After reading in the article about Lawson's in last month's BA Ive been thinking about brewing a triple without water and instead using maple sap. Anyone else tried this, any tips/feedback would be appreciated.
I've never tried it myself because I've heard that it adds very little if any maple flavor. I have been thinking about brewing a brown ale this spring with half reduced maple sap to see if I can get any maple flavor that way. I have a huge sugar maple in my yard that I have been tapping for the past three years. It yields about 50 gallons of sap from three taps which yields about 10 pints of syrup.
I assume the article was about their Maple Tripple? If so that's a fantastic beer and the maple syrup does come through in a big way and supposedly there are no other special additions (sugars, maple syrup, etc.) I've also heard the above that brewing with sap doesn't do much for the beer, so I have no idea how he does it.
If Maple Sap is just Maple Syrup before all of the water is boiled off, wouldn't using Maple Syrup + regular brewing water yield more or less identical results? Besides, if you do all grain, I'd be concerned with how the chemical make-up of Maple Sap would effect the enzymes during a mash.
Not sure about the all grain part, but if you use sap instead of water it's going to be different from water+ syrup, because much of the flavor of syrup comes from the caramelization of the sugars while it's being boiled down. Maple tripple is amazing btw, most maple I've tasted in a beer for sure.
Came across this for those interested: http://vermonthomebrew.com/using-maple-sap-syrup-homebrewed-beer http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...er-makers-bring-back-old-time-maple-sap-brews
But wouldn't the caramelization process only intensify the maple flavor? This sounds like an interesting experiment. I wish I had access to maple sap. I'd love to try a beer with Maple Sap instead of water, then try a beer with water and the concentrated equivalent of Maple Syrup and see what the results are.
Interested in reading about the results of your experiment. I would be concerned that much of flavor would be lost in the boil, and that a later use of sap or syrup would yield more of the maple flavors. BUT, I've never tried it so what do I know? I've only used maple syrup at bottling time for a Porter with good results. Experiment away, that is one of the great things about homebrewing.
I've tasted raw maple sap when I used to age trees for the US Forest Service. Basically, we cored trees and counted rings in the extracted core back in the lab. Depending on the time of year we did it, some sap would flow out when we extracted the core, and I couldn't resist tasting. It is, of course, less intense in sweetness than syrup, but I suspect that it also lacks a flavor element related to caramelization and Malliard-like reactions. I recently made my own candi-sugar syrup using one of the various approaches described on-line (ryane's) and I was astonished at how the taste of my product resembled pancake syrup. I have to believe that part of the flavor that characterizes maple syrup develops during the boiling process. If the product were made evapoconcentrating without heat, it would be very different.
Hey Phil, Wasn't there 2 different versions of maple tripple? I've had the 2011 and the 2012 vintage and thought the 2011 had way more maple in the flavor profile. I would later find commercial descriptions to 2 different versions of this beer on ratebeer that would seem to account for the difference. However, I must admit I don't remember the 2012 bottle I had been a different size than the 2011 bottle (as the commercial descriptions claim. So who knows if they are right! I believe the "Barrel Aged" version (in addition to being made with maple sap in lieu of water) was conditioned in oak barrels that previously house maple sap liquor. I do believe that is one of the biggest factors in the huge maple profile the beer has. When I sampled it, I found that it definitely had the most maple presence I've ever tasted in a beer. When compared to the "Non-Barrel Aged" version, the taste difference was so noticeable to me that I tried to do some research on the different vintages and noticed the following blurb on ratebeer listed in the commercial description section of the Maple Tripple profile pages: Barrel Aged Maple Tripple https://www.beeradvocate.com/ratebe...inest-maple-barrel-aged-maple-tripple/147499/ COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION Bottled in April 2011, this ’once a year beer’ is a slowly fermented single-batch brew made during 2010 spring sugaring season. It quietly rested for a year in a single oak barrel from Saxtons River Distillery that previously held Sapling maple liquor. Our recipe has no water added, and uses only barley, hops, yeast and concentrated maple sap from our friend Paul Marble of Fayston, VT. This ale is bottle-conditioned and will age elegantly for many years. Maple Tripple https://www.beeradvocate.com/ratebeer/?path=/beer/lawsons-finest-maple-tripple/92732/ COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION Enticing, rich and complex. This creation defies easy description. Brewed with 100% Lawson’s Finest maple sap and an extra addition of maple syrup to send you over the edge! Note: Released in 22oz (650ml) bottles. Do NOT confuse with the maple liquor barrel aged version, released in 500ml bottles in April 2011, containing 12% alcohol!
As far as I know all batches of maple tripple so far were aged in Saxons river Distillery's Sapling barrels. I've never heard of this non ba version, I think ratebeer people are confused (description says 22 oz and then all the reviews are for a 500 ml). I have one from 2011 (sold in 12') and one from 2010 and they are both barrel aged. I also drank a lot of the 09' at the anniversary party and it was in no way lacking in the maple department (so I suspect BA). I think the 2013 release may have a non ba version, as its the first one to be brewed on the new 7 barrel system, and theres no room for that many barrels. Don't quote me on that.... edit: Adam Jackson specifically compares it to a ba version in his review, now I'm confused.
Yeah I'm confused too. I do remember the Maple Tripple I bought off the shelf at the warren store in 2012 not wowing me in the maple department like the bottle I bought a year earlier. I definitely don't remember ever buying Maple Tripple in a 22oz bomber either. Do you think maybe somebody is confusing it with Maple Nipple?
I'm positive we never had a single bottle of 2011 maple tripple at the store in 2012, it was sold at the markets as far as I know. Nipple might be whats causing the confusion, the post for the non ba tripple on ratebeer makes a fuss about the abv not being 12%, but if it was really still a version of maple tripple, the abv would be close to 12%.
Come to think of it, I do remember you mentioning that the Maple Tripple I received in 2012 was sourced from the Farmers Market. That was the bottle that didn't wow me. The previous bottle I had was purchased at the Warren Store in 2011. I'm sure of that now because I remember that it was on one of the wood shelves and the store was also selling some of the Lawsons / Breury collaboration beer Acer Quercus at that time. So that does put the timing of that purchase around October or November of 2011 I believe. Thanks Phil
