I just ordered 1 lbs of dried elderberries(Sambucus nigra) a few days ago and was planning to make a elderberry mead ...
I made a 1 US gallon elderberry mead about a year ago. I had never tasted it before and did not expect anything. It was positively suprising that it was sort of reminiscent of red wine. As I think I remember(The notebook only says pretty good) the honey got overpowered. I might also have had some problems getting it started to ferment(I dont remember clearly). This mead did not get any aging.
The "non proven" recipe I used (I think I got it somewhere, but dont remember where) was just 2 dl(~0.2 quart) dried elderberries, ~2.25 lbs clover honey for 1 US gallon total.
Definitely worth a go
especially if you got a lot of free berries and extra especially if its only small quantities like a couple of US gallons. Take a look around, for example on places jackkeller.net
dried berries,
fresh berries or otherplaces to get some guidlines. Other than that you should probably follow the advices of experienced people like wayneb's post #12.
Elder leaves and stems contain a cyanogenic glycoside (Sambunigrin) that is poisonous. So do unripe (and even some ripe) berries. If you boil the leaves the toxin may be broken down, but I'd be careful otherwise ...
Should the berries and flowers be boiled for a certain amouth of time before they can be considered "safe"(especially if other people than myself drink it)?