# 2012 Elderberries



## ffemt128 (Jul 14, 2012)

Went out this am to check on the elderberrie bushes. Picked 12 lbs of very ripe berries. Hopefully it will be a good year for them. My primary bush is starting to get ripe and a couple new ones are as well. Will check on a further out patch tomorrow.


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## oldwhiskers (Jul 14, 2012)

Looks good, I am wanting to do elderberry wine but I will have to do the dried berries. It's on my wish list at my supplier already, just have to pull the trigger on it.


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## ffemt128 (Jul 14, 2012)

LEt year I only managed to get about 55 lbs but I made 10 gallons with that plus what was left from the previous year. Hoping fox around 60 lbs this year. We'll see.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Jul 14, 2012)

What variety of elderberries do you have, they look nice and plump. Ours are still 100% green and we are south of you guys. Cracked



ffemt128 said:


> Went out this am to check on the elderberrie bushes. Picked 12 lbs of very ripe berries. Hopefully it will be a good year for them. My primary bush is starting to get ripe and a couple new ones are as well. Will check on a further out patch tomorrow.
> 
> View attachment 4941


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## TwinMaples (Jul 14, 2012)

Those are nice looking berries.

My wife picked 5 1/2 lbs. yesterday. I helped her de-stem them after work. We probably need to pick more tomorrow. It seems like every other day more are ready. I am very thankful we're getting these berries in the drought we've been in.

Jim


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## pjd (Jul 14, 2012)

Wow! It is really early for elderberries! I generally dont get any ripe ones for another month. If you get too many, I will happily drive to the Burgh to take them off your hands!


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## ffemt128 (Jul 14, 2012)

Cracked,

I have no idea the variety, I've managed to find them in various places. The ones half mile away were barely red. I'll be checking about every 3-4 days in hopes of getting them before the birds do. I'd be happy with 60 lbs, if I could get more I'd be even happier.


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## ffemt128 (Jul 14, 2012)

pjd said:


> Wow! It is really early for elderberries! I generally dont get any ripe ones for another month. If you get too many, I will happily drive to the Burgh to take them off your hands!



That's okay, I wasn't figuring on being picking for another week. I'll check the rest of my locations tomorrow then again every few days. Need to remember where I had located them when in bloom.

Cracked has it the best, he has a farm full of them. Oh what I would do if I had property.


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## BobF (Jul 14, 2012)

Doug - I don't wan't to stomp on your rhythm or anything, but those don't look ready to me. There is still more red in them. Or is that just the pic?

Either way, great score on the berries!


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## ffemt128 (Jul 15, 2012)

BobF said:


> Doug - I don't wan't to stomp on your rhythm or anything, but those don't look ready to me. There is still more red in them. Or is that just the pic?
> 
> Either way, great score on the berries!



Bob,

Of the 2.5 shopping bags that were picked, only about a cup of them floated. Most were very dark with only a few red ones present. All the floaters were discarded for our local birds to eat.

I'm heading out this am to check the status of other bushes. Not expecting to see any ripe ones for another week.


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## ffemt128 (Jul 15, 2012)

Here's a picture of my primary bush I pick from. I need to start checking this one every few days. I generally get 25 lbs or more from this bush. A plant 3 blocks away isn't even shoing signs of turning red. Found 2 more potential locations this am.


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## bg7mm (Jul 15, 2012)

picked 15 pounds a few minutes ago, all the plants, and we have hundreds on my property, are in different stages of ripeness. i have a question, do you have to remove every single small stem left in the berries? man this is work picking elderberries, easy to pick, a pain to remove the berries from the stems


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## almargita (Jul 15, 2012)

Doug:

If you see a black jeep following you its only me trying to find out where your stash of bushes are!!!!!! 

Al


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## TwinMaples (Jul 15, 2012)

bg7mm said:


> . . .i have a question, do you have to remove every single small stem left in the berries? man this is work picking elderberries, easy to pick, a pain to remove the berries from the stems


bg, the more stems you remove the better, but in my opinion, you don't need perfection here.

