Update : Isle of Wight festival here I come.  (The Elderflower Champagne exploded today).

If one thing gets my attention it’s cheap alcohol.  I’ve had a few experiments with brewing my own alcohol over the years, but these have been from cans of prepared mix and never from straight from mother nature.

Elderflower champagne has to be some of the easiest alcohol I’ve ever made.  Though the problem was I never had a clue what elderflower looked like.  To me it was just another white flower, and in most countries going through spring you’ll soon notice there are an abundance of white flowers around.  Foraging books are useful but hand drawn pictures can be misleading.  Better to have a photo.  In the end in took the diligent eyes of my parents to snap a picture of the tree, opposite a local graveyard.

4 gallons (20 litres) of Elderflower champagne

4 gallons tap water
5 lemons, halved, squeezed into your tub
2 2lb bags of fair-trade white sugar
around 20 Elderflower heads
Few glugs of white wine vinegar
Pinch of dried yeast (I used bread making yeast)
10 old 2 litre fizzy drinks bottles (yes you’ll really have that much)

Equipment
One large bucket with a lid.  Try to use a recycled one but if not a fermenting bucket will do.

Clean your equipment out.  Many books will tell you to use sterilizing tablets, I just used a capful of thin bleach and a kettle of boiling water.  Flush the bleach and hot water around your large bucket, rinse with cold. Make it safe.

Put in the sugar, water, vinegar.

Heads in the bucket with water for a few days (until you think it looks ready –  3 to 9 days ).

Strain through muslin cloth into bottles.  Leave for as long as you want.  They will keep for a year if they do not burst before hand.