[rickaa09]

I am thinking of trying to brew with some pure maple syrup. I am not sure how much I should add and the best time to add. I am thinking I should add it at flame-out and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to pasteurize it like I would with honey. Also, I am not sure if I should add 8 oz or 16 oz of maple syrup. I want a noticeable but not overpowering Maple flavor in my beer; one that seems to come on in the aftertaste. When I made a honey cream ale from a kit, I used a pound of honey and it wasn't bad on the flavor but it was a little on the sweet side.

I am thinking of making this as a cream ale also, but from all grain using 6 row and some 2 row along with maize. Also not sure about hop additions. Should I just go for bitterness addition only or add a wee amount of flavoring also. I thinking of Mt. Hood hops.

Any advice on this would greatly be appreciated.

[EHall]

with such a light flavored beer, I'd say use .5# and add around 5-10m. Mt Hood is a good choice for bittering... but again with this style if I added anything for flavor I'd prob go with something on the citrusy side and not much. Me personally, I think that those citrus flavors go well with maple but they aren't appropriate in this beer if you're looking to do it to style...

[akr71]

I would add it in the secondary - too much of it will ferment out otherwise, leaving very little maple flavor.

[rickaa09]

I have a couple questions pertaining to adding it to the secondary:

Will I need to "Pasteurize the maple syrup like I would honey? When I made a honey cream ale, I added the honey at flame out and let it sit for about 10 minutes before chilling the wort. That kind of pasteurized the honey. And since honey is not 100% fermentable I still retained some honey flavor and sweetness.

Will it start a secondary fermentation because maple syrup is 100% fermentable sugar?

[morticaixavier]

I would add it in the secondary - too much of it will ferment out otherwise, leaving very little maple flavor.

SO I am planning a maple barley wine and I was thinking about this when to add issue. When maple syrup is made it is boiled for a LONG time. so I don't imagine more boilding would matter at all. I also wonder if you would lose flavor/aroma to CO2. I don't know just wondering. Given that any remainng flavors are obviously pretty stable would you lose anything to the scrubbing effects of CO2?

[tschmidlin]

The maple beers I've had always have very subtle maple flavor, and some used more than 1# in 5 gallons.  I don't know the full recipes though, so it might come through in yours.

[akr71]

I would add it in the secondary - too much of it will ferment out otherwise, leaving very little maple flavor.

SO I am planning a maple barley wine and I was thinking about this when to add issue. When maple syrup is made it is boiled for a LONG time. so I don't imagine more boilding would matter at all. I also wonder if you would lose flavor/aroma to CO2. I don't know just wondering. Given that any remainng flavors are obviously pretty stable would you lose anything to the scrubbing effects of CO2?

I wasn't concerned about the boil so much as the sugars fermenting out, like honey.  If you add it early, you are essentially giving the beer a gravity boost, but run the risk of not retaining much of the flavor as it ferments out.

I have a couple questions pertaining to adding it to the secondary:

Will I need to "Pasteurize the maple syrup like I would honey? When I made a honey cream ale, I added the honey at flame out and let it sit for about 10 minutes before chilling the wort. That kind of pasteurized the honey. And since honey is not 100% fermentable I still retained some honey flavor and sweetness.

Will it start a secondary fermentation because maple syrup is 100% fermentable sugar?

hmm, if pasteurizing makes you feel more comfortable,  I say go for t it.  If you are bottling (not kegging and force carbing), you may want to add late in the boil or sometime in primary, so that you don't create bottle bombs.  I've primed with maple syrup and still had some hint of maple.

Having said all that, the only maple beer I've enjoyed was one made that substituted maple sap for water (& primed with syrup).  Commercial exapmles have been way too cloyingly sweet to me and ended up being poured down the drain.

[denny]

FWIW, the best maple beers I've had use extract instead of syrup.  The flavor remains better and it's easier to control the dosage.

[morticaixavier]

I am not speaking from personal experience of maple beers here but from many years of eating maple syrup I can also add that I wouild look for grade B dark amber syrup for these purposes (Or for any purposes for that matter). the grading system for maple syrup was designed at a time when the desirable characteristics of a maple syrup with mild maple flavor and color so that it could be used as a sugar substitute. So any syrup that had a strong maple flavor or color was denagrated as Grade B. in my opinion grade B is much better.

[drtanglebones]

I have access to grade B syrup and this is really the way to go.  The darker color comes through and more of the maple flavor is retained.  Even with this, maple flavor from syrup is very hard to do right.  The syrup is nearly 100% fermentable so doesn't leave much sweetness and can actually dry out your beer, like adding cane sugar.  I usually use 1# in a 5 gallon batch, but results are still subtle.  I have learned to use a pretty sweet and malty base beer style to accentuate the maple flavors--Scottish ales have been my most successful to date.

[denny]

Even with this, maple flavor from syrup is very hard to do right.  The syrup is nearly 100% fermentable so doesn't leave much sweetness and can actually dry out your beer, like adding cane sugar.

Which is why it works much better to use maple extract.

[morticaixavier]

Even with this, maple flavor from syrup is very hard to do right.  The syrup is nearly 100% fermentable so doesn't leave much sweetness and can actually dry out your beer, like adding cane sugar.

Which is why it works much better to use maple extract.

As long as it's natural maple extract that is probably fine! I have an aversion to using things I couldn't easily make myself though.

[1vertical]

FWIW, the best maple beers I've had use extract instead of syrup.  The flavor remains better and it's easier to control the dosage.

+1 Denny and FWIW in my experience you could wind up with some pronounced sherry flavors in the end.