When to stop tapping help????!

[Joeyhowe]

This is my first year tapping. I know once the trees start to bud your supposed to quit tapping. My trees are starting to bud but the buds haven't started opening yet. My saps still running crystal clear. I'm hoping with the weather this coming week I can get enough sap for one more gallon of syrup. Any info is greatly appreciated. I'm in centeral mn. St francis oak Grove area

[PerryW]

I'm guessing that if you are in central Minnesota, there's still a LOT of season left.

Are you sure they are budding? I usually can't detect any noticable swelling of the buds until a week or two after I pull my taps.

[Sandersyrup]

I quit when I finally make a batch that tastes bad. You might as well, even after you pull the taps they could keep dripping out of the hole until the wound heals. I don't pull them out until the syrup is buddy. And I typically make 5 gallons of maple mead with a buddy batch.

Also Silvers and reds typically bud early. Norways and sugars will keep going.

[SilverLeaf]

If your buds aren't open and the sap is clear you're totally fine.

Once the buds are open and the flowers start coming out, then you're not necessarily done (unless you want to be), but watch closely. If the sap is off-color or has a really bad odor dump it. If the sap is still coming out clear though you may still be able to use it, but keep it separate and boil it separately to be safe. If the sap is bad you are usually able to tell by the smell of the boil that something is off - it'll smell like you threw some dirty socks in the pan or something. If not, you can keep going. I've made decent (though dark) syrup before from trees with flowers peeking out of the buds, but it's kinda hit or miss. A lot of times I use end-of-the-season syrup for cooking, where a little off-flavor isn't noticeable.

[Joeyhowe]

Thanks for the quick responses. I'm just looking to
Collect through the week and get enough to make another gallon. I'm sure two gallons should get me through till next season. I'm officially hooked though. Gonna come back next year bigger and better and have found and gained access to 50 trees all within walking distance from my back door.

[pennslytucky]

since you are learning, id suggest you leave taps in till you notice the difference so you know what that difference is. so much of this is artform and judgement and self-taught that its good for a first timer to just watch what happens and try to learn. a lot of things you read on the internet or in books are only somewhat true, especially for your specific trees and equipment (these guys are usually right on the mark here, but theres lots of other bad info out there)

im far from a maple pro, but ive been involved with it since i was in diapers and i learned how to do some things way differently than some other guys. i still try and test theories and do different things even tho i get rolling eyes from my dad and uncles who have done it since they were kids too. :)

[Joeyhowe]

11138I've made my first gallon boiled down roughly 40 gallons to about 217 degrees. Brought it in the house and finished it off at 219-220 and then filtered and bottled. It came out nice and clear a light Amber color. But to me it seems watery. Even after refrigerated it hasn't thickend. I don't remember pure syrup being this thin. I know it's a lot thinner then normal syrup. I don't have a hydrometer to check density I'm going strictly
Off temp. Any other pointers someone can help me with knowing when it's done. It tastes very good but just not condensed enough I don't think.

[PerryW]

yup, sound like it needs a little more boiling. other than buying a hydrometer, you can calibrate your thermometer by measuring the temperature at which water boils, then add 7 degrees.

[buck3m]

A hydrometer is the way to go and worth the investment.

If your syrup tastes thin it probably is. Maple syrup tends to LOOK thinner than store-bought fake stuff, though.

[WI Sugarpop]

The trees have buds all winter. They're not just staring to bud now.

[Kilroy]

Joe,
I sent you a pm.
I'm in Andover & have a hydrometer & Murphy Compensation Cup.
Let me know if you want to get together to check your syrup.

[pennslytucky]

dip a spoon in your syrup and hold it up sideways. syrup should hang off the edge in a bit of a sheet instead of just drip like water. this is an old timers way of finishing syrup. i still do it on every batch and rarely bother with using the tools unless i have to be exact. if you do it a while and really pay attention, it is suprisingly close to correct.

[Joeyhowe]

Wow thanks for all the input guys. You all are very helpful. Do you think it would be a bad idea to mix my watery syrup in with my next batch when I do the final boil to condense it more?

[craig101]

no it's not a bad idea to mix the watery syrup with your next batch. it's a good idea actually.

I don't follow the 7 degree's above the boiling point of water method, it's not accurate for me. 7 degrees above is when i start testing the syrup/sap with my hydrometer for the proper brix reading. i've never had a batch finish at 219 before. one batch took until 224 before i had the proper brix reading. and yes it's a good digital thermometer and i tested it with boiling water beforehand. usually 221 is when i get the correct brix reading.

3 of my taps is on a silver with pretty swollen buds, i'll keep that sap seperate and boil a small amount on the stove and see if its bad. I have 5 other taps, one silver and 4 sugar/red, those all look good still.

[Joeyhowe]

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna finish boiling down my last of my good sap (40gal) then I'll start playing around with the other sap from the trees that are budding. Like you said there pretty swolen but not starting to open as of yesterday. If it's bad then oh well at least I got two gallons on my first year I'm pretty happy with that. Next year I'll be set up a lot better and tap about 25 more trees.

[Joeyhowe]

Well tree buds were open and sap was foggy and smelt funny. Looks like it's time to hang it up got 15 gallons left to boil down then the seasons done for me. Good luck to all those north of me who get to take advantage of this cold front moving through. 11160