adding maple syrup or honey post boil...procedure/method/how to? not "how much or when"

[odie]

basically can you just dump maple syrup into the fermenter and let it rip or is there a specific procedure for introduction to the wort?

a search of maple syrup yielded 6+ pages of good info but not what I seek...wanting to do a maple porter/stout perhaps imperial type...same with honey (I keep bees)

I'm more interested in the recommended methods of introducing maple syrup (and also honey) to your beer...mainly post kettle, meaning primary, secondary or bottle/keg

the general consensus seems to be that in the boil phase you loose all that is "maple/honey essence" (for lack of a better term) and are just really boosting the fermentable content. I was originally planning to dump maple syrup or honey into the boil but most the discussion is adding anywhere from post boil/flame out to bottling/kegging...

I got flame out/hot wort figured...you just dump it in and let it melt into the hot wort.

But what about when the wort is cooled? Is raw honey or maple syrup safe to add at this point or must it be "prepared" pasturized or heated somehow first? and will that not have a similar affect on the "essence" as just adding it to the boil in the first place. I know heating my honey kills much of the benefits of eating wild honey, basically turning it into store bought crap.

Basically would you just pour the syrup/honey into the primary/secondary fermenter before or after the cooled wort and let the yeast go to work? Obviously here the stuff will just sink to the bottom but won't the yeast find it?

Do you need to "mix/blend" the syrup into the wort or just let the yeast go find it?

If you didn't want much yeast action in order to preserve more sweetness/flavors how would you go about stopping/slowing the yeast? In secondary there is not much yeast left but I would think in the presence of fermentables the small amount of yeast would wake up and start multiplying again.

For kegging I assume you will need to shake or somehow stir it into the beer unless you are leaving it at room temps so the yeast will go back to work. If I chill the keg I'm assuming it would basically stop the yeast right there and I basically just have maple/honey sweetened beer?

With a maple extract...does it really even matter much at what point you add the stuff?

sorry for the long question but I'm sure there are multiple methods, each with it's own plus and minus...

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I add them at flameout and the flavors come through just fine I feel. Both honey and syrup are heavier than your wort they will sink to the bottom and ferment I am not sure how the flavors will blend into the beer with this method as I have not used it. Beware your honey may introduce wild yeast to the beer.

If you didn't want much yeast action in order to preserve more sweetness/flavors how would you go about stopping/slowing the yeast? - You would drop the temps very low

In secondary there is not much yeast left but I would think in the presence of fermentables the small amount of yeast would wake up and start multiplying again. - they will wake up but need 02 to bud a healthy population but you will have plenty of yeast to ferment what you add if your within reason


With a maple extract...does it really even matter much at what point you add the stuff?
I would add it post boil

 

[odie]

yeah, not blending I'm worried about getting consistent flavors though out the beer. Or would the blending just happen during transfer to the next vessel?

I guess the syrup will ferment no matter what stage you are in...just faster or slower depending on temps until all the sugars have been consumed or the alcohol kills the yeast (not targeting that high, but close) or once stored in keg/bottle below yeast activity temps. I guess you could always take the keg outta the kegerator for a short while if it's too sweet and let the yeast work a little more. but once outta the primary the yeast content drops a lot.

I can see wild yeasts in honey...but not in maple...unless there is something else I need to pasteurize/protect against?

The extract is tempting for the simplicity/cost but I already picked up a couple jugs of syrup. Maybe next batch.

I'm hoping to come up with something similar to Parish Brewing's "Maple Shade"...14% of liquid love...

 

[odie]

they actually re-ferment the finished beer with the maple syrup after it's aged a year in the barrels...I can't wait that long...

 

[NTexBrewer]

I back sweeten a cider I make for my wife. I keg the cider, add Simplicity Candi Syrup and use Potassium Sorbate to keep the yeast from fermenting the Candi Syrup. I then force carb the keg.

I'm guessing you could do the same with a beer and honey or maple syrup. Doing some quick reading it looks like it would be best to use Potassium Sorbate and Potassium metabisulfite. This would stop fermentation and neutralize and wild yeast in your raw honey.

I would first start by adding honey at flameout and then use honey to naturally carbonate the keg and see if you are getting the honey flavor and aroma you are looking for. If you want more honey flavor and aroma you could experiment with adding honey to the keg and neutralizing the yeast. This will also add sweetness so this may make the beer cloying. For future batches you may need to increase the bitterness of the beer to help balance the sweetness.

 

[JimRausch]

I tap a few trees and make a maple brown ale each year. Also have made acerlyn (maple wine) the past 2 years. In the making of maple syrup you boil the snot out of it to concentrate it, and it's usually bottled while still hot, or even canned. So, maple syrup has to be as close to sterile as you can get it. Long answer, but I add it straight to late fermentation or secondary with no further prep, usually 8-12 oz. I have also used it as priming at bottling time, but that's more of a guess as to how much sugar you're actually adding. I haven't had any bottle bombs, but it still made me a little nervous.
Edit: I don't get much maple flavor even adding late fermentation, but last year I also added 1 vanilla bean and some toasted maple wood chips. That batch did taste more 'mapley'.
Double edit: I did use the maple extract one year. Added about 1 oz. at bottling time. Unfortunately that's not real 'mapley', it's more fake pancake syrup flavor.