How to Make Maple Mead: 3 Simple Recipes to Try
Maple syrup has long been a staple ingredient for making alcoholic beverages. Not only can it sweeten your drink it is also a good source of minerals, including manganese, zinc, iron, and potassium. One good example of these maple-flavored liquors is the maple mead. Maple mead, also known as Acerglyn, is a deliciously sweet tasting drink with a silky smooth texture.
Like the traditional mead that uses water and honey, making maple mead requires the same ingredients for the must, but with the addition of maple syrup. After pitching the yeast, the must then undergoes fermentation for a month or two, depending on the brewer’s preference.
In this post, we’ll share with you three different recipes on how to make maple mead the easy way. You can use both store-bought maple syrup or maple syrup from the tree if you have any.
1. Maple Mead
This simple recipe is ideal for home-brewing as it only needs a few easy-to-find ingredients. It will make one-gallon maple mead that is perfect for personal consumption or nightcaps with friends.
Ingredients
- 12.5 oz. Pure 100% maple syrup (You can use grade B maple syrup to achieve richer and fuller flavor)
- 2 lbs. Clover honey
- 1 gal Warm spring water
- ½ tsp. Fromax yeast nutrient
- 1 pack White wine yeast
How to Make
- Fill up the fermentation glass jug with one gallon of warm water.
- Add two pounds of honey to the water using a funnel.
- Pour the maple syrup, then shake the jar vigorously to incorporate oxygen.
- Pitch the yeast and yeast nutrient.
- Using a hydrometer, take a gravity reading. It should read between 1.042 to 1.090 to ensure that the mead has at least 10% alcohol content.
- Install the airlock and let the mixture ferment for about a month at a temperature ranging from 66 to 76 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Taste the mead after a month to check for its sweetness. If it’s too sweet, ferment it for a few more weeks until you achieve the desired sweetness. You can also take another gravity reading. Ideally, it should be between 1.010 and 1.016.
- Bottle the mead.
2. Maple Mead with Orange and Spices
If you want to add zest to your favorite drink, you may check out and try this easy-to-follow guide on how to make maple mead. It will yield one gallon of delicious mead with orange wedges and spices.
Ingredients
- 24 oz. Pure maple syrup
- 1 cup Honey
- 12 to 14 cups Spring water
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 4 Whole cloves
- 10 Raisins
- ½ Orange cut into wedges
- ½ packet of Champagne yeast
How to Make
- Heat eight cups of water with the cinnamon stick and cloves in a large pot. Let it simmer, but do not bring to a boil.
- Once the water is warm, add the honey and maple syrup.
- Stir the mixture until the honey and maple syrup dissolve. Then, turn off the heat.
- Using a funnel, pour the must into the one-gallon carboy.
- Add the raisins and orange wedges. Place the cap into the glass jar and shake well. Set the jug aside to let the mixture cool down to room temperature.
- Once it cools down, pitch the yeast. Shake again (with the cap on) to evenly distribute the yeast throughout the mixture.
- Place the airlock on the top of the jug.
- Leave the carboy in a cool, dark place and let the mixture ferment. It will start to bubble overnight.
- Ferment for at least six weeks, or until it stops producing bubbles.
- Bottle the mead for aging.
3. Maple Mead with a Hint of Tea
Here’s a simple recipe for maple mead with a twist. Enjoy the refreshing flavors of maple mead infused with a hint of tea. You can use Turkish, Black, Rooibos, or any tea of your choice.
Ingredients
- 3 oz. Pure maple syrup
- 3 lbs. Honey
- 7 cups of Spring water
- 4 oz. Strong tea
- ¼ cup Brown sugar
- 3 tbs. Lemon juice
- Yeast
How to Make
- Boil water. Put 4 oz. of boiled water into a cup and add one teabag. Allow the tea to sit for hours.
- Put the honey and seven cups of water into a stockpot and bring to boil.
- Once the foaming stops, add the maple syrup, tea, brown sugar, and lemon.
- Turn off the heat and allow the mead mixture to cool down.
- Once the mixture cools down to approximately 70 degrees Fahrenheit, pitch the yeast.
- Let the mead mixture ferment for one month.
- After a month of primary fermentation, rack the mixture into a secondary fermentation jug.
- Ferment for another two months and rack it again.
- Taste the mead and decide if it’s time for bottling. If not, wait for a few more months until it tastes the way you like it, then bottle.
Note: Always start with sanitizing all the equipment you will use to make your preferred maple mead. It is an essential step to prevent any growth of bacteria during fermentation.
Conclusion
If you want your liquor a little sweeter and flavorful, maple syrup is a great way to add sugar to your traditional mead. Besides the fact that it provides the perfect sweetness for your favorite drink, it is also readily accessible and easy to use. So grab that bottle of maple syrup now and follow these simple instructions on how to make maple mead.
Which maple mead recipe do you like most? Let us know in the comment section below. Don’t forget to share with your home-brewing friends who might also like to try maple syrup on their mead.
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Comments
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Thank you for Maple Mead recipes. Should I decide to make a larger batch of mead, can I simply double the ingredients? I have not made any mead yet, but intend to soon with my homemade maple syrup. Thank you for your time and consideration. Rick
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Can I use maple syrup that has already fermented in any of these recipes? Thx
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