I was poking around a couple of years ago with this idea, and somebody
-- I can't remember who for the life of me -- said that if I knew any
maple syrup producers, half-boiled sap (midway between sap and syrup)
would probably be perfect for winemaking. Enough sugar to give it a
decent SG, and enough flavour to keep it "mapley."

So I'm sitting here in my office right now with about 5 gallons of
half-boiled sap in plastic containers in front of me. Oddly, I can't
find anything about using half-boiled sap to make maple wine.

Here are a few things I could use some help with:

1. Do I really, really, really need to boil the sap? It's already been
boiled down and cooled, and then sealed in plastic jugs, so I feel
pretty secure about it. And I don't have any major league boiling
equipment, and doing it one gallon at a time on the stove would be
quite a burden.

2. Any other advice for me other than check the SG and proceed as
regular? I'm planning on adopting/adapting some of Keller's Maple Sap
recipe, perhaps boiling the ingredients in some water to take the SG
down if need be. If the SG starts too low, sugar and water and
ingredients on the boil, then added to the ol' bucket.

It seems perfectly logical to me. I can see no reason to concentrate it by
further boiling and then add water back to it. Go for it!

Ray

"Matt Shepherd" > wrote in message
om...
>I was poking around a couple of years ago with this idea, and somebody
> -- I can't remember who for the life of me -- said that if I knew any
> maple syrup producers, half-boiled sap (midway between sap and syrup)
> would probably be perfect for winemaking. Enough sugar to give it a
> decent SG, and enough flavour to keep it "mapley."
>
> So I'm sitting here in my office right now with about 5 gallons of
> half-boiled sap in plastic containers in front of me. Oddly, I can't
> find anything about using half-boiled sap to make maple wine.
>
> Here are a few things I could use some help with:
>
> 1. Do I really, really, really need to boil the sap? It's already been
> boiled down and cooled, and then sealed in plastic jugs, so I feel
> pretty secure about it. And I don't have any major league boiling
> equipment, and doing it one gallon at a time on the stove would be
> quite a burden.
>
> 2. Any other advice for me other than check the SG and proceed as
> regular? I'm planning on adopting/adapting some of Keller's Maple Sap
> recipe, perhaps boiling the ingredients in some water to take the SG
> down if need be. If the SG starts too low, sugar and water and
> ingredients on the boil, then added to the ol' bucket.

(Matt Shepherd) wrote:

> I was poking around a couple of years ago with this idea, and somebody
> -- I can't remember who for the life of me -- said that if I knew any
> maple syrup producers, half-boiled sap (midway between sap and syrup)
> would probably be perfect for winemaking. Enough sugar to give it a
> decent SG, and enough flavour to keep it "mapley."
>
> So I'm sitting here in my office right now with about 5 gallons of
> half-boiled sap in plastic containers in front of me. Oddly, I can't
> find anything about using half-boiled sap to make maple wine.
>
> Here are a few things I could use some help with:
>
> 1. Do I really, really, really need to boil the sap? It's already been
> boiled down and cooled, and then sealed in plastic jugs, so I feel
> pretty secure about it. And I don't have any major league boiling
> equipment, and doing it one gallon at a time on the stove would be
> quite a burden.

No need to boil the sap, but I would boil the water. If you
can afford five gallons of maple sap, you can afford a five
gallon stainless steel pot.

> 2. Any other advice for me other than check the SG and proceed as
> regular? I'm planning on adopting/adapting some of Keller's Maple Sap
> recipe, perhaps boiling the ingredients in some water to take the SG
> down if need be. If the SG starts too low, sugar and water and
> ingredients on the boil, then added to the ol' bucket.

I plead guilty to not having read every word Jack Keller ever wrote.
But, I am trying.

A gallon of water weighs 8.3333... lbs. How much does a gallon
of sap weigh? Weigh an empty container and zero you scale to
its weight. Add one gallon of sap and you have your answer (Ws).

Then compute the SG of the sap as (Ws / 8.33333).

Let's say a gallon of sap weighs 10 lbs, then (10 / 8.33333) =
1.20. So mix equal quanties of sap and water and you should
expect an OG of 1.10. Verify via an hydrometer reading.

