites that you shouldn’t pick flowers from the roadside as they will be polluted, but everywhere in London is by a road side!!!
Does anyone know if I could rinse them and still use them? Or if they would be ok to use anyway?
Thanks for your help,
Neil
OOOhhhh so excited i have an elderberry tree in the garden…now just need pop bottles….
Just made my second batch of “champagne” easy and fun to do. Tried the first batch made last week already really rather good chilled and chaep to make
.
Neil - with regard using flower heads from the roadside - I think its best to avoid those that get the full brunt of exhaust fumes. We can all enjoy the fresh air away from the city but I’d imagine a park will do nicely - its not as though you’re going to munch the elderflowers.
In response to PastyMunchers reply (post 9);
Do you think I should stop shaking the bottle to see if I can see bubbles then!!???
Mark - yes or you might end up in a sticky mess
I made a sort of sweet elderflower vinegar (no bubbles) when trying to make a cordial (just layering flowers with sugar, then covering with water, leaving overnight). Maybe I didn’t use enough sugar, but after pouring off the liquid and storing it in the fridge for a few weeks, I tasted it. It’s delicious; I just don’t know what to call it. Certainly not champagne.
I’ve just made a batch of elder flower champers from a recipe in ‘ A greener life’
I used unrefined sugar as was recommended in recipe. It was light brown….what sort of outcome can I expect??
In River Cottage when Hugh made the champagne he used glass bottles with a ceramic stopper (like the original Grolsch bottles) are these safer to use are where do i buy them??
Help!
My elderflower has been in its container for 2 days and nothing seems to have happened i.e. no ferment. Its just been outside my back door with a lid on, what have i done wrong, when watching Hugh FW fermenting started after 2 days.
just made some elderflower champagne didnt realize i would have to bottle it after 24 hours i dont have any pop bottles could i use a demi john?.
I have just made 10 litres of the stuff and from my experience it took 4 days of brewing in the plastic tub before it started to ferment and produce the bubbles. Also putting in the airing cupboard seemed to help the process.
Rather than buy expensive bottles from Lakeland I managed to get Grolsh bottles with Stoppers from Asda for less than £2 and got to drink the beer.
Where is best to store the stuff now I have bottled up?
17. Dave -Unrefined Sugar - should be fine
18. Martin - Never trust a TV personality - he was making an alcoholic version which is less volatile - the fermenting is done in an open bucket for several days so the bottled drink just ferments a little more until alcohol co2 levels stop it (he hopes) I’d STILL encourage using plastic bottles
19. Lee - see 18
20. Margaret - a demi john isn’t designed to take pressure so either the cork would pop out or you would have a very dangerous “wine bomb”
21. Lee B - Cheers!
Recommend storing in a garage or such as a shed can become too warm… Boom!! Still water bottles from Asda etc can be bought for 18p each and the neighbours will think you’re Uber posh watering the plants with bottled water. I’m onto my second batch….mixed with gin it’s superb!!!
Robert C - with these three top tips you’re really spoiling us.
Respect!
Hi, I too watched Hugh make this and am giving it a go. Would it matter if I used Red Wine Vinegar? What’s the difference.
Steve - My guess is that your elderflower champagne will have a delicate hint of blush to it - which could work very well.
I don’t doubt the elderflower champagne will still taste fantastic if you use red wine vinegar.
I’ve followed Hughes recipe so my version will be alcoholic so hopefully less volatile like you suggested - will use pop bottles as u suggested tho.
Thing is 3 days in nothing happening Hugh says to chuck in a pinch of yeast, which I now have - thing is all I had was traditional dried yeast (used to make bread tho not for breadmakers) - this version just pure yeast i think as it shows no ingredients.
Will this b ok? or should i have used a difference yeast?
OK, so it’s been in the bucket for 4 days now, still no fermentation… but I am getting spots of fur (obviously mould) beginning to appear on top of the liquid! Any hints? The liquid tastes nice though ;o)
I first made elderflower champagne some years ago and it was great, BUT after a break of some years, I have tried again and for the last three years it just refuses to ferment and comes out of the bottle much as it went in - quite tasty but definitely not fizzy, some bottles have a hint of sparkle but no risk of exploding bottles in my house!! Any ideas as to what I’m doing wrong? The bottles have definitely got a good seal, and I’ve opened bottles and regular intervals from about 2 weeks to over a year after bottling.
It’s very frustrating!
I do hope the basic theory works , Ive got 30 litres in a sterile dustbinn in my shed. No sign of fermentation yet but apparently the yeast doubles every day so it should not be long, been 2 days so far.How can you tell if working though?
hello. I’ve got mine in bottles, so far so good, but cloudy (or murky) should it be. Its a bit cloudy and yellow now, will that clear up?
In answer to some, the tiny sachets of yeast used for bread making (only one) will work great. Just mix with a tiny bit of warm water first and mix in well, get your hands in there!! This will work even if added a couple or four days into brewing the elderflower champagne in the bucket and if there is a little mould. The plastic 2 litre water bottles are superb and really only need released slightly after a few days. If you like a sweeter drink then obviously increase your sugar by half again. Happy consumption!!
