Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Maple Syrup

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Maple Syrup

    Hi there,

    I was just wondering if anyone out there has had experience brewing with Maple syrup? I was thinking of brewing a seasonal in the next few weeks with some and would like to hear from other brewers experiences with it. I realize it's a expensive ingredient so I would like know how to get maximium bang for your buck!

    Cheers!

    Dave.

  • #2
    Dave,
    I brewed a Maple Brown Ale last fall (and plan on brewing it again). I added 2.25 gallons of Extra Dark syrup directly to the serving tank and filtered 7bbl of the beer in on top of it. I got a great maple aroma and a noticeable maple flavor & sweetness in the beer. I did some experiments to find the right concentration for the flavor and aroma I wanted and found that 2 gallons in 7 bbl of beer was a very faint aroma and slightly detectable flavor whereas 2.5 gallons was noticeably sweet (a little too much for me).

    If you have a local maple sugar farm you'll be able to get the more flavorful syrup (Extra Dark). I don't think you can get it commercially....

    hope that helps.
    Hutch Kugeman
    Head Brewer
    Brooklyn Brewery at the Culinary Institute of America
    Hyde Park, NY

    Comment


    • #3
      Hutch,

      Thanks for the info. I don't know about getting Extra Dark but the supplier i'm cutting a deal with does carry a darker grade syrup which i'm getting sample of in a few days which might be close to what you were using. The stuff i've tried already is imported from Quebec and tastes supurb so am looking forward to giving it a whirl! Adding the syrup to the serving tank is a good idea. I did a similar procedure with a honey ale a while back which gave good results so that should be the way to go. I'll run some tests to get the ratio right first.

      Thanks again and will let you know how it turns out.

      .

      Comment


      • #4
        You can also get spray dried Maple Sugar that will give you more taste than syrup. You lose a lot of aroma in the boil, and you lose more in fermentation. I agree that you need to use the darker grades. Using Grade A light is a waste for brewing. Great for breakfast though! I used 150 gallons per 120 bbl batch in the kettle. It was a very faint aroma and flavor.

        If you like the maple aroma, you can get a natural extract from McCormick spices that can give a boost, but probably best to avoid that. Stay away from the extracts with diacetyl in them...the are the base of Mrs. Butterworths and the like....

        Real maple syrup has a subtle aroma and flavor anyway. So probably best to stay with that.

        It might be a good addition to a pumpkin ale?

        Good luck and echo the "let us know"

        Comment


        • #5
          I've got the darker grade syrup on order now so will hopefully be brewing with that in a few weeks.

          Not so sure about a pumpkin ale but I do have some lightly roasted hemp seeds kicking around which might "funk" it up abit.. Will do some taste testing first before I decide what route to take. Thanks all for the info and as I said before i'll post the results once it's on tap.

          Cheers!

          Comment


          • #6
            maple syrup in beer

            Hello everyone,

            I have been following this thread ever since I decided to make a maple porter for Spring. I was able to source a local supplier for a dark grade of maple syrup and decided to add it to the beer right before transferring in order to preserve the syrup's qualities. I am curious what others think of my options for mixing the two together.

            Option 1: Dump the maple syrup into the serving tank before the transfer begins.

            Option 2: Add all the maple syrup (3.25 gallons) to the transfer line before the transfer begins.

            Option 3: Add the maple syrup to the beer during transfer via a tee and a soda keg.

            I am a bit concerned about getting a thorough mix because I would like to start serving the beer as soon as possible. Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated.

            Cheers,

            Dave

            Comment


            • #7
              Tim,

              Thanks for the reply. I have run some tests with the beer and feel I have a good ratio that will impart the subtle character I am aiming for. Option 3 is definitely the way to go. Plus, I have some carbonating to do, so that ought to help mix the beer even further. Again, thanks.

              Dave

              Comment


              • #8
                Maple Syrup

                Hello all,

                I just brought in ten gallons of fresh dark maple syrup at sixtyeight per gallon shipping included.
                Looking to get it right the first time and have a couple of questions. I would like to bring out an 8% abv brown or porter then add the syrup in the bright tank during transfer. What I am looking to do after transfer is keg the product and store at 55 to 60 F to allow "conditioning" for several months. With this in mind it seems that 2.25 gallons of syrup might be too much?? Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.
                Thanks,
                Frank Kassik
                Kassiks Kenai Brew Stop

                Comment


                • #9
                  maple syrup

                  Hello to all, is see this post is about 4 years running but still relevent. so my 2 cents are, try using fenugreek. its a kidney shaped seed with great maple flavor and works well if you don't want to add any more fermentables.
                  Cheers!
                  Michael Simmons
                  Raisingthebarinpa.com

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Mountain molasses

                    Another option for maple syrup flavor is mountain molasses. It's the same as maple syrup in creation, but it is from a different maple (Acer negundo) called Box Elder. Dank and rich flavor like very dark maple syrup. Takes more sap to make a gallon of syrup.

                    Now is the time of year to buy syrup.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Thanks for the sugestions guys!!

                      Yes Tim I am brewing with a seven bbl system. I composed the letter yesterday quickly not reviewing what I wrote.
                      This friend of ours that recently moved from the eastern states to Alaska brought out some of his syrup for us to try. Oh my gosh, his backyard stuff was incredible. So now I have ten gallons sitting in my cooler that he set up the purchase for us.
                      This gives me a good direction to go and I will post how the batch turns out and what percentages I end up with.
                      By the way so far, (Three years commercial) I've been extremely lucky keeping the bad microbes at bay. However this is the first run at keg conditioning. If the brew doesn't turn out at least my oatmeal will be happy for a long time.

                      Cheers,
                      Frank Kassik
                      Kassiks Kenai Brew Stop

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X