Any tappers here?

B

benchmadebob

Joined
May 12, 2008
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Im taping my mapple tress for the first time so does anyone have tips on making mapple syrup? Also should i put a plug in the hole when im done or leave it alone?
 
I don't have any tips for ya, but my understanding is that you need to plug the hole when you're done (and can just carve out an appropriately sized plug of the same wood).
 
SpookyPistolero said:
I don't have any tips for ya, but my understanding is that you need to plug the hole when you're done (and can just carve out an appropriately sized plug of the same wood).
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I had my own sugarbush and can provide some insight. No need to seal the spile holes, the tree will heal itself. At least we never did and never had any issues with the trees over the years.

Only tap decent sized trees - 12 inch diameter or more. Large ones can have multiple spiles.

First I used metal spiles and buckets, but quickly transitioned to plastic spiles with surgical tubing running to five-gallon plastic pales with holes in the lid for the tubing. This prevents dirt and bugs from getting in the sap and allows you to leave them for a couple days while they fill. The buckets can be had at winery stores for cheap.

Remember, it's a 40-to-1 ratio of sap to syrup, so some serious boiling/evaporation is necessary - about 18 beers if I remember correctly :) but alot of fun around the fire - good time to roast some hotdogs, coffee kettle, dutch oven cookery, etc - make a party of it :)

I did it the old fashioned way - boiling in a large iron cauldron over an open fire. This made it less costly than propane as I had free wood. If you have an actual evaporator, then even better, because they are efficient, but costly to purchase. Also carved myself a huge stirring spoon. You can then take inside for final boiling and filtering.

Buy some decent sugaring filters, or you can use some spare clean natural fabric. I think the ones I bought were actually felt.

Have fun and make it a gathering - lots of wood to chop, carve, etc. Also made kettle coffee using some of the sap - sweet taste.

Hope you enjoy.

Brian
 
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Im using a 7 gallon turkey cooker pot and im using metal spile and buckets. Also im using an open fire. What is the best time to start tapping. i know i did it a little late but the sap is still running good like 3 drips a second.
 
benchmadebob said:
Im using a 7 gallon turkey cooker pot and im using metal spile and buckets. Also im using an open fire. What is the best time to start tapping. i know i did it a little late but the sap is still running good like 3 drips a second.
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We waited until we had below zero temps overight, and pluses during the day - that causes the sap to flow. Could be a little late, but give it a try.

Some old codgers used to say you had to wait until you heard the Saw-Whet Owls at night ;)
 
I miss tapping. Dad used to tap birch trees and make birch syrup. You could nick the tree with a knife and the sap would spray out. We used to fill a 5 gallon bucket in about 2 minutes. 30 or 40 of those pails boiled down and filtered would make about 3 gallons fo SWEEEEEEEEETTT birch syrup. God its good on flapjacks.
 
The early sap is more concentrated ,it thins out later in the season.For evaporation a turkey cooker is not efficient .Look for a large diameter or large area for evaporation.Cold nights/warm days gets it going .You're a bit late now.
 
mete said:
The early sap is more concentrated ,it thins out later in the season.For evaporation a turkey cooker is not efficient .Look for a large diameter or large area for evaporation.Cold nights/warm days gets it going .You're a bit late now.
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i know but it tastes pretty sweet and im getting 1 gallon from a tree a day and i could tape some trees more. Right now i have about 6.5 gallons from 6 taps.
 
I've never tapped maple but I did tap some birch last year. It was amazing to just see all the sap running so quickly. The holes my friend and I drilled were quite small. Still, we made a small plug and sawed it as flush to the tree as possible.

I think the ratio for birch is 100 to 1 so we never actually made syrup. Well, my friend tried boiling it down more but he went out and forgot about it. When he got back all the liquid was gone and he has a nice layer of black carbon stuck onto the side of his pot.

We used these for taps:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skomae/2398697691/

Fun times. Good thing this thread reminded me to look out for the right time to tap again.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
At what point are you meant to stop boiling/evaporating it? Just when you get a good dark/amber color to it?
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Actually, the higher quality syrups are lighter in color, but you are correct in that you can see it darken and thicken as you boil. In general, I would spoon some out, filter it, let it cool, then check it's consistency and taste. keep an eye on it and then just do some testing before you get too drunk :)

But remember, I was using a cauldron that could hold 20 to 30 gallons of sap.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
Thanks Brian. When you filter, is there a specific particulate that accumulates, or just general crud?
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Mostly just a mix of particulate crud. Do it while the syrup is hot to facilitate filtering. if you're using a clean evaporator, you can filter both the sap (before boiling) and the syrup.

A local farm feed store had reusable felt filters that were cone-shaped. But large coffee filters would probably work as well. Maybe double them up if needed and just pour a couple quarts at a time.

Try some boiling sap to make some coffee as well. We always enjoyed that. Use the sap as replacement for water when it just starts boiling, then filter into the coffee maker and brew some coffee.

Kids always enjoyed maple taffy as well, if you have any snow left. Just dip a popsicle stick in some warm syrup and then roll in some clean snow.

I miss it too. :thumbup:
 
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