Elderflower champagne

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipes Elderflower champagne recipe

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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Date Published:
28/05/2009

Make your own bubbly with this elderflower champagne recipe from River Cottage Spring

Please note we've amended the amount of sugar in this recipe from the original plus we've talked to Hugh about the various results it produces – he says this is down to the differences in elderflower crop and suggests using glass bottles with swing tops plus keep an eye on the brew.

Makes about 6 litres

Ingredients

  • 4 litres hot water
  • 700g sugar
  • Juice and zest of four lemons
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • About 15 elderflower heads, in full bloom
  • A pinch of dried yeast (you may not need this)

Method: How to make elderflower champagne

1. Put the hot water and sugar into a large container (a spotlessly clean bucket is good) and stir until the sugar dissolves, then top up with cold water so you have 6 litres of liquid in total.

2. Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently.

3. Cover with clean muslin and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. Take a look at the brew at this point, and if it’s not becoming a little foamy and obviously beginning to ferment, add a pinch of yeast.

4. Leave the mixture to ferment, again covered with muslin, for a further four days. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into sterilised strong glass bottles with champagne stoppers (available from home-brewing suppliers) or Grolsch-style stoppers, or sterilized screw-top plastic bottles (a good deal of pressure can build up inside as the fermenting brew produces carbon dioxide, so strong bottles and seals are essential).

5. Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for at least a week before serving, chilled. The champagne should keep in the bottles for several months. Store in a cool, dry place.

Check out 4Food's attempt at making elderflower Champagne.



