what am i doing wrong?

[treehugger]

I have asked questions and tried answering some on my local forum here at the trader. I don't ever seem to get a response. What am I doing wrong? I have been respectfull and tried to keep on point. Is there some secret etiquette that I am missing? Thanks.

[Brandy Brook Maple Farm]

I wouldn't think you are doing anything wrong. Probably everyone's just busy at this time of year with their own operations. I know I am jealous of how pretty your pans are!;) Where are you located in NY?

[Clarkfield Farms]

Wow, the first reply to your question comes from a guy trying to flatter you to get you to let your guard down and tell him where he can pick up your pans!!!! AAAHHHH!!!:o;):lol: OK, just kidding... but it DID look that way just a little bit, didn't it? :rolleyes:

On a serious note, I haven't noticed that anyone gets any different treatment. Sometimes it just may be that it's not something that all that many people have an answer for, IDK.

[GramaCindy]

I have asked questions and tried answering some on my local forum here at the trader. I don't ever seem to get a response. What am I doing wrong? I have been respectfull and tried to keep on point. Is there some secret etiquette that I am missing? Thanks.

Don't worry, be happy treehugger. I think they may all be busy. After this lousy season, many go AWOL. Just hang in there and wait for a decent reply. It will come, just like the baseball players!

[happy thoughts]

I don't think you're doing anything wrong either, tree hugger. It's just the nature of a forum and people in general. I'd be almost certain your posts have gotten plenty of views if not the answers you seek. Most of those viewing will either not have an answer or do not feel comfortable posting so remain lurkers especially when first finding this forum. That's Ok with me since just reading posts is a learning experience in itself and that's basically why most of us are here in the first place.

Is there anything pressing that hasn't been answered for you? If so, try giving those posts a bump and see what happens.

And that said, maybe we should all take a little extra care when seeing a post with no replies to take the time to answer, if only to say hi:). Without a doubt this has to be one of the most friendly forums I've seen. It is a very rare occasion when someone gets called out for bad behavior at least from what I've seen after several years of lurking and participating here. Simply put, this forum is just plain sweet:)

All the best to you:D

[PerryW]

I have asked questions and tried answering some on my local forum here at the trader. I don't ever seem to get a response. What am I doing wrong? I have been respectfull and tried to keep on point. Is there some secret etiquette that I am missing? Thanks.

Looks like you got some responses to your SOOT thread.

[treehugger]

I have to say when it comes to any concern or question I have, this is the best website. So many people have helped me, and I am very greatful. I'd probably would be tapping oak trees otherwise. I was just noticing that the sub-forum that is "local" to me seems to be less receptive. Maybe i'll have to give a formal introduction, even thought Iv'e been in the area for 10 years. You are all probably right, people are too busy (including me) to respond to everything. Your are also right about being a lowsy season. I was hoping for a run today, I guess it was too cold to start this morning (15 degrees). Maybe tomorrow, thankfully I'm in a cold spot. 6 out of 150 trees are starting to show buds. hopefully not over yet. Thanks for the encouragement.

[Brandy Brook Maple Farm]

Wow, the first reply to your question comes from a guy trying to flatter you to get you to let your guard down and tell him where he can pick up your pans!!!! AAAHHHH!!! OK, just kidding... but it DID look that way just a little bit, didn't it? :rolleyes:



I'm not after your pans, Treehugger! We tap almost 9,000 so they wouldn't work for our operation anyway :) !! But if I could get them in say, a 5X14.....

BTW, YeastPimp (how did you get that name? LOL)...I'm not a dude. Where is your sugarshack? hehe

I just love copper and gold and silver and pretty much most precious metals....especially Stainless Steel! ;)

I agree with you, HappyThoughts, this is the sweetest forum ever. So many nice folks just wanting to share about what they love! Great, great people on here! I love your idea about looking out for others who might not be getting responses.

All of you seem very nice, including you GramaCindy and PerryW, from what I've seen in your posts. I have no friends on my visitor page yet....anyone wanna be fwends?

Joy

[RollinsOrchards]

. . . tried to keep on point.

There is your problem. . . No controversy. Too BORING. :)

If you want people to notice and respond you need to sling some mud, stir the pot, call people names, cause a ruckus, at least that is the norm on other forums.

