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!

This is a beer I designed with a specific hop in mind. Galaxy is a hop from New Zealand, which is known far and wide for its aromatic properties. It's a high alpha-acid hop, but in my opinion, you're wasting your money on it if you're using it too early in the boil. As you can see, I'm using it primarily late in the boil.  This is a beer which may change your mind if you don't like hops.  Designed to be similar to Deschutes' Mirror Pond Pale Ale, but with a wonderful, fruity aromatic hop kick.  I've been told by many people that this is the best beer they've ever had.    It's designed to be an all grain brew, but you could substitute pale malt extract for the American 2-row if you were of a mind to do an extract version (I'd recommend 10.8 lbs of pale malt extract (dry). If you need to drop the recipe to 5 gallons, you should be able to cut everything in half.)  I wouldn't recommend subbing out the WLP002 yeast, though.  If you can't get white labs yeast, you can go with Wyeast 1968, London ESB yeast.  The british yeast really helps this beer achieve untold levels of awesome. Residual sweetness, slight fruity esters really compliment the late addition Galaxy Hops.

P.S. I'd attach the Beersmith recipe file, but I can't attach a bsmx file to this post.  If you're really interested in that file, PM me your e-mail address or something.

Recipe: Word of His Power Galaxy Pale
Brewer: Ale Evangelist (1031 Brews)
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 13.32 gal
Post Boil Volume: 11.44 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 10.00 gal   
Bottling Volume: 9.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 9.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 49.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU         
18 lbs                Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        90.6 %       
1 lbs 8.2 oz          Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)    Grain         2        7.6 %         
5.5 oz                Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)             Grain         3        1.7 %         
54.63 g               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 85.0 min         Hop           4        23.7 IBUs     
28.35 g               Galaxy [14.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min         Hop           5        8.4 IBUs     
50.54 g               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min         Hop           6        4.4 IBUs     
50.54 g               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop           7        3.7 IBUs     
49.61 g               Galaxy [14.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop           8        9.1 IBUs     
35.44 g               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min          Hop           9        0.0 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [2000.0 Yeast         10       -             
92.14 g               Galaxy [14.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days      Hop           11       0.0 IBUs     

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 19 lbs 13.7 oz
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time     
Mash In           Add 28.02 qt of water at 162.5 F        149.0 F       60 min       

Sparge: Fly sparge with 9.49 gal water at 168.0 F

Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
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