I'm toying with the idea of making a basic brown ale recipe and adding some sort of maple flavoring. Can I just go to the store and throw in some Mrs. Butterworth at flameout? Trying to stoke the pipeline for fall!
Maple Brown Beer
- Thread starter cheezemm
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I don't see why you couldn't. It's a fermentable sugar, and as long as it's pastuerized I think you're set. The issue is that some syrups, like honey's, would have different sugar concentrations and it would be difficult to calculate OG. But you could always just toy with it and see how it turns out. I've also used brown sugar, which gives a molasses like flavor after fermention. It went really well with the cider i fermented it in.
Cold Country Brewery
Well-Known Member
No, go 100% Pure Maple Syrup. I've played around with maple syrup only twice before. The first time I primed with maple syrup, I was surprised with the amount of maple that came through. However I thought it tasted funny, almost like fake syrup. The second time I followed the direction of Charlie Papazian in his book and added the equivalent of 1 gallon of syrup in the secondary. It ended up tasting like wine. WAY too much syrup! If you do decide on something let me know what you do. There is a commercial brewery (don't remember what one) that uses a small amount of pure maple syrup and also uses maple extract. The problem is syrup is fermentable, and most flavors will ferment away.
Let us know what you decide, and how it turns out.
Let us know what you decide, and how it turns out.
YEA! What he said!
Moatengator
Member
back in the spring, March I believe, I did an extract beer, the Northern Brewer Scottish 70 (I think, I'll have to check). I added 32oz of Maple Syrup into the secondary. I came to that amount based on some reading and a conversation with the brewer at Barley Days Brewery, near Picton, Ontario. Mine turned out really well, not sweet but with a definite maple taste, a little lighter than I desired, but not enough to say double the amount. I may give 40 to 48 oz a go next spring. My biggest discovery was how few people in my supposedly sugaring area actually tapped trees and made syrup vs. just buying it and slapping their name on it.
(FWIW, it was 12 APR 2011, I used the Northern Brewer Scottish 70 schilling extract kit as the base.)
(FWIW, it was 12 APR 2011, I used the Northern Brewer Scottish 70 schilling extract kit as the base.)
smalliewader
Well-Known Member
Maybe email Tommy Knocker Brewery and pick their brain about their Maple Nut Brown. It's VERY rich. They may let you know general amounts of syrup to use and when.
Ingredients in Mrs. Butterworth’s "syrup": High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, salt, cellulose gum, molasses, potassium sorbate (preservative), sodium hexametaphosphate, citric acid, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors.
You really don't want that in your beer. Go with 100% REAL maple syrup....not anything where you can't pronounce the name. Or with Sorbate in it.
You really don't want that in your beer. Go with 100% REAL maple syrup....not anything where you can't pronounce the name. Or with Sorbate in it.
Be careful with preservatives in off the shelf products. My grandfather makes maple syrup and I may try making a brown ale with sap water. It is not very concentrated out of the tree, but still sound interesting.
cheezemm
Well-Known Member
Well, I'm not sure I like the thought of the inconsistency of the sugars/fermentables in syrup so I may pursue the maple extract. I'm thinking of doing a brown ale (newcastle type clone) with a nose of maple and maybe use some brown sugar @bottling time. What's the conversion for brown sugar for 5 gallons batches at bottling?
I think I'll call it Bro-map-a-lass-es beer.
I think I'll call it Bro-map-a-lass-es beer.
I've used Maple Syrup once before with pretty decent results. It was a 5 gallon batch and I believe I used 7oz's of PURE maple syrup. Get the good stuff. I added it to the secondary and the flavour is definitely there after 3 months of aging. It complements the beer quite well though I have to say.
Edit - 7 fluid ounces
Edit - 7 fluid ounces
hip2bsquare
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I'm thinking about doing the same exact thing...Tommyknocker Maple nut brown ale is one of my favorite beers, but I can't find it anywhere here in Alaska!
I could be wrong, but I thought the label on that beer said that they bottle the beer with pure maple syrup...It's been a long time since I had one though.
Make sure you post up with results if you do go through with it...
I could be wrong, but I thought the label on that beer said that they bottle the beer with pure maple syrup...It's been a long time since I had one though.
Make sure you post up with results if you do go through with it...
JasonToews
Well-Known Member
i made a maple wheat ale that turned out amazing, I used maple syrup during boil and at bottling.
I have some homemade Maple Syrup that we made this past spring. And I'm about to start a pumpkin ale, I've read some places these might compliment each other. So my question is, should I bottle my beer with the Maple Syrup, or should i add it to the brew. I'm thinking in order to get any flavor to carry to the finished product bottling with the syrup may be my best bet.
I would bottle with it.
I give detailed info on priming with alternative primers including fruit juice (including the link to the podcast,) and other sugars in my bottling stickey- Scroll to the lower half of this post.
Alternative priming sugars, or flavoring your priming solution are great ways to add another level of flavor to your beers. Especially something dark like a syrup, or brown sugar, after the sugar ferments you will get a lingering taste of the flavor.
Ya, what they said. And don't add it until the end of the boil or some of the flavor will be lost. I've also read of it being heated to 170 for 5 minutes and added a week into the fermentation especially if you are starting with a high gravity.