Below is a link for a video I did, 

http://s883.photobucket.com/albums/...on=view&current=ElderberryDeStemmingVideo.mp4


showing the various methods of de-stemming elderberries, including:


Rubbing the bag method
Rolling berries down cheesecloth-lined board
Shake clusters in bucket
Cooling grid system
Putting a cooking grid over a cake pan or bucket, and rubbing the berries over the grid is what we do. Then, we cover the elderberries with water in a bucket. The unripe berries, stems, twigs, and bugs float to the surface. I scoop it out with a small strainer. It's not 100% clean, but pretty clean. I gently turn over the berries several times, which releases more unripe berries, stems, twigs, and bugs. Then, I flood the bucket, and the really little stuff is removed.


Still a bit tedious, but waaay faster than plucking the berries off the stem. The next best is shaking the berries off the stems in a bucket. If your berries are really ripe, though, you end up smashing a lot of berries, and losing them.


Enjoy the video!

Jim


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## bg7mm (Jul 15, 2012)

almargita said:


> Doug:
> 
> If you see a black jeep following you its only me trying to find out where your stash of bushes are!!!!!!
> 
> Al



the elderberry is a common wild plant here, the stuff grows everywheres, we use weedkiller to keep them from growing on lots or yards we mow grass on
gonna try to get a couple pics tommorow of some plants . main food source for the deer here this time of year, you can see deer with purple throat patches instead of white patches


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## ffemt128 (Jul 19, 2012)

Well I checked one of the bushes near my home that was starting to get ripe, looks like the birds got the better part of it. I'll have to head out early Saturday morning to check on the rest.


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## ffemt128 (Jul 20, 2012)

Checked the berries tonight, should be a good harvest tomorrow. Will be out of the house between 5:45 and 6:00 for harvesting. Will report back tomorrow. Hoping for 20 lbs.


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## TwinMaples (Jul 20, 2012)

I'm picking tomorrow morning as well. Good luck!

Jim


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## ffemt128 (Jul 21, 2012)

Left the house at 6:00, picked til 7:35. Started cleaning about 8:30 just finished. 23lbs 11oz in bags and in the freezer. Tossed about 2 1/2 lbs of floaters. 

I checked my primary bush and it was mostly ripe but most of the clusters had red in them. Supposed to go up to 80 today, will check again tomorrow and pick if ripe enough.

Total for 2 pickings, just under 36 lbs.


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## ffemt128 (Jul 22, 2012)

Picked this am. Got another 10 1/2 lbs. Will pick again Wednesday evening.


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## TwinMaples (Jul 22, 2012)

Picked about 10 lbs. this morning. Maybe another 5 lbs. or so left to pick. So far this year, picked just over 70 lbs. from our backyard. That's the most ever!

My wife deserves the credit. She has been watering every day for the last month or so. Thanks to her watering, our very short row of Norton grapes looks good, too.

Jim


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## FTC Wines (Jul 22, 2012)

Been looking for wild elderberries here in No. Ga. Mntn's for 5 years. Finally found them today, went tubing down the Toccoa River with our Grandson, litterly in our backyard & saw elderberries everywhere along the banks. The river follows a road where the bushes were so it won't be a problem getting back there by car. Can't wait! Roy


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## ffemt128 (Jul 23, 2012)

TwinMaples said:


> Picked about 10 lbs. this morning. Maybe another 5 lbs. or so left to pick. So far this year, picked just over 70 lbs. from our backyard. That's the most ever!
> 
> My wife deserves the credit. She has been watering every day for the last month or so. Thanks to her watering, our very short row of Norton grapes looks good, too.
> 
> Jim


 
70 Lbs so far, that's great. I'm up to 46 lbs, I should be able to get another 20 lbs from the one bush and hopefully the other locations prove to be fruitful. It is a 12 mile trip to get to the next location and then another 5 miles from that one to the other plants I found. 

Heading out Wednesday after work to the close bush then over the weekend to check on the others. GOing to hit the primary bush every couple days and see what happens.


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## ffemt128 (Jul 26, 2012)

Went out last night and picked another 15 lbs of berries and tossed about 2 lbs of green and floaters. Brings my total this season to 61 lbs. Sunday should yield another 15-20 lbs hopefully. That will make for a good season IMHO.

I'll probably be digging out the steamer the end of August.


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## reefman (Jul 26, 2012)

I have a couple "Black Lace" bushes in my yard, and I just found out they are in the Elderberry family. 

Has anyone used these berries to make wine?

