The Acerglyn Experiment

Acerglyn is a mead that includes maple syrup. Based on what I’ve read, the maple flavor tends to be somewhat lost in fermentation. I thought that by starting fermentation with only honey and adding maple syrup later, I may be able to preserve more maple flavor.

December 17, 2017: Mixed 3 lbs Crockett honey (bought at Costco) with hot water until dissolved. I left space at the top to add maple syrup and additional water if desired.

Once it cooled, I added a full packet of D-47 yeast. Fermentation began almost immediately.

Jan 5, 2018: Added ¹⁄₈ tsp yeast nutrient

Jan 13: Added 1 cup maple syrup

Jan 26: Added 1 cup maple syrup and ¹⁄₄ tsp yeast nutrient.

Mid-May: Added bentonite

May 30: Bottled into 8x 375mL bottles

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the mead tastes more or less like regular mead. I have not yet tried a blind test against my plain mead, but I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference. While honey is expensive, maple syrup is very expensive, and I would probably only try this again if I had my own sugar maples.