To make this mead you’ll need a plentiful amount of sap to work with. Maple mead is a great idea for a home tapper who gets overwhelmed with sap. This recipe is for those ambitious types who do their makings from scratch- go out there and tap those trees!

The sap itself can be quick to spoil. It is high in pectin which will, in time, make the sap into a weird jelly-ish texture, this then could invite mold or other unwanted microbial influence such as the fermenting away of the little amount of sugar presently available. The sap is only ever-so slightly sweet, 40:1 sugar ratio. Therefore it doesn’t have enough sugar to ferment into much alcohol just as is. However, by boiling it down we can concentrate the sugars into a beverage to produce a suitable amount of alcohol.

When making alcoholic beverages I prefer to get my measurements generally accurate, erring away from specifics but shooting for close enough- and for that I use a hydrometer. While not an advocate for buying too many things, I do think this instrument is worthwhile, and is only about $20 anyway.

Hydrometers measure sugar in terms of brix. And roughly converted about 1 degree brix can ferment into about 0.5% alcohol. Therefore for an average 5-6% beverage we’d need somewhere around 10-12 brix, for 10% we’d need about 20 brix, etc. For those who wish to eye-ball it rather than measure I’d recommend boiling down to about 1/10. The sap should taste sweet as juice. The sweeter, the higher alcohol you’ll likely get. However, there is too sweet that it won’t ferment. In that case you’ve made maple syrup- congrats.

Monitor your boiling, whether it’s indoors or outside. More information on boiling is given in the maple syrup post here. Regardless of your method do keep an eye on it to reach your desired brix level or finger-licking sweetness level. A burnt sap is a heartbreaker. Keep in mind too that the temperature of the liquid affects the hydrometer reading, so if you’re use a hydrometer with some hot sap here’s a handy calculator to use.

Once the liquid has reached your target, let it cool.

We have boiled to death any microbes previously in the sap and consequently have a pasteurized base, we now need to think about how to start it fermenting. This can be done by adding yeast, backslopping from an active brew, or reinstating wild yeast by leaving it open to the air. Inviting wild yeast can be assisted through vigorous and frequent stirring, however this can increase your chances of acetobacter (giving your final brew a hot acidic bite), but maybe it’ll work out?

Ferment to dry either continuing to use your hydrometer to get a reading below 0, or to wait until absolutely all bubbling activity has ceased. Rack then age in a clean carboy with an airlock for 3-6 months, or bottle away.