Maple syrup wine

[valiant]

I make maple syrup every year. I get it to a certain point in my evaporator, almost finished, but bring it inside to finish on my stove because there is more control over temps. This last year, I forgot about a five gallon bucket full of the ready to be finished syrup, and when I opened it, it smelled fermented and like alcohol. I added nothing to it, but it did have a pretty high sugar content. It has been there for several months. My question is, does this constitute as a maple wine? How would I know the alcohol content and wether or not it is good or not? Could it be harmful if ingested? It doesn't smell bad. There is a little foam on the top. I am very new to this issue, but would hate to throw it away if it can be used.

 

[Treeman]

I would try a sip to see how it tastes.

What specific gravity gravity or brix do you target for your syrup? You can probably estimate the alcohol level if you measure the gravity or brix again now.


Cheers!

 

[richmke]

How would I know the alcohol content

Measure the SG. If it is below 1.000, then you can use a vinometer to measure the alcohol. If SG 1.000 or more:
1) take a sample. You want enough to float your hydrometer.
2) Dilute it (because the alcohol level is too high and the yeast stopped working). I would guess 3 parts syrup and 1 part water.
3) Before you add the water, mix in a pinch of yeast nutrient in the water.
4) Record how much dilution (how many parts syrup, how many parts water; or something like 1 cup syrup, 1/3 cup water), the SG before adding water, and the SG after adding water.
5) If, after 48 hours, the fermentation has not restarted, add a pinch of wine yeast to the sample.
6) Let it ferment to dry, SG below 1.000 (about 1 week).
7) Measure the alcohol with the vinometer.
8) Post your numbers here, and hopefully we can make sense of it:

SG before adding water (what it is now) - SGs (SG of Syrup)
Volume of Syrup for sample - Vs
Volume of water for sample - Vw
SG after adding water - SGd (diluted SG)
SG when fermented to dry - SGf (SG fermented dry)
Vinometer reading - Av

The vinometer will tell you the alcohol level of the sample (it only works on dry wine - no sugar left). - Av

The difference between SG ending, and SG after adding water will tell you the alcohol added by fermenting the residual sugar. - Asg = (Potential Alcohol of SGd - Potential Alcohol of SGf).

The difference between the Av and Asg tells you the alcohol level of the diluted sample. - Ad = (Av-Asg)

You can then tell the alcohol level of the undiluted sample from the dilution ratio. If the ratio was 3 parts syrup to 1 part water, then multiply by 1.25 to get the alcohol level of the syrup. - As = ((Vs+Vw)/Vs)*Ad

 

[user]

If you have a refractometer and a hydrometer, you can use the discrepancy to estimate alcohol. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19323723

The main formula to examine:
Alcohol = 0.833 (apparent refractometer brix) − 0.996 (apparent hydrometer brix) + 3.927

As for it being safe, I wouldn't know.