The Official 2023 Maple Syrup Thread

Something to be said of Connecticut sugar maples. Are you tapping only SM?

 

Making me wanna get some out and have a cup myself. Be proud !!!

 

6 taps in at the moment, 3 reds and 3 sugars. I’m pulling the taps out of the reds tomorrow since they’re starting to bud.

 

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Unless it's the lighting...looks like your getting into the darker stuff. (My favorite)

 

Oh it’s dark all right. Last weekend’s boil was about the same too, although I noticed after a couple days the niter settled in the bottom of the jars and the color was more of a deep red. The very first boil of the season was a caramel color.

 

Love that deep red dark. That's where ours is right now. We filter it as it comes out of the evaporator...but honestly...I like the taste prefiltered lol. I guess I'm alil crazy
That's syrup of yours is beautiful!

 

Nice dark color

 

We had some vanilla ice cream with bananas and maple syrup over the top on Sunday….wow! You should give it a try

 

We finished installing the new/ replacement lines and tapping last weekend, my dad is just plugging away at squirrel damage (lots this year)

Will add more lines next year. My wife updates the facebook page for the farm.

Out of the Woods Farm Maple Products

 

Well fellas....this is it up here for us. Last boil. Our tap holes are sealing up....hardly any running going on. 105 gallons today...of discolored ,cloudy sap. Been tapped 5 weeks..which is about right for the taps to start sealing up. To boot...the syrup today is getting that little bit of "done" taste.
No regrets. Been a crazy ride this year ! Here's to the last boil !!


Doing the ro flush and recirculation.

 

We pulled taps on Saturday. Had a great season. Looks like you did too

 

I don't feel so bad then lol . Looks like u had a great season too !

 

Start cleanup tomorrow. Hanging the RO hoses up!

 

Always looks waaay darker in our flat filter. I'll get a sample tomorrow...but its still gonna be dark lol. Gonna use this for candy and other things.

 

I gotta go get our syrup yet today, but will definitely keep an eye on the clarity. Sounds like HoneyFuzz and Slocum are a little ahead of us, but we can’t be too far behind. Sad to see it ending, but we sure have had fun this year! Gonna try as refine and grow each year!

 

Here are some pics of this past Sunday. Couple things I know we’re gonna do to improve our process: 1)I’m gonna have a separate supply of firewood for the evaporator that are split smaller than the stuff I burn in the house. 2)I’m gonna burn hotter and more consistent fires in the evaporator 3) we’re gonna utilize the overnight hours better by really stoking the fire and filling the pans before going to bed and then restocking in the morning to continue the boil. 4) perhaps set up reverse osmosis. 5)tank for the four wheeler for collecting from the woods - either on the four wheeler or in a trailer. Just a couple ideas that come to mind. What we’re some of you guys aha moments when it came to refining your craft?

 

First off..great looking syrup !
Looks like you are doing really good !

For us...becoming more efficient and productive every season has been key. Some of its equipment..some of it is method..and some of it is timing.
We waste hardly any sap like we use to. I even boil the flush out of the ro after everyboil. 10 gallons of sugar water. I use to stupidly dump it out !

If you want an Ro..id look at RO Bucket.....they have self contained buckets kits..or kits you can mount on a board. Ours is a 5 membrane kit..that I have mounted and upgraded. It's easy to use and even easier to maintain.

Firewood..great idea ! My dad says we burn toothpicks..and he's right ! About wrist size. We have tried a mix of hard and soft wood..50/50.... but what seems to work is just small split hardwood. Our favorite is young redmaple. Burns hot and fast !

The way we burn our fires is with a timer. Usually between 8 and 12 minutes between each fire..depending on the day. Can't forget with an alarm ringing in your ear. That way only one row burns down between fires. Keeps the heat up high under the pan..with consistent heat. We criss cross stack in our evap...leaving a good air gap in between each piece so our electric blower can do its job.

For tanks...our first collection tank is still our only collection tank. A food grade (potable water) tank from Menards. 65 gallons.
Use ibc totes at our shack for holding .

I guess our biggest moment..so far..has been the RO.
We have a small flat..divided pan on a 2x5 evap. First year we did 75 taps..straight sap. Boiled all day and night on a big run.
After that first year..I got the RO...we bumped up 200 taps...ro'd to 4 percent. boiled alot..but boiled alot of concentrate.
This year..I upgraded the unit to get 6 percent in one pass. Stayed with 200 taps...and boiled alot more sap..in much less time...using way less wood.
That's the way to change how things are done in my opinion. Cheaper than buying into a bigger evaporator..at this point.

Our filtering use to take forever too..so we got a steam bottler/flat filter from Smoky Lake. Expensive. But worth it


Got camlocks on everything..to save time.
Just upgraded to a stainless steel concentrate tank a week ago. The ibc totes are hard to clean..which causes problems. This is open top..so easy to clean. But couldn't see the level in it. So we went to harbor freight..bought a $60 cctv security camera setup. Now we have the world's first SapCam ! And can see who's sneaking up on us.
Seems like a waster of money..but way cheaper than other options..and we don't have to be unsafe on a ladder..and the time it takes to.do it.
To me it's all about saving time..a.d being efficient. So it stays fun !

 

I’ll have to check out the RO bucket. Can’t wait for next year. Any idea what you’re gonna change next year? Sounds like you made several mid season improvements this year so maybe no need to. Thanks for the tips

 

Anything I can do to help..hollar ! Happy to help !
I think for next year...id like to.come up with a sap preheater of sorts. Our pan is a 3 divided pan. The whole inlet side isn't boiling when we have to let sap in fast during a draw off. 1/3 of our pan is not efficient..and im gonna pick on it !

Other than that...some tank tower stuff.. and wiring in a couple new electrical plugs. Not sure what else..but we always think of something!

 

Reading material (free PDF) for those already dreaming of next year:
North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual, 3rd Ed. – Maple Research