Elderflower Dreaming

I can't believe its almost 3 weeks since i posted here! So what's new in the world of Critter wines? I'm afraid not much is because i've been too busy to brew. I did however take part in an event that i promised i would give homebrew tasters at. And it went down well. Tho i must admit to being over confident with one bottle. remember the mint wine, the one that was delicious but didn't taste of mint. So i added sprigs of mint to it. Well i took a bottle along and it was too soon. It tasted green, leafy, earthy (sometimes earthy works but not in this case). It was simply too soon. Luckily i had plenty of elderflower with me and that went down a storm. also some blackberry which went down just as well but was in short supply.

So elderflower dreaming ... it has happened, this years elderflower quick (batch 1) has arrived. and its a delight. I'm loving the thought of 5 gallons of it, so the gallon that's almost gone is the tip of the iceberg. and batch 2 will soon be ready, also 5 gallons. After the event i mentioned above myself and one of the other participants (hi Jay!) talked. Well that's an understatement. We got home around midnight and then sat up til the birds were in full song. We finished the mint wine, then the single unfinished elderflower bottle, then we opened another. I was delighted that he enjoyed it so much, a real pleasure to keep answering his question "can i have another glass" with repeated "please don't ask just tuck in, there is plenty more". So what can i tell you, we solved some of the worlds problems, discussed our differences of opinion, agreed to differ on some things ... all in all a great night of conversation and being human. Most importantly being human with acceptance of differences of opinion and no hard feelings over that.

Well i say most importantly, but of course that's not the truth! reality is as you all know it, if you have made this Elderflower wine then you'll know the most important thing was the wine. Without it all the wonders of the world would have remained a mystery. What can i say, it's a homebrew blog, no apologies.

3 Different Reds and a Blush

The busy night wasn't over tho ... The Elderflower Blush Quick was overdue being racked and having the flowers removed. But before that could happen I needed empty demi-johns (DJs), I only had 3 and 5 gallons of wine needing a home. So I had to rummage about and eventually found 3 gallons of various reds (under the stairs, in a cupboard, behind the body-boards) that were ready for bottling. They were

• Elderberry & Blackberry 2009
• Blackberry 2010
• Beaverdale Shiraz (early 2010)

So the first part of the process done. Balckberry near right, Beaverdale Shiraz near left. The white shrink necked bottles just behind them are the mint from last nights bottling, ready now for laying down.  Behind them is the Quickie Pomegranate. Next to them are the Elderberry and Blackberry. And behind them you can see the 5 gallons of Elderflower Blush Quickie. Aso the start of 3 lines of 5 DJ's.

Each gallon delivered a little more than 6 bottles, so we got a treat small glass of the Beavedale shiraz, delicious. The Elderberry & Blackberry was very acidic in comparison, but after being left (forgotten) to breathe for an hour it had transformed, and was much softer, now delicious. So I decided to top up the excess blackberry wine with this, and get a full 1/2 bottle for another time. Then it was on to racking the quickie, and a picture was a must (scuse pun) because I still like seeing a huddle of 5 DJs. It bodes well for a few months down the line.

I'm really pleased with the colour. So here is a note to myself to stabilise it soon, the ferment seems to have stopped. The campden tablets should also help to preserve the colour.

A Little Update + Piccies

We're about half way through the year and my thoughts are turning to the next brew so that I stay on target for 50 gallons this year. All of which means it's been a busy(ish) time in the winery. Last night I bottled a gallon of Pomegranate quickie, the last one. Hopefully the first batch of the Elderflower quickie will soon be ready to drink, otherwise I'll have to drink the really good stuff when I fancy a tipple rather than saving it for special occasions.

Talking of good stuff, I also bottled the last gallon of Mint wine last night. The first gallon was nice, but didn't have much of a mint flavour, tho it was cooling. So for this lot I waited until the mint in the garden had grown enough to allow me to crop a little and still leave plenty. I took 6 big sprigs, 3 each of Garden mint and Apple (or maybe Morrocan) Mint. Then gently washed them and stuck one in each bottle. To help ensure nothing weird happened I added campden (1 tablet) to the gallon of wine and then siphoned into the bottles containing the sprigs of mint. The hope is that I'll get some good flavour extraction, and put the mint back into this wine. If not then it's a nice wine anyway, being over 18 months old. Looks pretty too

Making Champagne and Sparkling Wines

I was asked recently for advice on making Elderflower Champagne. Specifically bottling. There is a joke amongst wine makers that you can tell who makes sparkling wines because they are missing eyes or fingers. So make no mistake, the exploding bottle disaster takes on a whole new meaning with sparkling wines. As a result I have never made a sparkling wine, I'm very happy with the results i get from still wines and haven't had a serious urge to try sparklers. Don't get me wrong, I'm very curious and i understand why others want to try.

So if you are determined to give it a go then here's my advice for elderflower champagne...

Use plastic bottles, those little 500ml screw cap plastic bottles that you get water and pop in are perfect. You can buy them new, a quick google search should yield results. They will hold a lot of pressure and should they explode you won't have fragments of high speed flying glass to worry about. They are unlikely to explode tho, instead you'll see them expanding and i believe they will expend A LOT before they blow. But if you're following a recipe (highly recommended as you won't use too much sugar, the source of the fizz) then you're probably making something that's weak, like only 1-2% ABV, and it'll be cloudy, so presentation isn't all that important.

If you insist on using glass bottles then make sure you use proper champagne bottles. You'll know you've got them because they weigh about a kilogram empty. Make sure there are no chips, cracks or other imperfections. Get the correct corks/stoppers and wire them down with the correct wires so they don't fly out. Then put them somewhere where they won't cause any damage or hurt anyone if they do become grenades. If one does explode then the very best thing to do is to leave them be until they all explode. Then it will be safe to go into the room, or open the door on the cupboard, cellar, loft whatever.

I don't want to put you off trying, but i do want to warm you that it is something that needs great care and consideration .... if you like your eyes and fingers.

Woohooo, Flowers Added

So, the next stage of the Elderflower Blush Quickie is on the way. I added 4 litres of flowers in the wee small hours, the gravity was 1042, higher than I anticipated, so fermenting slower than anticipated. This is not a concern tho, it is still going at a good pace, and i prefer slower rather than faster anyway. Anyway the addition was made in the wee small hours because for some reason the bag shaking didn't work well (always a first time) so what should have taken an hour or so took about 5! Apart from that all is well, the flowers still smell great, perhaps i just had too many in the bag.

So that 5 gallon batch is now in the big secondary fermenter, and the white Elderflower Quickie has now been racked into five 1 gallon DJs.

More Elderflower Foraging

So we got a little rain, and then sunshine, and so I went Elderflower foraging and came home with a little haul of a few litres that smell just divine. There were still flowers yet to open, so it's still not too late to start that brew, but get your skates on. There were also plenty of sprays that have got berries started.

The flowers I collected are in tied plastic bags, have been so since yesterday evening. Later tonight I'll shake them up for a while and get them into muslin bags (minus the stalks that will only make your wine taste awful). Then  the brew that's on the go will be ready for them, its gravity has dropped to around 1025 I think, and the fermentation is quite gentle now.