Maple mead

[newguy29]

Has anyone made any before if so are there any pointers. How long does maple mead take before its good and ready. I'm doing a gallon batch and it's my first fermentation ever!!!!!!I used 1 quart pure upstate New York grade b maple syrup. 3 quarts water. Lavlin d47. And some raisins for the nutrients. How many time should I rack this. Or what else should/could to make this better. Please help. Any advice or experience is appreciated.

 

[HawleyFarms]

Haven't tried a pure acer yet, but I made a black raspberry acerglyn (75% maple, 25% honey) that took about 1.5 years to get awesome. Getting ready to do another batch this weekend so that I can send some out to competitions next year.

 

[newguy29]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1452734563.445078.jpg

 

[newguy29]

@hawleyfarms. How did you brew your first batch what kind of honey what kind of syrup which grade? What kind of yeast. And how bout on this second batch what are you using for it?

 

[fuelish]

... I used 1 quart pure upstate New York grade b maple syrup. 3 quarts water. Lavlin d47. And some raisins for the nutrients...

No honey??? It ain't mead, just sayin'.....

 

[newguy29]

No honey??? It ain't mead, just sayin'.....

So is this an "acerglyn"

 

[newguy29]

No honey??? It ain't mead, just sayin'.....

So is this an "acerglyn"

 

[BGBC]

I think technically an acerglyn still requires some honey. 100% maple would be a maple wine I guess.

 

[BGBC]

Whatever it's called, rack it after primary fermentation has stopped. Then rack it every 60 days or so if you're seeing visible lees on the bottom until it's clear.

Did you measure your original gravity (OG)?

 

[newguy29]

No I did not my hydrometer will be here tom.

 

[newguy29]

I've read some things that say I should stir everyday and others say don't.

 

[BGBC]

Here's a summary of my schedule/approach for meads, using a staggered nutrient addition. You can look up more details on SNA if you want, as some get more scientific about timings based on the fermentation profile:
- Aerate and add some nutrient Day 0
- Degas/aerate (vigorous stirring) and add more nutrient at 24 hours
- Degas (mild stirring) and add more nutrient at 48 hours
- Degas and add final nutrient at 1 week

After 1 week, I don't touch it other than to rack or bottle.

 

[newguy29]

Ok nutrient should I get

 

[BGBC]

You want a mix of energizer (Fermaid-K is one example) and nutrient (DAP, or diammonium phosphate). A total of one teaspoon of Fermaid-K and two teaspoons DAP is sufficient for a 5 gallon batch (so divide by 5 in your case). Then divide that up over the 4 additions.

You can find plenty of information if you look up staggered nutrient additions for mead. Here is one article: AHA SNA Article

Your maple wine will ferment without this nutrient addition, but including it in your fermentation should lead to a cleaner fermentation that will be more enjoyable earlier (months vs years, potentially).

 

[HawleyFarms]

No honey??? It ain't mead, just sayin'.....

Agreed fuelish. I've heard the terms "maple wine" and "acer". To be a true acerglyn definitely needs honey.

 

[HawleyFarms]

@hawleyfarms. How did you brew your first batch what kind of honey what kind of syrup which grade? What kind of yeast. And how bout on this second batch what are you using for it?

My first acerglyn experience was using white clover honey and Grade B maple syrup that we make ourselves.

Got a half gallon of water boiling, turned the burner off and added the honey, fresh black raspberry juice and centennial hops. Let sit for about 20 minutes. Strained hops. Added the maple syrup and cooled. Topped off with spring water. I think it ended up around 1.06 or 1.07 Pitched US-05. Racked when it was bone dry. Cleared for a month and bottled.

Wasn't going for the flavor or aromatics from the honey, was mainly interested in what the juice and maple would lend to it. This is the reason I added the honey to the just boiled water. Also kept the gravity low for the same reason.

Was disappointed with it when I tried it around 6 months. But now it is amazing. I guess it's only about a year old. Will just get better with some more time.

 

[newguy29]

My first acerglyn experience was using white clover honey and Grade B maple syrup that we make ourselves.

Got a half gallon of water boiling, turned the burner off and added the honey, fresh black raspberry juice and centennial hops. Let sit for about 20 minutes. Strained hops. Added the maple syrup and cooled. Topped off with spring water. I think it ended up around 1.06 or 1.07 Pitched US-05. Racked when it was bone dry. Cleared for a month and bottled.

Wasn't going for the flavor or aromatics from the honey, was mainly interested in what the juice and maple would lend to it. This is the reason I added the honey to the just boiled water. Also kept the gravity low for the same reason.

Was disappointed with it when I tried it around 6 months. But now it is amazing. I guess it's only about a year old. Will just get better with some more time.

What was the reason for the hops?
Idk if you saw my picture but I did not top off my car boy with spring water should I have?

 

[HawleyFarms]

Added the centennial hops to see how they played with the black raspberry. That and I was making a lot of hopped ciders and meads at the time.

Just to lower the OG. Wasn't looking for anything strong. Personal preference really.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

How much syrup did you use per gallon?

 

[newguy29]

How much syrup did you use per gallon?

I just did a quart of syrup and 3 qt of spring water. This is a test run going to see how this goes and what I need to change. And then I will do a bigger batch.

 

[newguy29]

How much syrup did you use per gallon?

I just used a qt of maple syrup and 3 qt of spring water. Just gallon start batch.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

It sounds interesting. I may make up a test batch of this in the future, with an additional pound of honey. That way it will be an Acer and Abbaye Belgian Ale Yeast...