Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 18:03:25 EDT
From: john@rsi.com (John Gorman)
Subject: Maple Wine and Traditional Mead

The question was asked:  what would a mead made with pure maple
syrup taste like?  Now on my sixth batch, I can say "like ambrosia."

The maple syrup grading system was invented when maple syrup was
competing with cane sugar, so bland lite was considered Grade A.
For brewing, Grade B Dark is better, and much cheaper.  It can be
bought in health food stores and food coops for $3-4 per pound in
bulk, on a par with the price of malt extract.  Quite economical
considering the amazing result!

Most of my maple wines and meads have an alcohol content of 12-15%.
At that level, the alcohol kills the yeast before it runs out of
sugar, so there is no need to sulfite during racking or bottling.

I always use yeast nutrient and plenty of yeast for starter, so
the fermentation takes off with a bang and the rapidly rising
alcohol content quickly kills anything else.  For this reason I
have never heated the maple syrup or honey, and have had no
problems with contamination.

Maple wine becomes crystal clear with a beautiful sherry color
within 60 days.  I find that mead will usually clarify in 90-120
days.  If you choose to bottle the mead before it is clear, it will
clarify in the bottles, leaving an unsightly but delicious sediment.

I once did a side-by-side experiment using acid blend and gypsum as
recommended in the New Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Papazian.
Two identical 5 gallon clover honey batches turned out quite
differently.  The acidified batch turned out ... acidic!  The plain
clover honey batch turned out ... magnificent!  Smooth and subtle,
with a nice buttery finish.  I never use acid blend.

With those points in mind, we have a very simple recipe.  The
procedure for mead is exactly the same as for maple wine.  Honey
is thicker than maple syrup, so you don't need as much.

MAPLE WINE AND TRADITIONAL MEAD RECIPE
======================================

8-9 qts   maple syrup or 6-7 qts honey
5   tsp   yeast nutrient
15  gm    champagne or any white wine yeast.
O.G.      1.120 - 1.130
F.G.      1.015 - 1.030

Relax, don't worry, have some maple wine.

Hydrate the yeast in warm water and dissolve the yeast nutrient in
hot water.  Mix the maple syrup or honey with cold water in a large
open container to almost 5 gallons at your target specific gravity.
Splash or spray the water to oxygenate the must so that the yeast
can multiply rapidly.

Pitch the dissolved yeast and yeast nutrient, dregs included, into a
glass carboy.  Then splash in the must and slosh around until well
mixed, oxygenated, and full.

Use a blow off tube for the first few days and then switch to a
water trap.  After about 60 days, when the maple wine is crystal
clear and you can shine a flashlight beam right thru the carboy
onto the wall, bottle your maple wine.  It is ready to drink
immediately.  Make some for Christmas!

John Gorman                                   john@rsi.com
Relational Semantics, Inc.                    617-926-0979
17 Mount Auburn Street              Watertown MA 02172 USA