Spoiled sap?

[huxta]

I haven't been able to get to my sap all week and it is now very cloudy with some bubbles forming on top. There is absolutely no smell to it though. Wondering if it's even worth trying to boil down this weekend or not.15484

[mike103]

Does not look too promising, but you could fill a coffee mug with it, nuke it for 3 minutes and see what it smells like.....

[huxta]

I'll try that right now an let you know

[motowbrowne]

If it doesn't smell off and it doesn't have a strange consistency it may very well make nice syrup. Worth investigating before you dump it anyway.

[huxta]

Ok. I nuked a mug of it but don't really know what it should smell like. It definitely does not smell like maple but also doesn't really smell sour either. It was a different kind of smell all together.

[huxta]

I also dipped my finger and tasted it and it does not taste sour.

[bowtie]

Not sure what you boil on but a test boibshould tell you, even if you boil some inside on a kettle on the stove. I would try that before "wasting" time and fuel on bad sap. The sap in the picture looks pretty bad, definetely a lot of bacteria growing in it, which eats up the sugar .

[Bad Bunny]

My sap looks the same and I was going to ask the same question, so thank you for the advice. :-(

So how do small operations keep their sap cold enough to keep from spoiling when February temps are pushing 70 degrees? I tapped 68 trees this year and have about 55 gallons so far (and already threw 5 gallons away).

[Cedar Eater]

My sap looks the same and I was going to ask the same question, so thank you for the advice. :-(

So how do small operations keep their sap cold enough to keep from spoiling when February temps are pushing 70 degrees?

I've been boiling an average of 30 gallons of sap per day for the last 4 days. I don't let the sap get old if I can help it. I don't have facilities to keep it cold unless I pump pond water up to circulate around it. But then I don't evap more than 4 gph.

[Bad Bunny]

I've been boiling an average of 30 gallons of sap per day for the last 4 days. I don't let the sap get old if I can help it. I don't have facilities to keep it cold unless I pump pond water up to circulate around it. But then I don't evap more than 4 gph.

Unfortunately, I can only boil on weekends. In previous years, I have shoveled snow up around my storage tanks, which has kept it cold (often with a skim of ice). Unfortunately, all the tiny bit of snow we have gotten is gone. I spent $45 yesterday morning for 180 lbs of ice to put around it, but it was obviously too little, too late. :-(

[ForFun]

I know it doesn't help you now, but people have froze water in empty milk jugs, prior to season beginning. So, when they run into situations like this with warm temps, they drop a few of the frozen jugs inside the sap to help keep it cool. I've done this in the past and it definitely helps!

[berkshires]

I had a batch like that last year. Smelled just a little funny, and when I boiled a little bit of it, it the smell intensified. I dunno about what you want to make into syrup, but I dumped the sap. Of course, this is a hobby for me, if I had to make a living off it... I probably still woulda dumped the sap, but who knows!

[maple75]

My sap looks the same and I was going to ask the same question, so thank you for the advice. :-(

So how do small operations keep their sap cold enough to keep from spoiling when February temps are pushing 70 degrees? I tapped 68 trees this year and have about 55 gallons so far (and already threw 5 gallons away).

Luckily I have lots of snow now but later in the season I will freeze pails of sap to keep them, I sometimes remove the blocks from the pails, cover them in plastic bags and stack in the freezer like cord wood. I can then use the blocks to keep drums cool. If you watch the local classifieds you can usually pick up old freezers for pretty cheap when people are downsizing or upgrading to more modern ones. I bought three large clean freezers for $25 to $40 each.

[smokeyamber]

the battle to keep sap cold is one that all weekend boilers fight... but in the end the only answer is to boil asap. I have buried containers in snow, covered with insulation and even then 70 degree weather you need to boil that day. Some will take jugs and fill them with sap and freeze them in the freezer, then drop into the sap. This helps for marginal days, but likely not for several 70deg days. I had considered making a cold storage location set into a hillside like a root cellar, but in the end opted to just boil as soon as I can. It means some sleepless nights and bleary days at work, but really is the only solution for me.

Good luck and I know how sad it is dumping sap :(

[H'Artwind]

We had quite a bit of sap that looked like that, too-although it wasn't bubbly. Ours definitely didn't taste sour (we experienced that in 2013 when we had 80° days and had to dump 150 gallons of sap <sick still over that one!>); it actually tasted quite pleasant. With that being said, I measured Brix at exactly 38° and it was at 2.8; the latest (03.11.17), which was barely cloudy, measured 3.7. We started our season on Feb. 14 with 32 taps - all Sugar maples- and the sap run has been very intermittent with our roller coaster temps-Brix started out at 3.7. We've had hardly any "crystal clear" sap-only week one. Many times the sap has actually been slightly cloudy when collected the next day in cooler temps. I'm not entirely sure what's happening. I realize it'll make super dark syrup but it's still worth it and awesome! Could the cloudiness have to do with rain?