Best way to get maple flavor?

I paid a preposterous amount of money for a gallon of Grade C maple syrup. I will be adding 1/4 to 1/2 of a gallon (someone want to chime in?) to a coffee stout in secondary. I have no idea if this will work, but that's my plan. any advice would be great as well!

 

@GormBrewhouse

 

that's for a 5ish gallon batch btw...

 

This topic comes up occasionally here, and there does not seem to be a consensus for the best way. Here is a link to a search that I did of this forum that might give you some direction. Enjoy the reading. https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/search/38939714/?q=maple&o=date&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=8

 

A local brewery here. God it was awful (overdone, IMHO).

 

For me, it was the following:

• Make a style where heavy use of an adjunct is acceptable, but some sweetness is expected (BSDA/Quad or Imperial Stout is great)
• Use "Grade B" maple syrup
• Use a hefty amount of mid-range crystal malts to retain sweetness and enhance boiled sugar characteristics
• Use a bit of fenugreek at some point in the process (I like making a fenugreek tincture with bourbon and adding it to taste at bottling)
• Use maple sugar at bottling

 

What was overdone about it? Everything I've read is that it's really really hard to get that much maple flavor in a beer. Love to know the process to "overdo" it as it would be pretty easy to scale it back or bump the roast up to balance the sweetness

 

I make my own maple syrup and prefer using old grade b or cooking syrup. Grade b will fetch 35-50 dollars a gallon around here from good producers with 42 being average.

Currently I am making the smoked magik which is a smoked stout with coffee and maple syrup.

After the primary ferment is done I rack to the secondary adding 1 cup of syrup, no more than 2 unless you want pancake fluid. Make sure you are using a good yeast that can process more sugar after the primary. After the secondary ferment has slowed,I add anywheres from a half oz to 2 oz of coarsely ground coffee beans.
Rack and bottle after a week or so.

Another way to add maple flavor is to age your beer on maple wood. I use hard maple, around 4 oz per 5 gallons, and let it sit for a week to 3. I make my own wood products so if you need to get some sugar maple wood. And dry it in the oven at 275-300 but do not burn it, just a very light tan color. Maple flavor without additional sugar.


Hope this helps this helps

 

@GormBrewhouse you are definitely an expert around here compared to my constant, obvious questions. I appreciate it. I've seen a lot of posts that say maple in secondary is going to dry the beer out, and not give much sweetness or maple flavor. Your posts give me hope (add less syrup, it will be too sweet otherwise) that I can make a great maple stout. Do you think it's something as simple as the fact that you're using a darker, more robust syrup? In which case I think I'll get some good results from the (old grade) grade C syrup I bought.

Finally, when you say "pancake fluid" I want to make sure we're on the same page. I'm hoping to make a "maple bomb" a la good morning or MBCP (no bacon for now though) I was just curious if you're able to reference a commercial brew's "mapliness" if that makes sense.

Thanks!!

 

Fenugreek. Go easy on it. It is powerful.

 

I have made multiple brews that replace some of the water with sap. This is easy to accomplish where I live, not sure how easy it would be for you.

My first try was trying to somewhat copy Lawson's Maple Tripple Ale. This brew uses only sap, no H20.

There was definitely a strong maple characteristic to my final products and the most I did was sub 50% of the water for sap.

I don't think this is feasible if you don't have your own maple trees to tap, but if you know someone who makes their own syrup it shouldn't be too hard to get a few gallons of sap.

 

Never drank mbcp or good morning. What I mean when I say pancake fluid is an overly sweet/ syrupy beer that also tastes and smells lightly of maple as compared to maple syrup.

Darker grades have more maple flavor than the lighter grades.

I know folks make syrup in your state so if possible, go around in the sugerin season looking for sugar houses steaming away.
Knock on the door and see if they are selling. Usually ou can get a better price at the sugar house then a gift store or one of those industrial syrup sites, and the product can be tasted as they are making it, or at least up here you can.

I've also heard the smaller producers like cash so go prePared.

Maple wood ,as mentioned above, will boost the maple flavor as well. PM me if you like.

 

I have struggle with this and it is something I want. I highly suggest NOT using extract, it does not taste the same.

I used a gallon of dark syrup, mostly grade c and some b recently. Put some in the boil, but most in secondary in two stages, and then a small amount at bottling. End result was a super sweet beer that is almost too sweet.

Never thought of the maple wood route. Might try that next time. I feel that one would have to make a light beer to actually allow the maple to come through from just syrup.

 

I guess Clark revealed the maple process for MD at the last release. Sounds like they reduce the syrup a ton over a wood fire which adds a bit of smoke. Not sure when they add it but would assume in secondary. I cousin be wrong but I believe I've heard them say they also add the syrup "like they add hops". What if you added it at every available opportunity? Mash, boil, whirl, ferm, secondary? Probably dry it out way too much. Wonder if anyone has ever degassed any MD to see what the gravity is?

 

No I guess I should of elaborated ore on my latest go at this. All my additions in secondary did was get higher ABV with little to no flavor. Perhaps adding it like it were hops would helps some, but I think if they say the reduce it was down then that is probably part of it.

 

Not sure reducing down would help much... I mean, maple syrup itself is already reduced quite a bit (40:1). How much more would you go?

I can see the whole smoking thing for flavor, but as far as making the syrup more intense? Not sure I buy that.

For the intense maple, I would bet there are other additions being utilized (such as fenugreek, pure extracts, etc...) along with the maple syrup.