© River Cottage

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  1. I found that it really doesn't last much longer than 1 year. The batch I made last year was great. My mum asked that I save some for her and she arrived just before they came out again and it tasted a bit vinegary - having said that she liked it (as did the husband of someone else). Be careful about keeping an eye on plastic bottles. I had one explode today and it broke a window. The bottle stayed inside but the force of the blast shot glass all over the ground outside.
    Posted by LB on 02/12/2009 07:38:31
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  2. With the elderflower champagne I decant into plastic fizzy drink bottles. It doesn't look as nice but there is no risk of burst bottles showering glass everywhere. The plastic gives a bit and the bottle has a bloated look before it burst so it's easy to spot trouble and vent the gas.
    Posted by Alison Jeynes on 07/11/2009 06:15:14
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  3. I made this champagne last year bottling it in two x 2 ltr plastic bottles which after a few weeks both exploded in my downstairs toilet. Quite spectacular really, good job the toilet wasn't occupied at the time. Undeterred I made more this year(no yeast needed) only this time putting it in swing top bottles. It's now November I opened a bottle last week, what a fizz, what a taste.The flavour has improved, earlier sweetness gone....i'm loving it! Total success and I'll most certainly be making more next year.
    Posted by Ming on 04/11/2009 21:29:12
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  4. Hi all, has anyone done this with dried elderflower heads? Does the recipe need amending at all for dried flowers? Thanks
    Posted by Andy on 24/09/2009 12:46:03
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  5. 700 g sugar as per the recipe above will yield about 8% alcohol. I strongly suggest allowing this to ferment out at about 20C in a demijohn, with a lock. When it stops, add 50g of preferably sterile sugar per litre and seal in bottles, with about 50mm of air space. It will get very fizzy. Those people who found it went cloudy - probably yeast and or bacteria. The recipe as described is pretty certain to be contaminated. Sour and vinegar smell is caused by acetic acid bacteria. Try to keep oxygen out as you transfer the product to reduce the problem. I have never needed to add yeast to this as there is always plenty on the flowers. If you do add yeast, do not use bakers yeast or brewers yeast. The alcohol level is too high for them. Use champagne or white wine yeast. Chris the brewing scientist
    Posted by Chris Holliland on 27/08/2009 21:03:21
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  6. A massive thanks to Hugh and team for inspiring us all. Our Silver Wedding garden party was a huge success, thanks to the wonderful champers (and very acceptable weather). Despite the hiccups with worries over too much sugar and 3 or 4 explosions the champagne was delicious. Not sure what percent proof it was in the end but everyone was very merry and I have bruises after my nose dive across the patio - hey - hey!!! Three cheers for Hugh - hip, hip ....!!!
    Posted by Cal on 10/08/2009 16:09:13
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  7. A massive thanks to Hugh and team for inspiring us all. Our Silver Wedding garden party was a huge success, thanks to the wonderful champers (and very acceptable weather). Despite the hiccups with worries over too much sugar and 3 or 4 explosions the champagne was delicious. Not sure what percent proof it was in the end but everyone was very merry and I have bruises after my nose dive across the patio - hey - hey!!! Three cheers for Hugh - hip, hip ....!!!
    Posted by Cal on 10/08/2009 16:07:30
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  8. Am in the process of making this (although it's the original recipe with 2Kg sugar) and just discovered this thread - didn't realise so much could go wrong ! Will be bottling tomorrow, and had decided to put half in screw-top wine bottles, half in 1 litre plastic drinks bottles. Any experience of the former ? And should I let off the pressure twice daily ? If so, how do I know how much to let out ?
    Posted by marion@ockendon.com on 05/08/2009 22:03:04
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  9. I've made 3 batches totalling 52ltrs; Batch 1 to the original recipe and adding yeast - a little syrupy but very lovely & sweetness taken away by adding gin :) . Had put in Ikea swing top bottles and de-pressurised every day. No explosions. Batch 2 with slightly less sugar and starting the yeast solution with manuka honey. Bottled in Ikea s/t's again and depressurised daily however lost most of them in huge explosion. (I really dont believe that it is the sugar content as per first batch) Rebottled everything (including first batch into 2ltr plastic bottles only 2/3rds full) What survived was beautiful. Batch 3 - followed new recipe, is no cloudier than the others but darker (looks like wee) and is horribly bitter. I'm very sad to had 20 ltrs of the nasty stuff. Is there anything I can do to alter it or is it a complete loss????? Interesting to see other comments re Ikea bottles. Suggest those who have had explosions call them as they have said that 'they are unaware of any other issues' with their product. Finally, I'd like to say a HUGH THANKS to Hugh and Channel 4 for broadcasting something that has inspired so many of us to 'have a go'. Nothing is perfect first time no matter how great the recipe (as we all do things ever so slightly differently). This is the only programme on tv that I watch religiously.
    Posted by Cressida on 01/08/2009 18:36:30
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  10. I tried this with a pinch of yeast to make it alcoholic. It was popular at my son's christening, although quite strong and very fizzy/ I made it in 2 litre pop bottles and released the pressure at least twice a day. I did find that after 3 -4 weeks it was still quite sweet. I didn't have white wine vinegar so I used some apple wine that I made ages ago and I was sure should have been vinegar by now as it was not vacuum sealed. It seemed to work well. I made cordial at the same time and added satsuma to it. The fruit was then shreaded and made into marmalade and that is delicious too!
    Posted by Nicky on 30/07/2009 23:00:37
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  11. I did two batches. One in plastic bottles and one in glass grolsch. Glass bottles are all fine but we have just had a massive explosion of one of the plastic ones. The whole side of the bottle was split - must have had some force. Lucky I had them wrapped in a sheet just in case but it was the glass ones I was concerned about. Goes to show plastic isn't necesarily better - as a lot of people tip.
    Posted by Sal on 30/07/2009 17:29:15
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  12. My first ever homemade brew has been an absolute success i used 2 liter cola bottles rinsed out with hot water only and i used an old net curtain doubled over and put liquid through a colander i didn't have any white wine vinegar so i used malt vinegar that was the only thing i didn't have at the time i added 2 pinches of dried baking yeast which was mixed with a bit of warm water and sugar after 4 days and fermenting commenced i have from start to finish taken 15 days to get an ab fab drink thank you hugh for inspiring me to have a go!
    Posted by david vine on 27/07/2009 14:58:31
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  13. Absolutely brilliant result! Champers turned out gorgeous. TOP TIP: Use plastic bottles - 750ml water bottles and let out a tiny bit of air every morning and night. Just a tiny amount to take the edge off but not to lose any fizz. Hopefully, this way, you'll avoid any explosions!!
    Posted by Judith on 27/07/2009 13:49:33
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  14. WOW!!! update on mine - started it on 20th June, bottled 2 weeks later. Made to original recipe, but doubled up so 4kg to 12 ltres & added wine yeast, but mistakenly made up to 15 litres. Fizzed madly from the start. Bottled 2 weeks later and made up to 18 litres at that time (36 x 0.5 litre grolsch bottles to fill). Was still a bit sweet but measured at 9-10% alcohol at that time. No explosions. Opened the first today and sprayed most of it all over the kitchen!!! 5-mins on floor in hysterics :-) Second bottle opened outside and had a glass to hand so lost none - CRIKEY it is good! Lots of fizz, looks like cloudy lemonade, tastes absolutely wonderful Measured alcohol content at about 12-13%!!! Drank a bottle & a half... Think i might have a headache tomorrow. 34 more bottles to go :-) Wow.....
    Posted by Nigel Howe on 25/07/2009 00:00:16
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  15. Thanks Kevin, I only used the zest of the lemon. I have added more sugar, but haven't tasted it yet.
    Posted by ruthierich on 22/07/2009 19:12:26
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  16. just like to say that this was my first attempt at homebrew and am very happy with it. mine was very cloudy, similar to cloudy lemonade (tastes like it, sort of) but that didnt bother me and i still drank it. not sure how strong it is though, havent drank enough to see, that might have to be an experiment i will have to endure with some of the remainder. does anyone know how long it lasts, am planning to keep some for a couple of months to see how it ages. planning to try hugh's interesting sounding nettle beer, any one know anywhere for recipes using apples, blackberries or damsons?
    Posted by jacob mills on 22/07/2009 17:48:11
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  17. I'm just sampling my second batch. It didn;t work as well as the first, very little fizzing after 5 days but this may be because I reduced the sugar. I bottled it anyway but there was no more fermentation, the plastic bottles did not become taught. I then made a sugar solution, added yeast, lemon juice, and combined it with my ec in a very un-scientific way then left it three days.Bottled and left for 5 more days the result is very effervescent, has a good flavour and quite refreshing. I used plastic cola bottles which you can pressure check by pushing your thumb into the shoulder, if they feel hard then maybe let out some gas! Having checked with a hygrometer I think it's about 7 abv but that may not be accurate. NB ruthierich. Pith?
    Posted by kevin on 21/07/2009 23:02:52
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  18. Ooops! My previous comments read 'now explosions' when it should have read 'no explosions!'.
    Posted by Paul on 21/07/2009 12:37:58
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  19. how do you clear the champagne before bottling as mine is very cloudy
    Posted by Ray on 20/07/2009 14:22:20
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  20. Oh my goodness, explosion city!! Lost 4 swing stopper bottles out of 48. Clearly I have not 'babysat' my bottles sufficiently. At least the bottles were at the end of the garden, so the wasps are having a field day. Now burping my babies twice a day and need to investigate the 'pop' bottles under the floorboards and see if anything's exploded.
    Posted by Cal on 20/07/2009 12:46:05
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  21. Made a batch as per the first receipe (2kg of sugar one and 25 or so flower heads) but revised it by adding more water and ended up with 10 litres instead of 6. I did need to add yeast (bakers worked for me) after a week or so and left it to ferment a week or so longer so the yeast could eat up all the extra sugar. But, the end product was superb. A fizzy, refreshing drink, that I'd say was about 6 - 7% proof! Really enjoyable! I bottled mine in grolsch type flip 500ml bottles that I got off the internet and now explosions. I'm now attempting to make some more from flower heads that I'd frozen - so we'll see how that goes!
    Posted by Paul on 19/07/2009 18:31:52
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  22. I have made a batch of the elderflower champagne using the new recipe. It has a great fizz, and smells lush,but it has a really strong bitter taste. How can I rectify this? It is undrinkable at the moment. HELP!!!!!
    Posted by ruthierich on 18/07/2009 16:28:06
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  23. Used the new recipe and seem to have the opposite problem to everyone else- fizz is fine, no explosions, smells great but tastes like vinegar- SO sour, like eating a lemon. Should I add a bit of sugar to each bottle or is it too late? Has anyone experienced this problem?
    Posted by Jenna on 17/07/2009 09:44:56
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  24. Does anyone know how long you have to babysit/let gas out of the champers for after it's been bottled? So far so good ...!! Many thanks X
    Posted by Nancy on 15/07/2009 10:42:32
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  25. I have dead yeast sedimenting to the bottom of the bottles - do others have this? I dont want to decant as it will lose the precious fizz... any thoughts! Otherwise, it's going OK.
    Posted by Tess on 14/07/2009 12:30:39
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  26. I tried your recipe for nettle beer, must have done something wrong but I found it undrinkable it was very bitter and sour
    Posted by Phil on 13/07/2009 14:36:04
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  27. Forgot, does anyone know how strong this is?
    Posted by Norcs on 11/07/2009 13:58:42
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  28. Just popped my first bottle and guess what?? FIZZZZZ!!! Yeehaaa!! Cheers Hugh!! Now, does anyone know if I can freeze the flowers and make some for my sisters wedding in April?
    Posted by Norcs on 11/07/2009 13:56:11
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  29. I have made the elderflower champagne as per the recipe, put in strong bottles, however on entering my spare room this morning i was confronted with a scene of destruction. There is glass and liquid everywhere. Big clean up this morning not a happy bunny.
    Posted by Mark Knapper on 11/07/2009 11:33:42
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  30. Just tried our first batch of this years elderflower, rather strong and a bit vinegary, not as sweet as last years attempt, but certainly more potent, a bit of fizz, but no explosions yet. Followed the updated recipe fairly accurately, except for using a huge amount of flowers, about 60 heads.
    Posted by Rebecca Sharp on 10/07/2009 21:23:49
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  31. @dunemist - baker's dried yeast is fine. It's a good idea to add a pinch or two to a small bowl of lukewarm water that you've dissolved a tablespoon or two of sugar in. Leave it for 30 mins or so in a warm place and you should start to see some activity on the surface. This is the yeast waking up and starting to do its thing. When you have this pour the whole lot into your elderflower mix and by the next day you should see and hear significant signs of fermentation!
    Posted by shbib on 09/07/2009 20:40:23
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  32. I made the elderflower champagne,but unfortunately lost more than half of my batch to exploding bottles.I used glass champagne style bots & stoppers(which exploded at the neck). Also plastic cider bots.Both much of a muchness.Lost same ammounts from each type of vessel. Flavour and fizz were great.A bit too sweet for my palette,but I thought a good result.Just need to solve the exploding bottle problem!!
    Posted by Nina on 08/07/2009 21:07:32
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  33. I made double the quantity & bottled it exactly one week ago. I left it to ferment for 4 days & added half a tea-spoon of dried yeast to each batch. I used screw-top glass wine bottles. After reading comments on here I let out a bit of gas twice a day. Worked extremely well, it stayed in the garage for a week & then I transferred to outside fridge. Non of my bottles have exploded. I understand that it gets better with age, but it's absolutely delicious now, it just wont last!