The berries are a dark red right now, maybe 10-20 lbs on them.
I'm going to do the float test on a few to see if they are ready.
Thanks for this thread, it's great. ...and TwinMaples video was a big help...thanks for that too!


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## ffemt128 (Jul 26, 2012)

I still need to check out the video, cant see it from work. I generally use 2 buckets of cold water. One to float in the other to soak the clusters prior to soaking then just hold the clusters and fan my fingers through them. The 15 lbs last night took about an hour and 15 minutes to clean.


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## almargita (Jul 26, 2012)

Doug:

One of these days you have to show me your patches that you pick from, you know, just in case you get sick or whatever.... Don't want the birds to eat up all those grest berries in case you can't get to them???

Al


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## ffemt128 (Jul 26, 2012)

almargita said:


> Doug:
> 
> One of these days you have to show me your patches that you pick from, you know, just in case you get sick or whatever.... Don't want the birds to eat up all those grest berries in case you can't get to them???
> 
> Al


 
I'll do that Al.


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## TwinMaples (Jul 27, 2012)

reefman said:


> . . .and TwinMaples video was a big help...thanks for that too!


You're welcome, Reefman. I'm glad it helped.

Jim


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## BobF (Jul 27, 2012)

I won't be harvesting any elderberries this year ...


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## Julie (Jul 27, 2012)

BobF said:


> I won't be harvesting any elderberries this year ...



Sorry to here that Bob. May I ask why? I'm still about 3 weeks away from picking the ones at our camp.


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## BobF (Jul 27, 2012)

Heat and drought. This is establishment year for the cultivated elders, so nothing from them. The others are shriveled up BBs that aren't worth the trouble. Just wait til next year though!


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## Julie (Jul 27, 2012)

BobF said:


> Heat and drought. This is establishment year for the cultivated elders, so nothing from them. The others are shriveled up BBs that aren't worth the trouble. Just wait til next year though!



Sorry to hear that Bob but the weather is what it is.


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## ffemt128 (Jul 28, 2012)

Sorry to hear that Bob. Next year should be a good one for you.


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## ffemt128 (Jul 29, 2012)

Went out and picked this am. Was very careful to only take the darkest of the dark berries. Managed 6 lbs 9 oz this am. Based on the limited quantity that floated I probably could have picked 70% of what was darkk on the plant. With all the rain the berries are between 3/16" and 1/4" in size and very juicy. We need a few sunny warm days now to ripen the remainder of the plant. Will be out Tuesday after work again to pick again. 

Take so far this season is 68-69 lbs.


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## BobF (Jul 29, 2012)

Hey, at least -somebody- is getting berries this year! 

OAN, I have a York and an Adams in my nursery in pots. They both grew like crazy this year. I plan to add them to the orchard planting this fall. Anyway, the Adams put on one drupe of berries. I picked a few of the ripe ones and mashed them in my hand. The juice is -clear-! And they taste much sweeter than the wild ones!

My plan is to see how they do and gradually propagate them, replacing wild ones in the orchard with these over time, depending on how much better they produce and the relative quality of the fruit. So far, so good, but I'm curious about the clear juice.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Jul 29, 2012)

We are very happy, get to go out and pick elders after lunch. The big storm at the end of June knocked a bunch of first year canes to the ground so we wont get a record crop, but after blanking last year we are happy just to see some. Priority is going to be to dry some for meads. Crackedcork


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## ffemt128 (Jul 31, 2012)

Picked berries after work with my 5 y/o. After cleaning I ended up with 9 lbs 4 oz. Total since I started picking is at right around 77 lbs. Will hit the bush again over the weekend and then that will probably be it for this location.


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## ffemt128 (Aug 4, 2012)

Got another 6 lbs this morning. That bush is done. May check a few others not sure. I have 83 lbs total now so I should be able to get 10+ gallons of fairly concentrated elderberry wine started. May plan on steaming next Friday.


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## TwinMaples (Aug 4, 2012)

ffemt128 said:


> Got another 6 lbs this morning. That bush is done. May check a few others not sure. I have 83 lbs total now so I should be able to get 10+ gallons of fairly concentrated elderberry wine started. May plan on steaming next Friday.


 Congrats on the size of your harvest. That's great! I intend to steam juice some of my elders as well.

