Maple Sap Mead

Put together my first mead this afternoon. I have been brewing beer w/ maple sap for a couple of years now, and figured WTH.

Final volume ~ 5.25 G

4 gallons boiled and cooled maple sap ~ 2.5% sugar
12 lbs. Clover Honey
2 pkg Lavin D-47
Yeast Nutrient/Energizer blend

Rehydrated the yeast. Heated half the sap to 110 F and blended in the honey. Added to fermenter and stirred in the remaining sap. Pitched yeast and 3/4 tsp nutrient/energizer blend to 70 F must.

Maple sap as in straight from the tree with about the consistency of water? Or maple sap as in real maple syrup?

beninan said:

Maple sap as in straight from the tree with about the consistency of water? Or maple sap as in real maple syrup?

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Sap from the tree.

Very cool!

I love the smell of sap when it's being boiled!

so jealous that you can do this.



also: GO BIG BLUE!

vtchuck said:

Sap from the tree.

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ah ok, I figured it was the sap as the syrup would be way too thick. It sounds awesome!

there are a lot of parts of the the country that support sap maple trees. Obviously sugar maples are best, but even red maples will work. Now that said, there is a limited time fo the year when you can collect sap, and just becasue the trees grow all over the mostly east coast, doesn't mean you live where they are (like in a city).

I've heard that it takes 50 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of syrup although that probably varries from tree to tree.

ACbrewer said:

there are a lot of parts of the the country that support sap maple trees. Obviously sugar maples are best, but even red maples will work. Now that said, there is a limited time fo the year when you can collect sap, and just becasue the trees grow all over the mostly east coast, doesn't mean you live where they are (like in a city).

I've heard that it takes 50 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of syrup although that probably varries from tree to tree.

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I have 3 trees I tap and I've collected over 20 gallons of sap. Brewed a sap bock & the mead. The sugaring season is in full swing up here.... below freezing at night and warming up during the days.

You can also make syrup from birch.... they tap them out west.

For sugar maples the rate is about 40 to 1..... And a lot of labor. Not surprising that maple syrup is ~ $40 plus a gallon.

I have never tasted a maple sap beer that had a maple flavor, but it may be detectable in a mead. If not, I've added some fermentables.