    Posted by Beardy on 08/07/2009 15:54:30
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  34. Hi john, don't throw away your brew, I had the same prob. After 5 days took out mouldy flower heads and added yeast then left it 3 more days before bottling. Got a good result for a first timer I think, lovely flavour if slightly sweet. My friends say it's the best thing since Pimm's (they may be a little kind to me!) I'm now brewing a second batch which seems to be going the same way. And, yes, I am drinking it as I write.
    Posted by kevintenton on 07/07/2009 00:15:57
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  35. Hi. I have a large lemon balm bush in the garden. I have been looking for a wine recipe but most involve using specialist equipment. If I could use this recipe using lemon balm instead of elderflower, it would be great. Has anyone tried this, or think it would work?
    Posted by anthony on 06/07/2009 22:37:04
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  36. Hello , small round bit of blue mould(size of a twenty pence piece) as appeared on my brew ,five days after making i did sterilise should i throw away .. Thank you
    Posted by john on 06/07/2009 15:38:04
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  37. Massive success I had initially used the old receipe which had too much sugar..I decided to pad it out from 6 litres to 15 litres of water 2 days into brewing..bottled up in "Lorina" lemonade swing top 750 ml bottles..NO explosions I did however pop the lids off once 2 days after bottling to relieve any excess pressure.. the taste is fantastic very flowery and a bit like rosewater..not too sweet either and lovely and bubbly perfect..have had mates wanting to buy bottles of it off me
    Posted by Lee on 06/07/2009 11:54:37
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  38. Having made the first lot of elderflower champagne with the amount of sugar reccomended what can I do to thin down its very sweet taste.The ammended recipe sounds so much better perhaps I'll try again before all the flowers pass.
    Posted by tree on 06/07/2009 10:18:22
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  39. Hi Not sure if I have done anything wrong, or if it is supposed to be like this but - the champagne is cloudy rather than clear; and is not very sparkling - in fact there are only a few bubbles. In the initial fermentation period, the mixture did not ferment on its own at all, so I added a pinch of dry yeast. However, this was not brewers yeast so I'm wondering if this is where I went wrong. Any ideas anyone? Thanks. ps - it tastes ok, but is still quite "elderflowery" if you know what I mean!
    Posted by Dunemist on 05/07/2009 20:49:26
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  40. I did half batch initially to try out.No fizz after a couple of days to added a good pinch of yeast, bottled it after suggested time in grolsh type bottles,after the minimum type I opened the least full bottle and it exploded everywhere, all over the kitchen.lost most of that bottle but did taste lovely, not syrupy..and obviously plenty of fizz! noticed that someone else had used champagne yeast.....mine wasnt..is that wrong?? Have done another batch which is brewing in the garage so may go and try release some of the pressure as suggested in other comments. What sort of alcohol content is in this? does that depend on how long you leave it once bottled??
    Posted by Sue on 05/07/2009 09:54:10
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  41. No news on the thickness problems?? anyone got any ideas why it is so thick and gelatenous?
    Posted by jo on 04/07/2009 21:36:07
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  42. just open the first bottle of my two batches. absolutly brilliant. only snag i had was that the batch was put into ordinary scew top glass bottles....3 exploded after a couple of days. SO USE PLASTIC BOTTLES...TOP TIP.
    Posted by becky on 03/07/2009 21:00:55
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  43. Made a batch using the original recipe, putting my brew into grolsch-type bottles from IKEA (they hold a litre) - installed them in a bottle-bag, in a crate, covered with a blue IKEA bag in the garage for their 8-day 'brew' - they've been there since Monday, checked on Thursday and have lost 2 - they've exploded :( i hope the neighbours don't call the police Wondering whether to de-fizz the ones i have left, or just drink them now - i'm a bit frightened of them exploding whilst i de-fizz them.
    Posted by Loopygirl on 03/07/2009 13:35:18
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  44. Am I too late to do this? I did it last year but can not remember when. I can not recall seeing any elderflowers recently! I am glad the sugar quantities have been ammended, although lovely last year it was very sweet!!
    Posted by bundle on 02/07/2009 08:30:14
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  45. EFC what can I say 24 litres went to Glastonbury Festival, Sunshine, Champagne, Quality Music the best recipe yet. Good old Hugh Big Thumbs Up although had to adjust the recipe alittle but otherwise how posh were we champers at Glastonbury. Love the show Paula x
    Posted by Paula on 01/07/2009 23:44:18
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  46. I read all the advice and bad luck stories prior to brewing and thought I'd give something back by sharing my experience as a first time EFC brewer. I used the old receipe and used a brand new bucket and funnel for decanting. I used a sterilising solution. I think this paid dividends because had no mould problems. No action after two days, added a pinch of champagne yeast, approx 1grm. This worked. Left for four days. I strained the rather sticky liquid into x6 sterilised 2 litre plastic cola bottles. This was when I discovered I only had four and a half litres of liquid. I suppose this was why the liquid was so sticky! I swilled out the bucket, poured all the brew back into the bucket, topped it up to 6 litres with bottled water, gave it a good stir, restrained and rebottled. Ever since I have been releasing the pressure morning and evening and everything is turning out okay. Originally the brew had an overpowering flowery scent. My wife didn't like it and found it slightly nausiating. After three weeks now, the smell has abated somewhat and the liqiud itself is more viscous. I guess the fermentation is doing it's job. I have kept a smaller 'test' bottle and it tastes wonderful with a great fizz. The lessons I have learned are: the pressure in this brew MUST be released. If not there can be only one consequence. Sterilise and rinse everything thoroughly. It appears that my addition of water after initial bucket fermentation period has has no adverse affect. Finally there is no need for fancy bottles, good old cola bottles will do, providing they are sterilised, rinsed and the pressure regulary released. I've been keeping my bottles in the kitchen where I can see them. That way I haven't forgotten to release the pressure. Cheers!
    Posted by Paul on 01/07/2009 21:05:52
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  47. I made old recipe with 2kg sugar and then made upto 12 litres, i've had 4 bottles explode. Tried new recipe, but put in demijohn for extra week before placing in bottles a little less fizz and have not tried lastest batch yet. Smells quite winey, but feel it may not be as fizzy as first batch.
    Posted by Jim on 01/07/2009 17:50:53
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  48. Considering that the original recipe (with over 3x the quantity of sugar) appeared on this website for a year, perhaps an apology would be in order? I mmade this, just before the recipe was changed,using old sterilised champagne bottles, within a couple ofdays of bottling the corks were breaching the cages and popping. I had to open all the bottles, losing half a bottle from each, then a day before it was ready, a second opening was still explosive. I emptied the fizzy syrup back into the fermenting bucket and left it for a further week, it's now been rebottled into plastic ones, but with 3days still left, they've all had to be opened to release the pressure. At the very least there should be a warning at the top of the recipe, stating 'strong' bottles is not enough, champagne or a similarly shaped mineral water bottles are the only things that can safely contain such a high volume gas producing brew.
    Posted by Andy on 01/07/2009 17:36:10
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  49. We are excited by the prospect of elderflower champagne and have duely followed the recipe using the revised amount of sugar. It is now decanted it into 2 litre plastic bottles and pressure is building. Given some of the horror stories of exploding bottles I am not sure whether I need to release the pressure at any point - I would hate to loose the brew or the fizz! Any advice would be appreciated
    Posted by Diane on 01/07/2009 09:26:02
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  50. We followed recipe and if making it again, we would cut out some of the sugar as it is very sweet. Also be weary of adding yeast as one of our bottles exploded!Those that we have opened have been so fizzy that we have lost half of it.
    Posted by becky on 01/07/2009 05:59:36
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  51. Just tried my first batch of EC and it is great. Left it 5 days in the bucket, no joy so added yeast and waited a further 3 days. Noticed bubbling etc. so strained and bottled 9 days ago. great taste, very refreshing but quite sweet. Checked the abv with a hygrometer at 4 or 5% but this may not be accurate. IT ROCKS! Can't wait to get another batch going.
    Posted by kevintenton on 01/07/2009 01:06:21
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  52. We have had great success with our first attempt.The champagne is bubbly,semi-clear and very drinkable.We followed the original instructions but made up the water to 10 litres,as it didn't look as if it would fill all the bottles it was supposed to.We also added a pinch of champagne yeast after 24 hours as nothing seemed to be happening.We used the Grolsch style bottles and haven't had any explosions.The champagne needed to be well chilled before opening to avoid getting just a glass of froth.
    Posted by linda on 30/06/2009 22:42:08
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  53. i have made your elderflower champers as per instructions having never made it before im not sure how it should turn out. mine seems very syrupy and thick but it tastes ok lol
    Posted by bevbez on 30/06/2009 21:48:41
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  54. Without knowing how much mould you have, I would say it's pretty normal to expect mould to grow on the elderflower leaves that are floating above the liquid. Lift this mess off and them strain through muslin when it's time, and you should be fine. Sterilise all your bottles and tops in the dishwasher -hottest setting and this minimises further mould. Just a tip about the exploding glass bottles. Make a couple of litres in plastic bottles, as these will swell up - indicating how much gas is being produced. I use twist bottle tops on the glass bottles so I can release some gas when it looks like it's getting to exploding point. Mine has turned out very potent! I used the original recipe and it's not too sweet at all. I did leave it a few days longer than I should have before bottling though, as we were away for the weekend. Good Luck!
    Posted by MichelleInBerko on 30/06/2009 17:09:11
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  55. I followed the instructions for elderflower champagne and bottled my brew in grolsch style bottles from ikea and was planning on waiting a fortnight before sampling my brew. After a week , however, one of the bottles exploded sending glass across the garage so I decided I should place the remaining bottles inside a plastic storage box to minimise the dager and mess. This morning when I went in, the remaining bottles had exploded and blown holes in the plastic box as well as ripping the canvas I had covered it with!!!! I was realy shocked at the force of the explosion and relieved that nobody was hurt. Has anyone else reported such a thing. I wont be having another go!!
    Posted by helen f on 30/06/2009 15:54:34
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  56. Made my first batch a week a go today, following the recipe above, but made the mistake of not adding yeast. Kept on putting off adding yeast as i thought id give it one more day, added yeast on day 6, but by then it had started to rot and got a scum on the top...a bit off putting so have made my second batch tonight and have put the yeast straight in. Looking forward to drinking it!
    Posted by caroline on 29/06/2009 21:04:49
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  57. Just wanted to post a WARNING up to first time brewers (like me). We followed the old recipe that uses 2kg sugar and put it in swing top (grolsch style) bottles, and 3 of them exploded on day 4 of the 8 days for fermenting. We hadn't added any yeast as it seemed to be bubbling on its own. Thankfully it happened in the middle of the night or it might have been one of us that ended up with glass embedded in them instead of the kitchen doors and walls!! So.. IMPORTANTLY... DO NOT clamp the swing tops on during this 8 days, just rest the plastic seal on top to stop things getting in it, otherwise you're creating a very sugary bomb! (This may seem obvious, but as I said we're first timers and just followed the recipe which gave no guidance about this) Happy brewing everyone!
    Posted by Liz on 29/06/2009 16:39:50
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  58. Please will someone tell me if the mould is ok??? The mould started about day two, i have since added yeast and it bubbling away, smells delightful. Please someone tell me that it will be ok once i filter it, or is my whole batch ruined.????????????
    Posted by Rosie Suffolk on 29/06/2009 11:16:34
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  59. Have just tried our first bottle ( the end of the batch put in a small bottle)....didnt tast too good, smells lovely & not too thick now, bubbles a lot when you open the bottle, not as sweet as I remember when my mum used to make it, but had a nasty after taste, quite vinegary.....very dissapointed. Made a second lot on Thursday, followed recipe above & added yeast straight away, has bubbled but looks mouldy on top, have removed flowers & lemons & still mouldy this morning when I got up, absolutely gutted!!!! Was so excited when we started making it but now two bad lots..... Can anyone give us some advice, what have we done wrong??? Is this second batch no good either......please can someone answer this post & advise please!!!
    Posted by jan on 29/06/2009 11:08:53
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  60. Made to Original recipe. Not a lot happened after two days so added some bakers yeast, next day noticed the bubble covering and the unmistakable fermenting smell. Got tied up in all my free time so it was about a fortnight before I got round to bottling, however with the recipe being wrong this was probably a god send as a lot of the fermenting gas would have dissipated and there was enough sugar to keep the yeast fed. I added possibly 3 or more litres (it was one in the morn on a school night) of water after reading the forum and realising C4 had screwed the pooch. I bought beer bottles from wilko's with capps & capper. After a week in the bottle I opened one and lost about an eighth which fizzed out, the drink was very nice & fizzy a little sweet but not overly, quite high in booze, I would estimate at 10-12 %. There is a sediment at the bottom as you would expect with a bottle conditioned beer, if you are not careful with the bottle prior to opening you can see some disconcerting stuff floating around but this should all be ok I imagine. Cracked another one after a week and a half and was more careful in taking out of fridge, when I cracked it there was no loss and no Pshhh so thought this one had failed to further ferment in the bottle so just sloshed it in the glass like a wine only to find out it was seriously fizzy. I also had a glass where I had blended a handful of strawberries and placed the juice in the bottom of the glass and the filled with champers - this was nice and the extra acidity complimented the sweetness. About the strength, just under half a litre made me quite tipsy indeed which ended in a light headache. (I get headaches with normal champers, must be the bubbles!!) I also made some cordial following a BBC recipe, this tasted a bit ‘green’, I assumed leaving the stalks on the heads was the problem. My champagne was still fermenting at this stage so thought that would taste green as well but it doesn’t. As the cordial tasted a bit green I was going to scrap it and start again but noticed a fizz when opening a bottle and thought, well if it’s started fermenting I might as well keep it going, added water, bought a demijohn and an airlock and that has been going for a fortnight, I will bottle today. Anyone entering any burp competitions is guaranteed a win with this stuff!!