I have always found that giving good advice can cause the end of a thread because you have settled the matter, but give some BAD advice (or good advice badly) and everybody will notice and give corrections. Corrections may lead to disagreements and controversy and more posts and traffic to the thread and maybe even some stars. SO now you have my secret: If you catch me giving bad advice i am just trying to do my part to generate more posts. ;)



Now after removing my tongue from my cheek. Part of the problem is that you are posting in your "geographical" section. There are three problems with that:

A) I have no idea where Ostego county is, Nor do I have the leisure to read up on stuff that is specific to your area and "probably" doesn't educate me.
B) I have no input on the specific problems of Ostego county. I can't really add anything about your local weather or sap runs, and I assume that you have other Ostego county buddies whose input will be worthwhile.
C) I generally browse just the "Maple Talk" part of the forum, bypassing the location specific areas, and will also focus on the Maine forum.


And one other problem is "headlines." Some post titles grab my attention, some don't depending on my mood, available time, etc. Sometimes it is several days before i read a post, while some get read first. I don't have any advice for you on that, since I rarely start posts myself.




Relax and enjoy the randomness that is a Forum. Some threads thrive and some wither. It simply is plugging into the stream of consciousness of several hundred people loosely organized by starting topic and date.

[Brandy Brook Maple Farm]

I am especially fond of the folks on here who tell it like it is! How'd ya make out in Garland, Maine? Still goin?

[RollinsOrchards]

Well we kept borrowing buckets and tapping more trees to get enough sap to be satisfied. Ended up with 200 tapped, maybe a few more. Made nearly 40 gallons of syrup so far.

We have pulled the roadside taps, and the field edge trees closer to budding than I will dare collect sap from, but I do have 25 taps in a "thick" bush where the crowns are out in the open but there is a lot of hemlock and evergreen shading the ground that I have hope for. The ground there still had snow on the first day of the "tropical heat wave" so I am hoping those run when it warms up again. We have had 15 plus mph wind the past two days, so no sap even with freezing nights and warm days.

It has been an "educational" year to say the least.

[Clarkfield Farms]

BTW, YeastPimp (how did you get that name? LOL)...I'm not a dude. Where is your sugarshack? hehe

Well, Joy, I may have to save the explanation to a file since it comes up so often... but here's a cut & paste from another thread, hopefully it helps:

*As for "YeastPimp:" A long time ago, I was sitting with a small group of friends, the conversation got around to homebrewing and I said that I'd encourage anyone with an interest in it to get started doing it. One of the guys said, "Nah, sounds like a huge amount of work, I don't have time for it." I said that yes, but while it IS a lot of work, it's not YOU doing the work; I just take the ingredients, introduce them to the yeast in an environment well-suited to them, let the YEAST do all the work and after they're done I reap all the rewards. After what seemed like a long, awkward silence, another guy spoke up kind of sheepishly and said, "So... that makes you like, what -- the Yeast Pimp?" And it stuck...

And so there it is. lol!

[Clarkfield Farms]

P.S. - Looks like I keep ignoring genders, Joy - I did the same thing to happy thoughts. oooops....:emb:

[Brandy Brook Maple Farm]

It sure is "educational" this year, especially after such a banner year last season....

We are experimenting in our six vacuum sugarbushes over the next few days to see what happens (it seems we've been experimenting for this whole season LOL).

Wound up tapping about 20 more hard maples on buckets yesterday to compare them with the ones tapped in late February. Same bush.

Our roadside trees are definitely more budded than the ones deep within the forest.

Two days of freezing nights and too cold daytime temps here, too.

We'll find out what's going to happen today, I'll bet...I'll be updating my visitor messageboard as we get results in.

I hope you are able to fire up your pans again, too! Good luck!

[Brandy Brook Maple Farm]

That's a great story, YeastPimp. What kind of homebrews do you serve up? I haven't made beer in a long time (ten+ years) but I love a rich dark beer myself and once you have that, what they sell in stores is just never good enough. I just need some spare time to get another batch goin'. :D

I've been more into homemade wines over the last few years, but I don't drink enough of it and my wine cabinets are full. Dandelion is by far my favorite with Blueberry being a close second. I am going to try maple wine and then probably move onto something else for a while.

[Flat47]

I have asked questions and tried answering some on my local forum here at the trader. I don't ever seem to get a response. What am I doing wrong? I have been respectfull and tried to keep on point. Is there some secret etiquette that I am missing? Thanks.

