Elderflower 'Champagne'

Origin: British      Period: Traditional

Despite commonly being termed a 'champagne' this recipe is actually a metheglin that is, a mead flavoured with elderflowers.

Ingredients:

3 large heads of elderflowers (make sure that they are fully open and not beginning to turn brown)
1kg honey
3 tbsp cider vinegar (for the ancient version) or 2 tbsp white wine vinegar and 1 lemon (for the modern version)
5l cold water.

Method:

Preparation

As with most of the other mead recipes presented on this site, this recipe has been gauged to make 5l of mead. Only a basic listing of ingredients is given, and for a brewing method please see this page for a step-by-step guide. Also see this page for a list of the equipment you'll need.

First add the water and honey to a large pan. Bring to the boil and stir continuously to dissolve the honey. When all the honey has dissolved turn off the heat and set the pan aside to cool completely. Meanwhile clean the elderflowers (but do not wash) and place in a clean bucket. If using a lemon pare-off the rind and add this to the bucket too. Squeeze the lemon juice and add to the vinegar. When the honey syrup is cold add the vinegar (or vinegar and lemon juice) to this and pour over the elderflowers. Mix for a few minutes with a clean spoon then cover and leave for 24 hours (come back and stir gently every six hours or so). In this case we're relying on the natural yeasts from the flowers to start the fermentation.

After 24 hours strain the syrup and pour into bottles. As this will ferment in the bottle and produce carbon dioxide you need to use bottles that won't break from the pressure. Either use plastic 'pop' bottles or screw-top glass lemoande bottles or champagne bottles. Sterilize these before use then pour the syrup mixture into them using a funnel. Set in a cool dark place to mature. The drink is ready after about two weeks, but maximum flavour develops after between six months and a year of conditioning in the bottle.

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