Maple Wine (Simple)

[cujocon]

I was given a large amount of delicious Grade B dark maple syrup.
I decided to experiment...

1/2 gallon growler w/ airlock
2parts warm Water (around 5 cups)
1part Maple Syrup (around 2.5 cups)
1/2 tsp Yeast Nutrient
1 Packet Lalvin D47
Shook all up to mix before adding yeast.

Initial gravity 1.106
Did this yesterday...will update as time progresses.

 

[bernardsmith]

I have never made maple wine. What does it taste like when all the sugar has fermented out? Will it not taste very "sap"-like?

 

[CorporateHippie]

Holy gravity batman.....

 

[Nogud247]

I can't imagine it will ferment all the way at that og but I maybe wrong

 

[bernardsmith]

I can't imagine it will ferment all the way at that og but I maybe wrong

D47 is fine to 14% (see- http://www.lalvinyeast.com/images/library/ICV-D47_Yeast.pdf) and the potential ABV here is a hair under that so there is no reason why the yeast would not ferment out all the sugars

 

[Nogud247]

D47 is fine to 14% (see- http://www.lalvinyeast.com/images/library/ICV-D47_Yeast.pdf) and the potential ABV here is a hair under that so there is no reason why the yeast would not ferment out all the sugars

Then it should taste very interesting indeed. Now I'm really curious.

 

[cujocon]

Looked in on it this morning...the D47 is ripping through it.
I honestly have 0 idea what this will taste like when finished.
My plan is to let it go for 2 weeks as is, rack to a fresh growler and let it sit a while longer.

Question -
Does it make sense to give it another shot of Yeast Nutrient at any point?
I am stretching the boundaries of the yeast.

 

[Nogud247]

http://hbd.org/brewery/cm3/recs/10_25.html

 

[Nogud247]

From what they say it's awesome. I'm willing to sample for you. You know..for science.

 

[solbes]

Interesting. That gravity does seem awful high for wine (1.106 - 0.990 = 15.2%). I am assuming it would ferment all the way dry if conditions were right. You did pitch a lot of yeast with 1 packet in 1/2 gallon so it may just get there. I would imagine it would taste good, but have a strong alcohol burn until it ages out. But maybe maple syrup is not 100% fermentable, so it finishes higher.

The concept sounds cool. If it works out would you make a larger batch, maybe diluted a little more?

 

[cujocon]

The dilemna -
If it tastes good - well I only have 1/2 gallon...and at store prices that 1/2 gallon would cost around $20 in syrup alone.
To ramp up to a full 5 gallon batch would cost over $100 (gallon prices) ! It would have to be pretty damn delicious to justify that price point.

If it tasted bad - I'm out the syrup and a month or two of waiting and no delicious new drink.

I should have stuck to the rice wine - that is almost free and tasty every time.

 

[bernardsmith]

Interesting. That gravity does seem awful high for wine (1.106 - 0.990 = 15.2%). I am assuming it would ferment all the way dry if conditions were right. You did pitch a lot of yeast with 1 packet in 1/2 gallon so it may just get there. I would imagine it would taste good, but have a strong alcohol burn until it ages out. But maybe maple syrup is not 100% fermentable, so it finishes higher.

The concept sounds cool. If it works out would you make a larger batch, maybe diluted a little more?

High perhaps for a fruit wine but often meads start off with a gravity way up there and above...

 

[Nogud247]

The dilemna -
If it tastes good - well I only have 1/2 gallon...and at store prices that 1/2 gallon would cost around $20 in syrup alone.
To ramp up to a full 5 gallon batch would cost over $100 (gallon prices) ! It would have to be pretty damn delicious to justify that price point.

If it tasted bad - I'm out the syrup and a month or two of waiting and no delicious new drink.

I should have stuck to the rice wine - that is almost free and tasty every time.

I've found lots of info on the google after you posted this that make it seems amazing. You may want to add a little acid blend but other than that seems good. If nothing else it's a good experiment for you. Rice wine is cheap and fast so no reason you can't do that while waiting for this.

 

[cujocon]

Holy damn, I tasted this quick yesterday and it is ON POINT.
There is close to no sweetness left but the maple flavor balances the alcohol heat perfectly.
I haven't taken a hydrometer reading yet but I'm guessing it is right at that 13-14% mark
This is a definite winner.
Starting the next batch this weekend.

 

[cujocon]

I bottled yesterday after almost exactly 1 month - at the two week point I did end up adding another 1/4 tsp Yeast Nutrient btw.
The clarity isn't great, it looks a bit like rootbeer or saparilla.
The final hydrometer reading was 0.990 so 1.106 - 0.990 = 15.2%

I'll let this sit in the bottles for a few months to see if it mellows at all.
Overall though, I'm really happy with it.

 

[TexasWine]

I bottled yesterday after almost exactly 1 month - at the two week point I did end up adding another 1/4 tsp Yeast Nutrient btw.
The clarity isn't great, it looks a bit like rootbeer or saparilla.
The final hydrometer reading was 0.990 so 1.106 - 0.990 = 15.2%

I'll let this sit in the bottles for a few months to see if it mellows at all.
Overall though, I'm really happy with it.

Interesting stuff. Thanks for putting this out there for public consumption.

Concerning the nutrient additions, read up on stagered nutrient additions. You're running the risk of being able to taste the nutrient given how late you added it.

 

[cujocon]

Thanks for that info - The yeast had slowed and there was still a lot of conversion to be done, so I took a risk.
What off-flavor should I be looking for?

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

This sounds awesome...if maple syrup wasn't so expensive I'd give this a go right meow.
Thanks for sharing!
Any pics?

 

[TexasWine]

Thanks for that info - The yeast had slowed and there was still a lot of conversion to be done, so I took a risk.
What off-flavor should I be looking for?

Never tasted it myself, but I've heard DAP can taste like salt. Not sure about the other types of nutrients.

 

[cujocon]

Photo of finished maple.

 

[punkrawkgeek]

I am kind of interested in this... I may have to put on a gallon of this and see what happens. I have a mead going right now. Why not maple wine?! Heh. Thanks!

 

[cujocon]

turns out it tastes great in a white russian in place of 1 part vodka...or in addition to