Not to worry. For while I was convinced that my replies killed the discussion. I would reply and then no more talk. Please feel free to prove me wrong here, too.

[red maples]

A few things..... sometimes there are alot of repeat question and some of us that have been here for a while type the same thing over and over. How many times do people need to be told don't use trash can to hold sap and are these buckets food safe etc. many of same questions. I have been only doing this for 3 years and I ask questions that have been answered with go search for it. or no response at all. We were all newbies once and I understand everyone is just looking and or is curious of why something does this or that.

And Like this time of year we are all busy as heck and when you just wanna jump on the trader quick to see what going on you whats new and there are 5 -6 pages of new....well I just check my threads and come back later simple because I don't have time!!!!

Nothing personal.

It'll slow down now if you haven't already noticed but its part of my computer routine now....check email, facebook, weather, maple trader, and maybe sugarbush not ness in that order...then I am done!!!

[Waynehere]

Not to worry. For while I was convinced that my replies killed the discussion. I would reply and then no more talk. Please feel free to prove me wrong here, too.

LOL.... So must be you answered their questions???? :lol:

[Clarkfield Farms]

That's a great story, YeastPimp. What kind of homebrews do you serve up? I haven't made beer in a long time (ten+ years) but I love a rich dark beer myself and once you have that, what they sell in stores is just never good enough. I just need some spare time to get another batch goin'. :D

I've been more into homemade wines over the last few years, but I don't drink enough of it and my wine cabinets are full. Dandelion is by far my favorite with Blueberry being a close second. I am going to try maple wine and then probably move onto something else for a while.

Joy, I'll PM you, I think I've gotten too far off track -- sorry, treehugger! But just to quickly answer, I don't drink much beer or wine or anything at all, I got so I hated beer with all the emphasis on MEGA ALCOHOL! or even worse, MONSTER MEGA HOPS!!! etc. flooding the market to fill the demand from dunderheads. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes I love a really good strong Belgian Ale and we're very fortunate to be within 20 minutes of Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown. So I started making my own. I like the brown ales, but I've got a Dortmunder (lager), an American Ale (my own recipe and it is GOOD), a Rauchbier (another lager; I prefer making ales since they're a lot less bother, less time and less equipment), and a Newcastle Brown Ale clone all bottled, another Rauchbier and a Bavarian Hefeweizen getting ready to be bottled. My all-time favorite that I'VE made are the Hefeweizens. And I think I make them best because they immediately caught me up as my favorites and most of my focus is on them. Like you, winemaking has been more of my focus and it's something I've done a lot longer and more of than brewing beer. Needless to say, we give most or, sometimes with certain types, all of it away. Now on the other hand, the meads? ooh-la-la! That's an entirely separate matter altogether. Anyways, with two of my friends becoming licensed as craft/micro-breweries in the last 4 years (one just last year), and another few starting their own licensed wineries (one got his license and planted his vineyard about 4 years ago and then quit his high-paying job last July to operate the winery full-time and he is starting to pile up a rather impressive list of awards), well.... I'm thinking I've got the land for growing most everything I need (I already have a small vineyard with a handful of good-for-here wine grapes, also grow my own hops), I've the friends with the maltster experience, I have the bees/honey starting up and I've got the maple... Raise the beef, sheep, venison, milk for cheese/butter, grains for beer/breads/etc, the wines, meads, acerglyns (maple "wine"), have a small restaurant with everything right from here. Or not, I hear that restaurants are one headache you should avoid. But it's nice to think and plan.

oops again, this does not fall within the definition of "quickly."

[Brokermike]

Try starting a discussion about how evil vacuum is!

[red maples]

do you know how much crap I am getting from the Sugarbush guys because I said MAYBE check sugarbush.

Just want to clarify quickly....
there are really no stupid questions I guess. bottom line is if you wouldn't put food in it then don't use it for sap.

but like I said when your just starting out everything is a question and even though is says to do things in a certain way question it and do the right thing. maple is easier than you think so don't over think it!!! you collect sap boil it down and make syrup. there are alot of things more modern to complicate things a bit...vac, RO, etc etc etc.

So ask away we will do our best!!!

[sirsapsalot]

A few things..... sometimes there are alot of repeat question and some of us that have been here for a while type the same thing over and over. How many times do people need to be told don't use trash can to hold sap and are these buckets food safe etc. many of same questions. I have been only doing this for 3 years and I ask questions that have been answered with go search for it. or no response at all. We were all newbies once and I understand everyone is just looking and or is curious of why something does this or that.

