Brown sap

[Bugsmudbooksandsticks]

Is it okay to still use sap that has a brown tinge?

[Russell Lampron]

If it is brown because of a rusty bucket use it but if it is from any other cause dump it.

[psparr]

You might of had the same issue I had. Deduced it to the tree having a bad heart. (Rot) 7276

[Jeff E]

I dont know for sure, but I agree with PSPARR, maybe you tapped into heartwood.
I am trying to keep my tapping into sapwood only, and removing trees (or at least not tapping) those that have very thin sapwood (the white stuff)
Inevitably, the trees that have slow closure of old tap holes, are damaged trees with thin sap wood band. Healthy, growing trees make the best sap.

[MarkL]

My rule of thumb is taste it. If it tastes good, use it!

I find brown sap in some buckets after a rain. Sometimes it tastes fine, other times nasty.

I have yet to hear a good explanation as to why. Some say that's due to water running down the bark and into the bucket, the tannins coloring it. I don't buy that entirely. I use tubing through a very snug hole in a snug lid on a 4 gal pail. If it snows on my pails and melts, the water stays on top and doesn't drain into the bucket. So rain water isn't getting in, at least not enough to color 3 gallons of sap rusty brown. It's not that I've tapped heartwood or rotten wood - the sap clears after the rain.

MarkL