# Maple Syrup



## Davo1988 (13/1/11)

Hi guys, has anyone ever brewed substituting dextrose for maple syrup?

Im gonna do an extract brew using 

Morgans Royal oak amber ale, 500g dextrose and 500g maple syrup. 

Ive done a bit of research and i know i need pasteurised maple syrup. but i cant seem to find it anywhere. 

Ive currently got a 500g dextrose 500g honey brew happening with pasteurised honey as we speak, and that seams to be fermenting fine.

any suggestions as too where i can find 'the good stuff' or if anyone has some useful advice it would be much appreciated.


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## wildschwein (13/1/11)

Apparently it's supposed to taste pretty bad and the pure stuff is expensive. Check this out:


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## Davo1988 (13/1/11)

well thats quite dissapointing actually, i might have to go bye some dry malt extract instead...


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## wildschwein (14/1/11)

Yeah man; sounds like sticking with the honey is the way to go. Malt is probably the best value for your dollar though.


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## outbreak (14/1/11)

I wouldn't take that guy in the videos word for it...... Try it in an ale or something with a bigger flavour than a lager like he did....


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## mje1980 (14/1/11)

Im reading the classic beer styles brown ale book, and it mentions maple syrup. It needs to be real maple syrup, not imitation, and it needs to be added post boil, without being boiled, if you want the aroma and flavour. I think it just needs pasteurisation. Honey can be treated the same from memory.


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## mh971 (14/1/11)

Davo1988 said:


> .....
> 
> Ive done a bit of research and i know i need pasteurised maple syrup. but i cant seem to find it anywhere....
> 
> ...



Never used it, but if you're worried about pasteurisation, just boil it with enough water (so it doesn't burn on on bottom of pan) for as long as you are happy to do so. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization .few mins should kill most microbial life. 

I used honey a few times a couple of years ago and never bothered with the boil, wouldn't use it again as not to my taste, made the beer dry and thin without any appreciable benefit to flavour in my opinion but maybe I used too much. Never had a problem with infection without the boil.


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## Davo1988 (14/1/11)

umm.. thanks for the feedback guys, ill probably still give it a go and see how it turns out..

ill post the review up in the few weeks time.


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## brocky_555 (14/1/11)

not that i've used maple syrup but when i was researching to use this ingredient i found that the amount you had to use to get any sort of effect was too cost prohibitive in this country anyway. 
I found out from fellow brewers that you'll need to use about a kilo to get any sort of effect and that would cost about $40 seeing as though you buy it in 250ml bottles and that costs about $10 even buying wholesale wasn't that much cheaper. It ok for canadians to use it because its dirt cheap over there about $2 a kilo and they can get straight concentrated syrup the can be subtituted for water in the recipe 

but i still want to use it one day


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## proudscum (14/1/11)

mje1980 said:


> Im reading the classic beer styles brown ale book, and it mentions maple syrup. It needs to be real maple syrup, not imitation, and it needs to be added post boil, without being boiled, if you want the aroma and flavour. I think it just needs pasteurisation. Honey can be treated the same from memory.




For the manufacture of good maple syrup it is boiled down by 40:1 so one would imagine that it can go straight into the fermenter.It should go well with porter,browns or a smoked beer.If you can get amber grade it has a much better flavour.

http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/pennsylvani...maple_syrup.htm

My partner got maple syrup from these people X1 Gallon X1 quart when the dollar was low
72/100 and it cost about $150 to the door.God it was good stuff just cant go back to the rubbish in the supermarket.

https://maple.vtweb.com/momandpopsmaple/order.htm


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## Airgead (14/1/11)

I've used maple in meads (lovely) when some friends from Canada brought some over for us but am yet to try it in beers. Use it the way you would honey. Add post boil or you will loose all the flavour. Its concentrated enough that it really doesn't need any treatment but the paranoid may like to add it when its still above pasteurisation temp just in case. Has a different flavour to honey but should work most places honey works. I'm thinking a maple porter or maybe a maple brown...

Cheers
Dave


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## brettprevans (14/1/11)

just on the substituting dex for maple syrup..its chalk and cheese. dex is copletely fermentable and no taste, thins beer etc. maple syrup isnt completely fermentable has taste etc etc. it gives you a completely differant profile. as other have said, honey would be your next closest substitute, but again the flavours that maple syrup provide are kind of unique. 

as for it tasting horrible in beer. pffft. what rubbish


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## mje1980 (15/1/11)

Im seriously tempted to do a maple syrup brown ale. It'd be worth the 20 bucks for 500ml of the stuff i think. I think i'dd add it at flameout, or possibly the cube, as the wort is still quite hot going in ( i let it sit for 10 mins ). be worth it for the aroma alone!


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