Fife Centre for Equalities - Beat the Lockdown pt.10: Elric's homebrew Elderflower & Lemon Champagne
Channel: Fife Centre for Equalities
Date: 2020-06-12

This is Part 10 of our short series of videos of things you can do at home to help beat the lockdown blues.

Its June and elderflowers are in bloom - why not learn tomake your own homebrewed elderflower and lemon champagne. You will need:

INGREDIENTS: 
10 elderflower heads (~100g)
3 small (or 2 large) unwaxed lemons
1 jar of clear honey (~450g)
2 pints of boiling water
6 pints of cold water

USTENSILS
Deep saucepan or even better: Soup pot
Dish towel, band/thread, sieve, funnel
2 x 2L litres plastic bottles (cleaned, ideally not from soft drinks)

ALTERNATIVES/GOOD TO KNOW:

If your tap water is too hard/chlorinated: 4L of spring water (reuse from the bottles)
Instead of honey: 1kg of caster sugar (fizzier, brews quicker)
Instead of lemons: 70cl cider vinegar (sharper taste)

RECIPE/8 STEPS

1) PICK YOUR ELDERBERRY FLOWERS, pick 10 elderflower flowerheads, prefeably early in the morning, choose white or cream flowers and use at soon as possible - do not let them dry up,

2) PREPARE FLAVOUR INGREDIENTS, weigh up 100g of elderflowers do not wash them, remove stalks, seeds, insects, prepare lemon juice and rind

3) PREPARE SUGAR/HONEY MIXURE, dissolve the honey (or sugar) in a deep soup/stew pan with 2 pints of boiling water and 6 pints of cold (use spring water if your tap water is hard or chlorinated - this has a big impact on the taste later on), mix in with the lemon juice (or use cider vinegar instead for a sharper taste) and add the elderflowers. 

4) START THE FERMENTATION, use a clean dishtowel to cover the pan (dont use the lid, tie a string around the towel so it is safe but can breathe)and leave the mixture for 2 nights, it should be at room temperature for the yeast to act, stir the mixture 2-3 times daily. 

5) BOOST THE FERMENTATION(ONLY IF REQUIRED), after 2 days, check for fermentation (if the mixure is cloudy and there's small bubbles / froth in the mix), if it hasnt started, add a few grains of yeast (champagne, wine or baking yeast will do) and wait another 2 or 3 days until it starts. make sure to keep at room temperature.

6&7) SIEVE & TRANSFER, strain the mixure through a thin sieve into another contained to remove any seeds, flowers, rind. Use a funnel to to transfer the filtered mixture in 2 2L plastic bottles with screw tops. Make sure the they are clean/sterile and leave around 4cm/1.5 inches empty.

8) CARBONATION, store somewhere safe at room temperature for two weeks at least and a little of air out about once a day by unscrewing slightly. You can drink it then but I recommend maturing for another 2 weeks for a better taste. enjoy!