GF Maple Beer Recipe Idea

[Wooden]

Hey guys,

So I am looking to make a GF "maple beer" for 2 reasons:

1) I make maple syrup, and I have an abundance of syrup/sap, and buckets.
2) partially boiled down sap tastes amazing (think flat cream soda, except without artificial crap)
3) I have several GF friends/family members, who also dig stuff that has unusual natural local ingredients

Here is my idea. I plugged the following "recipe" into Brewersfriend (hops to be dealt with later)

Estimated O.G.: 1.055*
Estimated F.G. : 1.019
ABV: 4.73%

1 Gal - Maple Syrup:
(in reality this will be sap boiled down to an equivalent gravity, which will also be the brew water)

1 pound - Maltodextrin
(for mouthfeel/body)

(Now, could I just stop here? Or would it be really nasty without some adjuncts/grains):

Grains/other stuff (total guesses)
1.5 pound - flaked rice
8 oz - rice hulls
6 oz - Buckwheat Malt GF

Hops: TBD. I think I would go for IBU's of about 20-30 or so.

Also, I have A.G. Equipment and can mash. Will need more research and advice on how to mash or steep these grains that but want to figure out a viable recipe first!

Perhaps I should incorporate sorghum, or some other adjuncts/different amounts but I have been hesitant to do so because I have heard it can contribute a kind of odd sour flavor. Millet I might consider also!

Let me know your thoughts!

Cheers!

Wooden

 

[glutarded-chris]

What size batch will this be?

 

[Wooden]

What size batch will this be?

I put it in to the software for 5 gal.
As I figured that would be the assumption of most people anyway.

In reality I may just do a 3 gal batch and adjust accordingly.

Right now I am knee deep in sap.

Was thinking of maybe doing something belgian-y (I did a regular beer like this recently, but without nearly as much emphasis on the maple; just used minimally boiled sap as the brew water) but it's still in the primary, so not sure how it's turning out.

Though it would be good to see how that is coming along, with sap it's a short window of time, so I figure gather as much info as I can and go for it, or wait til next year :-(

Cheers,

Wooden

 

[glutarded-chris]

If I understand correctly, you are using naturally diluted maple syrup as your boil water. One pound of maltodextrin in a 5 gallon batch would add 8 gravity points. So with only maple syrup and maltodextrin as gravity contributors on a 5 gallon batch you would essentially be using a little over 5 pounds of maple syrup sugar. Not sure if that would behave more like a mead than a beer. You might want to look at the mead forum and see if there is something you can take from that.

Sounds really interesting! If you only have a small window, you could consider several one gallon test batches rather than one large one. You could test factors like adjuncts, gravity level, hops etc.

 

[Wooden]

What do you think of the idea of adding rice flakes/rice hulls and/or malted buckwheat to it?

I like the idea of using rice because it is somewhat easy to find and I would suspect would add a few more non-feementable sugars and is a pretty common beer ingredient anyway.

I would expect it to be a little more straightforward for mashing.

I like the idea of using Buckwheat also, cuz I dig buckwheat pancakes. I would maybe steep that if I can't find more info on how it should be mashed. I would probably go with a normal mash temp like 152.

I do have some 1 gal jugs so might just have to do that.

Wooden

 

[glutarded-chris]

For partial or all grain, a lot of us use buckwheat for head retention, but honestly, I don't think it adds that much flavor. I use about 10% to 15% buckwheat in my grain mix.

I have not used rice flakes, but have used malted rice. Rice hulls are usually used for filtration only and add no fermentable content. If you are steeping grain for flavor and character, then I would consider Eckart rice malts. I think that millet is best as a base malt in the mash, and rice is best for the roasted malts.

Honestly, I suspect you are breaking fresh ground fermenting with "raw" maple syrup as a base. I don't have any experience that would be much value to you. You could really end up with something unique. I am thinking you could end up with a super flavorful brew that might be a good "desert beer" in small quantities. Would probably have to be high gravity and high alcohol content though.

For one of your versions, you might also consider a more traditional base but flavored with some maple syrup "sap water" in the boil for flavor and character. There are other posts on the forum for a good base and then add your maple syrup to contribute 5 to 10 gravity points to the final pitching volume.