# Maple syrup season in WI



## fauxfly (Mar 3, 2010)

HI all

I recently talked to a buddy of mine who is becoming fasinated with my winemaking...Likewise I'm becoming fasinated with his maple syrup production. You know what is coming next, anyone ever try and ferment maple syrup ?? Not what comes out of the tree but the stuff that comes out of the evaporator. This would be trhe syrup which would be on the shelf at the grcery store. I'm wonderring if anyone has a story/recipe about this. In a week or so my buddy will be putting out the buckets to catch trhe syrup and if need be I'd like to be prepared.

Anyone ??

Steve


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## Tom (Mar 3, 2010)

Anything can be turned into wine. Only problem I see is getting the starting gravity DOWN to 1.090. Go for it !


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## fauxfly (Mar 3, 2010)

Thats kinda what I was thinking, buit if we can make wine from honey, I sure think there is a recipe out there for maple syrup. I don't know if I'd be brave enough to try it though. My luck it would come out looking like prune juice!!

S


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## Leanne (Mar 3, 2010)

try making a small amount. Then it won't matter if it goes wrong.


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## Tom (Mar 3, 2010)

Like Leanne said "start with a small batch" As far as recipies go use a 1 gallon recipe for a fruit wine unless you want to make Mead.


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## IQwine (Mar 3, 2010)

Check out these from Jack Keller

Maple Sap Wine

Maple Syrup Mead (6 gallons) you have to scroll down the page

Another link for U

Maple Wine

Good Luck


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## NSwiner (Mar 3, 2010)

here's a wine our local vineyard makes http://www.mynslc.com/Products/PID-1001318 so I'm sure it can be done .I did see a recipe the other day if i can find it again I post it .


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## Dugger (Mar 3, 2010)

As suggested, try small batches, but why not try one with the straight sap and others with varying degrees of the boiled sap right up to the finished syrup? You may find that some turn out better than others and you will know what do do in larger quantities next time.


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## Green Mountains (Mar 3, 2010)

I'm in Vermont and we have maple syrup growing on trees here.....Haha...

anyhoo,

I was thinking about using it to back sweeten and was wondering if anybody has ever tried that. Or maybe just to boost an SG up. The combination might be interesting......Maple Merlot anyone?

You could get pie eyed at night with it and then use it on you pancakes in the morning!
Thank you, I'll be here all week.


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## arcticsid (Mar 3, 2010)

Faux, I am planning to tap some Birch trees this spring. One thing I learned is that it takes like 100 gallons of sap to boil down to get a gallon, maple syrup quite a bit less.

There have been several recipes I remeber coming across with maple SYRUP. I intend to ferment the sap it self. (from Birch). As someone mentioned, getting the SG DOWN might be the key.

Don't really have the answer but I was just thinking if Birch sap can be fermented, then why not the same for maple, undiluted and unreduced?

Thoughts anyone?

Troy


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## Green Mountains (Mar 3, 2010)

I like the blog Troy. Nice layout.


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## arcticsid (Mar 3, 2010)

Thanks Green, have a long way to go, I have only been up for a couple days. I submitted some new stuff today. Curious though about fermenting the Maple sap before reduction. Apparently you can ferment the birch sap right out of the tree before boiling it down, I would assume you could do the same with maple?

Troy


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## Dugger (Mar 3, 2010)

arcticsid said:


> Faux, I am planning to tap some Birch trees this spring. One thing I learned is that it takes like 100 gallons of sap to boil down to get a gallon, maple syrup quite a bit less.
> 
> There have been several recipes I remeber coming across with maple SYRUP. I intend to ferment the sap it self. (from Birch). As someone mentioned, getting the SG DOWN might be the key.
> 
> ...



Don't they use sap from birch trees to make turpentine?? seems to me I heard a long time ago, but then my memory gets faulty!!


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## arcticsid (Mar 3, 2010)

I believe thats spruce and or pine. Birch syrup is actually right up there with Maple syrup, but it takes a whole lot more to boil it down, like 100 gallons of birch sap for 1 gallon of syrup, and like 70 gallons for maple.

Sumpin like that.

I do know there is a real tight timeframe for collecting this sap(sap sounds like thick, its actually watery), like 2 weeks only, I think it is about the same for maple, gotta get it while its flowing, and you don't want to get the same tree too much, you can kill it.

I am a tree hugger, I don't want to kill it.


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## bruno (Mar 4, 2010)

I made 2 gallons of Jack Keller's maple sap wine last year and it came out quite nice. The only thing I'm going to change this year when I make it again is to backsweeten with maple syrup, not sugar as I did. I've asked my maple sap supply guy for10 gallons of sap this year, and might do 80 gallons if I purchase some new fermentors.


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## Dugger (Mar 4, 2010)

The sugar maple is the tree of choice on the east coast and usually has a boil down ratio of about 40:1. I don't believe the sap has started running yet but shouldn't be too long - needs cool nights and warm days and we haven't seen much of that yet. 
Gosh, it's been nearly 50 years since I've driven a spile into a tree!!
Try some maple syrup in your coffee - delicious!


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## Mud (Mar 4, 2010)

You're in for a chore, Troy. I believe birch sap producers use reverse osmosis because boiling it down is to labor intensive. (read: expensive) Of course, if you're not busy time is worth much less.


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## arcticsid (Mar 6, 2010)

I'm NOT going tp boil it down. I have a recipe here, and have seen others that you can ferment the sap itself, of course adding sugar etc. There is a place outside of Anchorage that is producing Voka, there talking about distilling a Vodka with birch sap, should be intersting.


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## NSwiner (Mar 7, 2010)

Well after seeing this post I finally got brave and bought a bottle of maple wine last night but didn't taste it last night because I also bought another bottle of wine to try also and left a weird taste in my month and didn't want to ruin the taste of the maple wine . I'll let you know when I try it . Figured I should know if I like it before I go through the work of making it .


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## NSwiner (Mar 8, 2010)

We tried yesterday and was really good a true maple flavour but very sweet . You could definitely only have small glasses of it .


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