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The sap is running and it's boiling away on the high tech evaporator, so I'm looking for a good Maple Beer recipe.

I'm looking for sap; where'd you get yours? We're working on a recipe (likely a brown).

Man, you got things happening out there. I think the general consensus is to use the heavier 'b' grade stuff to maintain some maple flavour. A little fenugreek may help, and if you plan to use any simple sugar, try some jaggery.

KMcK wrote:I'm looking for sap; where'd you get yours? We're working on a recipe (likely a brown).

We have about 25 trees tapped in our 'backyard'. They don't have to be sugar maple. Ours are red maple and produce just as much sap although the sugar content is usually lower. It takes 40-50 litres to get 1 litre of syrup.

KMcK wrote:I'm looking for sap; where'd you get yours? We're working on a recipe (likely a brown).

After a bad start to the season, a lot of the producers around here are saying its going to be a great season - heading back out this weekend, I'll see what I can find.

As for the OP - I've done a maple sap beer using 8lb 2row, 1lb carapils, 1lb biscuit and 1lb maple sugar. I was hoping the biscuit would give me a pancake-y like effect - if I ever do it again, I'd up the biscuit to about 15% and add some light crystal.

I'd try cooking that sap right down, take it further than the standard 68 brix to caramelize as much as possible. And definitely grab some fenugreek seeds for an added Aunt Jamima boost. I've made some good maple beer, the best was made with ~6 yr old syrup that had completely crystallized.

How much fenugreek?

KMcK wrote:How much fenugreek?

I used 10 - 12g per 5 gallons with very nice results, I can't say if it will scale perfectly or not. I threw these numbers at some of the homebrewers around here last year and I 'think' they reported not being able to taste it much, this might be totally dependent on the freshness/quality of the seeds. Maybe one of them will chime in. I did taste one of them that was really quite nice with a hint of maple flavour.

The recipe went something like this:

OG: 1.048 - 1.050
15 - 18 IBUs
Colour - 10 srm
American Ale II
Mash @ 150F

10 - 12g fenugreek seeds whole, last 20 - 25 mins of the boil

% Malt
88.6 Pale Malt (2-row)
4.4 Crystal 150L
4.1 Kiln Amber
2.9 Melanoidin Malt

Upped the water salts a little with CaCl for a full mouthfeel.

Added about 40 - 50ml b grade syrup to the keg of finished beer to taste

Note that this last step is for kegged beer only, kept cold so the syrup wouldn't ferment out. The syrup is nearly 100% fermentable and won't really leave much flavour if any after fermentation.

I used 1 tsp per 5 gallon in my jaggery pale ale. It was there, but slightly. The seeds had a medium crush as well, finer may have been better.

mr x wrote:I used 1 tsp per 5 gallon in my jaggery pale ale. It was there, but slightly. The seeds had a medium crush as well, finer may have been better.

I tested the funugreek seeds cracked and un-cracked, boiled 5 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins, 20 mins, 25 mins etc etc. Yes it was a fun evening. When I was all done my testing in the lab (kitchen), I had full flavour extraction after a 20 min boil with un-cracked seeds, with no harsh character coming out at all. They are hard as hell, tough to grind or crack so it was nice they didn't need to be, cracked version released full flavour a little quicker but since the wort is boiling for an hr or more anyways....

lol, that's an evening for the books. I forgot to mention, I only added my spices to the kegged beer, not the kettle.

mr x wrote:lol, that's an evening for the books. I forgot to mention, I only added my spices to the kegged beer, not the kettle.

Ohhhh, yeah geez best to grind them I'd say, unless you have a few months to steep them. Those things are almost like rocks!

Nash,

I've read on Probrewer about a number of brewers filtering off the yeast and then racking directly onto grade B syrup, to avoid loss of flavour/aroma to fermentation. Thoughts? (I inherited an old buon vino mini jet filter from my my girlfriend's grandparents, and have been looking for an excuse to use it!)

jason.loxton wrote:Nash,

I've read on Probrewer about a number of brewers filtering off the yeast and then racking directly onto grade B syrup, to avoid loss of flavour/aroma to fermentation. Thoughts? (I inherited an old buon vino mini jet filter from my my girlfriend's grandparents, and have been looking for an excuse to use it!)

No need to filter if you keg and keep it cold, same idea. Filters are evil!

LiverDance has the exact details, but last year we did two maple porters (and are doing another one this weekend). The first used a small amount of syrup fresh from the shack in the primary, as well as fenugreek in the boil. For the second, I went off the reservation, and used 500mL in the primary, and then another 500mL in the secondary (per 5gal), no fenugreek. Wanted the extra ABV as well as the aroma/sweetness. It was nicknamed Satan's Porter, and it felled many a man (and woman). I'm hoping LD will let me try and reproduce this one on the weekend. I like the idea of taking it down even further to get some caramelization.

The aformentioned Porter! Very Good Stuff.



Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 40.00 L
Boil Size: 52.03 L
Boil Time: 90 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00


Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
9.80 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 68.44 %
1.25 kg Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 8.71 %
0.83 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 5.77 %
0.62 kg Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 4.36 %
0.42 kg Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 2.95 %
80.00 gm Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 80.7 IBU
0.70 kg Maple Syrup (35.0 SRM) Sugar 4.89 %
0.350 kg Maple Syrup (35.0 SRM) Sugar 4.89 % In the cold keg
2 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.073 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.26 %
Bitterness: 80.7 IBU Calories: 712 cal/l
Est Color: 38.2 SRM


Mash Profile

Mash Name: My Mash Total Grain Weight: 12.92 kg
60 min Step Add 36.00 L of water at 166.3 F 155.0 F
10 min Step Add 30.00 L of water at 190.5 F 170.0 F

Thanks for the recipes. I think I might give "Satan's Porter" a try and maybe add some fenugreek. I have some really dark syrup leftover from last year. It was from the last boil of the season so it has quite a strong flavour.

Where can I get some fenugreek around town?

Planet Organic
Pete's Frootique
Superstore - many of them now have a fair selection of Indian spices in an ethnic section. I saw a huge bag of fenugreek in the Quinpool store for only a few bucks.
The Indian Food store on Robie street. Great selection of spices there. He has to have it. AFAIAC, all brewers should be checking that store out - some neat stuff there. Jaggery, good coriander, palm treacle...

maltster wrote:Thanks for the recipes. I think I might give "Satan's Porter" a try and maybe add some fenugreek. I have some really dark syrup leftover from last year. It was from the last boil of the season so it has quite a strong flavour.

Where can I get some fenugreek around town?

Superstore, imported foods isle. 'Suraj' brand, 400g for $1.49