Jim


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## ffemt128 (Aug 4, 2012)

TwinMaples said:


> Congrats on the size of your harvest. That's great! I intend to steam juice some of my elders as well.
> 
> Jim



I've found that steaming them you don't have to deal withthe green Goo. I'm planning on checking a few other locations that weren't ripe last week. The birds really did a number on the primary bush since I picked on Tuesday. It would be nice to get a 100 lbs, but that is not likely. I had a lot of dark berries that floated and were full of red juice that I tossed. I really got to second guess that process but ill continue until proven other wise. I'll post if I pick any tomorrow.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Aug 4, 2012)

The basis of the process is that sugar solutions are denser than water, a higher sugar content in the riper fruit makes them sink. But, if something is fermenting the sugars in the fruit then they might float again, but you wouldnt want them anyway. My wife declared we cant pick this year until there are no greenies on each bunch, she doesnt like to see any floating either, going to be a long summer. Crackedcork


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## almargita (Aug 5, 2012)

Doug;

Did you ever think of being like Johnny Appleseed but for Eldeberries. don't know if they would start future plants but throw the non ripe berries in some areas you want new plants to start...... Maybe in a few years, might be a forrest of Eldeberries..... Just a thought.

Al


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## ffemt128 (Aug 5, 2012)

almargita said:


> Doug;
> 
> Did you ever think of being like Johnny Appleseed but for Eldeberries. don't know if they would start future plants but throw the non ripe berries in some areas you want new plants to start...... Maybe in a few years, might be a forrest of Eldeberries..... Just a thought.
> 
> ...


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## Runningwolf (Aug 5, 2012)

We came up with an orphan one year where my wife would always pluck them. I transplanted it out back in a garden and within a year I had plants poppoing up everywhere from the runners. I ripped them all out and gave them away. They're a rather ugly plant once the berries are picked.


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## almargita (Aug 5, 2012)

The idea is to try & start them in some areas that are wooded areas nearby but convient to get to. Not necessarly in your back yard unless you have a lot of acreage not being used. Maybe some public access areas, along the highway, public parks, you know what I mean, they will just appear like magic & no one will care when you start to harvest them........ Unless they ae other wine makers!! 

Al


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## Julie (Aug 5, 2012)

Also, a moist area


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## Runningwolf (Aug 5, 2012)

The comments above about lacations are perfect. Just one more thought from experience. For some reason just before the berries ripened the highway or utilities company would come along and either cut them down or spray them with a solution that killed the entire bush. This didn't happen every year but it did happen more then once.


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## Julie (Aug 5, 2012)

Runningwolf said:


> The comments above about lacations are perfect. Just one more thought from experience. For some reason just before the berries ripened the highway or utilities company would come along and either cut them down or spray them with a solution that killed the entire bush. This didn't happen every year but it did happen more then once.


 
LOL, yes they do, dam them!!!!!!!


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## TwinMaples (Aug 5, 2012)

Julie said:


> Also, a moist area


Yes, you can find them along creeks and rivers. Another good spot is by railroad tracks. Like just mentioned, you have to worry about the bushes being sprayed if they are too close to the tracks..

Jim


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## ffemt128 (Aug 7, 2012)

I'm likely going to start steaming elderberries on Friday. Will be using a recipe similar to the one in this post. Will up the oak this year.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f45/2011-elderberry-14867/


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## wood1954 (Aug 8, 2012)

Lucky you! I've been checking on the wild bushes i found in the spring and they all have BB size berries with no flavor. Last year they were pea sized and very full of flavor. I think this year I'll pass on them and wait for next year.
I've only got about 10 bottles left from last year, i'll save them for this winter.


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## ffemt128 (Aug 9, 2012)

Picked up my grape juice after work, will start steaming tomorrow morning. I need to go to Costco for more sugar so I may do that on Saturday while ot and about with all my other running around. Hoping to have yeast pitched by Sunday morning..


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## ffemt128 (Aug 10, 2012)

Started steaming berries today. SO far I have 5-5 gallon jugs, 2-3 liter jugs and another 3/4 gallon of steamed juice. I took the perries post steaming and added 1 1/4 gallons of warm water so far for a 2nd's run. I'm thinking I'll have 30-40 lbs of skins to make a 2nr run of 3 gallons. Will be a very strong 2nd's run. Need to get sugar and 2 more cans of grape concentrate.


