Re: Maple Syrup

Phil <dogglebe@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"nickstrachan" <nickajstrachan@xxxxxxx> wrote:

I have been fooling around with the idea of making an ale with a slight
maple flavor as well as a smokey undertone...The syrup is homemade if
that makes a difference, but i'd think it would be as near sterile as
store bought due to the rigorous boiling and reducing of the maple
sap...

A great idea is to take 16 oz of existing ale, add 1/4 tsp of Maple
Syrup to it, and see how you like the taste. You can add a little
more as you go along as long as you refill with ale between drinks.
This is call research and is an excellent excuse for drink a gallon
or more, but it only works on gullible women.

1.) when to add? Do I add to wort as an adjunct and adjust accordingly?

I always add my flavoring (whether natural or not) in the secondary.
The primary fermentation tends to scrub some of the flavor away.

Absolutely agree!

2.) Can/Should it be used as Primer for bottling or would the amount
that id be forced to use result in an overpowering maple prescemce?

Don't prime it this way, unless you know exactly how much to add.

Keep this in mind:
Honey ............. 79.6% of the affect of Sugar
Maple Syrup ...... 66.7% of the affect of Sugar
And that may be Table Sugar as opposed to Priming Sugar someone
else will have to tell you which and, thus, you may need an
additional computation.

This means you have to add 50% more Maple Syrup. The process for
priming sugar is to boil it in water (obviously), added it to the
bottleing bucket, and stir it in before bottling. Keep in mind
that 'Sugar Water' is a mixture and not a combination. Unless some
knowledgeable person tells me different, I don't see 'Maple Syrup
Water' as being a mixture. Therefore, I question it's absorption
into the ale in the bottling bucket and, thus, it's effectiveness
as a substitute for priming sugar. But since I never tried it,
I'm speculating.

You could do a per bottle addition. However, I am a Founding
Member of the Anti-Manual Labor Society and that's sounds like
a lot of detailed scut work labor to me. You might try it on
a few bottles to test results - another research project.

Please keep us aware of your research.

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