Maple porter with sap - when/how much to use

My cousin makes maple syrup and I am planning on brewing this on Friday....

I have my recipe pretty much figured out but am having trouble deciding on when/how much maple syrup to add. Several people have commented that 1-3 lbs. wasn't enough and I've read that the later the better (add to secondary or at bottling). Papazian says that 1 gal of syrup to 5 gal of beer is worth the investment, but I think that might be overkill.

I don't want to add at bottling. I am thinking that once I cool wort, I can add the syrup, check my gravity, aerate, and then pitch onto my yeast cake. Would this be any different from adding to the secondary? I want an accurate gravity reading and can't see why adding to the secondary would be much different. I would think that would just restart the fermentation so I might as well add it after chilling the wort (since I have an active/healthy yeast cake).

Does anyone have any suggestions or experiences with this? Is 6 lbs. of fresh medium, syrup too much?

Thanks!!


BEER SMITH SAYS:

Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.056 SG (I think it will be closer 1.075)
Estimated Color: 40.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 42.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: - %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
***REPLACING ALL WATER WITH MAPLE SAP***

Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 30.89 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 7.72 %
0.75 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 5.79 %
0.60 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 4.63 %
0.30 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 2.32 %
0.30 lb Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 2.32 %
1.00 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (60 min) Hops 19.8 IBU
0.50 oz Chinook [12.50 %] (60 min) Hops 23.0 IBU
6.00 lb Maple Syrup (35.0 SRM) Sugar 46.33 %
1 Pkgs London Ale (White Labs #WLP013)
**USING YEAST CAKE FROM A RED ALE**

I've been doing a lot of looking around for how to use Maple Syrup. From everything I've read you will need around a gallon. If you use less than that all of the flavors/sugars in the maple syrup will get consumed by the yeast leaving you with little to no maple flavor. I'm interested in what you find. I've also looked into priming with maple sugar, but I think the same thing will happen. Whatever you decide, keep us posted.

It would be interesting if you used sap and not syrup.

I remember harvesting the maple sap direct from the tree with my grandpa, it was only slightly sweet. Impressive if you did an all grain batch, and used sap for water.

Hex said:

It would be interesting if you used sap and not syrup.

I remember harvesting the maple sap direct from the tree with my grandpa, it was only slightly sweet. Impressive if you did an all grain batch, and used sap for water.

Click to expand...

the sap really doesn't have much flavor/taste at all... considering it takes ~ 40g sap to make 1g syrup...

i do agree that it is still interesting that the OP will use the sap, however...

good luck and let us know how it comes out

Thanks for the input! Yeah, the use of the sap is more for flair than for flavor. Maybe I should use a whole gallon......but I am afraid that it might be too much, not to mention the cost and the fact that I promised my wife the other half of the gallon that we are buying. Also, the gravity would be pretty high with a full gallon. I've made some strong beers and have only had one that wouldn't carbonate. I don't want to chance too high of a gravity. I guess I could start with 6lbs. then if the maple flavor is weak I could add more when I rack to the secondary?

I'll let you know how this one pans out!

I brewed a batch of amber ale useing light DME with smoked malt for flavoring and used sap in place of water. Started with about 8 gallons of sap and boil it down to 5 gallons. The recipe also called for a pint of syrup in the boil and 2/3 of a cup syrup and 1/3 cup corn sugar for priming. Two weeks after bottling it tasted like not such a much, but after it aged in the bottles a few months it was excellent! Just a hint of maple aroma and a very subtle maple aftertaste going down. I made this last March and drank the last bottle this past January. I've got all my ingrediants ready to brew another batch, just waiting for the sap to start running. I'm thinking of putting a few cinnamon sticks in the secondary fermenter this time too. I think this was the most active fermentation I've ever had, blew the airlock out twice!
Good Luck

BSArider said:

I think this was the most active fermentation I've ever had, blew the airlock out twice!
Good Luck

Click to expand...

Thanks for the priming recipe, I will keep that in mind! I will also heed your warning and make sure to use a blow-off.

BSArider said:

I brewed a batch of amber ale useing light DME with smoked malt for flavoring and used sap in place of water. Started with about 8 gallons of sap and boil it down to 5 gallons. The recipe also called for a pint of syrup in the boil and 2/3 of a cup syrup and 1/3 cup corn sugar for priming. Two weeks after bottling it tasted like not such a much, but after it aged in the bottles a few months it was excellent! Just a hint of maple aroma and a very subtle maple aftertaste going down. I made this last March and drank the last bottle this past January. I've got all my ingrediants ready to brew another batch, just waiting for the sap to start running. I'm thinking of putting a few cinnamon sticks in the secondary fermenter this time too. I think this was the most active fermentation I've ever had, blew the airlock out twice!
Good Luck

Click to expand...

not flowing yet in NH?
already had to collect for over a week here in CT

Not yet, snows still butt deep to a tall man and daytime temps less than 30. Nobody I know has even put taps in yet.

Me and my brew buddy had been talking about brewing a maple nut brown using fresh IL maple syrup and sap to brew with instead of water. Remember while brewing with sap that it consists of about 97-98% water and 2-3% sugar. Therefore the boiling process is only condensing the sugar concentration. Of course it makes sense that this would be beneficial to the alcohol % of the beer. It has always sounded interesting and maybe as I progress further into my brewing ventures I will try next year as the season here in IL has just come to a close.

I hope it turns out and keep us posted on how the sap works as I would be interested to know for my brew.

Well, thanks for all the advice! I ended up with a 1.080 gravity adding 6 lbs. of syrup right after I chilled the wort. I may add more to the secondary if the maple flavor is absent, but I don't want to chance bottles that won't carbonate. Maybe I should consider adding some at bottling but I am afraid that might cause bottle bombs. Below is a video of the process I used. I will keep you updated as this one progresses.

I'm curious as to why you boiled the sugar water before you steeped your grains. Aren't you going to boil after anyway? I understand getting the top off water boiled prior to possibly making an addition. I plan on making a maple porter in a similar way, just going to do all grain.

It's not really necessary to preboil it before steeping the grains, but it doesn't hurt to do so. It does help strengthen the sugar content of the sap water but that benefit is probably minimal. I have gone all grain since this video but have not brewed this since. I still have a few bottles left and will say that it ages very well and still tastes amazing!

Good to know. I'll be sure to let you know how it comes out. Working on getting my trees tapped this weekend. I probably won't pre-boil, as there will be plenty of sugar between the sap and grains. Appreciate the reply.



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Good luck, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results. Are you going to add syrup to either the primary or secondary?

Thanks, I might add to the primary, not much. I figure it will leave the beer with a drier finish if I add to the secondary.


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