    Posted by Carl on 28/06/2009 15:07:39
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  61. I also would like to know the strength of this flavoursome brew, my little boy who is 8 loves the smell of it and has been asking if he will be allowed to have some..please advise on the ABV.. Many thanks..Stu.E
    Posted by Stu Essery on 28/06/2009 07:14:20
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  62. Just tasted my first batch after 5 days fermanenting and 10 days in grolch style bottles. what i gorgeous drink!!! wonderfully fizzy like champ, and a wonderful flavour. starting my second batch. I'm gonna try let some age for a few months, but i imagine it'll all get drunk pretty soon. many thanks
    Posted by adibear on 27/06/2009 23:22:39
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  63. can you please tell me how strong the elderflower champagne is. thanks
    Posted by jo on 27/06/2009 14:06:24
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  64. sorry. correction. also 1.kg of sugar
    Posted by marc e marc on 26/06/2009 23:23:15
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  65. Oh no i followed the original recipe way way too much sugar tastes like syrup .Im off out tomorrow to collect more flowers and start again !wish me luck.
    Posted by ken . on 26/06/2009 21:53:19
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  66. Taste very nice , but found the plastic bottles tend to explode and enjoyed licking it off the walls
    Posted by Peter Daynes on 26/06/2009 11:00:45
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  67. Argh, I did it to the old recipe - whoops! I now have 6l of sludge. I've just watered it down to 24l and added a pinch more yeast. Got a second batch going to the updated recipe too. Both are in beer-brewing fermentation bins. Can someone please explain to me the scientific difference between this stuff and beer? My partner is a beer-maker and he's adamant that the two liquids are basically the same and putting the elderflower champagne in glass bottles with beer-style caps will be fine! I am trying to explain otherwise, but just saying "everyone's comments all say use swing top/plastic bottles" isn't convincing him - he thinks he knows best. I'm scared of having a very sticky house covered in shards of glass - PLEASE HELP!!!!!
    Posted by Caroline on 25/06/2009 20:29:29
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  68. Made the champagne a few weeks ago and have had it bottled in the shed for 11 days now. Popped a bottle open to see and try at the weekend and noticed that the champagne was thicker than expected. Is this normal? We followed the original recipe exactly so don’t understand what may have gone wrong, it seemed that Hugh’s was the same consistency as any other sparkling wine when we watched the show. Also when we opened the bottle we noticed dark/black sediment rose with the bubbles. It was only a little bit but we are both now very reluctant to drink it and it’s too late to start again. This is our first attempt at doing any home brewing so any advice would be much welcome. What should we do???????
    Posted by Rachel and Chris on 25/06/2009 16:12:36
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  69. I've been venting my swing top bottles (original recipe) every day for the last 2 weeks, with no explosions. I will now keep them in a fridge (luckily I have one for home brew conditioning) as they settle down fine once chilled. Just remember to vent the bottle a bit then shut quickly before it flies out, then wait a while and you can then open in safety. I find 50/50 with sparkling spring water makes the old recipe into a nice drink.
    Posted by simonp on 25/06/2009 12:29:11
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  70. How do you prevent the mould? Can you use bread yeast instead of brewers??
    Posted by Rosie Suffolk on 25/06/2009 10:30:03
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  71. why does my mixture goes mouldy before starting to ferment.just had to poor out second batch???
    Posted by katrin on 25/06/2009 05:36:09
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  72. Well I wish had seen the amendments to the recipe as I learnt yesterday when I came home to my kitchen desermated by exploding grolsch bottles of the original elderflower champange! As well as shattered glass everywhere ( Yes they really did explode like a bomb!) the extra sugary syrup from the bottles had become a shallow pool on my kitchen floor and nearby surfaces. This was only after 4 days of being bottled so I checked back on here to discover the recipe had certainly changed. My only option I felt was to literally diffuse the remaining 10 bottles, which all went with a bang and discard the contents- which thankfully my boyfriend did for me (we were very anxious they were going to explode while being handled). So after all the effort I cant wreep the fruits of my labour and all im left with is a very very sticky floor- even after cleaning it 3 times..... Im trying cordial instead. I would certainly air on the side of caution when doing this and remember the bubbles (fizz) form in the bottles not when steeping the flowers so don't be put off if its only lightly fizzy on bottling. Also if its mouldy before you bottle it will continue to be mouldy in the bottle.
    Posted by Jo on 24/06/2009 20:26:52
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  73. Hi, have made 36 litres today with old recipe! Have made it in 2 batches of 18 litres, could anyone please advise as to whether to add water at the end, or is there anything i can do as i've only made it today! I put 2kg bags of sugar per 12 litres of hot water, appreciate any help here!
    Posted by Scarab on 24/06/2009 16:54:45
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  74. Hi everyone, Thanks for all your comments about this recipe - just to confirm the recipe has been amended to be 700g sugar to mix with 4 litres of water, to make around 6 litres of champagne. We have talked to Hugh about this recipe again and he says that the variety in the results are caused by the differences in elderflower crop - he suggests using glass bottles with swing tops (like Grolsch use) and to keep an eye on the brew. Good luck! The 4Food team
    Posted by 4Food Ed on 24/06/2009 10:46:44
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  75. Argh! I can't believe that the recipe has changed, now where there isn't a single elderflower left to make a new batch and without a single hint as to how one could save the old batch. Shame on you 4food. This is my first go at homebrewing so have been at a complete loss. After having read all the comments I added a further 3 litres of water to dilute and then bottled after using my jelly strainer to sieve. But of course this gave me more than anticipated so ended up putting the last few litres in some big pickeling jars. They'll probably explode, but desperate times - desperate measures. Hmm, was really excited, but now I am feeling very dubious about probably pouring supersweet jelly to my friends.
    Posted by Lise on 23/06/2009 18:27:16
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  76. After receipe change I added 3x more water last week (up to 15ltrs for 2KG of sugar) Im gonna leave to ferment in bucket for 9 days in total as first 2 days nothing happened (too much sugar too little water perhaps 2KG -6ltrs) anyway now at day 8 in bucket and fizzing really well.....mixture cloudy but smells flowery and alcoholic :) will bottle with swing tops hopefully there will be no explosions!..on another note, I hear mixing champagne with Pimms makes the ultimate english summer drink!
    Posted by Lee on 23/06/2009 10:16:03
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  77. Wow, I really don't like the sound of this "gelatinous" wine. would be interested in any points of view before I open any and (even better) before I bottle batch 2. certainly what I have is quites cloudy and is dropping a heavy sediment in the bottles. Would it be wise to use a super-fine filter at bottling, like a jelly bag?
    Posted by Martin on 22/06/2009 20:12:18
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  78. In response to Laura - normal wine bottles are not strong enough to with stand the pressure building up inside the bottle and can explode. I've used old pop bottles and some flip top 'grolsh style' bottles. In response to Nicky 197 - I would (and have) dilute with more water. as it is really quite sweet.
    Posted by Shelley on 22/06/2009 18:21:11
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  79. Hi Jane, We followed the recipe given on the TV and we drank ours at a party on Friday and it was extremely effervescent but then did turn gelatinous in the glass to the point people stopped drinking it as it looked like .. well frankly snot! Any ideas why this happened?? we did store it in the fridge for the last 24 hours ready for drink would this have caused this reaction??? oh and also a big bright yellow 'slug ' of sediment came out of every bottle on popping. would welcome your comments Jo x
    Posted by jo on 22/06/2009 17:50:20
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  80. I've made "proper" elderflower champagne before, with champagne corks & foils etc. and it really was excellent. However I've tried the non alcoholic version this year and have had total failure. Although it smell delicious, when I opened the bottles, it was fizzy, but went quite gelatinous as I opened them. I've tried adding campden tablets as you would for "ropey" wine, but nothing seems to be happening. Has anybody got any suggestions please?
    Posted by Jane on 22/06/2009 14:57:59
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  81. After a great deal of worry, things seem to be working (touch wood). Big thanks to Martin and Lee for your advice. Now have about 80 litres of fizzing liquid in a wheelie bin, flowers are floating, frothy on top. Brew has been going for going for about 7 days now. Had a little snifter this morning, looks pretty clear, tastes good, perhaps a little sweet. Intending leaving it for a few more days before bottling, so more of the sugar turns to alcohol and it is also still a little lively! Only problem is finding more containers, now scrounging round and going to use plastic 'pop' bottles. In answer to Laura, plastic 'pop' bottles are good to use because they are designed specifically to withstand high pressure, normal wine bottles will just explode.
    Posted by Cal on 22/06/2009 07:58:03
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  82. I could really do with some help from you good people. Made the champagne(to the original recipe)9 days ago in a proper air locked barrel, it looks and smells good, no mould etc, but it is sweet. Would you bottle it tomorrow as it is, or leave for another week in the hope more sugar will turn to alcohol or would you bottle tomorrow and dilute with extra water? Any opinions would be gratefully received! Thanks.
    Posted by Nicky197 on 21/06/2009 21:02:28
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  83. Made a 4ltr batch ( 2 ltr cold) with 700g sugar on Sat midday -nothing happening -added a pinch of dried yeast as recipe suggests. Any advice? Looks very flat - smells good. Not sure what to do now- its certainly not fermenting.
    Posted by jo on 21/06/2009 20:55:27
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  84. Hi, this is the first time I have made this. It tastes nice but it's a yellow colour. Like a week orange squash. Is this normal? Or is it meant to be clearer?
    Posted by Chris lake on 21/06/2009 19:17:25
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  85. Hi, you mention screw-top plastic bottles, but why not glass ones - the perfect and easiest solution for me would be recycling screw top wine bottles. any reason why not?
    Posted by Laura Brickell on 21/06/2009 16:18:11
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  86. bottled my elderflower on friday, filtered it through layers of muslin twice & looked a bit thick but bottled it anyway.......two days later it doesnt look very good at all, looks thick & looks very cloudy & a bit of yucky looking stuff forming on the top, is it no good???? please could someone help, should I just throw it all away.....smells lovely still but doesnt look great!!!!
    Posted by jan on 21/06/2009 14:49:08
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  87. My batch is ready for botteling tomorow its the first time ive made it, it has got mold forming on the top. Is it safe or should i throw it away and start again???
    Posted by Liz on 20/06/2009 16:09:42
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  88. Hi i started my brew on monday i have checked it and no change i have even put Yeast in. the batch that i done was the old recipe does any one know how much water i should add to help it along and how long i should then leave it before i bottle it ??
    Posted by Nuala on 20/06/2009 15:58:47
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  89. Hi all - i started a 12 litre batch last sunday and added 4kg of sugar as suggested. But not concentrating i filled the brewers bucket i am using to the top which is 15 litres. Even if i dilute it to 18 litres when i bottle it (i have 36 1/2 litre bottles) then by my calsc this is still twice as much sugar as the new recipe. However... having made wine in the past and reading other comments i added a teaspoon of wine yeast to the mix at the start. Next day it was fizzing fantasticly and has done all week. No mildew or other mould and the flowers not sinking like others report, just lots of fizzing and smells wonderful. Natural yeast produces low alcohol levels but modern wine yeast produces higher alcohol, so i reckon the wine yeast should convert all that extra sugar to alcohol making a stronger brew. Maybe i'll leave it a few extra days in the bucket before i bottle it as well so as not to overpressurise the bottles. Will keep y'all posted!
    Posted by Nigel Howe on 20/06/2009 10:54:58
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  90. added 5 ltrs more water and now its fizzing looks like there wasnt enough water so hopefully its working gonna bottle it sunday and see what happens
    Posted by graham on 19/06/2009 21:59:11
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  91. got in from work and me and the wife polished off a bottle of the elderflower champers. hit the spot very fizzy and it has a kick. thanks. i'm out tomorrow collecting for 5 gallons worth. hope i'm not too late.
    Posted by les on 19/06/2009 18:48:02
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  92. IM IN A MAJOR PANIC! AM I GOING CRAZY OR HAS THIS RECIPE CHANGED SINCE LAST WEEK! AND IF SO WAS THIS BECAUSE THE PREVIOUS RECIPE MADE BAD CHAMPERS? SO WILL MINE BE RUBBISH?!!
    Posted by lawnnss on 19/06/2009 17:20:17
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  93. hi just me again the new recipe only says 4lts of water do you still add 2lts of cold once sugar desolves??
    Posted by Nuala on 19/06/2009 12:36:30
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  94. Hi this is my first attempt at the old recipe this had changed after i had made it i started it on monday checked it on wed nothing happining so added brewers yeast just had a look today still nothing happening can any one helpme please?? has any one hadded somthing eles too it as well like strawberries?
