Elderberry port recipe
- Thread starter British Red
- Start date
No need - just ferment it out till the bubbles stop. I will generally then use finings, rack off and run through a wine filter to get perfect clarity - but there's no need to be as uptight as I am about these things 
Oh it improves with age - most wines do - sort of "smoothes out", but it can be nice and fresh when young ...try it and see
Good man!
Glad you liked the taste - it will only get better for the next couple of years
I honestly can't be bothered doing elderberry port in less than 5 gallon (30 bottle) batches now - especially because it ages brilliantly and so many people like it as presents and in barter. Six bottles would make me hoard it - when I have fifty or so I'm more inclined to be generous!
Glad you liked the taste - it will only get better for the next couple of years
I honestly can't be bothered doing elderberry port in less than 5 gallon (30 bottle) batches now - especially because it ages brilliantly and so many people like it as presents and in barter. Six bottles would make me hoard it - when I have fifty or so I'm more inclined to be generous!
I'm trying this recipe as my first attempt at wine making and would like a little advice.
I've followed Red's recipe. After reading a little about fermentation I covered the demijohns with clean cloth for the first 48 hours to allow air into them before fitting the airlocks. I used Youngs super wine yeast compound which should supposedly allow a high alcohol content.
After a week of bubbling away it has now stopped.
I forgot to keep back any must as recommended and used slightly less sugar than the recipe. Would it be a good idea to add more sugar at this stage?
My inclination is to allow it to sit for another couple of weeks to be absolutely sure it's finished fermenting before racking it off.
Any tips or suggestions are appreciated.
I've followed Red's recipe. After reading a little about fermentation I covered the demijohns with clean cloth for the first 48 hours to allow air into them before fitting the airlocks. I used Youngs super wine yeast compound which should supposedly allow a high alcohol content.
After a week of bubbling away it has now stopped.
I forgot to keep back any must as recommended and used slightly less sugar than the recipe. Would it be a good idea to add more sugar at this stage?
My inclination is to allow it to sit for another couple of weeks to be absolutely sure it's finished fermenting before racking it off.
Any tips or suggestions are appreciated.
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It probably hasn't finished, but it may be "stuck". Make another starter culture with orange juice and a few teaspoons of sugar plus one of yeast and, when bubbly, bung that in. Ensure the demijohn is kept warm (at 70F or 20C or thereabouts).
Leaving for longer will not hurt the wine one bit, I'd ensure it has at least a month in the demijohn including clearing etc.
Leaving for longer will not hurt the wine one bit, I'd ensure it has at least a month in the demijohn including clearing etc.
Thanks Red. I did as you suggested and it's fizzing away happily.
I tried a spoonfull and although definitely alcoholic it was very dry. I poured a pint from each demijohn (double batch) into a sterilised pan and heated it gently and dissolved sugar into the mixture.
I let this cool and then added some back with the fresh starter culture. I'll add the rest of the sugared stuff back a bit at a time over the next few days and see what happens.
If it stops fermenting or gets too sweet I'll just stop and wait for at least a month as you suggest.
I tried a spoonfull and although definitely alcoholic it was very dry. I poured a pint from each demijohn (double batch) into a sterilised pan and heated it gently and dissolved sugar into the mixture.
I let this cool and then added some back with the fresh starter culture. I'll add the rest of the sugared stuff back a bit at a time over the next few days and see what happens.
If it stops fermenting or gets too sweet I'll just stop and wait for at least a month as you suggest.
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Red, I am by no manner of means an expert here but found quite by accident forgive me If I am teaching about egg sucking here a wee trick with home brew wine... I was always lazy & impatient with wine using cartons of fresh grape juice added sugar & yeast instead of using fresh fruit & filtered to clear after around 3 weeks when fermenting had appeared to have stopped... Got impressive results & here is the trick when bottling I had put a small amount of red/white grape juice freshly opened not from concentrate & with no preservatives, in the bottom of bottles prior to sealing & after about a week my intention was to make it less dry/sweeter... the result was you guessed it sparkle.... just thought I would share.
cheers! no more than 2 or 3 table spoons mind... more may result in bottles exploding!
cheers! no more than 2 or 3 table spoons mind... more may result in bottles exploding!
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Hi all!
First off...sorry to bump the thread! I made an account with bushcraftuk purely to comment on this recipe. I'm new to home brewing and found this recipe sooooooo tempting. I think it will be my next adventure when I purchase a few more demijohns!
What I was wondering, if anyone has time to respond to it, is does anyone know what the % alcohol this recipe usually produces?
Many thanks!
First off...sorry to bump the thread! I made an account with bushcraftuk purely to comment on this recipe. I'm new to home brewing and found this recipe sooooooo tempting. I think it will be my next adventure when I purchase a few more demijohns!
What I was wondering, if anyone has time to respond to it, is does anyone know what the % alcohol this recipe usually produces?
Many thanks!
I've been asked many times to add our Elderberry Port recipe to our YouTube channel. It seems the right season, so here we go!
For anyone making Country wine, get a clear & bright finish can be challenging. In this video we show how we do it
I know it's an old thread and all, but since it's here and I've been studying Elderberries this growing season, with an eye toward transplanting some wild ones somewhere I can have more oversight and less competition for the berries, I'll ask questions here first...
Have you ever transplanted wild Elderberry bushes to cultivate them? If so any tips or suggestions?
Here in the wild there is so much competition for the berries it's hard to get any quantity of ripe ones, though we have LOTS of wild ones here...
Have you ever transplanted wild Elderberry bushes to cultivate them? If so any tips or suggestions?
Here in the wild there is so much competition for the berries it's hard to get any quantity of ripe ones, though we have LOTS of wild ones here...
Hi mate!
We have the opposite issue here. I uproot & burn fifty elder trees a year -they really are a weed tree here. If you get them under 6" they should transplant easily. After that it would be tricky to get the root ball intact. I would just put 20 or so ripe berries in a 3" pot of compost (repeat as required) and put somewhere warm. Keep them damp, they should germinate.
I don't have to protect berries but the trees respond really well to coppicing. Hack them down, make them multi stemmed & net them. That should protect the berries.
We have the opposite issue here. I uproot & burn fifty elder trees a year -they really are a weed tree here. If you get them under 6" they should transplant easily. After that it would be tricky to get the root ball intact. I would just put 20 or so ripe berries in a 3" pot of compost (repeat as required) and put somewhere warm. Keep them damp, they should germinate.
I don't have to protect berries but the trees respond really well to coppicing. Hack them down, make them multi stemmed & net them. That should protect the berries.
Hello Red!
They are considered a weed here too by most I imagine, especially the ones spending big money on Elderberry products at whole foods who don't have a clue what an Elderberry bush looks like.
I'm writing a flora fauna of this region ID book. So I've spent a good bit of time studying them. The Mocking Birds, our state bird, love them.
In one of the wild areas I use for classrooms, I've relocated a few plants to be closer together to make for less wlaking to do a good ID workshop with students. I want to relocate some of these next.