Dick
- The more I learn, the more I realize little I know.

(Matt Shepherd) wrote:

> I was poking around a couple of years ago with this idea, and somebody
> -- I can't remember who for the life of me -- said that if I knew any
> maple syrup producers, half-boiled sap (midway between sap and syrup)
> would probably be perfect for winemaking. Enough sugar to give it a
> decent SG, and enough flavour to keep it "mapley."
>
> So I'm sitting here in my office right now with about 5 gallons of
> half-boiled sap in plastic containers in front of me. Oddly, I can't
> find anything about using half-boiled sap to make maple wine.
>
> Here are a few things I could use some help with:
>
> 1. Do I really, really, really need to boil the sap? It's already been
> boiled down and cooled, and then sealed in plastic jugs, so I feel
> pretty secure about it. And I don't have any major league boiling
> equipment, and doing it one gallon at a time on the stove would be
> quite a burden.

No need to boil the sap, but I would boil the water. If you
can afford five gallons of maple sap, you can afford a five
gallon stainless steel pot.

> 2. Any other advice for me other than check the SG and proceed as
> regular? I'm planning on adopting/adapting some of Keller's Maple Sap
> recipe, perhaps boiling the ingredients in some water to take the SG
> down if need be. If the SG starts too low, sugar and water and
> ingredients on the boil, then added to the ol' bucket.

I plead guilty to not having read every word Jack Keller ever wrote.
But, I am trying.

A gallon of water weighs 8.3333... lbs. How much does a gallon
of sap weigh? Weigh an empty container and zero you scale to
its weight. Add one gallon of sap and you have your answer (Ws).

Then compute the SG of the sap as (Ws / 8.33333).

Let's say a gallon of sap weighs 10 lbs, then (10 / 8.33333) =
1.20. So mix equal quanties of sap and water and you should
expect an OG of 1.10. Verify via an hydrometer reading.

Dick
- The more I learn, the more I realize little I know.

Worthy of note: half-boiled sap (it's not a precise science, so bear
with me) has an SG of about 1.082. After I added a litre of "pure
syrup" to the 23 litres of half-boiled sap, the SG rose to 1.084. A
tetch low, but worth working with just to avoid the inclusion of white
sugar.

Annnnnd we're off! Boiling the zest and cloves in some half-boiled sap
right now. Going to add the yeast after that's in the mix, and
hopefully everything will go as planned.

My main concern is whether or not the primary will "boil over" and, if
it does, whether it will attract carpenter ants (my house has been
plagued off and on for years). A little diatamaceous earth around the
primary should solve that problem, though.

- Matt

Matt,

There are many components to any wine, and in addition to the fruitiness
(esters and other substances) that will come from the maple sap, your main
concerns should be a balance between the residual sugar, the acid and
possibly the tannins.

1. Sugar - concentrate the sap so that the sugar content will give you a
suitable alcohol level when it is fermented out eg 10-11%, you are probably
pretty close now at 1.084.. Decide if you want your wine to be dry or off
dry. If you want it sweet or off-dry you might want to save some of the sap
as is or further concentrate it through boiling to use as a sweetener once
the wine has finished fermenting. Any other source of maple syrup would
work just fine. I fully support your intention to avoid adding sugar. If
the SG is not where you want it you can always concentrate the sap a little
more, as your goal should be to concentrate the sap flavours and this is
best done by concentrating the sap to your desired SG.

2. Acid - is very important for several reasons, particularly the taste
balance of the final product but also you need to know the pH in order to
use the minimum effective level of sulfite once your wine is finished to
avoid excess oxygenation and spoilage. Of major concern in a wine without
adequate acid is that it would be quite flat, tasteless and otherwise
uninteresting. Without going into detail it is extremely helpful to know
the TA (total acid) and the pH. If this is not practical, try to determine
the taste of the sap and that will give you a very general sense of the
balance of the juice although this is not very reliable. What you really
need to know is whether or not there is adequate acid, and, if not, how much
acid should be added. If additional acid is required, it is best done
before fermentation.

