On Fri, 20 Jun 2003 10:12:57 +0100, Martin Brown
wrote:

In message oprq101mi5wxhha1@localhost, Tim
writes
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.

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.

Belgian geuze lambic beers are also fermented by wild yeasts and
typically about 4.5% alcohol. Most of them these days are hygienically
made in stainless steel tanks using wild yeast cultivars, but ISTR there
is still at least one authentic geuze brewery where the brew is left to
go its own way. St. Louis and Morte Subite are a couple of examples.

Many are heavily fruit (~25%) based so you get strawberry, raspberry and
peach flavoured beers - a very refreshing drink on a hot summers day.

Regards,

I've tried a few (too few) of those belgian beers, very nice indeed. But
bad for the head.
Tim.

"Andy Spragg" wrote in message

Harrumph. I am vexed. Went out on Saturday evening to collect a couple
of bags of elderflowers, and then spent a couple of hours /trying/ to
"separate flowers from stalks". And it seems to me to be virtually
impossible. Particularly with the freshly-opened flowers, which a
colleague advised me to concentrate on because they are heavier on the
aromatics. What I ended up with is about half a gallon of flowers,
most of which are attached to bits of thin green stalk.

Elderberries are a doddle by comparison, given patience. Does anyone
have any helpful advice on how to achieve a cleaner separation? Or is
my experience normal, and it doesn't actually matter too much?

It is a long time since I made anything with elderflowers but as I recall I
used to hang the flowers over the bowl and cut them off with scissors.

O

I have always run a fork through the bunch to remove the flowers, just
the same as elderberries. The tiny stalks attached to the flowers do
not add any bitterness or off-flavours from my experience.




Harrumph. I am vexed. Went out on Saturday evening to collect a couple
of bags of elderflowers, and then spent a couple of hours /trying/ to
"separate flowers from stalks". And it seems to me to be virtually
impossible. Particularly with the freshly-opened flowers, which a
colleague advised me to concentrate on because they are heavier on the
aromatics. What I ended up with is about half a gallon of flowers,
most of which are attached to bits of thin green stalk.

Elderberries are a doddle by comparison, given patience. Does anyone
have any helpful advice on how to achieve a cleaner separation? Or is
my experience normal, and it doesn't actually matter too much?



--
Dr Dan

I have always run a fork through the bunch to remove the flowers, just
the same as elderberries. The tiny stalks attached to the flowers do
not add any bitterness or off-flavours from my experience.




Harrumph. I am vexed. Went out on Saturday evening to collect a couple
of bags of elderflowers, and then spent a couple of hours /trying/ to
"separate flowers from stalks". And it seems to me to be virtually
impossible. Particularly with the freshly-opened flowers, which a
colleague advised me to concentrate on because they are heavier on the
aromatics. What I ended up with is about half a gallon of flowers,
most of which are attached to bits of thin green stalk.

Elderberries are a doddle by comparison, given patience. Does anyone
have any helpful advice on how to achieve a cleaner separation? Or is
my experience normal, and it doesn't actually matter too much?



--
Dr Dan