    Posted by Nuala on 19/06/2009 12:34:46
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  95. Hi this is my first attempt at the old recipe this had changed after i had made it i started it on monday checked it on wed nothing happining so added brewers yeast just had a look today still nothing happening can any one helpme please?? has any one hadded somthing eles too it as well like strawberries?
    Posted by Nuala on 19/06/2009 12:33:30
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  96. Hi Lee, there now seems to be a little murmuring of fermentation (heard some fizzing this morning) but did put some sprinklings of yeast in last night. Probably going to do what you suggest and add some more water - cheers!
    Posted by Cal on 19/06/2009 12:07:13
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  97. Hi Cal Ive added extra water to mine since reciepe change..I think there is no activity because you have too much sugar perhaps..I would seiously think about halving what you have to 24ltr and adding luke warm water to bring it back up to 48 litres... Im no expert however
    Posted by Lee on 19/06/2009 10:35:10
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  98. Graham I don't think the water will help fermentation. Yeast needs sugar, heat and an appropriate PH in order to work. 2 teaspoons sounds like a lot when the recipe only says a pinch! I would suggest that temperature is more likely to be the issue, if you can't bring the whole thing up to mid-30s celcius then heat a small amount seperately, maybe with more yeast, and get that fermenting and then add it back into the rest as a kick-start.
    Posted by Martin on 19/06/2009 09:58:10
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  99. Thanks for your reassuring comments Martin. Hope it works out ok, because have invested in a large quantity of swing stopper bottles.
    Posted by Cal on 19/06/2009 08:46:24
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  100. I started with the original recipe and after four days nothing was happening. Yesterday I added 4 ltrs water and some wine yeast. This morning I have a trickle of bubbles so I now think it's heading in the right direction. It smells great.
    Posted by Boozy Sam on 19/06/2009 07:37:57
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  101. Hahah! I did think that 2kg of sugar was a lot! I'm going to go a different route to adding sugar - I'm going to add a champagne yeast with a decent yeast starter, and ferment it down to around 13% - my regular yeast (the yeast cake from a bitter I brewed recently) got it to 6.8% before dying out probably due to exhaustion from eating all that sugar! Funny stuff :D H
    Posted by Henry Carless on 18/06/2009 23:32:06
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  102. Well, having made my first batch of 16 litres last week and about to bottle it this week I think I will do a test and bottle 50% ( 8litres) based on the original recipe and dilute the following 8 litres with a similar amount of water and see what happens!! I'll let you know the outcome.
    Posted by Phil North Wales on 18/06/2009 22:35:15
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  103. i made 15ltrs on saturday with 4lbs sugar and 2 teaspoons of yeast still nothing happening just added another 10ltrs of water will this help with fermentation ?any suggestions plz ?
    Posted by graham on 18/06/2009 22:21:07
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  104. Will this work recipe work with other things aswell do you think if you didnt want to use elderflower but use something else instead like a fruit or some other plant?
    Posted by Malanic on 18/06/2009 21:58:11
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  105. I've just decanted my brew into Grolsch-style bottles from Ikea. Like many of you I have added too much sugar. Originally I wanted to make 12 litres but thought 4kg of sugar was too much and after much musing I added 3kg. realising my mistake I topped the bucket up to its maximum (16 litres). During decanting I sneeked a taste and its not half bad! I think i'll just release the gas every couple of days to try to turn the excess sugar into precious alchohol.
    Posted by Monkeyfinger on 18/06/2009 21:30:15
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  106. Hello again, status update on mine (origional quantaties but with half the sugar (1Kg). It is still bubbling away. Cal, mine took a good couple of days to start fermenting so I wouldn't despair completely. I have not added any yeast and the bubbling is steady but not vigorous. I have no idea whether this is enough but I find it reassuring considering all the exploding bottle stories. It smells nice and boozy and tastes like a light, sweet natural fizzy pop at the moment.
    Posted by Martin on 18/06/2009 21:16:46
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  107. why when you click on print this page to print the recipe does it print 12 other pages that you dont want printed too! would have been better for the planet to copy it with a pencil
    Posted by Ray Livingstone on 18/06/2009 17:48:06
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  108. Oh my god, made 48 litres, so multiplied everything by 8 from the original recipe and have used 16kg of sugar. Made it two days ago, it is not fermenting yet, so tempted to add some yeast. Don't know what to do about the water, because of the change in recipe - help any suggestions? In a frenzy for my Silver Wedding Anniv celebrations in a few weeks
    Posted by Cal, Middlesbrough on 18/06/2009 16:52:20
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  109. Thanks for the advice Anthony, think i'll just add the water when I bottle tomorrow and cross my fingers. The 4Food Ed, can you please confirm you have amended the recipe to 700g of sugar for a SIX litre batch, not four, as the recipe still makes six in total? Thanks
    Posted by Steve on 18/06/2009 16:01:59
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  110. noticed recipe changed from original,should i increase the water from 6 litres,i have got fermenting,if so to what.also getting mildew on flower heads,should i take out of bucket
    Posted by kevin on 18/06/2009 15:39:27
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  111. Hi steve, I would add the extra water as I only used half the amount of sugar from the original recipe and mine is quite lively (see all previous posts)! Im no expert but I would definately go down the extra water route and that way you also get more champagne!! Good luck!!
    Posted by Anthony on 18/06/2009 14:09:30
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  112. Hi all. I made my first batch last Friday using the original recipe and now it's changed, thanks a bunch whoever did that! Anyway, it's fizzing away in the bucket nicely at the moment and i'm due to bottle it tomorrow night. Should I now add another 6 litres of water before I bottle it or should i just leave it? Could really do with some advice as I timed it perfectly (according to the original recipe!) for my partners birthday party next Saturday and i'll be a bit upset if it's not worked properly. Thanks.
    Posted by Steve on 18/06/2009 13:52:21
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  113. My first attempt at making any kind of wine and I loved the experience. But oh boy what a disaster. I bottled all 6 litres as per the original recipe and then went away for the week. Have returned to find two bottles that have exploded. Not the tops but the bottoms have blown out. It's a massacre under my stairs. This recipe should come with a government warning. I notice the recipe has changed, If I have the energy to make another batch will the reduction in sugar make the difference?
    Posted by JacquieT on 18/06/2009 13:37:19
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  114. Yes the recipe has changed. i made my 18 ltr batch on monday b4 the recipe had changed(2kg) sugar. What will this do to my champers? i,m hoping its gunna be ok. can anyone shed any light on this for me.
    Posted by emma on 18/06/2009 11:24:52
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  115. HAHA, that is hilarious! Wait until all the prime picking season is over and almost everyone will have made theirs, then change the recipe! someone at channel4/river cottage has a cruel sense of humour. I put my first batch on Monday, slightly short an water as my pan was smaller than I thought, heavy on flowers, about 1Kg of sugar. No activity after 1 day, transfered to a bigger bucket. late evening on day 1 noticed that my elderflower cordial from last week was fizzing so thought it might give the brew a kick-start, added about half a glass. Day 2 came home and checked it to find it bubbling away and smelling quite boozy. have given it a stir and let it get on with it. The story continues...
    Posted by Martin on 17/06/2009 21:13:03
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  116. Terry, i made RC recipe on saturday with 6 litres of water and 2kg sugar then read comments so topped up to 12 litres of liquid after 3 days and it looks fine. From what i've read think it would be ok to go to 16 litres of liquid.
    Posted by Jim on 17/06/2009 20:23:40
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  117. Yeah, we'd have to be! The recipe has just been changed. A lot less sugar now and fewer elderflower heads. Might try another batch then!
    Posted by mikesid on 17/06/2009 11:53:34
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  118. The recipe has been changed! now 15 flowerheads, and only 700g sugar to the same water. Probably about what I ended up with proportionally after diluting mine after fermentation.
    Posted by simonp on 17/06/2009 11:37:14
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  119. So far so good.....really enjoyed making my first batch!!!a couple things 1. had to add a bit of yeast- to help ferment 2. 2x Grolsh bottles smashed under pressure(all empty champagne bottles okay) 3. left balloons on top for a few days to see which ones were giving off the most gas(possible breakages) 4. smells lush, a wee bit sugary but i reckon it will be ok. Guna leave for a bit now. Good luck all hope it goes well....if we could all get it right the first time we'd be geniuses!
    Posted by Stubar86 on 16/06/2009 22:04:00
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  120. Made RC recipe first time with 6 litres on saturday then read comments! There were no bubbles by Monday night so added yeast and made it up to 10 litres of liquid in total and looks fine just brown flowers now. Do they need to come out now or can they stay till the end and does it need another 6 litres of water? Thanks.
    Posted by Jim on 16/06/2009 18:05:01
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  121. Have been searching high and low for quality swing top bottles for my elderflower champagne and came across this supplier who delivered the next day, thought it might help others! www.home-brew-online.com
    Posted by TedTed on 16/06/2009 16:59:05
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  122. Have just took the flowers out as they started to go quite brown & didnt want anything to go wrong with it. Have also put an electric heater on next to it to warm it up as sugested. Not sure if there was a bubble or two in the bucket when we just looked before taking the flowers out, If nothing happens by the morning will do as Ant said & add a bit more brewers yeast with warm water this time & see what happens. So eager to make more, we want to bottle this lot & go get more elderflower on the weekend & start another lot off. Thanks for the help & advice.
    Posted by jan on 16/06/2009 16:51:03
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  123. Simon - I'm no expert but I would say that you would'nt want to leave it for 3 weeks (the flavours may be quite strong), if I was you I would sieve it into another container and then bottle once you have the bottles. Another thing is if the fermentation finishes before you bottle then you will have no fizz. Jan - When I add yeast it usually starts fizzing after 24-48 hours.
    Posted by Neil on 16/06/2009 13:52:00
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  124. Simon, I was worried about the flowers going bad because I decided to leave my brew to ferment for longer so I strained them out. The fermentation continued just as well and the flowers have definitely done their work..looks and smells great still! Might be good to put it under an airlock too, although I'm sure it's not essential. Jan, I had the same problem and just heated the room slightly with an electric heater. After a short while it was going strong and has been since (with no heater!)
    Posted by mikesid on 16/06/2009 13:35:13
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  125. I have made 60 litres and was ready to sieve and put into bottles when I was told that the bottles would be delayed due to demand. So the question I have are - How long can I leave the elderflower fermenting. Does it affect the taste if you leave it longer than 6 days. If it does matter then can I sieve and put back in the clean buckets until the bottles arive? Will this affect the Fizz? I need help please otherwise it will all be a waste. Other than that it smells and tastes great - cannot wait. Many thanks Andrew
    Posted by Andrew on 16/06/2009 13:33:45
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  126. Simon- I think the longer its left the less gassy it is when it is bottled but I dont know about leaving it for that long! Maybe you could bottle some of it in used screw cap wine bottle that have been sterilesed or in 5ltr bottles(cheap on ebay) and then transfer it into the proper bottles when they arrive!! Good luck!
    Posted by Ant on 16/06/2009 12:56:46
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  127. Jan- I had the same problem and added the yeat one night and nothing so I then mixed more yeast in hot water (activating it) and then a day or so later I could here it bubbling! I then left it for a further 4days (8 in all) before bottling! The fact that I used half the recomended sugar and left it longer, im hoping my bottles (plastic) survive with out splitting although I did let the pressure out of 5 of them last night as an experiment, so I now have a mix up! When I let the pressure out it fizzed beautifully and smelt amazing very similar to tradtional lemonade (and it looks)! Good luck!
    Posted by Ant on 16/06/2009 12:52:05
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  128. How long can the recipe be left at it's first stage? We have 50 litres standing and fermenting, but the bottles have been delayed by one week. Can it be left at this stage for three weeks? The recipe has not yet been sieved. Will this effect the flavour? Will it go off? What should we do?
    Posted by Simon on 16/06/2009 12:07:55
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  129. Tried the recipe on Saturday & no bubbles or foam on top so yesterday we put 1 tsp of brewers yeast in with the mixture & still nothing, it smells lovely, takes me back to when I was a little girl & my mum used to make it. Im sure she used to float fresh yeast on top of it on a piece of toast!!!! Anyone have any advice at what to do about it, Thanks Jan
    Posted by jan on 16/06/2009 10:38:41
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  130. My wife and I made this recipe last year. We bottled it into a few Grolsch bottles and a few of the same type purchased from Ikea. One of the Ikea bottles broke under the pressure, but otherwise all was OK. I think we managed to avoid serious breakage because we unintentionally left the mix for about a week extra before bottling - this would have meant that more of the sugar had turned to alcohol and so less CO2 was produced in the bottles. We also noted that the last bottle we drank was much nicer than the first, the sweetness having been replaced with extreme potency and a very pleasant flavour. This year, to avoid breakage, we've rescued many 330ml beer bottles from the recycling, and bought a bottle capping tool. Hopefully a smaller glass area will be stronger!
    Posted by MPK on 16/06/2009 09:19:50