And Like this time of year we are all busy as heck and when you just wanna jump on the trader quick to see what going on you whats new and there are 5 -6 pages of new....well I just check my threads and come back later simple because I don't have time!!!!

Nothing personal.

It'll slow down now if you haven't already noticed but its part of my computer routine now....check email, facebook, weather, maple trader, and maybe sugarbush not ness in that order...then I am done!!!

When i try to check this site i get a DATABASE ERROR so i go to Sugarbush than i try here again later. I must be the only one who gets these errors non stop i guess.

[RollinsOrchards]

I get the database error sometimes, but simply hitting refresh on the page works for me.

Well to continue the tangent of the secondary topic (I think I mentioned about threads taking on a life of their own?) Yeastpimp, and others in the brewing field:

One of the age old problems with home brewing to my mind is the nature of the alcohol to eat all the sugars and die off, but in a fruit juice the alcohol content may still be only 4% to 5%. Has anyone thought about using RO (Reverse Osmosis) technology to remove some of the water from the brew to intensify some of the flavor and alcohol. OR how about using the RO to concentrate the juice before fermenting so there is still some sugar left after the alcohol kills off the yeast?

Thoughts good or bad welcome.

[Brandy Brook Maple Farm]

If anyone is wondering why I haven't posted since this morning, it's because I left my partner 100% in charge of the sugarbushes and drove straight down to YeastPimp's brewery/vineyard/still and have been *burp* sampling his/her quality spirits for the better part of the evening......:o

[Clarkfield Farms]

LOL!!! hahahahha.... that would explain why I have today off!!! And I'm a "he."

RollinsOrchards, there are at least a few reasons why I wouldn't recommend it.

First, depending upon the municipality in which you live, it may be illegal because it is considered a form of distillation. Lots of people utilize cold to perform "freeze distillation," and again depending on your local laws (and they can be VERY vague to give law enforcement a lott of leeway, not always against the culprit but also to allow them to be objective on a case-by-case) this may or may not be considered an offense. Bottom line is, even if you ask, you may not get an answer, and if you DO ask then you've probably volunteered yourself as the next Police Academy's rookie class cavity search demonstration.

Second, this would also concentrate not only flavors and alcohol but also the toxic accompaniments which in the unconcentrated solution are either relatively harmless (and you couldn't possibly drink enough of the liquid to ingest a toxic quantity; besides, think "alcohol poisoning") or are offset by other factors (or which, in unfiltered, unpasteurized brew/wine, the yeast would continue to break down into other components; this is why some wines and your heavier-bodied ales continue to improve, to a point, with age; even your distilled spirits, devoid of yeast, in charred oak also exhibit this process); with heat distillation, which fractionalizes the product, you have a great deal of control over what or which alcohol components go into your finished product. Not so with other forms of "concentration."

HOWEVER, that all said, the possiblity of removing water by some manner (RO, partial freezing, boiling-down, etc) PRIOR to the fermentation (I know that you're asking about concentration of the finished product, this is just another thought) will get your fermentable sugar levels up, and with the right yeast (yeast are primarily responsible for the flavor and aroma profile of the finished product, as well as the alcohol/ABV; I've taken a given grape, all from the same vine, divided into 5- 1-gallon batches, used 5 different yeasts, and -- the finished product? You would NOT believe that they were even the same grape variety, or even from the same region of the country, let alone from the same vine!), you can take it as high as 18% ABV. Not all yeasts can tolerate high ethanol levels. Sometimes, you want the flavor profile to remain as unchanged as possible. Sometimes the yeast, in particular EC-1118, should not be used with the more delicate or complex flavor/aroma profile desired from, say, certain meads because EC-1118 is a vigorous, high-ethanol tolerant (up to 18%, sometimes even more if staggered nutrient additions -SNA - process is used), and it will literally blow much or most of the flavor/aroma right out the airlock. In that case you'd do well to use something like a D-45 or even better, a D-10, although IIRC the D-45 will approach the 17% mark whereas the D-10 will not tolerate much above 14% or so. And high ABV is not, and usually should not, be the goal. Excellence should always be the goal. Anyways, there is so much more to it than that, but --- fortunately it can all be learned. :)

Now IF you're wanting to learn more about that sort of thing, there are other sites that I can recommend via a PM. I in no way regard myself as an expert, but I can sure point you in the right direction to find people that are. :cool:

- Tim

P.S. - um, how'd you know about my still before you got here?!?!?! j/k!!! I do NOT have one, and Joy did not find it! And she didn't really even come down here! I think I'm in trouble no matter what I say at this point :o ....

