Every year I put out 50 taps. Why 50? Anything more than 50 and it stops being a hobby. Maybe I'll actually make that next step one day, but right now keeping it at 50 so I can concentrate on production with what I have. Anyone can add more taps. But doing better with what you have is the challenge.



Been boiling away for the past week.





Part of my 50 tap challenge is to also learn how to get the most out of my small pan. Right now that is my current bottle neck. I got a new burner this year, guarded it all up, and thought I would be a genius by tapping into my home propane supply instead of using the 20 lb propane bottles you use for gas grills? Nope. I seemingly took a step backwards this year. The pressure coming out of the house is regulated too low. So all that extra effort should have gained me another 2 gallons of evaporation per hour (no science behind that, just my good guessing) and now I'm doing the same as last year. The BTU's are lower, but I'm doing the same, so I'm much more efficient. I was right in my efforts, just didn't think about the output.

First bottling of the year:




I purchased some "flask" style bottles as I thought these would make good items to put in some gift baskets around Christmas time. Instead of just buying some item that someone probably doesn't need, we (my parents, wife, and I) have been giving home made baskets to people. Jams, jellies, syrup, whiskey, pickles, sauces, etc - You get the idea.




Need to boil again today, but just wanted to post and update on what's going on. Only 1.4 gallons so far bottled, but next week looks promising for much more. I usually only make 6 or 8 gallons a year. Maybe next year we will go bigger?

This is take 2... the first one I'm just deleting as it is hurting my head as to why it isn't working.