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  131. As I said before we've followed the recipe Hugh gives on the Spring programme but quartered it to give us 24 500ml bottles. We bottled Saturday night and just opened one now to check the pressure and I would say it was perfect. Think Elderflowery homemade leomonade versus sherbet. Trouble is not sure if it will ferment even more by Friday when we want to drink it or we'll have a few explosions. Any tips on how to avoid this? Can definately recommend the recipe I posted a few days back from the TV show not the one given here. think I'd better check another bottle just in case! ;-)
    Posted by jo on 15/06/2009 20:57:40
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  132. I made my batch to the RC recipe (6litres in total of water and 2kg sugar) last week and have reached the bottling stage but have only just seen all the comments! It seems to me that either the amount of sugar is too much, or there is too little water in the recipe. I checked on a hydrometer before it had started fermenting and it told me the alcohol could be up to 15%. I should have started worrying then as it's meant to be a low alcohol drink! Anyway, I have decided to strain the wine into a demijohn fitted with an airlock and ferment it out more. I also filled a grolsh bottle and in under an hour it was already quite fizzy so god knows what it would be like after two weeks! I hope they correct this recipe soon.
    Posted by Mikesid on 15/06/2009 15:54:59
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  133. Me again, bottled it last night in new plastic bottles and it looks and smells great! I filtered mine through 4 layers of muslin and the sieve it was a bit longer todo but nailed the filtration first time! I even experimented with a few bottles by squeezing the excess air out before sealing to allow more room and then put them in my wine rack and with in 8 hours the bottle were tight so im a little worried! Do I need to keep letting the pressure out??? However the bottles that I didnt squeeze the excess air out I put in a box and they dont feel that pressured! Does it matter where I leave the bottles??? As in, in good light or shade or hold or cold????
    Posted by Anthony on 15/06/2009 12:32:29
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  134. Regarding the Elderflower Champagne...I have a batch going right now and was wondering why we use vinegar. There is probably a very obvious reason but I'm not coming up with it. Is it a tannin replacement?
    Posted by Janet - Reno, NV on 15/06/2009 01:48:12
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  135. I wish I could help with the mildew problem but aside from saying that I have NEVER had to use yeast in 30 years or so of making it (there are natural yeasts on the elderflowers)- and maybe if you do, it makes mildew more likely? - I don't know what to suggest except obvious things like good hygiene (maybe use the sterilising stuff they sell for home wine-makers?) Two or so comments though. You don't need that many elderflowers. I've always found 4-5 is enough. Leave the rest for the insects, or later to form berries for the birds or for you to make elderberry wine from. I would definitely stick with champagne stoppers NOT SCREW-TOP. Every few days I hear an almighty bang, you need to get the stopper back in asap and I guess if you don't it will go flat. But preferable to flying glass, I feel. Hugh F-W said it was about 4% alcohol. I'd always thought it was non-alcoholic and fed loads to the kids, but now I come to think of it, when sugar and yeast meet, you get alcohol as well as CO2 - so I guess he has a point? I'd appreciate some informed opinion on this (many other recipes claim it is non-alcoholic.)
    Posted by val on 14/06/2009 23:35:55
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  136. I have followed your recipe above but when I looked after 6 days the liquid had formed mildew across the top of it. I have seived off mildew and was about to throw away the rest of the liquid. Could this be OK and mildew is normal? Please let me know before I throw out my attampt. I have bottled 1 bottle which when filtered looks relatively clear. Many thanks in advance.
    Posted by Terry Jennings on 14/06/2009 09:51:39
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  137. I have followed your recipe above but when I looked after 6 days the liquid had formed mildew across the top of it. I have seived off mildew and was about to throw away the rest of the liquid. Could this be OK and mildew is normal? Please let me know before I throw out my attampt. I have bottled 1 bottle which when filtered looks relatively clear. Many thanks in advance.
    Posted by Terry Jennings on 14/06/2009 09:39:27
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  138. Just bottled our first batch and had a taste of what was left. Tastes good didn't have to add yeast either. We followed the recipe from the TV spring episode but quartered the volumes used by Hugh. This was 5 litre of hot water, rind and juice of 5 lemons, 2.5 kilos of sugar and 3 table spoons of white wine vinegar and about 35 ish elderflower heads topped up to 15 litres with cold water. It fermented for about 7 or so days and now we've bottled it up. hope this helps
    Posted by jo on 14/06/2009 02:37:35
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  139. Help, Need some tips from you experts. Am making champagne for 1st time this year. My mix has been fermenting for 4 days and added yeast yesterday as nothing happening (seems to be now!) Anyway, how do I know when it's ready to bottle - got some swing tops from my local market (homebrew stall) but don't want to have a major explosion on my hands! Also, will leaving it to ferment longer make it stronger and less sweet or will it just go bad? Thanks
    Posted by Yeash on 12/06/2009 22:59:58
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  140. hi there people im another newbie to making elderflower champayne . im just about to start does anyone have the correct volume of water as i've read previous coments mentioning that there is poss an error on the listing . also im planning on using 550ml plastic bottles -------is it safe !!!!!!!
    Posted by jaynie on 12/06/2009 18:08:34
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  141. My grolsch type bottles have arrived and I'm ready to bottle but do I need to treat the new bottles first?
    Posted by jo on 12/06/2009 13:15:19
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  142. Me again, got home last night and hurray the flowers are at the top and I can hear the fizzing and it smells good! There is foam and visible bubbles so I hope its all good! Im going to leave it until sunday though before I bottle because of all the extra yeast I put in (7-8 pinches for 24ltr of water)! That will mean that it will have been left in the pot for 8days in total (sat night throught to following sunday night) but I hope this means that it will be less fizzing and not blow up by plastic bottles???? but I guess only time will tell!!! Do you think this will be ok??? DAWN- mine was I bit like this, just add some dried yeast and give it a couple of days and like mine did the flowers will rise and hopefully it will start to fizz!! Stick with it as you have nothing to loose by persisting for a few extra days!! Good luck!!
    Posted by Anthony on 12/06/2009 09:06:26
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  143. I made champagne last year with no problems, but this year things are not going as they should. I made up a batch on Sunday and today (Thursday) I have noticed all the flowers have sunk and there are big globules of mould and fermentation, but I have not put in any yeast as I didn't have to last year. Do I have to throw this out and start again
    Posted by dawn on 11/06/2009 20:26:20
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  144. I made a 6-litre batch from this same recipe last year and it was wonderful, so I am making a double amount at the moment. The problem with the recipe is that it doesn't state how hot the water should be, and if it is too hot when you add the elderflowers it will kill any yeast in them - not that flowers contain much yeast anyway. A good idea would be to take the temperature of the liquid and ensure that it is not above 68 degrees F. Mine did not start fermenting on its own last year, so I added a small amount of brewer's yeast. That did the trick! I bottled the liquid in champagne bottles with plastic mushroom corks when it appeared to have almost finished fermenting, but next day I found all the corks on the floor. I let the bottles stand open but covered for several more days, then re-corked them and wired down the stoppers. Even then, when I took the wires off a couple in late July, the corks shot out immediately! Another good tip would be to use a winemaker's hydrometer to check the gravity at intervals, and when the gravity is almost stabilised, then bottle.
    Posted by RoyB on 11/06/2009 19:08:44
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  145. Well we made ours last Thursday evening with a quarter of the ingredients described on TV river cottage programme as there was some controversy on here as to what was correct. It's all looking good so far, no yeast added, a white froth/mold on top and lots of bubbles coming to the surface. Plan to bottle tomorrow evening but don't have a syphon, will it be ok to strain through muslin then pour from a sterilised jug? We have a party next Friday, will 1 week in the bottles be ok for drinking?
    Posted by jo on 11/06/2009 16:16:22
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  146. Thaks very much that a great help Anthony i had better get picking and brewing then :-)
    Posted by Nuala on 11/06/2009 10:38:40
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  147. Me again- still no foam so getting slightly worried and think the yeast may be wrong (should have used brewers yeast but I didnt know there were different types at the time)! Added more last night after activating it in hot water as I have nothing to loose as I will just make a new batch this weekend if it all goes pete tong!! NUALA-Muslin is a lint free cloth and is used for washable baby nappies for example (got mine from the babycare range in tescos a long wit the Milton for sterilising!)I got my plastic bottle off ebay and they are brewers bottle but most housewhare stores or ikea sell them if you are not on ebay! The best time to pick the heads is on a sunny morning as that is when the flowers are most open and smelling there best! (smell a bit like cats wee later in the day)also anytime after the 25th of may is when they are at there best! And finally the longer you keep it the better it get as with all wines so Xmas will be fine! Hope this helps!:)
    Posted by Anthony on 11/06/2009 08:51:09
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  148. OK - I bottled mine at the weekend, and today (3 days later) all but one bottle has exploded! My advice - make sure you release the pressure often....Back to square one next weekend...
    Posted by Kate on 10/06/2009 22:07:46
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  149. I am about to make a batch of this. I am quite a good beer maker but this is the first wine I will have made. Is it ok to pick the elderflowers when they are wet or should I wait until a fine day?
    Posted by Josh on 10/06/2009 20:01:47
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  150. Made the brew - no bottle BUT found you can buy 1 litre swing top (grolsch style) botles at IKEA. Not sure how strong they are - time wil tell! (I am sure there is too much sugar in this recipe)
    Posted by Richard on 10/06/2009 19:01:15
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  151. Is if 24-30 elderflower heads or 24-30 elderflowerette's? I intend to follow the recipe exactly and wait for yeast to reduce sugar content, is this correct?
    Posted by novice on 10/06/2009 09:28:02
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  152. I am just about to start my 2009 batch. Last years stuff turned out very nicely using the quantities from the recipe. I filtered it through muslin after the initialy fermentation so there has always been a layer of sludge in the bottom of the bottles, will try to get a better filter for this time. Secondly, I used cheap bottled water from the supermarket and used the same 2 litre bottles to finish the fermentation off in. Although they are the same type of bottle as cola and lemonade come in I still had one explode, even with regular venting - makes quite a mess! Good luck all.
    Posted by Lee on 10/06/2009 08:10:36
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  153. I followed this recipe last week. After 3 days no obv fermenting so added a pinch of bakers yeast activated in some warm water. I also added more warm water (almost double). The next day it was starting to ferment (could hear it starting to fizz). Initally the flowers sank, but once it started to ferment they rose to the top with the fizzing. I bottled it on Sunday and all looks fine. Have checked a few bottles to make sure they wouldn't explode and have slight fizz to them now. All looking good!
    Posted by Shelley on 09/06/2009 17:06:38
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  154. We have just watched the RC episode and just quartered everything he added on TV to make 25 bottles (he did 100) do you think this will work? it was a lot more water than above recipe. Also used tap water as on TV too, will it be safe? Finally after 3 days we have the beginning of small spots of blue mold as well as the white stuff seen on the programme should I pick it out or leave it? (the blue) many thanks Jo
    Posted by jo on 09/06/2009 16:09:03
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  155. B Page- I hope this is normal as mine have sank as well! Thinking logically it makes sense that once they have been in the water for too long they will sink! I also went with half the amount of sugar(as after looking @ numerous other recipes it seemed the way forward) but I have made up a batch of 24 litres so therefore 4x everything except the sugar, in this case 4kg total! Watch this space! As I live near HFW im using the same elderflowers so hopefully it will work!!
    Posted by anthony on 09/06/2009 14:06:57
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  156. Due to the comments about the champage being too syrupy, and sweet- Ive halved the amount of suger. However its been 24 hours and nothings happening yet. I wondering whether I should have stuck to the original recipe. Has anyone else tried halving the suger?
    Posted by Martin on 09/06/2009 10:45:06
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  157. From reading all the other recipies on the net i'm dissapointed that it looks like this one has double the amount of sugar required for the brew, hence a sickly sweet syrup...shame as i used this recipie for mine....waste of time and effort...
    Posted by Andy on 08/06/2009 23:59:40
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  158. why have my elderflowers sank to the bottom of my bucket or is it ment to be
    Posted by b page on 08/06/2009 21:22:46
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  159. The River Cottage recipe is not so different to this allegedally ancient recipe: http://www.hedging.uk.com/elderflower-champagne-recipe/ which uses 2.5KG of sugar for 10-12L of water, so maybe 4L topped up with 6L rather than total 6L as someone has suggested is more ideal. In fact the recipes are so similar, including the 2 days then add yeats if necessary, I wonder if theirs is a variant on it.
    Posted by simonp on 08/06/2009 14:39:13
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  160. Hello I made this last weekend following the 6ltr recipe however I have since been told it ahould be 12litres in total....My brew was bubbling with added yeast. However after finding the below website...river cottage community. I have added an exta 6Litres of cooled cold water so that its not too sweet... It seems the general opinion was that 6litres is ok...just way too sweet....12 is more like the correct amount although some said 16ltres....I went for 12.
    Posted by Stoney on 07/06/2009 17:47:23
