On 19 Jun 2003 08:47:43 -0700, Mike Lyle wrote:

Tim wrote in message
news:oprqwslnwnwxhha1@localhost...
The one our family has always used is:

2 heads of elderflowers, juice and thinly-pared rind of 1 lemon, 24
oz sugar, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 1 gallon of water. Leave well covered
for 24 hours, then strain into pop bottles. Leave for up to a
fortnight to build up fizz and clear.

We call it "Elderflower lemonade"; but note that it's quite strongly
alcoholic: a pound and a half of sugar in a gallon could in theory
give seven-and-a-half percent alcohol. Which is as strong as that
lethal cheap cider in blue bottles.

Theoretically, but it depends on the wild yeasts that have innoculated
the brew. Some don't produce much, if any alcohol.
[...]
A good point, Tim: I can't imagine that many of the wild yeasts could
survive that much alcohol. My feelings on the potency of the brew are
probably coloured by the "unaccountable" light-headedness my brother
and I used to experience after drinking a lot of it on hot days: I'm
worrying too much, and it shouldn't do any harm in sensible
quantities.

Mike.

That said, some minor German beers are still brewed with wild yeasts, and
the Austrian version of scrumpy("Most") is also, and that's a headbreaker
if you drink too much. :-) Cheers!
Tim.