3. Tannins - adds body and "biterness" to the wine and I have no idea
whether or not sap contains much if any tannin. Tannin can be added as a
powder or is a result of the exposure of your wine to oak. I would be
reluctant to fool with this unless the experience of others with maple wine
suggests you should.

I would try to do a search through the newsgroup or even google to try to
learn from the experience of others who have made wine from maple syrup.
But, definitely attend to the acid issue as well as the sugar.

Good luck,

Glen Duff
------------
"Matt Shepherd" > wrote in message
om...
>I was poking around a couple of years ago with this idea, and somebody
> -- I can't remember who for the life of me -- said that if I knew any
> maple syrup producers, half-boiled sap (midway between sap and syrup)
> would probably be perfect for winemaking. Enough sugar to give it a
> decent SG, and enough flavour to keep it "mapley."
>
> So I'm sitting here in my office right now with about 5 gallons of
> half-boiled sap in plastic containers in front of me. Oddly, I can't
> find anything about using half-boiled sap to make maple wine.
>
> Here are a few things I could use some help with:
>
> 1. Do I really, really, really need to boil the sap? It's already been
> boiled down and cooled, and then sealed in plastic jugs, so I feel
> pretty secure about it. And I don't have any major league boiling
> equipment, and doing it one gallon at a time on the stove would be
> quite a burden.
>
> 2. Any other advice for me other than check the SG and proceed as
> regular? I'm planning on adopting/adapting some of Keller's Maple Sap
> recipe, perhaps boiling the ingredients in some water to take the SG
> down if need be. If the SG starts too low, sugar and water and
> ingredients on the boil, then added to the ol' bucket.

Matt,

There are many components to any wine, and in addition to the fruitiness
(esters and other substances) that will come from the maple sap, your main
concerns should be a balance between the residual sugar, the acid and
possibly the tannins.

1. Sugar - concentrate the sap so that the sugar content will give you a
suitable alcohol level when it is fermented out eg 10-11%, you are probably
pretty close now at 1.084.. Decide if you want your wine to be dry or off
dry. If you want it sweet or off-dry you might want to save some of the sap
as is or further concentrate it through boiling to use as a sweetener once
the wine has finished fermenting. Any other source of maple syrup would
work just fine. I fully support your intention to avoid adding sugar. If
the SG is not where you want it you can always concentrate the sap a little
more, as your goal should be to concentrate the sap flavours and this is
best done by concentrating the sap to your desired SG.

2. Acid - is very important for several reasons, particularly the taste
balance of the final product but also you need to know the pH in order to
use the minimum effective level of sulfite once your wine is finished to
avoid excess oxygenation and spoilage. Of major concern in a wine without
adequate acid is that it would be quite flat, tasteless and otherwise
uninteresting. Without going into detail it is extremely helpful to know
the TA (total acid) and the pH. If this is not practical, try to determine
the taste of the sap and that will give you a very general sense of the
balance of the juice although this is not very reliable. What you really
need to know is whether or not there is adequate acid, and, if not, how much
acid should be added. If additional acid is required, it is best done
before fermentation.

3. Tannins - adds body and "biterness" to the wine and I have no idea
whether or not sap contains much if any tannin. Tannin can be added as a
powder or is a result of the exposure of your wine to oak. I would be
reluctant to fool with this unless the experience of others with maple wine
suggests you should.

I would try to do a search through the newsgroup or even google to try to
learn from the experience of others who have made wine from maple syrup.
But, definitely attend to the acid issue as well as the sugar.

