Maple mash

Production methods from starch to sugars.

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Grumpy Ol Badger1
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Maple mash

Post by Grumpy Ol Badger1 »

Hey guys, since it's what I got, and because I make more every spring, I'm looking for opinions on making a maple mash. Specifically which yeast you'd recommend and at what specific gravity approx I should start out at. I've read maple syrup is mostly sucrose, so I was thinking of using Lalvin Champagne yeast, EC 1118 I think. It's what I've used to make maple wine. I was told when doing that to treat maple syrup like fruit. I've also read using this yeast is fine up to a 20% solution (not sure what that is as a SG reading). I'm brand new at this distilling thing, and I don't want to waste a whole lot of hard work on something where I stress the yeast and cause off flavors (is that a thing if I'm not using grains?).

Anyway if you think I'm way off base, or I'm missing something please sing out.

Mark
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still_stirrin
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Re: Maple mash

Post by still_stirrin »

20%ABV potential is too high. It will produce a lot of off flavors. Keep the OG around 1.074 (or 18 brix) and you’ll have better luck. It has been said, “if you need more alcohol, get a bigger fermenter”. It’s a truth.

And while the Lalvin EC-1118 (champagne) yeast is a clean fermenter, you may want to try using baker’s yeast as it will exploit the butter flavor from the maple syrup. It will make a nice rum-like spirit. But again, I suggest holding the potential alcohol to 10%ABV or less.

Maple syrup would be very expensive to buy, but since you make your own, you’re in luck. It will make a unique spirit for sure. I hope you’ll like it.
ss
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Grumpy Ol Badger1
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Re: Maple mash

Post by Grumpy Ol Badger1 »

Hey SS,

Just the kind of info I was looking for, many thanks. The 20% figure came from a distillery in the NE US,. Vermont I think, an article with Smithsonian Magazine anyways, and the distillery owner said he starts his vodka with a 20% maple sap concentration. That's a 20% sugar solution, maybe that's not the same as potential ABV? I can mix syrup with water and get the hydrometer to float at the right level for a 10% potential ABV whatever the case. And, maple rum is kind of what I was hoping for...when you say baker's yeast, you mean regular bread yeast?

M
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still_stirrin
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Re: Maple mash

Post by still_stirrin »

Grumpy Ol Badger1 wrote:...when you say baker's yeast, you mean regular bread yeast?
Yep...like you get at the grocery store. I use 3 packages per 10 gallons of wash.

I suggest adding some nutrients, like diammonium phosphate (DAP) from the homebrew store. Also, the pH will crash with fermentation, so add a 1/2 cup of crushed oyster shells (chicken feed from the local Tractor Supply Store) per 5 gallons of ferment once the yeast has started its work (typically day 2).

Also, yeast likes oxygen for budding (reproduction), so aerate the wash well before pitching your yeast. But once the ferment has started, it is an anaerobic (without oxygen) process. So don’t stir it after adding the yeast.

And when using dry yeast, be sure to rehydrate it in warm water (body temperature water is perfect). You don’t need any sugar or fermentables in the jar when you rehydrate...just warm water. Sugars will increase the osmotic pressure on the dried cell walls and can cause them to implode during rehydration. Rehydration is not the same process as making a yeast starter. A yeast starter is for yeast propagation.

Good luck.
ss
My LM/VM & Potstill: My build thread
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Grumpy Ol Badger1
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Re: Maple mash

Post by Grumpy Ol Badger1 »

Again, my thanks. Tell me, what range should the pH be after the first few days of fermentation? Our water is a bit acidic anyway, and I've heard varying opinions on what is the ideal pH (like, from 4.0-6.0). Some people suggest adding citrus, or citric acid to the mix to lower pH. And, I live far enough north that I think if I'm going to add calcium carbonate to bring pH up, it'll be from lobster shells, not oysters. :D
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NZChris
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Re: Maple mash

Post by NZChris »

If you have to raise the pH due to a stall, it's usually too late for shells to be much use. That's why the advice is to put them in at the start, so that they can act as a buffer to keep you out of trouble.

I use lobster shells in cooking because there is flavor in them that can be extracted, so I don't know if I'd be too keen on putting them in a ferment.

Any shell works and they can be used whole. Limestone and marble works too.
Grumpy Ol Badger1
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Re: Maple mash

Post by Grumpy Ol Badger1 »

I'm pretty sure Chitosan is de-odorized crustacean shells, either shrimp, lobster, what have you. Whatever the source it's basically calcium carbonate, and has an alkaline (high) pH. They sell it at the local brew shop, but I'm thinking there's limestone quarries near here, too.
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still_stirrin
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Re: Maple mash

Post by still_stirrin »

Grumpy Ol Badger1 wrote:I'm pretty sure Chitosan is de-odorized crustacean shells, either shrimp, lobster, what have you. Whatever the source it's basically calcium carbonate, and has an alkaline (high) pH. They sell it at the local brew shop....
WebMD wrote:Chitosan is a sugar that is obtained from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish, including crab, lobster, and shrimp. It is used for medicine.

Chitosan is used to treat obesity, high cholesterol, and Crohn's disease. It is also used to treat caused by dialysis in patients with kidney failure, including high cholesterol, "tired blood" (anemia), loss of strength and appetite, high phosphorous levels (hyperphosphatemia), and trouble sleeping (insomnia).

Chitosan is extracted from the shells of shrimp, lobster, and crabs. It is a fibrous substance that might block absorption of dietary fat and cholesterol.
I don’t think it is the best solution to help manage pH...because it is a “sugar”.

Calcium carbonate, in the form of egg shells will function better as an acid buffer because it will associate with the H+ ions as the concentration increases. You can use other bases much more effectively to counter a highly acidic environment... calcium hydroxide (“pickling lime”, available in your grocery store with the canning spplies), for example.

But using maple syrup as a fermentable will need nutrients to help the yeast metabolize the sugars. So, some vitamins or DAP would be adviseable. And then, the ferment activity will produce hydrogen ions, which creates the acidic environment which will begin shocking the yeast. The buffer bases add calcium, which is a nutrient, as well as the carbonate to buffer the excess hydrogen ions.

This is intended to be “helpful advice” pro-actively in an effort to avoid a “future request” to help you repair a stalled wash. From here...you’ll do what you want.

Good luck.
ss
My LM/VM & Potstill: My build thread
My Cadco hotplate modification thread: Hotplate Build
My stock pot gin still: stock pot potstill
My 5-grain Bourbon recipe: Special K
Grumpy Ol Badger1
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Re: Maple mash

Post by Grumpy Ol Badger1 »

Ewps, I meant Chitin, not Chitosan. How embarrassing.... 'Chitin forms the exoskeleton of arthropods including insects, arachnids such as spiders, crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters, and some fungi and bacteria.' Meanwhile, gotta love Wikipedia, eh?
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