Jason,The drink will stay cloudy like a lemonade of that name perfectly good to go!
I followed the Hugh F W receipe and it stared fermenting, but as I got round to bottling it, I racked it off in to a demijohn and it looked quite flat. So I added a small amount of yeast and now its fermenting again. What should I do ? Not sure that was a good idea in retrospect OR if I should bottle it right now ! ?
have made my first batch of elderflower champagne following the river cottage recipe, have used several different types of bottles to bottle up including plastic pop bottles, grolsch bottles and screw top wine bottles i found it necessary to release the pressure every few days and have found the end product to be a bit sweet especially in the plastic bottles have subsequently made 2 more batches with a lower sugar content - will this work and is the fact that I am releasing the gas every now and then spoiling the end product
10
Made loads of Elder Champagne for the first time two weeks ago - tried to buy fancy champagne corks and wire cages, but no luck. Had fun designing posh bottle labels complete with photo of the garden though- but not my neighbour’s where I did help myself to a few more flowers. Hugh did say collect a mix of flowers didn’t he? Hope it’s alcoholic…
Try using sound champagne bottles. Use proper wired down corks. Make your own labels. Monitor progress using a Stopper type beer bottle or a wine bottle with a partially inserted flanged corked which will ‘blow’ when champs is ready ready.Wear ear defenders, a yellow hard hat and protective glasses.Take care.
I wish I’d seen this info a week ago! I have now had two bottles expolde, the latest being last night at 3.15am!! So this morning before work my partner spent an hour cleaning up, then releasing the the pressure from the remaining swing top bottles and having an elderflower champagne shower in the process!! This is the first time we’ve made it so weren’t expecting such an expolsive time!! Can’t wait to drink it though - cheers!
Help please. We have made the elderflower champagne, everything went well. Strained it into water bottles, which keep going really hard so have let a bit of gas out. Started to drink a bottle after 2 weeks and first glass was really nice and refreshing, second glass was slimy on the top like slug slime so not very pleasant. Does it need straining again and re- bottling? Any other suggestions please. Thanks, Sue
Hi, after making my elderflower champagne and straining into plastic bottles, we have opened the first bottle and the frist glass was delicious, but when we topped it up, there was slime floating on the top, like slug slime, and not too nice! Any ideas - do we need to re-strain and bottle again? the bottles keep getting very tight and hard and we have released some gas from each. Hope someone can help. Thanks, Sue
I have 10 litres of elderflower champagne nicely fermenting, made one month ago. I used old cola bottles and none have exploded so far. I can see some bubbles but there is also a very small amount of visible mould on the top of the the liquid in a few bottles. Will this still be drinkable without causing stomach upsets or worse?
Great to see that so many people out there are getting into the joys of elderflower champagne! I’ve been making it for a few years now (well before Hugh made it fashionable), and there’s one tip I’m always careful to follow: you should collect the flowers on a sunny day, preferably in the afternoon. Supposedly, this means a higher yeast content and hence no problems with the fermentation.
I too have elderflower champagne fermenting in garage and have noticed slime/mould on top can it still be drunk
Hi,
I made Elderflower Champagne according to River Cottage Bloke’s Recipe only I added a few handfulls of wild rose petals as well.
I only left it to ferment in a bucket for 2 days and there was only a little foam when I bottled it a month ago. Now its all cloudy and full of pale yellow gunk sitting at the bottom and floating around in clumps and tiny cob-web strands.
I opened a bottle and it was really fizzy.
I sniffed it and it smelled wonderful.
I dipped my finger into it and it seamed OK.
I took a sip and it tastes great.
The yellow stuff could be yeast, is it safe to drink?
thanks.
Ewan - I can only assume you were of sound mind and health when you left the above comment in which you enquire as to the safety of your elderflower champagne - try chiilling it which will stabilised the yeasty sediment and decant into a glass of jug in one go to limit the disturbance of the yellow gunk.
Finally if the colour only is off putting use those picnic coloured plastic tumblers.
Did the rose petals add any discernable flavour?
Drink on!
Thank you Pasty Muncher.
I did as you suggested and all the murkyness and foost set into a mass at the bottom. I then poured it into another bottle and I’m drinking it now.
It is fantastic and I can definitely smell/taste the wild roses, especially when I breathe out, my whole head fills with the aroma. I put in a fair amount of petals.
I shall return to the same clump of roses shortly as I notice that the hips are now approaching ripeness (early?). When they are ready I will have a bash at rose hip cordial. If you can put me on to a recipe I’ll let you know how it goes.
One last thing, How much alcohol do you think is in the champagne I made, % wise?
I almost never drink and after a large tumbler I’m beginning to feel a little woozy.
Cheers.
Just thought I should mention, for all the lumps and whispy bits have sunk to the bottom and are now thrown down the sink, the champagne is still far from clear. Its still sort of pale yellow and murkey, though you can just aboyt see through a glass of it. I guess that the rose petals will have affected the colour a bit…