In a medium saucepan, combine the water, dried elderberries, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom pods, and whole cloves. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 30-60 minutes.

Strain the infusion through a fine mesh sieve over a large glass measuring cup or other heat-proof bowl. You should have about two cups of spiced elderberry infusion, give or take. If it’s quite a bit less, just add more water to the infusion to get it up to two cups.

Chill the infusion in the fridge until ready to use.

In a carafe or pitcher, combine the prepared spiced elderberry infusion, pomegranate juice, orange juice, pomegranate arils, sliced pear, and sliced orange. Stir and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

When ready to serve, fill a glass with ice. Then pour about 4 ounces of sangria mixture into the glass and top with about 4 ounces of ginger beer. Be sure to serve with some of the steeped fruit in each glass—it’s pretty and delicious that way.