Can a good alcohol be fermented from maple syrup?

Question

Since mead is made from honey, couldn't a good alcoholic substance be manufactured using the same process but substituting maple syrup in for the honey?

Answer 1

I have heard of diluting it in water the same way mead is made and fermenting the sap straight out of the tree.

Answer 2

My neighbor used to make wine directly from maple sap.  Just add yeast and wait.  Wa-La, nice dry white wine.  Sap boils down to syrup at a ratio of about 40 to 1.  Hope this helps, and good luck.

Answer 3

Yes.

I was thinking about mead and then read your question further and it appears to me you have it right. I would indeed look for a mead recipe and do all the same but use maple syrup for your fermentable source. You may need to adjust the specific gravity or brix (sugar) by adding another source. Check the numbers of the recipe and adjust accordingly.

Great idea and good luck.

Answer 4

Anything with sugar in it can be fermented to produce an alcoholic drink. No reason why you couldn't do it with maple syrup. However, there is a maximum sugar concentration above which yeasts won't work. I don't know what that is offhand, or how much sugar there is in maple syrup (I imagine it varies) but I bet you could find out on google.

Practically speaking, if adding yeast to straight maple syrup doesn't work, try diluting it a bit with water.