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Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 5:05 am
by GoneBlind
Would using Maple sap be safe to use as my water to make a mash? Is there a danger of producing more methanol due to it coming directly from the tree? I have about 10 lit of it @ about 1.5% sugar ... I know It needs more fermentable sugar and would be using it more for the flavored water!. There is not enough to make syrup and I think it could add a little flavor to a whiskey! I used the search tool and there is very little in regards to using the sap directly....
Thanks...
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 5:14 am
by Slow & Steady
I don't think there will be many folks who have done a Maple sap/sugar ferment because it is such an expensive commodity. I sure would like to taste a Maple Mash distilate. Just to see how the maple comes across. I have put a little maple surup into my aging Whiskey and love what that does for the taste and the nose. The Sap shouldn't produce more Methanol, it isn't wood.
S&S
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 5:16 am
by heartcut
That ought to be fine and interesting. If it does make more methanol, just cut to hearts a little later, after the smell and taste is gone. I'd be interested in hearing about it.
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 5:43 am
by MuleKicker
There is alot of natural yeast in maple sap. I would boil it before using it, so as the wild yeast doesnt take over your ferment. I have a friend that does maple suryp, and if he lets sap sit long, it takes off fermenting on its own.
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 6:16 am
by GoneBlind
That is why forums like this are so great. I never would have thought of the natural yeast!
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:39 am
by MuleKicker
GoneBlind wrote:That is why forums like this are so great. I never would have thought of the natural yeast!
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Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 8:03 am
by WV Shine
Might be an interesting experiment to let some of the sap ferment naturally and then compare the results to your boiled/commercial yeast version... 'course you may just end up with a moldy mess
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But, its possible the natural yeasts could lend it a better/more interesting ester profile as well... wont know till ya try.
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Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 8:49 am
by MDH
Might try asking
these guys.
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 9:38 am
by Fastill
My plan this spring was to boil down sap 40 gallons to 10 gallons and use this as a base for mashing my corn. Problem is the weather. Early summer conditions and trees budding put sap flow to a stop this year. Managed to make 1.5 qts of syrup from my humble operation and now might not get the sap I need for my mash. I will say that it is ALOT of work, but what else would I do in my spare time.(between 2 full time jobs
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)
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:27 pm
by HolyBear
I love the taste of sap water!!! Always wondered why somebody up there in maple country didn't bottle it an make a million
.....
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Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 8:24 pm
by Prairiepiss
I was just about to post about someone using it to make vodka.
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Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:42 am
by MuleKicker
Using maple sap, although "free" would be pretty labor intensive. Not to mention you would have to boil it down a bit to get a decent sg to start, or add sugar. I know sap right out of the tree will get you around 2%abv if I remember. I know it can vary
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:55 am
by HolyBear
Its dandy fine ifn your thirsty out n tha woods!!! Seems like somebody would bottle it an sell it like them flavored waters on store shelves.. I'd buy it..
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:22 am
by MDH
If you think Maple is expensive, I once considered making a distilled spirit out of birch sap. After my calculations I found that it would cost me about $45 to make a 375ml bottle of it.
Guess I don't quite have bulk buying power yet.
To say something to the topic:
If you want to make a maple brandy, do what the french do with Eau de Vie: Ferment it with a beer-oriented yeast or a neutral yeast at COOL temperatures. Pot (Not reflux) distill it twice, and allow it to age in a stainless steel tank such as a beer keg with a small amount of access to air for a few months. This will allow it to rid itself of heady compounds.
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 4:00 am
by francis
HolyBear wrote:I love the taste of sap water!!! Always wondered why somebody up there in maple country didn't bottle it an make a million
.....
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Yeah. Bottled water sells for more than syrup which is boiled down from sap. But sap is delicious. Sterilizing should be possible by UV light, if that is the issue.
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 4:12 am
by yakattack
I did a maple whiskey using fresh SAP instead of water this year. Used it to cook my grains (corn wheat oat) it turned out amazing. Sadly I only had enough SAP for a 8 gallon batch but it was well worth it. You don't have to pre boil it if you are using grains as a fermentable as your mashing process will kill the wild yeast.
I ran my through my boka using it to draw fores and heads really slow and then hearts and tails wide open. Got a little reflux action but it was like using a thumper.
The maple really shined through with a sweetness that was not in the mash prior to running. I highly recommend using maple SAP.of you have free access to it.
Next year I will be tapping around 100 trees (they are plentiful around here) and doing a big batch.
Yak
Re: Using Maple sap
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:22 am
by Steep-n-Rocky
I have used maple sap both in place of water in a mash and on its own. On its own, it is run through a small reverse osmosis system which gets the sugar content up to approximately 10%. I then use this as a modified Wineos wash (no sugar). It produces a pleasant sweet neutral. Some of this years production I also put on used oak sticks briefly (approx. 3 months). Not a whiskey but not bad.