200 litre batch elderflower champagne.

ColdTurkey

Hi looking at making one big batch, maybe adding some blue berries for colour.
Made 80 litres last year 4 x 20 litres. All came out great. Right now I have a 210 litre airtight plastic barrel.
How much yeast do i need, or will it just multiply on its own from a smaller amount?
Will I need to make a bigger airlock or will a few regular ones do?
How far up the barrel will I install the tap?
Any tips in making a big batch like this would be greatly appreciated.

Khannie

Is the plastic food safe?

ColdTurkey

Khannie wrote: »

Is the plastic food safe?

Is a water barrel so I'm assuming so

Khannie

Would like to get my hands on one like this I must say. Can you tell me where you got it?

On the tap: I'd put it as low as you can. The extra pressure will nearly always be beneficial.

I wouldn't bother with an airlock, tbh. I'd just leave the lid unsealed.

I think you need to be careful with yeast amount. I would use a decent sized yeast starter on a large batch like that, probably made with 4 or 5 sachets and some yeast nutrient.

Others with more knowledge will be along shortly.

ColdTurkey

Khannie wrote: »

Would like to get my hands on one like this I must say. Can you tell me where you got it?

On the tap: I'd put it as low as you can. The extra pressure will nearly always be beneficial.

I wouldn't bother with an airlock, tbh. I'd just leave the lid unsealed.

I think you need to be careful with yeast amount. I would use a decent sized yeast starter on a large batch like that, probably made with 4 or 5 sachets and some yeast nutrient.

Others with more knowledge will be along shortly.

Thanks Khannie. I'll have to double check the quality of the plastic barrel first.
Will the brew not just turn to vinegar if I let the air at it?

BeerNut

ColdTurkey wrote: »

Will the brew not just turn to vinegar if I let the air at it?

Not if you let the yeast at it first.

People were making beer and wine before mankind first harnessed the power of the lid.

Khannie

When I say unsealed, I just mean lid on, but air can escape. I can imagine 200 litres of brewing creating a LOT of carbon dioxide. Don't see those little airlock things being able to handle it.

slayerking

Khannie wrote: »

When I say unsealed, I just mean lid on, but air can escape. I can imagine 200 litres of brewing creating a LOT of carbon dioxide. Don't see those little airlock things being able to handle it.

You know what's better than 1 airlock.... 10 airlocks. Imagine the symphony of burping that would make.

rubadub

ColdTurkey wrote: »

Is a water barrel so I'm assuming so

If its a water butt it might not be.

There are often signs on them, like a knife & fork sign moulded in or wineglass or something.

Some tubs are food grade when you might not expect it. I saw nice big tubs of branded washing powder in a €2 type shop, the tubs were white & foodgrade, about 15 litres. Can't remember the price but I thought it might go for the same price if being sold as a fermenter.

ColdTurkey

Didn't get a chance to check it this evening will check in the morning. I would prefer some sort of airlock system on it. What with the work involved making such a large brew, it would be a shame if it did go to waste

0rt

elderflower has its own natural yeast.
why are you adding more? Ive never had to add any!

sharingan

Khannie wrote: »

When I say unsealed, I just mean lid on, but air can escape. I can imagine 200 litres of brewing creating a LOT of carbon dioxide. Don't see those little airlock things being able to handle it.

It will empty the airlock in short order - literally blast all the fluid out. I have had it happen with very vigourous yeasts in high gravity beers before, but only 24L. 200L is going to go mental.

ColdTurkey

Sorry it took so long to get back. I went with a grade 2 hdpe 100L water butt. have elderflower and cherries fermenting in it right now. How long should I leave it on the fruit. The internet is telling me everthing from 7 days to 3 weeks

chopper6

ColdTurkey wrote: »

Sorry it took so long to get back. I went with a grade 2 hdpe 100L water butt. have elderflower and cherries fermenting in it right now. How long should I leave it on the fruit. The internet is telling me everthing from 7 days to 3 weeks

Leave it til all fermentation has ceased...it should be about two weeks. If it ferments out completely (and it will with a champagne yeast for example) you will need to back-sweeten after you rack it to the secondary.

Leave it a few more days in the secondary before bottling...prime each bottle with half a teaspoon of sugar to get the fizz

Hingo

slayerking wrote: »

You know what's better than 1 airlock.... 10 airlocks. Imagine the symphony of burping that would make.

For some reason, all I can think about is to buy a load of airlocks, duct tape and a set of pan pipes....

ColdTurkey

Finally bottled my booze folks. all went perfectly. There's a lot. Thanks for the tips

ColdTurkey

Alright lads back again. Going to fire up another 100 litre champagne brew. No elderflowers yet. So i have a few questions. Was going to put in lemons, pears and some other fruit that comes on aldis super six deal during the week. Two questions if you dont mind. Do i need to put in the white wine vinegar as suggested in the river cottage elderflower recipe or leave it out. And finally would you suggest i put in chopped raisins as yeast nutrient or will the fruit and sugar be enough. As always thanks in advance for your help

katydid

ColdTurkey wrote: »

Alright lads back again. Going to fire up another 100 litre champagne brew. No elderflowers yet. So i have a few questions. Was going to put in lemons, pears and some other fruit that comes on aldis super six deal during the week. Two questions if you dont mind. Do i need to put in the white wine vinegar as suggested in the river cottage elderflower recipe or leave it out. And finally would you suggest i put in chopped raisins as yeast nutrient or will the fruit and sugar be enough. As always thanks in advance for your help

Where are you going to get elderflowers in March?

ColdTurkey

Not using any. Just fruit, but am trying to stick to the elderflower recipe as i dont have much experience in brewing

katydid

ColdTurkey wrote: »

Not using any. Just fruit, but am trying to stick to the elderflower recipe as i dont have much experience in brewing

Oh I see. The beauty of "proper" elderflower champagne is that the fizziness comes from the fact that there is natural yeast on the blooms, so you don't need to add yeast and it's totally natural.

I tried it last year, and for some reason the yeast didn't take - I hadn't washed the flowers, or picked them after a shower of rain or anything, but it was flat. I had to add wine yeast in the end, but it wasn't the same. I didn't get that lovely light fizz. (On the other hand, two bottles of my elderflower cordial, where the flowers had had boiling water poured over them, and where citric acid had been added, exploded one Sunday morning in October, leaving a sticky mess everywhere!)

I haven't tried making a sparkling wine with fruits, but I suspect the technique may be different from how you would do elderflower champagne.

I made rhubarb wine, using champagne yeast; I didn't get a sparkling wine, but I got a really interesting dry wine. Golden colour, unusual taste. Worth a try; rhubarb is coming into its own now.

sharingan

Get a good book on home winemaking.

The key skills are sanitising everything, and ensuring your wine reaches final gravity before you bottle. If you want fizzy wine, add a teaspoon of wine per bottle when you bottle and seal.