Maple syrup

Want to brew a porter with maple syrup in it. Should I put it in the boil or the secondary?

Secondary. That's one expensive fermentable and you don't want to waste any flavor.

I'm about to use maple syrup and from my research I'm am going to prime bottles with it. If you put it in the secondary, fermentation will just start over again and youll have to wait a lot longer to get basically the same result as boiling with it, not a lot of maple flavor. I usually keg but am going to bottle just for the maple syrup.

How much are you using? You could use a cup to prime and the rest in the fermenter. The amount needed for priming doesn't sound like enough to really change the flavor.

Use it post fermentation, or once it's slowed down significantly. Also, use grade B syrup or you'll be seriously disappointed. I did a maple brown ale, using grade A syrup (not cheap either) and you couldn't even tell. I since picked up a good amount of grade B syrup (from Amazon of all places) which has TONS more flavor and smells divine when fermenting. I actually have a maple mead/wine in process right now that I used it in. Actually, I only used grade B syrup for the fermentables, no other sources of sugar for the yeast to eat.

BTW, you'll get VERY different flavors from the syrup if you toss it into the boil, compared with using it once cooled.

put it in secondary, and ideally prime with it as well.

Xpertskir said:

If you put it in the secondary, fermentation will just start over again and youll have to wait a lot longer to get basically the same result as boiling with it, not a lot of maple flavor.

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i disagree, adding to secondary is much less destructive than adding to the boil. problem with boiling is volatility - all that movement in the wort (rolling boil) and the steam rising off it = aromatics being carried away. all the CO2 escaping during primary fermentation = more loss. while adding maple syrup will start another fermentation, it will be minor compared to primary fermentation so less loss.

WoodlandBrew said:

How much are you using? You could use a cup to prime and the rest in the fermenter. The amount needed for priming doesn't sound like enough to really change the flavor.

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don't use a volume, use weight. use an online priming calculator to figure out how much syrup to add and then weigh it. http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/ has maple syrup as an option. also, better to be conservative when using maple syrup because there is variability between brands/sources. unlike sugar, maple syrup isn't pure.

IF you keg, you could add some to the keg shortly before you put it in to chill. Swirl it around so that it has time to mix in and then get it cooling down (to prevent fermentation kicking off in the keg). IF you've already purged the head space of the keg, then it should be safe to simply rock the keg some to get it to mix. You could also reserve some of the finished beer, warm it up slightly, add the syrup to that, making sure it's mixed well. Then pour it all into the keg (carefully to prevent oxidation).

I'm thinking about doing that with a future batch, so that I get a more pronounced maple flavor in the brew.

@ sweetcell. I was only talking about adding at flame out, Ive seen noone talk about imparting maple flavor through the boil. Based on prior posts of yours, I think you were some of my maple research. Was it you that went on an expensive maple kick adding it at all sorts of times and ways?

Xpertskir said:

@ sweetcell. I was only talking about adding at flame out, Ive seen noone talk about imparting maple flavor through the boil. Based on prior posts of yours, I think you were some of my maple research. Was it you that went on an expensive maple kick adding it at all sorts of times and ways?

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ah, ok yes, flame-out is better than boil, but secondary is better still.

nope, that wasn't my expensive maple kick. my in-laws own a sugar bush in VT so i have access to a lot of maple syrup. any such kick i would go in wouldn't be too expensive for me (yes, i married up - in a lot of ways). some day i'd like to brew several batch of maple beer and compare different addition times, but for now i have too many other recipes that keep nudging their way into my schedule.

another thing i'd like to do is make a beer using maple sap instead of water. papazian describes this in The Complete Joy, and since I can... i should! accepting advance trade offers now...

I'm with you guys, the later you add the sugar the more flavor it will have. The flavor seems to get burned off by boiling and some by early fermentation. If you do end up priming with syrup you can calculate exactly how much you need for the volumes of co2... or look it up on this blog post:

http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/10/priming-with-corn-syrup.html

sweetcell said:

ah, ok yes, flame-out is better than boil, but secondary is better still.

nope, that wasn't my expensive maple kick. my in-laws own a sugar bush in VT so i have access to a lot of maple syrup. any such kick i would go in wouldn't be too expensive for me (yes, i married up - in a lot of ways). some day i'd like to brew several batch of maple beer and compare different addition times, but for now i have too many other recipes that keep nudging their way into my schedule.

another thing i'd like to do is make a beer using maple sap instead of water. papazian describes this in The Complete Joy, and since I can... i should! accepting advance trade offers now...

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There was a brewery in Quebec that used maple sap instead of water in one of their beer. It had no noticeable effect (and was probably just a gimmick). Maple sap plus low grade maple syrup might be more appropriate.

I've done better with adding maple syrup at KO than in the secondary. I've picked up diacetyl in the secondary when using maple syrup. Also talked to Coalition Brewing in Portland OR and the head brewer said the same thing.

MC

KO = kick off = flame out?

KO = knockout, when you turn the heat off the kettle... AKA flame-out.

Thanks for the info. Since this is going in a keg, I'm going to try it at flame out. Any advice on how much to use, its going in a porter.

I did a lot of research and experimentation with maple, since i'm a huuuuge fan of it. Here's what I find

First good to know, there is LACTIC acid in small amount in maple syrup. NOT good in your beer, so you want to pasteurize it before.

-10m at the end of boil. Don't need to pasteurize. Flavor will fly away but you'll get a woodsy is used in good amount, and a lot of fermentable sugar

-Flame out. More flavor will stay, but you should pasteurize it before, or keep your wort hot but under boiling temp for a few minutes (around 80°C for 10-15 minutes)

-Secondary. Same thing, pasteurize it. Unless your yeast is tired, all fermentable sugar will be transformed, juste like if you had add it to flame out. However, it looks like a bit more flavor came out.

-Bottling. Candy flavor is more present, if you want to have a maple tasting beer, you should bottle with maple, and probably at some at secondary too.

-I made mead with up to 20-25% of maple syrup. (Water, clover honey, maple syrup, yeast, that's all) It turned out really great, the candy maple flavor is present, intact, awesome.

-I used different proportion of maple added to the end of the boil.
around 5% of the grain bill, nothing on the tasting note, but add color and more sugar.
around 10%, woodsy flavor, nice color
Around 15%, I'll tell you when I try!