rapid change in color

[jluckay]

this is our third season & we have went from grade a light to grade a dark in a one week period. i was wondering if anyone has seen this befor & if anyone has ever went back to producing lighter colors once they made dark?

[Daren]

I have seen this many times and yes things can lighten up after such a change. The difficulty is how many draws do you need to clear out the darker stuff. If you are worried about the change, you can drain your pans and either boil it in turkey frier or dump (that would kill me!) it and start fresh with clean pans. Check for scortched areas and get some of the niter out as that can darken syrup alot too. Honestly, the dark color does not scare me. If it tastes good....let er rip and see what happens. I have gone from dark A back to med A alot in past years even without cleaning everything out. Keep the sap fresh and as all good things in life....it will be ok.

[rchase]

last year there was a couple warm days and we went from medium to b. then we had some freeze and thaws. got so real nice sap agian. we went right back to medium amber. make sure you keep you gathering and holding tanks clean too.

[jluckay]

it just seems to be what the my trees are putting out this year so far. we have been boiling as soon as we collect, so not old sap & the strang thing is the sap has been crystall clear. as to years past the sap will yellow up a bit in late season, usually thats when the darker syrup starts up. all collection & storage tanks are clean & my pan is cleaned after every use.
we did a few things different this year, in hope of making better syrup, we added drop flues & put a u.v.light in. will have to see what next week brings ,long range forcast looks good for us. thanks for the input!!

[SPILEDRIVER]

last year the only fancy/light amber i made was the last 2 boils at the end of the season,go figure.

[Bobby]

Ive noticed this too in the past, and there are many things that can account for the change. Cleaning the niter out of the pans and a good thorough cleaning. Cleaning sap holding tanks. The sugar content of the sap (which can vary day to day). And most of all Mother Nature. I have gone from dark amber and grade b to medium with a good thorough cleaning of the pans. (of course im using a flat pan 18"x4') Just a few of the many different things that can account for the change, but thats part of the fun in it and a great learning experience. This year so far I have went from light to med to dark in a little more than a week. I cleaned the pan and will let you know what I come up with.