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## ffemt128 (Aug 10, 2012)

Elderberry juice.


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## TwinMaples (Aug 10, 2012)

Looks great!

Question: How many pounds of elders to produce 1 gallon of juice?

I have some winemaking chores on 10 wines before I can start steam-juicing some of my elders. I was surprised I had so many wines to work on; mostly racking, and half are 1 gallon carboys. Two are ready for bottling; one is chocloate elderberry. I tasted it about a month ago and it was yummy.

My wife needs the freezer emptied as family coming here this fall. Maybe I'll steam-juice next weekend.

Jim


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## garymc (Aug 10, 2012)

I bought a bunch of cuttings of native elderberries this spring. Not one of them is alive. I have some Black Lace and Black Beauty European plants I bought in pots. I've had the Black Lace 3 years with blooms, but no berries. Then I learned they need another European variety for pollination. That's why I bought the Black Beauty plants this year. Maybe I'll have berries next year. Anybody know if the European elderberries are good for wine?


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## ffemt128 (Aug 11, 2012)

TwinMaples said:


> Looks great!
> 
> Question: How many pounds of elders to produce 1 gallon of juice?
> 
> ...


 
When steaming, I found 10 lbs gives you 1 gallon of juice. Steaming the last 20 lbs now.


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## TwinMaples (Aug 11, 2012)

ffemt128 said:


> When steaming, I found 10 lbs gives you 1 gallon of juice. Steaming the last 20 lbs now.


Thanks, Doug. Steamed-juiced some elders Memorial Day weekend, and 21 and 1/2 pounds got me 2 gallons and one 750ml bottle of elderberry juice.

I racked that wine today, and, for 2 1/2 months, it's really good. It has a very strong fruity flaover, a thick consistancy, and starting to smooth out.

Jim


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## ffemt128 (Aug 11, 2012)

I started 2 6 gallon batches, both had 4 1/2 gallons of elderberry juice. I also took all the steamed berries and rather than tossing I started a batch with that. I'm thinking it will end up around 3 gallons. It is just as dark and flavorful smelling as the other batches. I figured I'd give it a try, all I had to lose was a little sugar and a package of yeast. Time will tell. Yeast was pitched this morning.


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## ffemt128 (Aug 14, 2012)

Starting sg was 1.088 on both 6 gallon batches. Yeast was pitched late Saturday morning and both batches are fermenting strongly at this point. I'll adjust acid post fermentation to my desired level and go from there.


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## ffemt128 (Aug 16, 2012)

Just checked the SG on both batches. SG was 1.018 on both. Looks like I'll be transferring to carboys this weekend. Smells so good.


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## BobF (Aug 16, 2012)

I love the smell of fermenting elderberries in the morning!


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## ffemt128 (Aug 17, 2012)

Checked sg again this am, one bucket was a 1.010 and the other at 1.014. My daughter was sleeping so I racked into 2 - 6 gallon carboys. Both are filled to the very bottom of the neck and I poured about a 1/2 gallon into the bucket I had set aside that is being made from the skins. I'll definately be able to pull a 3 gallon batch from that at this point. I'll use that for topping up as needed in hopes of ending with 14 gallons in the long run. 12 of those will be from steamed juice (7 lbs per gallon) and the remainder will be from the skins left over after steaming.


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## oldwhiskers (Aug 17, 2012)

Doug, what's your opinion on the difference between wine from fresh elderberries and wine from dried elderberries? I have had neither and I am thinking on making some from dried elderberries to try it.


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## ffemt128 (Aug 18, 2012)

oldwhiskers said:


> Doug, what's your opinion on the difference between wine from fresh elderberries and wine from dried elderberries? I have had neither and I am thinking on making some from dried elderberries to try it.


