Maple syrup in my moose drool clone?

Has anyone added maple syrup to beer to up the abv and add maple flavor? I have the tommyknockers maple nut brown in mind.

How much would I add to the 5 gallon recipe? (From northern brewer, "carabou slobber"). Should I prime with it?

Also if this is just a bad idea let me know.

Also I am not necessarily trying to clone moose drool so that isn't why I m adding syrup. I've never actually had it but i just couldnt ignore 80 five star ratings on a recipe without trying it myself.

if you are looking to add maple flavor its better to add it when priming.

if you add it to the boil it will add a slightly woodsy taste and I've found the flavor doesn't really come through if you add it during fermentation.

i have also hear of people using pure sap instead of water for the boil but i don't have any details on that sorry...

Are you putting it into the boil?

If you've already brewed your batch, I would strongly recommend you NOT add the maple to the fermenter.

If you're adding to the boil, I'd use less than a pound so as to not overshoot it and have it taste way too maple-y.

I use a pound in my maple brown ale and it comes out great. Not an overwhelming maple flavor, but its definitely there. I add it to the primary fermenter after about 12-18 hours of fermentation to keep all that aroma and flavor in there.

Is there anything specifically I need to look for? I don't know anything about syrup.

jgerard said:

Is there anything specifically I need to look for? I don't know anything about syrup.

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It should be from Vermont and grade B if possible.

jgerard said:

Also I am not necessarily trying to clone moose drool so that isn't why I m adding syrup. I've never actually had it but i just couldnt ignore 80 five star ratings on a recipe without trying it myself.

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Not trying to be a PITA, but if you've not tried it and were impressed by all the 5-star ratings, why not straight clone it first and then try maple on your re-brew? Just curious, really. I don't generally care for brown ales too much, but Moose Drool is delicious!!!

That being said, if you go with the maple I hope you'll post your results. Should be interesting.

"All your home brew are belong to us!"

^this. I wouldn't mess with it till you taste why its so highly rated.

Okay, I think I will leave the recipe as its meant but will carbonate a 6 pk or 12 pk with the syrup and see what the diff is. Then I can taste the carabou slobber glory as well as the syrup experiment.

Thanks for the honest advice!

jgerard said:

Okay, I think I will leave the recipe as its meant but will carbonate a 6 pk or 12 pk with the syrup and see what the diff is. Then I can taste the carabou slobber glory as well as the syrup experiment.

Thanks for the honest advice!

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Splitting the difference. I like that approach! Let us know!