Black Birch

[Mountainmark]

Hey there friends. Just had a few questions for those of you who have tapped Black Birch. I live in an area where the tree is pretty rare, however I found a few but they are perhaps only six to seven inches in diameter. Is that too small? Also, are Black birches like white and yellow in that you must plug up the hole afterwords? Does the season begin the same time as other birches? Sorry for all the newbe questions, Was just thinking it was time to move the taps over. :) Thanks a ton!

[Mountainmark]

Well, I guess I'll just let you know as a figure it out myself. I did end up finding a bigger one.....about 11 inches by my estimate, tapped it and it's flowing good. Was thinking of making some birch beer with some of it and cooking some down into syrup. The sap doesn't really have much of that distinctive "wintergreen" flavor that the twigs have and I'm wondering if it will get stronger as it condenses. Anyway, I'll keep you updated as things progress.

[BC Birch Tapper]

I would think that most birches would flow at around the same time. The big thing is the ground has to thaw 1st. Watch your surrounding creeks & low spots & when they fill up then it's time to tap.
We don't usually tap anything below 8 " however we know some folks up north where trees never reach that size.
Birch sap is great to drink, people have been drinking it for centuries as a health tonic, or nature's Gatorade if you will.
I've made wine, I know a few who have made beer & we make syrup every year.

[SPILEDRIVER]

i was under the impression the trees tapped in alaska were mostly white birch?? because that is what they have?? im going to try making birch syrup in the future but the trees ill be tapping are yellow and black birch....i dont see this as a problem....or is it????

[BC Birch Tapper]

I don't think it should be a problem. I've talked to several people who have tapped a variety of birches & made syrup as well as different maples. Mixing them may be interesting. We have white birch as well.
I recall reading a scientific article 30 years ago in university that compared all the different maples by sugar content. No question sugar maple has the highest, but you get some interesting flavours out of the different trees. At the end of the article they looked at birch also, & indicated why would you even bother as the sugar content is so low. We've been tapping white birch for 8 years now and have talked to people all over the world that are tapping different trees. Why not give it a go?

[Mountainmark]

My first experience with yellow birch didn't go so well. It had a very bitter quality. It's possible I burned it though and should give it another chance. With white birch, my thought was that it wasn't quite worth the energy expended. The syrup tasted a lot like molasses (which I don't particularly care for). I do most of my maple condensing on my wood stove and as such don't use any extra energy making it. By the time the birches are flowing, I usually don't keep a fire going so I must cook it down by other means. I understand there are folks out there who willl spend over $100 for a gallon of birch syrup. I'm glad those people are out there but IMO molasses is much cheaper and about the same. The good thing about them is they produce an abundance of sap and as as Birch Tapper pointed out, it's good to drink. I didn't know about it being a health drink, so thanks for the info! I'll have to research that further. Thanks for the replies!

[BC Birch Tapper]

No worries, it has to work for folks with time & space and is not for everyone. I use maple syrup on my pancakes but birch is more of a cooking application as a glaze on meat fish or veggies. I only tap for about 2 weeks then it's back to work so I can rest. We sell our birch syrup for $100 a litre ( quart+/-)

[Mountainmark]

No worries, it has to work for folks with time & space and is not for everyone. I use maple syrup on my pancakes but birch is more of a cooking application as a glaze on meat fish or veggies. I only tap for about 2 weeks then it's back to work so I can rest. We sell our birch syrup for $100 a litre ( quart+/-)

Holy smokes! that is amazing! $400/gallon! I wasn't trying to be offensive, so sorry if I came off that way. I like to expirament with different trees and for me, it didn't work well. I'm hopefull (as always) with the black birch! And may continue expiramenting with other birches. Now that I know to use it as a glaze, I may just have to try it!! Thanks BCBT :)

[BC Birch Tapper]

Sounds great best of luck!

[thecabinguy]

FYI. I tried the birch tapping experiment last season due to my frustration with the poor maple season. Mine were mostly black with some yellow. It's hard to keep up with the sap flow as they generally pour out like a faucet. The birch sap doesn't have any of the wintergreen smell or flavor that the twigs and bark emit. It boiled down to a tangy molasses like syrup that was most unpleasant. Certainly not worth all the effort. It's probably better with a RO machine. I found that it was best to just stick to the maple trees. You'll find that out on your own though. :) Good Luck.

[BC Birch Tapper]

The Ro definitely makes a difference in the birch world.

[FunnyFarm]

We're in the midst of finishing about 750 gallons of birch sap and finished our 1st syrup few days back. Its a little slower paced but in the end we made a molasses like syrup that seems to add pretty nice to sauces and baked goods.Its taking me a bit to "get over" the fact it isn't maple syrup...Its certainly a different syrup with different uses. In the end tapping birch has been a nice few extra weeks making syrup .We'll be tapping least twice as many next year.

[BC Birch Tapper]

That's awesome! Now try some yummy recipes & share with your friends. Just check out Google for recipes, it's great on salmon cooked on a cedar plank, good vanilla ice cream or mix it 50/50 with rye for a nice after dinner drink.. If you have some to sell you will need to explain the difference to your customers as most folks think, as you put it, that it will taste like maple.

[DavidSB]

Hi, I was wondering what the birch folks think about the following approach to a birch evaporator. I was thinking after we've boiled down most of the way, we could introduce essentially a double boiler. This would be a 2nd pan between the arch and the sap pan, that just has water in it. The double boiler configuration would help prevent scorching the mostly finished product.
In the beginning, should we "boil" at all? or a fast simmer.?

We have 2 of the half pint evaporators, it's a long story... anyway, The first evaporator could do the initial "boiling", and set the 2nd evaporator up as a double boiler. I've got a friend who is a welder that could fashion the intermediate water/steam pan. It wouldn't have to be stainless I don't think, so should be inexpensive. We've tried making small batches of the black birch syrup, and always seem to burn it, and like I think it was the Birch Tapper said some years ago, just call it marinade! But now we'd really like to get some nice stuff, we've got a lot of black birch out back, so it would be worth it.

Also, on our mind is 4 very large poplar trees down the road, I've heard mention of doing poplar syrup, if anyone has any information, eg. when do they run, does it burn like birch, or can we boil like maple? And, we have a neighbor with several nice shagbark hickories he's said we could tap, do we boil hickory like maple, or treat it gently like birch.? Does anyone know when they run.?

We've been doing maple for over 15 years in these little hobby evaporators, looking for something new I guess, gets in your blood. Might have to finally pop for a real evaporator someday.

Thanks for any advice. -DavidSB

[BC Birch Tapper]

I would think that the double boiler approach should work quite well. As far as tapping poplar I think that would be a bit of a lost cause as I don't think it would work that well. I think a few folks have given it a go with poor results. I think some have tried hickory or walnut with some success, but I'd recommend a bit of research 1st.

[Starting Small]

I always thought that the hickory syrup was made almost like a tea. Where the bark is soaked in water and then the "hickory water" that is left over has sugar added to it to taste. I did not think that it actually runs like maple or birch but is made from the soaked bark.
-Dave

[madmapler]

I'm pretty sure you're right Dave. You can buy it on Amazon if you're ever curious. I've bought sorghum and birch just to see what else is out there. I'm convinced theres nothing that comes close to maple. The birch is okay. I take a swig from time to time and it kinda grows on you.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Try mixing birch 50/50 with whiskey, it makes a yummy treat for those cold nights in the sugar shack.i