First attempt at elderflower champagne - couple of questions

[malcolmfraser]

Hi,

I'm following this recipe: http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/index.php ... -champagne

I've made up the brew and added champagne yeast, the fermentation bucket is now sitting in my cupboard with a muslin over it, according to the recipe I'll leave it there for a week or so before bottling it.

My question is - why use a muslin and not the lid of the bucket? does the brew need oxygen? Is there a risk of mould developing?

I'm completely new to this so sorry if this is a dumb question.

Cheers
Malcolm

[MKG]

Well, the only mention of muslin I can see is to line the sieve, not cover the bucket. However, it doesn't matter - use the lid or the muslin. The only thing you're doing here is keeping out insects. The brew itself needs no more oxygen than the amount dissolved in the water you started off with - after that, the fermentation produces carbon dioxide which actually excludes oxygen.

There's always a slight risk of a mould developing, but if you were reasonably careful with your sanitisation the risk is minimised to almost nil.

Incidentally, for the next time you make it, Champagne yeast is a tad expensive and it isn't needed - ordinary winemakers yeast will do the job just as well.

Mike

[malcolmfraser]

Hi Mike - thanks for replying.

The River Cottage recipe referred to on that web page tells you to use a muslin to cover the brew. I've now put the fermentation bucket's lid on, it's airtight so it's bulging with the CO2 that's being created, but hopefully that's fine. I'll keep an eye on it just in case!

Cheers for the tip on the yeast. If this batch works out I think I'll be hooked on home brew!

One more question - could you recommend a book on the topic for beginners? One that talks about wild ingredient-based wines would be great.

Malcolm

[Mullein]

for beginners I would recommend Mike's articles on this website. Technical enough to get an idea of the principles at work but simple enough not to scare you...

[MKG]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mullein

Malcolm - books on winemaking is a can of worms. Anything by Bryan Acton is excellent, although he tends to overcomplicate matters (which tends to put beginners off). Anything by CJJ Berry is going to be comprehensive, but his stuff is always terribly edited and full of errors. Try having a look around this site ...

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

... he's generally quite good, although he can overcomplicate things too. Oh - and bear in mind that he's American and so uses slightly different measures.

Above all, though, whatever you end up reading, don't believe the hype. Winemaking is easy once you get used to it.

Oh - and you need to release the pressure in your bin at regular intervals.

Mike

[frozenthunderbolt]

Oh - and you need to release the pressure in your bin at regular intervals.
Mike

Otherwise you get BANGWoooooshdripdripdripdripdripdripOooohSH*T! been there done that - got the plum wine stains on walls and ceiling to prove it

[Keaniebean]

That made me laugh out loud, I suppose it saves decorating, maybe someone could invent a tin of paint that does the same, think of all the time you could save.

[Sky]

I can't wait for spring to try elderflower champagne making myself now, it sounds delicious!

[malcolmfraser]

Hi - thanks for the tips and pointers - I've ordered the CJJ Berry book and have read through Mikes pages on the main site. It's nice to hear that winemaking is generally pretty straightforward!

The champagne is still bubbling away, I'll bottle it up this weekend and probably test it next weekend - will let you know how it goes!

Cheers
Malcolm

[malcolmfraser]

One more silly question, hopefully the last one!

I bottled the elderflower champagne into six 1l plastic fizzy drinks bottles - tops screwed on tight, and one 500ml glass cider bottle - sealed with a new cap.

For storing these - is there anything I should watch out for? I was planning keeping them on their sides in a plastic box.

Thanks

ps: second batch is fermenting already!

pps: ginger beer is my next target recipe

[trinder]

malcom are you getting excited and looking forward to the BANGWoooooshdripdripdripdripdripdripOooohSH*T! :thumbright:as recommended by thunderbolt. As he advised that the tops should NOT be on tight

[frozenthunderbolt]

malcom are you getting excited and looking forward to the BANGWoooooshdripdripdripdripdripdripOooohSH*T! :thumbright:as recommended by thunderbolt. As he advised that the tops should NOT be on tight

Once mostly ready (ie at the booze strength you want) you can screw down tightly - must must monitor pressure to avoid the above. If you are making Champagne - the fizzy drink like ginger beer, it is unlikely you include enough sugar to go explosive. If making actual alcomahol then you need to know you starting and finishing specific gravity as measured by a hydrometer if you want to bottle at the right to to get some fizz but not the BANGWoooooshdripdripdripdripdripdripOooohSH*T!

[Jinwin]

I'm trying this out myself this year. I left in its bucket for six days and then put it in bottles last Tuesday. It's very fizzy! I'm realeasing the pressure a few times a day at the minute. But I have a silly question: how do I know when it's actually alcoholic? (what I actually mean is what's the likely time span for it being ready to drink...)
My first thought was to drink a litre then see how I feel but it's probably not the best plan . I'm hoping it'll be ready for my graduation on Tues but that might be a bit optimistic.

Thanks

[malcolmfraser]

Hang on a minute, no one said anything about venting the bottles, never mind hydrometers! I thought this was supposed to be easy

I vented the brew bucket like I was advised to, so now I need to vent the bottles too? Righto will give that a bash tomorrow if I must!

Thanks
Malcolm

[MKG]

It's your own fault for choosing a sparkling wine as a first project, Malcolm. It's always a balancing act, even if you do use a hydrometer. The aim, in a perfect world, is to bottle the stuff when there's just a little sugar left, the rest having been turned into alcohol. You bottle it, the fermentation continues and the pressure in the bottle increases to the point that further CO2 is held dissolved in the liquid instead of being released. The problem is judging the correct point to bottle. If you do it too early and the fermentation continues for too long, you can have an almighty accident if you're using unsuitable bottles - they can literally explode. If you do it too late, you have flat champagne.

So - strong advice. As this is your first attempt, use PET bottles. They can take an astounding amount of pressure and you can feel it from the outside - the bottle goes absolutely rigid. If you reach that stage, it's a relatively easy job to JUST loosen the caps to release some, but not all, of the pressure. On the other hand, if you reach the "firm but only just slightly dentable with a determined thumbpress" stage and it stays at that stage, you have it about right. Now there's enough dissolved CO2 to give you the required fizz when the pressure is released, but not enough to cause a fountain. Try it out on an unopened bottle of lemonade - you'll get the idea of what it should feel like.

Mike

EDIT: Or is there a law in Scotland against walking up and down the soft drinks aisle in the supermarket feeling all the bottles?

EDIT 2: I'm getting old . I see you've already said you're using PET bottles. Just ignore me.