Batch 063: Grade B Acerglyn
Fun fact: Americans are so simplistic that we cannot assign different grades to food types without also creating the implicit belief that some of these subtypes are objectively and in all meaningful senses better
than others. Even though the impurities
in (what used to be called) Grade B
maple syrup are largely what make it mapley and delicious, (what has always been called) Grade A
maple syrup is everywhere, because it's grade A and that's what's on the labels.
(What used to be called) Grade B
maple syrup is now sold as Grade A, Dark
maple syrup. It's too late, though. Which is a shame, because Grade B
maple syrup is much more delicious and much more mapley, and is (supposedly) much better for brewing with. (Many many people say so.) So when I remembered I had some Amazon Pantry credit, I used the credit to purchase some Grade A, Dark
maple syrup and am going to brew an acerglyn with it. Anyway, we're going to call this brew Grade B Acerglyn (at least for now) in honor of shovels that are actually referred to as shovels.
Ingredients in this batch
- 1 qt. (2 lb. 12 oz) Ben's Sugar Shack Grade A Dark Amber Pure Maple Syrup.
- 1 lb. Kirkland clover honey.
- ½ tsp. Fermaid K
- ¼ tsp. Fermax yeast nutrient
- ¼ tsp. potassium carbonate
- ½ packet Lalvin K1V-1116 wine yeast (split with batch 062).
- distilled water to just over one gallon
- Nutrient addition, on 13 May 2017 (finally):
- 1 tsp. Fermaid K
- ½ tsp. Fermax yeast nutrient
Sanitized everything, then poured the maple syrup in, then the honey. The maple syrup is noticeably less dense than many other maple syrups, but it's rich and delicious. Poured in the Fermax and Fermaid K and K₂CO₃. Poured in water to total about a gallon in the carboy. Agitated for five minutes to oxygenate. Pulled off enough to take a hydrometer reading, leaving a bit over a gallon left. Pitched half the yeast, which had been rehydrating in distilled water at 101℉, when the temperature of the water was 74℉, then popped in a fermentation lock and filled it to the line with vodka. Set the carboy on a shelf to ferment.
Brew date: 14 April 2017.
Original gravity: 1.123.
Bottling date: 19 June 2017
Final gravity: 1.002.
Estimated ABV: Approx. 16½%.
Yield:
- 8 x 12 oz. bottles
- 1 x 500 mL bottle
- a 10 oz. cup of mead, including that recovered from the hydrometer tube after measurement.
Total: About 123 fl. oz., or 96% of a gallon
Observations
- 2017-04-15T04:33: There's already some sluggish carbon dioxide production in the carboy.
- 2017-05-13: Finally added the SNA additions, because I'd completely forgotten. I guess this means this batch may need to age a bit more to be mellow.
- 2017-06-19: Bottled, yielding about 96% of a gallon at approx 16.5% ABV.