[Clarkfield Farms]

Sorry, I forgot to add --

As for concentrating to have high enough sugar levels so that there's residual sugar after the yeast go suicidal (j/k), there are a lot of ways to accomplish this, some better than others:

1. Do just what you say, use the RO. HOWEVER, it is a LOT cheaper to just add sugar! I mean, you don't necessarily want to use the same sugar for everything, for instance, table (white, cane, whatever you want to call it) is fine for wines but it can give a cidery taste to beers; for beer, dextrose (corn sugar) is best. Rice sugar is frequently used in American beers. Or use maple syrup, honey, even malt syrup from grains (barley, sorghum, etc) can be used but they add their own flavor profile which may or may not be desirable. One thing of note is that what goes in to feed the yeast rarely comes out tasting or smelling the same as it did going in. I was going to make another comparison but -- no.:emb:

2. Use an appropriate yeast that is less tolerant of ethanol.

3. Stop the fermentation at a point of your choosing; some people cold-crash, which shocks the yeast and causes them to precipitate out of suspension and then the liquid (must, malt, whatever) is racked-off, leaving the vast majority of the yeast behind, some people heat (sort of pasteurize) to kill the yeast but this method has the greatest (usually negative) impact on flavor and keeping qualities, but it depends on what is being fermented, but MOST people (wines anyhow) use a combination of Campden Tablets (or powder; it's just potassium metabisulphate) and Potassium Sorbate to stabilize their wines. I don't personally know if this would be desirable in anything other than wine or mead. Anyways, these two ingredients are added because while they do not kill the yeast, as a lot of folks believe, they do strongly inhibit yeast's ability to reproduce. It is not, however, always foolproof. I know more than a few home winemakers who have been suddenly awakened by the sound of bottle bombs (pressurized wine bottles from yeast that are still very much asexually active! That's why champagne bottles are so different from regular wine bottles, they're designed to handle the pressure) going off in their basement.

4. Allow fermentation to complete, and back-sweeten with the must, juice, malt, honey, maple syrup or whatever; however, use the additions mentioned in #3 or refermentation will almost certainly occur and you'll have bottle bombs. Backsweetening can be very very nice or it can be YUCK.

5. Backsweeten per #4, BUT use gelatin, lactose, or some other non-fermentable sweetener (these can sometimes be extremley helpful in improving mouthfeel of a wine or spirit). This avoids refermentation problems. If using either #3 or #4, pour out into several measured containers (SMALL!!!) and add to each whatever you're going to use for backsweetening, starting with VERY small additions and gradually increasing until such point that it's RIGHT where you want it. THEN, back off at least one, preferably two or three, and that ratio will be what you want, because the sweetening process continues to one degree or another in the bottle and what you first tasted as "perfect!" is now cloyingly sweet. Many of the "wine conditioners" sold to home winemakers use this method, usually along with potassium sorbate included in the ingredients as a CYA.

And a whole host of other methods. I doubt I could think of one that hasn't already been tried and discarded at some time or another. It is an art and a science. Like I said, there's a lot to learn but that's true of everything, and whether it's hard to learn or easy is more a matter of perception than anything else; if it's a passion and you love it, it doesn't seem to be a big deal. If you're really not interested, it's overwhelmingly difficult; so why bother anyhow? Just leave it to us yeast pimps.:lol::lol::lol:

[Brandy Brook Maple Farm]

YeastPimp,
Apparently you have either completely lost (with in-depth detail) or shocked (with tongue-in-cheek analogy) beyond words the former audience on this thread and no one knows what to say OR everyone is back swimming in this latest run of sap...(hopefully the latter! We are still "in" this season!)
I find your last few posts very informative and educational and have copied and pasted them into a word document in preparation for printout and subsequent reading at my leisure (which isn't very much lately). However, look later for a PM as I fear this thread is most likely petering out...and I have a few more questions for you.

Joy

P. S. This thread has BY FAR been my most interesting and entertaining experience on MapleTrader thus far. And it has been rewarding in itself for making your acquaintance. Sincerest thanks (for the good times and all the alcohol, too LOL).