Maple Syrup Season is Here

[Painthappy]

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.

[BLachance75]

Looks amazing. If you decide to sell some bottles let me know, I’d like to buy one.

Is the 50 taps a self imposed thing or a state rule?

[Mr. Hick]

Self imposed. There is no licenses for Sugaring in NH.

[Siress]

Nice! Between Carter's maple syrup and BLachance's honey we've got our pancakes covered.

I only learned about how this is done after moving to NE a few years ago. Several areas around me have sections of forest with tubing grids setup that feed into barrels at the base of the grade. It's great learning about cheap and ingenious solutions to things that used to be such a burden.

How do you know when to stop boiling it? I assume this is to sterilize and remove excess water content. I've always enjoyed the darkest grades the best since they pack the most flavor. What's it like if you boil it too much, though? Guess I could go boil the store bought stuff and find out...

[Painthappy]

50 taps is my self-imposed rule. Nothing more. I'm finding all my bottle necks before I move forward. Right now it is my boiling pan.

[BLachance75]

50 taps is my self-imposed rule. Nothing more. I'm finding all my bottle necks before I move forward. Right now it is my boiling pan.

I’ve been finding my bottlenecks with my honey production and slowly rectifying them. Each time I fix one thing I find the next bottleneck down the line. Some I’ve learned to work around successfully others I need to upgrade equipment. The big hold up for me is the cost of a lot of the fixes. I can only make so many big purchases a year before I start getting questioned by my wife.

Last season I upgraded my extraction setup. It was my biggest bottleneck by far. My current bottleneck is now with bottling. The 5 gallon bucket with a honey gate isn’t cutting it anymore. This year I’m going to get a heated bottling tank.

[bellicose]

What kind if extractor are you using?

[BLachance75]

I have a Lyson 20 frame extractor. It can do 20 mediums but it can also fit 8 deeps. I’ve run it with 8 deeps and 12 mediums. That was more than 5 gallons by the time it was done. 20 mediums can fill a 5 gallon bucket.

I found a stainless steel sink that frames fit perfectly in so I use it as an uncapped frame holder I can have 12 frames hanging in it. I built a base on wheels for it and put it next to my uncapping tank. For the first run I uncap frames and put them in the extractor. Then as it is running I uncap more frames and hang them in the sink. By the time the extractor is done I have the sink full so I empty the extractor and fill it back up with the already uncapped frames.

[Mr. Hick]

Most of the larger outfits in my neighborhood have moved over to Reverse Osmosis to significantly cut pan time. They are running way higher percentages off the start. I don't fully know what that would take on a smaller scale, but you could call Bascom's and ask, Carter.

[NONOBLITUS]

I’ll be doing my first run of the seasons evaporating this week. Cold snap here slowed the sap run but weather this week will have the taps running. Photos to follow this week of tree sugar goodness.

[chrislognshot]

yes it is. but this goes on food area of the board

[Jonnydread]

Duuude, that looks so good! I would also like to buy some for my larder if that ever becomes a thing.

My gramps used to tap I loved the super strong dark stuff with the chunks. Wicked.

[Jonnydread]

Also gotta tip the hat to ol’ Pete

[Painthappy]

I have an RO and it is the only reason why I can make so much in a season with my little pan.

In the past I had a home made version I built and put into a cooler since my garage freezes and had something burst the year prior when all this was nailed onto a plywood board



This year I stepped it up and picked up a 100 GPH CDL RO machine

Hobby version of course

[Mr. Hick]

So I guess you do know where Bascom's is then. You're set up as well as any operation going, Carter. There's always the $10,000 option of buying a much bigger flash pan and using the small one as a finisher....

[bellicose]

You need labels for those bottles? I can print you some stickers, removable ones if you'd like.

Do you boil to reduce it? How viscous is the sap straight from the tree?

[BLachance75]

You need labels for those bottles? I can print you some stickers, removable ones if you'd like.

Do you boil to reduce it? How viscous is the sap straight from the tree?

His stickers are top notch. I’ve had him do several runs for me and I will have him do more in the future.

[Painthappy]

You need labels for those bottles? I can print you some stickers, removable ones if you'd like.

Do you boil to reduce it? How viscous is the sap straight from the tree?

why yes I am in need of some new labels. Had some made a couple years ago off of etsy will drip you a line.

the sap out of a tree looks like water and can range from 1% sugar content to 3% sugar content.

To put in perspective: at 2% I would need 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. This is why the reverse osmosis is a game changer for me. I can turn that 40 gallons of 2% sap into 12 gallons of 8% sap (something like that) so that is now 28 gallons of water I don’t need to boil off and why I can still use a small pan but make a lot.