Good luck,

Glen Duff
------------
"Matt Shepherd" > wrote in message
om...
>I was poking around a couple of years ago with this idea, and somebody
> -- I can't remember who for the life of me -- said that if I knew any
> maple syrup producers, half-boiled sap (midway between sap and syrup)
> would probably be perfect for winemaking. Enough sugar to give it a
> decent SG, and enough flavour to keep it "mapley."
>
> So I'm sitting here in my office right now with about 5 gallons of
> half-boiled sap in plastic containers in front of me. Oddly, I can't
> find anything about using half-boiled sap to make maple wine.
>
> Here are a few things I could use some help with:
>
> 1. Do I really, really, really need to boil the sap? It's already been
> boiled down and cooled, and then sealed in plastic jugs, so I feel
> pretty secure about it. And I don't have any major league boiling
> equipment, and doing it one gallon at a time on the stove would be
> quite a burden.
>
> 2. Any other advice for me other than check the SG and proceed as
> regular? I'm planning on adopting/adapting some of Keller's Maple Sap
> recipe, perhaps boiling the ingredients in some water to take the SG
> down if need be. If the SG starts too low, sugar and water and
> ingredients on the boil, then added to the ol' bucket.

If you are even remotely worried about your primary boiling over, the easy
solution is to use a bigger primary. Or use two primaries and just don't
fill them so full. I like to use a 10 gallon primary for a 6 gallon batch.
That way I don't have to worry.

Ray

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Worthy of note: half-boiled sap (it's not a precise science, so bear
> with me) has an SG of about 1.082. After I added a litre of "pure
> syrup" to the 23 litres of half-boiled sap, the SG rose to 1.084. A
> tetch low, but worth working with just to avoid the inclusion of white
> sugar.
>
> Annnnnd we're off! Boiling the zest and cloves in some half-boiled sap
> right now. Going to add the yeast after that's in the mix, and
> hopefully everything will go as planned.
>
> My main concern is whether or not the primary will "boil over" and, if
> it does, whether it will attract carpenter ants (my house has been
> plagued off and on for years). A little diatamaceous earth around the
> primary should solve that problem, though.
>
> - Matt
>

If you are even remotely worried about your primary boiling over, the easy
solution is to use a bigger primary. Or use two primaries and just don't
fill them so full. I like to use a 10 gallon primary for a 6 gallon batch.
That way I don't have to worry.

Ray

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Worthy of note: half-boiled sap (it's not a precise science, so bear
> with me) has an SG of about 1.082. After I added a litre of "pure
> syrup" to the 23 litres of half-boiled sap, the SG rose to 1.084. A
> tetch low, but worth working with just to avoid the inclusion of white
> sugar.
>
> Annnnnd we're off! Boiling the zest and cloves in some half-boiled sap
> right now. Going to add the yeast after that's in the mix, and
> hopefully everything will go as planned.
>
> My main concern is whether or not the primary will "boil over" and, if
> it does, whether it will attract carpenter ants (my house has been
> plagued off and on for years). A little diatamaceous earth around the
> primary should solve that problem, though.
>
> - Matt
>

I'm lucky enough to have two nice maple trees on the property where I live
in Québec. I got the same idea this spring so I boiled down enough sap (the
late one because I do find it taste better) to get a gallon of "réduit" at
an SG of 1.11. I threw in some Sun Maid California raisins and it's been in
secondary since about a week now. I think it'll be good. So anyway, in my
case the sap was boiled before fermentation.

Marc

"Matt Shepherd" > a écrit dans le message de
om...
> I was poking around a couple of years ago with this idea, and somebody
> -- I can't remember who for the life of me -- said that if I knew any
> maple syrup producers, half-boiled sap (midway between sap and syrup)
> would probably be perfect for winemaking. Enough sugar to give it a
> decent SG, and enough flavour to keep it "mapley."
>
> So I'm sitting here in my office right now with about 5 gallons of
> half-boiled sap in plastic containers in front of me. Oddly, I can't
> find anything about using half-boiled sap to make maple wine.
>
> Here are a few things I could use some help with:
>
> 1. Do I really, really, really need to boil the sap? It's already been
> boiled down and cooled, and then sealed in plastic jugs, so I feel
> pretty secure about it. And I don't have any major league boiling
> equipment, and doing it one gallon at a time on the stove would be
> quite a burden.
>
> 2. Any other advice for me other than check the SG and proceed as
> regular? I'm planning on adopting/adapting some of Keller's Maple Sap
> recipe, perhaps boiling the ingredients in some water to take the SG
> down if need be. If the SG starts too low, sugar and water and
> ingredients on the boil, then added to the ol' bucket.