 

I've only made it from fresh elderberries so far and each time I steamed the berries to extract the juice. You may want to PM CRACKEDCORK, he grows them and has likely done both. Sorry I couldn't be more help.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Aug 18, 2012)

We do them every way, fresh, steamed and dried, just depends on what we want from them. We dry our own and we really like all the wines we have made from the dried berries, its different than from fresh berries, a little more depth of flavor maybe, its not as different as using grapes vs raisans to make wine with but it is a difference. That derecho got a lot of our plants, knocking them down and a lot of the berries are lost on the ground. We plan on drying most of the little we get this year to intensify their flavor. Dried elderberry mead, a black raspberry and dried elderberry mead and another chocolate elderberry, maybe this time with dried elderberries instead of fresh are in the planning stages. Crackedcork


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## oldwhiskers (Aug 18, 2012)

CrackedCork said:


> We do them every way, fresh, steamed and dried, just depends on what we want from them. We dry our own and we really like all the wines we have made from the dried berries, its different than from fresh berries, a little more depth of flavor maybe, its not as different as using grapes vs raisans to make wine with but it is a difference. That derecho got a lot of our plants, knocking them down and a lot of the berries are lost on the ground. We plan on drying most of the little we get this year to intensify their flavor. Dried elderberry mead, a black raspberry and dried elderberry mead and another chocolate elderberry, maybe this time with dried elderberries instead of fresh are in the planning stages. Crackedcork



Thanks, that's what I was looking for.


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## ffemt128 (Sep 10, 2012)

Any luck at all, i'll be racking my elderberry wine into 3 clean 5 gallon carboys sometime Friday morning. If that is the case, ill add my kmeta and start the soaking process as well.


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## Boyd (Sep 13, 2012)

Only found about 5 pounds of ederberrie this year and I checked out bushes 50 miles from home. Lots of flowers earlier in the year but no berries.

Last year I had a freezer full and gave away 5 gallons to my aunt to make jelly for her church bazzar and another 5 gallons cleaned to another wine maker. Damed drought got to them I think.

Oh well I have about 15 gallons aging from last year. I guess that is better than a poke in the tail with a sharp stick


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## ffemt128 (Sep 21, 2012)

DJROCKINSTEVE - Tell Marilyn we have 15 gallons of elderberry going now and we'll be sure to save her some when it's ready. I know she laike the past batches. LOL


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## ffemt128 (Sep 27, 2012)

I have 15 gallons of elderberry sitting in carboys now. This was racked on September 10. Next racking I'll stabilize, make acid adjustments and backsweeten. I'm thinking this will probably take place sometime the middle of October.


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## ffemt128 (Oct 31, 2012)

I'll be racking the 15 gallons of Elderberry today and stabilizing. If all goes as planned I'll make acid adjustments and back sweeten this weekend.


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## ffemt128 (Nov 1, 2012)

Racked and stabilized the Edlerberry last night. I did not sample the juice but the aroma was unbelieveable. I was considering getting a can of the Vinters Harvest Elderberry concentrate and using this to back sweeten with. Sort of along the lines of a fpac. I don't think I would need it flavor wise but the thought ran through my head.

Any thoughts?


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## wineon4 (Nov 1, 2012)

I just bottled 10 gal of elderberry this fall and used Winexpert Red Grape concentrate to back sweeten and add body. Using the Elderberry conc. should be great. Will help with the body. I love mine with the Winexpert Red Grape concentrate, really enhanced the color also.


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## ffemt128 (Nov 17, 2012)

Racked the 15 gallons of Elderberry this morning and backsweetened to 1.008. Sweetness seems just about right. Will oak 5 gallons of it with 2 oz of medium toast french cubes for 4 weeks then taste in after that. Other than that I have a very full bodied, strong elderberry wine at this point. I'm very happy with it. Alot of berries went into making this batch and I tried something different by not steaming as much as usual, then fermenting the skins as well.


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## ffemt128 (Nov 24, 2012)

I added 2 oz of medium toast French oak cubes to one of the 5 gallon carboys of Elderberry this morning. This will now sit until after the holidays before sampling. Last year I left it in for 6 weeks and I think it was just right.


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## ffemt128 (Dec 30, 2012)

Racked 5 gallons of this today. Put 3 gallons back into carboy and bottled 8 bottles. Very full bodied. Considering adding American Oak to the 3 gallon carboy to see the different flavor profile compared to the French oak. Given how full bodied this is, it will do well with some long term aging.


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## ffemt128 (Jan 28, 2013)

Racked, filtered and bottled 3 gallon batch of Elderberry. Verry Verry full body and flavor. Gave a bottle to a friend of mine and had a bottle with Spaghetti last night for dinner.


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## ffemt128 (Mar 5, 2013)

Very happy with how this turned out. I will be following the same process next year in an effort to duplicated if possible.


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