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  161. after a week of leaving it to ferment there is white and blue spots of mold about as big as a 10pis this normal?shall i had the yeast ? thanks jade
    Posted by jade catz on 07/06/2009 14:30:07
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  162. Forum members suggest topping recipe up to 16 litres so that this recipe makes sense in view of the recipe for 100 litres. I have used 10 litres in total but used about 1.5k of sugar, I guess it might still be too much sugar for the yeast to workproperly an might end up being quite sweet, and less alchoholic than the aforementined 6-8%, however today I am going to experiment by straining a gallon and a half into a demijon and airlocking it for a week or two before bottling. My other half has been brewing cider and bottling it into reused cider bottles and capping them. The cider was pretty fizzy, but this workedwell. I was wondering if I could do the same with the champagne. Any ideas?
    Posted by Bennett on 07/06/2009 14:23:05
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  163. do i have to use white wine vinegar can i not replace it with just white wine or is there a reason for using the white vinegar
    Posted by b page on 07/06/2009 13:04:13
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  164. Right, I am confused! is the recipe above correct or not? Looking to make this next weekend as the flowers are out. Can anyone give me recipe that has worked and isnt too sweet? Thanks
    Posted by caroline on 06/06/2009 22:40:33
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  165. Hi Clare (and others) Ordered 12 swing top bottles from ebay home-brew-online-shop. £15.95 p&p for 12 500ml bottles swing top in brown. Delivered within 24 hours.
    Posted by Quentin on 06/06/2009 17:25:34
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  166. Hi. Did anyone confirm the quantities involved? I've used the recipe above (6lts or water) and just bottled it today but on having a sneaky taste it seems very sugary. Will this ferment out over the next week or so in the bottle or do I need to dilute with double the amount of water? Help! Cheers Tim
    Posted by Tim O'Grady on 06/06/2009 17:16:25
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  167. Please can you tell me where I can get the glass swing top bottles for the elderflower champagne?
    Posted by Clare on 06/06/2009 12:57:32
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  168. Great recipe i'm off to pick the Elderflowers now
    Posted by Susie on 05/06/2009 17:27:52
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  169. Hi,the above recipe is WRONG!!try this recipe,4/5 elderflower heads,1 kg sugar,2 table spoons white wine vinegar,2 lemons,or oranges,10 LITRES water..GOOD LUCK
    Posted by Darrin on 05/06/2009 16:59:35
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  170. In reply to Stephen Lovelocks query where to get the bottles.I trawled the net and got my swing top half litre clear bottles from Homebrew Centre Grimsby Tel:01472343435 www.homebrewcentregy.com quick delivery and in stock, and arrived un broken!
    Posted by fisherphilo on 04/06/2009 18:22:47
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  171. is it 6 or 16 litres, im confused?
    Posted by Rich on 04/06/2009 17:43:45
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  172. Please could someone give me some quick advice. I have made and vottled (today) to this recipe and have now discovered that there was a conversion error and it should have been more like 16 litres of water. Mine is very syrup like as there was too much sugar in the recipe. Can I add more water to it now if I put ut back into a bucket, and then re-bottle, or will this not work?
    Posted by julia.julibob on 04/06/2009 16:43:57
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  173. Strength: You buys your sugar and you makes your choice. Sugar is converted by the yeasts over time into carbon dioxide and alcohol, so long as the yeasts are given good conditions. Hugh's recipe makes a drink that is quite high in alcohol, traditionally elderflower fizz was nearer to a soft drink; like ginger beer, about 2% Yeast: In elderflower fizz, as in wines made from grapes, brewers rely on wild yeasts that come on the fruit or flowers. Otherwise, we these days use packet dried yeast, as in breadmaking. Brewing yeast and bread yeast are interchangable, which is acceptable, but not ideal. What yeast likes: To do its job yeasts need food (the sugars) moisture (water) and warmth. They work best at about 80 degrees F - lukewarm. If they get too hot - above blood heat - they die If they get too cold, they may just go on strike. If you don't have an Aga or an airing cupboard, and the weather's not super hot, you need to use a heating device. I've got an electric heating pad. When I lived in Spain, our terrace was partially covered by a productive ancient grape vine. We made amazing wine, simply by crushing the grapes and straining the juice into plastic pop bottles. The bottles were sterilized with domestic bleach, then rinsed clean with fresh water, before use. To keep out bugs and let out surplus gas, I just left the caps slightly loose during fermentation. One can soon tell if the bottles had been fully sealed too soon - they blow up like footballs. Not one split though, but then I did keep a close eye. Hugh's doing an amazing, fun and valuable job. Thanks, old chap ;)
    Posted by clouty on 04/06/2009 12:44:12
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  174. Made this last year for a 21st party - everyone went for elderflower rather than 'proper' champagne! I did add yeast as it was quite cold when we made it - and it did rather overflow out of the bottles so make sure you open them away from anything you don't want spoilt. Ikea do suitable bottles at a very reasonable cost . Must make some now for a wedding later in the year!.
    Posted by Jenny on 04/06/2009 12:40:27
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  175. where do we get the swing top bottles please
    Posted by stephen lovelock on 03/06/2009 21:41:50
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  176. Hi all, i made this champagne last year, and yes i agree that if you try after the two week period it is very syrup like and sweet but if you are patient and wait a couple of months you will have something that tastes very much like champagne... I have just finished by last bottle from last years crop, which was still fizzy and yummy and had the desired effect (pleasent light headed, giggly feeling). I have today made my first batch for this year.. I searched the net looking for bottles last year and then eventually found that you can order from a good kitchen shop... Good luck all...
    Posted by Heidi on 03/06/2009 19:45:42
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  177. I have just been to my local park to get my elderflowers (public property I suppose) and am about to start the brew. Looking at the recipe above I am pretty sure that this should be for 16 (sixteen) litres and NOT 6. I estimate that at this volume if all of the sugar is fermented out to give a dry taste you will get a brew of about 6 to 8 % alcohol. I am going to follow the basic recipe, but ferment out in a large vessel fitted with an air lock and add a little extra sugar to the brew when bottling for the secondary fermentation to give the fizz. I will let you know how I get on
    Posted by Chris Clews on 03/06/2009 14:34:45
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  178. cracked a bottle last night,couln't wait any longer, OMG - lost half the contents, so fizzy, I am going to cut out the yeast next time, also, this is batch 1 with the 2kg of sugar, far too sweet,but the vodka did make a nice difference. batch 2 has only 1kg sugar and NO yeast. Still wiping down the garden furniture, very sticky wasp attraction now, don't open indoors.This is never going to be a strong brew, so my advice is to give it a kick by adding something like vodka, white rum etc, if you want it a bit stronger
    Posted by boozer on 03/06/2009 07:06:09
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  179. how strong is this going to be? iv just made a batch using double all the ingredients above but the same sugar. im making 12 litres but used 2kg of sugar instead of 4. im wondering if the above measures are correct, will my lessened sugar content make the brew less alcoholic. whats the verdict?
    Posted by laura on 02/06/2009 20:39:19
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  180. Just put my first brew on. Smells great, looks great but Im looking for a finer finish. If I use Tararic acid & pectolase will this improve the finish as it does in winemaking?
    Posted by chuff on 02/06/2009 20:37:59
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  181. hi bit of a problem with my elderflower champagne followed the recipe to to letter waited for two days had a quick look all the elderflower heads sat under the water and no foam what have i done wrong or should i just leave it cheers b page
    Posted by bill page on 02/06/2009 15:41:05
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  182. Hi there - thank you for all your comments and questions about this recipe. River Cottage are on the case to try to establish, once and for all, what the optimum quantities are for making the elderflower champagne. River Cottage foraging expert, John Wright, is making a brand new test batch and will report back to us. We will post the results as soon as possible. Kind regards - 4Food Ed
    Posted by 4Food Ed on 02/06/2009 14:10:43
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  183. Hello. I am planning to try this recipe but living in south London (Brixton) I was wondering whether my local elderflowers might be contaminated by traffic fumes. If I clean them would this mean I lost all the natural yeast??
    Posted by Rambunctions on 02/06/2009 11:50:11
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  184. Beware the pinch of yeast!!! Last year didnt think anything was happening, no bubbles or foam, so added just a pinch of yeast, but when we came to bottling after just 24 hours there were explosions!! Bottles shattered & we lost about 1/2 the brew in total :-( . Had to use a brewing control tablet to settle the rest. Trying again this year but without the yeast, cos what did keep was fab! Will try the 1/4 vodka too, thks for tip
    Posted by eclair on 01/06/2009 11:22:02
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  185. Ok, now made 2 batches, following the recipe to the last detail, both batches with 6 litres water ( 4 hot and 2 cold ) one with 2kg sugar -and one with 1kg sugar but with 1/4 bottle vodka added to give it a kick all worked well and is now in bottles ( 9x75cl for each batch )smells great and both taste great, but the mix with 2kg sugar does taste too sweet
    Posted by boozer on 31/05/2009 10:02:26
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  186. After 4 days, nowt woz 'appnin, the mixture looked dead and pointless...so I added some bakers yeast to the mix and 24hrs later, lo and behold, all hell broke loose
    Posted by Jockypoos on 30/05/2009 11:42:04
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  187. I just sealed my six and a half bottles of elderflower, the smell is fantastic and i'm looking forward to opening them next week. i'm really happy i found river cottage and the elderflower champagne.
    Posted by Liz on 29/05/2009 21:18:15
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  188. Hi, Just about to make my elderflower champagne. When you say 24 - 30 elderflower heads this seems somewhat excessive! Do you mean the large flower heads or the small flowerlets that make up the whole head? I have made elderflower champagne before and only put in a few whole heads. Thanking you in anticipation of your answer, Zoe
    Posted by Zoe Tomlinson on 29/05/2009 18:13:54
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  189. Mine is already on the way. But I did have to add a whole sachet of yeast and bring it indoors (warming it up a bit) to get the fermentation process started. I think I will add 6 liters of water after reading Neil's post. Fingers crossed I will not end up with sugary gloop.
    Posted by marcus on 29/05/2009 14:57:34
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  190. I agree with Nick below. The amounts on this recipe have not been revised at all. I have everything ready to make this now and have spent money on a brewing bucket, a large amount of sugar, etc etc. I have been planning on making this since this time last year and am pretty annoyed that this recipe has not yet been corrected. I am now totally confused, as the amounts stated here are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to what was on the actual programme. Please correct it asap as the elderflowers are out right now!
    Posted by Michelle Cain on 29/05/2009 11:31:02
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  191. I'm totally confused, is the receipe above now correct??? I am really eager to make some this year. Thanks!
    Posted by Katy Unsworth on 29/05/2009 10:00:11
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  192. Isn't it about time this recipe was sorted once and for all, the quantities of sugar to liquid don't seem to be correct TOO MUCH SUGAR !!!. your editor says the recipe has been updated I don't think so the published date is 28-05-08 and the quatities are the same as the one i printed off last year. PlASE HELP IT'S TIME TO MAKE A NEW BATCH FOR THIS YEAR 2009. last years batch turned out be sugary gloop.
    Posted by Nick Prior on 28/05/2009 19:03:01
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  193. Thankyou for checking the quantities. The uncertainty may have come from the amounts read out on the RC Spring programme, which were: 20 Lemons 100 Elderflowers 5 tbs Vinegar 60 l Water 10 kg Sugar Which when scaled down to 6l of water, you get different amounts for the other ingredients.
    Posted by Neil on 28/05/2009 13:59:04
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  194. Hi there - thanks for your comments. The team at River Cottage have revised this recipe to clear up a few of your concerns, so please check amendments in the ingredients and instructions above. Kind regards - 4Food Ed
    Posted by Channel4Food on 28/05/2009 10:09:05
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  195. I think I have it sussed. The 'top up to 6 litres' bit should be top up to 16 litres, giving 24 75cl bottles and making more sense of the amount of sugar. Any way I will give it ago this time. As every one has more or less the same issues it is Poor that the recipe has not been corrected months ago
    Posted by Cornishman Abroad on 27/05/2009 17:12:34
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  196. hi i have made the champagne and tasted it yesterday,it was lovely,but a little too sweet,im going to make some more today with less sugar.How long will this champagne last? thanks jenny
    Posted by jenny on 26/05/2009 10:09:22
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  197. Last year I made some elderflower champagne, carefully releasing the gas every day or so. After a couple of weeks we were going away for a couple of days so I took a chance and put some plastic bottles of the stuff in the freezer (out of fear of explosion!). When we took them out over the next few weeks they thawed out and were none the worse for it; Seems to be a safer option and it keeps well, plenty of fizz. It is kind of what they do with champagne type wines etc. We are fortunate enough to live in the Loire Valley and have friends who are viticulteurs.... I too will cut down the sugar this year, I prefer a drier drink. Chin!
    Posted by farmers wife on 25/05/2009 15:16:53
