McAnally's (The Community Pub) > The Bar
The Brewmaster is in.
Paynesgrey:
Yeah, I've never had bottle bombs, but I had the batch I tried to use maple in turn cider-ish. Learned later that's because of all that easy to ferment sugar, I might as well have just added a similar quantity of cane sugar.
It occurs to me I could cook a batch so heavy in malt that the yeast would hit it's alcohol tolerance, and *then* add the maple, but that would be overpoweringly sweet.
Think I'll just try to find a maple wine recipe. I'm cautious though... My one attempt at mead produced a hot, high-octane beverage that vaguely had a honey-like aftertaste. I guess it was a yeast with a very high wine tolerance...
AleEvangelist:
Cidery flavors are acetaldehyde. Also described as green apple flavors. Sometimes that's due to taking it off the yeast cake too quickly, or underpitching yeast. It can be due to too much simple sugar, as well, and that's an interesting cause, too. When yeast ferments too much simple sugars, it actually loses the ability to break down and ferment maltose. The yeast naturally secrete an enzyme which breaks down maltose (malt sugar) into monosaccharides, which are easily fermented. When you use too much simple sugar, the yeast hit that stuff first, and after awhile, it just stops secreting the enzyme and essentially "forgets" how to ferment maltose. So, while some styles REQUIRE simple sugars (like some Belgians, Double IPA's, etc) in order to ferment down dry enough to be drinkable, too much simple sugar can do exactly what you describe. The other problem is that since maple syrup (like honey) is so fermentable, the yeast really consume the heck out of it. When the yeast is done with it, most of it (including the flavor) is gone.
I just read through the syrups section in Randy Mosher's book, Radical Brewing, which I just got for Christmas. (HIGHLY recommend this book if you're looking to experiment. I've only read through parts of it, and it's already helped me redesign one of my beers to help with some efficiency issues I was having.) The subject of maple reminded me of it, and I'm glad I did. He recommends adding the maple syrup to the secondary fermenter. (In the secondary, most of the alcohol has already been created, so there's not much for any bacteria to get a hold on.) The yeast is also mostly spent, so most of the maple flavors will remain in your beer. However, it seems to me you'd be running the risk of adding bacteria along with the syrup. I agree with him that this would be the best time to get the most flavor, and you won't have to worry about acetaldehyde, because your yeast won't be doing a TON of fermenting of the syrup. Finally, he recommends that you use the B grade maple syrup. It's not as refined as the A grade "Fancy" stuff, and will leave a lot more flavor in your beer.
He also suggested that if you want to enhance and extend maple flavor in your beer, the spice fenugreek has such a "maply" flavor that it is often used as a substitute for actual maple in the cheaper fake maple syrups. He says you can add this instead of or in conjunction with your maple syrup to the secondary.
Good stuff!
Paynesgrey:
I'll keep that in mind, some good info there! Thanks. When I get around to trying some batches I'll let you know. Might do a small batch of plain old oatmeal stout this week.
AleEvangelist:
Next batch I'm doing is a Spiced Mild Ale probably in a couple weeks. I recently stocked up on British Pale malt, so I'm sort of stuck on various british beers for the next couple months. I'm planning on doing some Christmas Pudding spices in the mild, and we'll see how that goes. In Feb I'll do a strong Scotch Ale, which I've been hankering for. After that I may do my Galaxy Pale (posted in the recipe thread) or I may end up doing a Doppelbock, if I can get my hands on some fermentation temp. control stuff I need. We shall see.
Kevin Findley:
Long time fan, first time poster and two year brewer here. I generally just hang out at the Dixonverse, but finding a brewing board here was too good to ignore.
Right now, I'm finishing a honey porter and have a basic porter carbonating as I type this. There may be a week with no home brew in the house. :o
Anyone have a commercial suggestion?
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