Boil maple syrup first

[buzzbromp]

If I add unopened maple syrup to a secondary, should I boil it in a bit of water to pasteurize it first? I suppose it would mix in better and pour easier as well.

On another note, when you see examples of maple syrup quantities, is it typically fluid ounces or by weight?

 

[Grinder12000]

Fluid. I hope you are not using pancake syrup which is Grade A. The lower the grade the better. Lower grades have less garbage added and more maple flavor. Just a heads up.

 

[dbreienrk1]

I would pasteurize because I'm paranoid, but I think the manufacturer would already do this. That being said, I'd still pasteurize it. In over three years of brewing I've never had an infection.

 

[mikesalvo]

When adding to the secondary, how much water should syrup be diluted in. Im thinking about adding a gallon to the seconday of a 5 gallon batch. Should I expect some fermentation to start again?

 

[dbreienrk1]

When adding to the secondary, how much water should syrup be diluted in. Im thinking about adding a gallon to the seconday of a 5 gallon batch. Should I expect some fermentation to start again?

I wouldn't dilute it at all. Fermentation will begin again, how long depends on the amount added.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Real maple syrup is made by boiling maple sap, it's already pasteurized by the process of making it. the container was pasteurized prior to filling, it's all food grade, for human consumption. Just make sure you have REAL maple syrup, not that artificially flavoured corn syrup.
Regards, GF.

 

[mikesalvo]

I wouldn't dilute it at all. Fermentation will begin again, how long depends on the amount added.

so, let ssay I add 1 gallon of Grade B to a 5 gallon secondary. I should wait until bubbling subsides to about one per minute, or 2 weeks. Then, should I prime as normal using corn sugar? Will I need to add yeast, since ive added more sugar?

 

[BillyBock]

This is what I would do:

Add syrup and mix thoroughly without aerating the beer.
Take hydro reading.
Wait one week and take another hydro reading and compare.
If you are at your target FG for the style, bottle it like normal with corn sugar.
If not at target wait another week and check again. If it doesn't change from previous week, I would bottle.

 

[mikesalvo]

nice! Thanks for the tips. Its sugaring time in vermont, and Ill have alot of syrup soon. What are some of your favorite styles that work well with maple?

 

[Fennis]

If its real maple syrup, its pasteurized or else you would just have sap. If its the fake stuff, which to me would be any syrup that has more than one ingredient listed, then spend a few extra dollars and get the real stuff, it will have much better flavor.

This year we finally decided to tap a bunch of maples on our property and make syrup. It takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. We have a very rudimentary setup, but for our first year of doing it, things went well. It reminds me a lot of brewing. You have to be very sanitary with everything, and towards the end when you are really concentrating it down, there is a hot break you have to watch for. Still, after 9 hours of boiling over a wood fire, we made the best syrup I have ever tasted, and its making me want to make a maple beer of some sort...or maybe use sap, filtered of course, instead of tap water for an extra little bit of unique flavor.

 

[k1200rsvt]

I have added the syrup with 5 to go on the boil so I can't comment on the pasteurization from experience, but my thought would be if it is fresh syrup (this or last years crop) that hasn't been previously opened you are probably fine without boiling. If not, I would lightly boil the syrup (no water added) for two - three minutes just to make sure...A scum can form if it has been open for a while and you can just skim that off with a spoon. Then allow it to cool and dump it in.

You can also use maple syrup to prime rather than corn sugar if you want when that time comes.

FWIW - Based on my experience I would say a gallon is a lot/too much syrup to add. Of course that depends on type of beer and what you are looking for, but I would do a cup to a quart the first time around. I did a Smoked Maple Amber Ale using maple sap to mash and a cup (a believe) of syrup. That would translate to about a quart of maple if you were using straight syrup and water. I was tempted to use more maple but resisted on my first batch. To me it was a little overly Maple, but others liked it.

Good luck.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I'm going to list the things I know about maple syrup in beer here.

1) Adding maple syrup to the secondary can often lead to having diacetyl in the finished product. I've experienced it first hand, and I've confirmed this with a professional brewer.

2) While it's true that the syrup is pasteurized while it's in the can, the can itself isn't. You might consider dipping briefly in boiling water.

3) Boiling maple syrup can result in maple sugar/toffee. So if you decide to boil it to pasteurize it, don't do it for long! Don't bring it to any higher temps than necessary (212F).

4) Overall, you're not going to get that much flavor from a couple pints of syrup.

5) Grade B or lower (alphabetically higher) does have more flavor but some unwanted flavors an also be present. B and lower is usually done with later-in-season sap.

MC

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Fluid. I hope you are not using pancake syrup which is Grade A. The lower the grade the better. Lower grades have less garbage added and more maple flavor. Just a heads up.

Really? I always thought higher grade letters were better. Ya learn something every day!!!

 

[k1200rsvt]

Fancy, A Medium, A Dark, B, C in order of most expensive to least.

They are all made with 100% Maple Sap and nothing else if it is pure maple syrup. As previously posted the darker syrup (less expensive) usually comes later in the season. Depending on your use most people desire Fancy. I personally like B for everything because it has more flavor.