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  198. I'm looking 4ward to trying this.When i was 12 my mother was hit by the wine making bug.her first attempt was elderflower.after making enough to fill 9demijohns desaster hit.not sure what went wrong the whole lot turned to syrup.her next brain wave was mushroom wine...mmmmm..theres a reason why things dont appear on shop shelves...reluctantly dragged from our beds(having to miss tizwaz)dragged out to a field and we filled 3 black binbags.consulting her book of wine making and lookin very cheesed off after reading its not possable to make mushroom wine.but she did make a lovly mushroom ketchup..the joys of childhood memories.unfortunatly she passed away 2years ago aged59 of breast cancer.its for her that this year i wiil make the elderflower with my children.mum thankyou for inspiring me as a child to become a chef..thanks to Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall for keeping me sain while ive been going through my own battle with cancer for the last year...
    Posted by steven on 25/05/2009 12:39:46
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  199. I used the BBC recipe last year http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A593363 which has very clear instructions on bottling, but a completely different ratio of sugar:water. I saved/begged old champagne/cava bottles and bought the proper plastic corks, and wires to hold them on, from a homebrew shop. That meant i could give them as presents. Had the last one last week- very very fizzy but too sweet so this year will leave to ferment properly - thanks for the advice, Meader. If anyone's not sure about identifying elder, a google image search will help. and the smell...
    Posted by joR on 23/05/2009 22:58:47
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  200. Its seems to me that the error in the recipe is the amount of sugar, I think it should be 1kg of sugar and not 2kg. Last summer I used 2kg and I had plastic bottles explode, so this year I have halfing the sugar.
    Posted by Neil on 23/05/2009 18:31:18
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  201. come on - is it 6 ltrs of cold water or more? It seems a lot of sugar for 6 ltrs? I ve just got it all in the bucket now and I am really tempted to put in more cold water......
    Posted by jan at home on 23/05/2009 11:51:19
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  202. This probaly seems straight forward to yourselves, but, is elderflower the white flowers that are at the sides of most country roads, as i don't want to mix the wrong type and have disasterous results. Also is it 4 hot water and 6 cold water? There seem to be so many different variations. Thanks.
    Posted by Nidge on 21/05/2009 20:27:05
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  203. how long can you leave the elderflower champagne in the bottles for? i am hoping to make some champagne for my daughters wedding in september 09 will it last until then or will it explode!!!!
    Posted by julie Parmenter on 19/05/2009 18:01:52
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  204. Does anyone know what type of sugar to use? Caster? Cheers :)
    Posted by Lucy on 19/05/2009 15:34:24
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  205. 500 ml (a small pint) fizzy drink bottles are perfect. I have had glass grolsh bottles explode: luckily they were outside, on their own, at the time, but still: and it was ginger beer, which is perhaps more volatile. In a recycling box near you, or saved by friends and family, the humble coke/fizzy pop bottle is stronger, and if you squeeze it you can test for a seal. We wouldn't want all those lovely bubbles to escape. Watching an elderflower tree near me ;) Jane.
    Posted by clouty on 18/05/2009 08:20:59
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  206. Just found your recipe many thanks. Will pass comment when we have made some. The elderflowers here in Bangor Northern Ireland are not fully out yet.Are they best picked in the morning?
    Posted by Mrs. Susan Irwin on 12/05/2009 13:57:58
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  207. Hi! Im looking at making the elderflower champagne, I am however allergic to white wine vinnegar (all types of vinnegar) Anyone know what else I culd use?
    Posted by Vera on 11/05/2009 10:02:40
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  208. Made this last year and will definately be doing the same this year. It produced a moderately dry, beautifully scented drink which no one disliked. Ignore how many bottles it makes, just follow the recipe. It's like jam making, just have more containers than you think you will need ready at bottling time. I used 500ml glass swing top bottles; the same ones as RC used, (available on the web or from good cook shops). The clear ones look much prettier if you are using them for gifts or events. It wasn't necessary to add the yeast as the wild stuff on the flowers did a fine job on its own. You can get the flowers from any hedgerow, but avoid those near roads. The mould which develops comes off when you remove the heads. On my batch it only developed on the part of heads which were above the surface of the liquid; so this year may try keeping everything below the surface with a plate. Personally I would not mix it with vodka in the bottle as it seemed plenty enough alchohlic on its own. Would you put Robertson's in your homemade jam to make it more jammy? We drank the last bottle of the 2008 vintage at the end of Jan 2009; the taste varied little with age. WARNING: Keep the bottles somewhere safe, away from children and animals. Always open away from people. Bottles can explode during brewing and tops can fly off on opening.
    Posted by Steve on 05/05/2009 14:28:20
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  209. On crossreference - google elderflower champagne, and comes up with a recipe from BBC H2G2 which uses 4 heads to 10 litres of water. I made it last year and made 25 litres. We drank quite a lot at a party a month later. It was very light and easily drinkable. My local home brew shop sold me some lightweight plastic bottles which were useless - they blew out under the pressure and so could not stand upright. Drank the last two weeks ago and it was still good though not as light. Bottles. I have bought some from Ascot smallholding supplies ref DP272 at ?15.99 for 12 plus postage. These are half litre. I figure I shall make use of them for a few years.. A word of warning. I put a little sugar in each of the plastic bottles to ensure the fizz was maintained. A couple blew, on had a split at the bottom and sufficient force that it ricketted into the ceiling, punching a neat hole in the plasterboard. Just make sure everything is well sterilised.
    Posted by Bob Bramley on 05/05/2009 10:36:31
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  210. 4 litres of hot, to disolve the sugar in and after, add 2 litres of cold. on the programme he bottled it into small bottles,to sell at the fete, either 330ml or 500ml so that's why he got so many,he also made 2 batches at same time,I expect to get approx 8 x 75cl bottles from the original recipe
    Posted by boozer on 02/05/2009 08:14:08
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  211. want to make this for a wedding, can't afford to make a mistake, so have we all decided if it's 6 ltrs or 24 ltrs of cold water that should be added.....please!!!
    Posted by Hilary on 01/05/2009 22:24:59
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  212. Does anyone ever get straight answers here ? *How much water is added ? 6 or 24 litres - if the recipe was wrong originally it would have been corrected by now surely ? I am going ahead with original recipe and bottling in "Grolsch swing top " bottles, adding vodka for a more alcoholic brew.Unable to find swing-tops anywhere except French lemonade in 75cl size.
    Posted by boozer on 01/05/2009 07:19:24
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  213. what bottles were used to put the champagne in? please can someone help?! thanx josh
    Posted by josh herron on 30/04/2009 19:59:15
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  214. Hi I have a wedding in October and the couple would like elderflower champagne. will it keep that long? where do i get the bottles ar which bottles are useable from other products eg squach bottles. Do they need corks or screw tops?? if this won't work could you suggest an alternative that I could make? thanks Jill
    Posted by Jill Green on 28/04/2009 12:10:09
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  215. Most questions can be answered by looking up instructions for making any kind of fermented alcoholic beverage (wine, beer, mead, etc). This is a recipe for a simple fermented beverage flavored with elderberry flowers. Responding to comments: 1) This should make a relatively dry fermented drink. if it is sweet, it has not been fully fermented. 2) mould is bad. If mould is growing on the liquid, then it isn't fermenting like it should. 3) If you're having trouble with mould and/or sweet (unfermented) champagne when trying this recipe, then try adding yeast when you make it. wait until the sugar/flower/water mixture has cooled to room temperature before adding the yeast. It isn't always necessary to add yeast, because wild yeasts present in the air or on the surface of the flowers will often do the job just as well. however, it's easy to do and will ensure a faster and more efficient fermentation. You should see foam on the surface of the liquid when it is fermenting; this is CO2 created by the yeast (yeast break down sugar into alcohol CO2). 4) The recipe calls for bottling after a certain number of days to ensure that fermentation has not fully completed, so that the yeast will still be producing CO2 to carbonate the champagne. If you wait too long, the sugars will have all been consumed by the yeast and no CO2 production will occur (see note 3 above). If you bottle too soon, fermentation will not have gone far enough and you will have a very sweet drink with little alcohol. practice will tell you when the right time to bottle is. There is an alternate method: wait until visible signs of fermentation have finished (after the foam has dropped on the surface) to bottle. boil a small amount (1/8 - 1/4 cup) of sugar in some water (not much, you don't want to dilute your champagne), stir it into the champagne, and bottle. You have now provided your yeast with enough food (sugar) to produce the CO2 necessary to carbonate the beverage. This takes some of the guesswork out of the production. The downside is that if you let the beverage sit too long after fermenting and before you bottle, it may spoil. As long as the beverage is fermenting, the escapign CO2 forms a gaseous blanket over the liquid which protects it from oxygen and spoilage. After fermentation is complete and no more CO2 is being produced, the protective layer of CO2 dissipates and the champagne becomes more prone to spoilage. Spoilage isn't immediate, but keep an eye on it and don't let it sit much longer than it needs to. 5)the champagne will keep for several months, at least, if capably brewed and bottled. It's really easier than all of the above suggests, which is attested to by the simple recipe that works fine the majority of the time. however, if you have had trouble previously, perhaps the above suggestions will help. Though it is somewhat less natural of a method, I do suggest adding the pinch of yeast if you want to be sure of the results.
    Posted by meader on 21/04/2009 10:50:38
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  216. Please please use plastic bottles that are designe dto withstand pressure - see this <a href"http://www.pastymuncher.co.uk/make-elderflower-champagne-a-taste-of-spring-elderflower-fizz/">elderflower champagne</a> article which describes the perils of using glass bottles.
    Posted by Pasty Muncher on 18/04/2009 23:18:30
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  217. Hi, Can anyone tell me where I can get these bottles to store the champagne, and plz could someone give me information on what the elderflower really looks like and what its plant name is?? Im very confused, Im looking to grow my own vegetables and herbs, though I haven't a clue where to start. Plz help . Thanks.
    Posted by Aine on 09/04/2009 11:26:50
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  218. You have to add cold water to 24 litres not six litres, the amounts listed are for twenty four litres not six
    Posted by Paul on 22/03/2009 03:55:21
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  219. The recipe mentions that it should make 24 bottles of elderflower champagne, is this correct. In total there's only 6 litres of water in the recipe, which to me equates to 8 x 75cl bottles. Is there a typing error. I notice that a few others have asked the same question. I'm using the recipe but have quartered it as I only want 6 bottles, I reckon I'll be lucky to get 2 bottles out of what's in the bucket.
    Posted by Judith on 21/03/2009 16:07:18
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  220. What does it taste like? Does it do the Job!!
    Posted by stuart West on 21/02/2009 22:24:35
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  221. Same old questions!What is wrong with trial and error these days (it makes life that bit more interesting) get on with it 'brew it' and learn by your mistakes-and why on earth would you want to keep it once it's brewed???Get it drunk :-)
    Posted by Kazz on 11/02/2009 20:53:11
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  222. siloly question...is there a a recipe to make this alcoholic..and less sweet!
    Posted by deng on 02/02/2009 18:07:05
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  223. Is there a specific type of plastic bottle to use ? im new at this ! And after all the comments, how much sugar do you use and how many bottles does it make ?
    Posted by Jan on 29/01/2009 19:33:43
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  224. Dear Hugh, a member of my family is getting married and wants to make the champagne however, if it is made in season, can it travel in a car for 10 hours and last til August?
    Posted by pauline aherne on 26/01/2009 13:39:23
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  225. Hi has any one made this with the 2kg of suger, has it worked?
    Posted by shelley from cornwall on 18/01/2009 15:51:50
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  226. I love The River Cottage shows, Excellent.
    Posted by Maree Macey on 17/01/2009 17:17:19
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  227. Hi, if you are going to make this do not put 2kg of sugar in it. There must be a typo in the recipe because you will make something that tastes like syrup. It says for twenty four bottles but the recipe is six litres!! I made it to the recipe and it tastes like sugar with a hint of elderflower
    Posted by Paul on 17/01/2009 04:31:58
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  228. You can store it for around 18 months if you keep it in a cool, dark place. It will certaily last 8-9 months no problems. Use plastic bottles as this stuff can get very fizzy to the point it can throw corks out and also explode bottles fire glass everywhere
    Posted by Martin in London on 10/01/2009 18:29:56
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  229. How long is it possible to keep this champagne? I am concerned that maybe the bottles may explode after a period of time as presumably the brew continues to ferment?? I would use bottles similar to the bottles that I saw used on the TV with a secured rubber bung lid thank you!
    Posted by podojan on 09/01/2009 19:20:05
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  230. Hello I would also like to know how long it lasts after bottling
    Posted by rafe on 09/01/2009 13:04:19
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  231. Looking for the same answer as previous quesiton. How long will it last once it has been bottled??
    Posted by Andy on 08/01/2009 21:09:25
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  232. Has anyone decided whether the mould is ok?
    Posted by Naomi Peel on 08/01/2009 21:05:27
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  233. Hi, I have followed the recipe but after three days in the barrel it has some white mould all over the top of the flowers floating in the barrel, is this normal?
    Posted by Paul on 07/12/2008 22:43:25
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  234. Sounds nice, but I am also interested in knowing how long it will last once bottled?
    Posted by Amazing_Grace on 30/11/2008 08:30:20
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