I'm lucky enough to have two nice maple trees on the property where I live
in Québec. I got the same idea this spring so I boiled down enough sap (the
late one because I do find it taste better) to get a gallon of "réduit" at
an SG of 1.11. I threw in some Sun Maid California raisins and it's been in
secondary since about a week now. I think it'll be good. So anyway, in my
case the sap was boiled before fermentation.

Marc

"Matt Shepherd" > a écrit dans le message de
om...
> I was poking around a couple of years ago with this idea, and somebody
> -- I can't remember who for the life of me -- said that if I knew any
> maple syrup producers, half-boiled sap (midway between sap and syrup)
> would probably be perfect for winemaking. Enough sugar to give it a
> decent SG, and enough flavour to keep it "mapley."
>
> So I'm sitting here in my office right now with about 5 gallons of
> half-boiled sap in plastic containers in front of me. Oddly, I can't
> find anything about using half-boiled sap to make maple wine.
>
> Here are a few things I could use some help with:
>
> 1. Do I really, really, really need to boil the sap? It's already been
> boiled down and cooled, and then sealed in plastic jugs, so I feel
> pretty secure about it. And I don't have any major league boiling
> equipment, and doing it one gallon at a time on the stove would be
> quite a burden.
>
> 2. Any other advice for me other than check the SG and proceed as
> regular? I'm planning on adopting/adapting some of Keller's Maple Sap
> recipe, perhaps boiling the ingredients in some water to take the SG
> down if need be. If the SG starts too low, sugar and water and
> ingredients on the boil, then added to the ol' bucket.

> wrote:

> Worthy of note: half-boiled sap (it's not a precise science, so bear
> with me) has an SG of about 1.082. After I added a litre of "pure
> syrup" to the 23 litres of half-boiled sap, the SG rose to 1.084. A
> tetch low, but worth working with just to avoid the inclusion of white
> sugar.

Just so we're on the same page, 23 liters is 6.076 gals. And you got
an SG of 1.082 on the half-boiled without having added any water?
Now (23 * 1.082 + 1 * x) / 24 = 1.084
So x = 24*1.084 - 23*1.082
ie x = 1.13 (The SG of pure maple syrup)
That SG seems to me to be extremely low.

> Annnnnd we're off! Boiling the zest and cloves in some half-boiled sap
> right now. Going to add the yeast after that's in the mix, and
> hopefully everything will go as planned.

I hope so too.

> My main concern is whether or not the primary will "boil over" and, if
> it does, whether it will attract carpenter ants (my house has been
> plagued off and on for years). A little diatamaceous earth around the
> primary should solve that problem, though.

NEVER fear mutiple primaries are here. And just spread gound Habenero
peppers at the thressholds of your exterior doors.

Dick
-- A miracle happened to day: I stopped at my LHBS and did not buy
anything.

> wrote:

> Worthy of note: half-boiled sap (it's not a precise science, so bear
> with me) has an SG of about 1.082. After I added a litre of "pure
> syrup" to the 23 litres of half-boiled sap, the SG rose to 1.084. A
> tetch low, but worth working with just to avoid the inclusion of white
> sugar.

Just so we're on the same page, 23 liters is 6.076 gals. And you got
an SG of 1.082 on the half-boiled without having added any water?
Now (23 * 1.082 + 1 * x) / 24 = 1.084
So x = 24*1.084 - 23*1.082
ie x = 1.13 (The SG of pure maple syrup)
That SG seems to me to be extremely low.

> Annnnnd we're off! Boiling the zest and cloves in some half-boiled sap
> right now. Going to add the yeast after that's in the mix, and
> hopefully everything will go as planned.

I hope so too.

> My main concern is whether or not the primary will "boil over" and, if
> it does, whether it will attract carpenter ants (my house has been
> plagued off and on for years). A little diatamaceous earth around the
> primary should solve that problem, though.

NEVER fear mutiple primaries are here. And just spread gound Habenero
peppers at the thressholds of your exterior doors.

Dick
-- A miracle happened to day: I stopped at my LHBS and did not buy
anything.