Birch syrup! Breaking rules but...

[dennisn418]

So I have a nice grove of silver birch trees on a slope that would be perfect to tap....I know it's about 100:1 ratio
.....but how parallel is the process? If I have the time is it worth It?

[Drew Pond Maple]

I have extremely limited experience with birch. Tried tapping 2 white birch and 1 yellow birch 3 years ago and spent almost nine hours boiling on my kitchen stove only to realize that either I totally missed it or it tastes like yuck. Maybe I was too late in the season
I know the process is much slower than maple.
I don’t think I would do it again

[rchase]

We had about 300 black birch taps on vacuum a couple years ago. You definitely want an RO. We have one and it still took a long time to boil. We never really found a market for the stuff and still have some.

[billschi]

My understanding is we don't want to boil the Birch sap. Apparently the different sugars are likely to burn.
My thought is to convert my maple evaporator into a Birch evaporator when the mapl season is over.
I believe the modifications I will need is to adapt a tray for some firebrick to lay on directly under the pan. Therefore if the fire gets to hot, it will store into the brick and act like a crock pot.
Any thoughts?

[NhShaun]

I have thought about designing a pan to fit on top of my syrup pan to act as a double boiler when the lower pan is filled with water. Boiling down the raw birch sap about halfway in the rear pans before transferring it to the top pan. I've heard the lower scorching temps don't really happen until it's cooked about halfway. Using hardwood for heat instead of softwood may help keep the sap to more of a simmer than a boil. But that's just my theory, i wonder how efficient it would be. Having an RO and turning your evaporator to a giant double boiler would probably be more safe and efficient.

[bill m]

I had some a friend gave me that he brought back from Alaska. Did not like it at all. Had a bitter finish to it. I guess if you never tried maple syrup you may like it but it wasn't for me.

[Russell Lampron]

I had some a friend gave me that he brought back from Alaska. Did not like it at all. Had a bitter finish to it. I guess if you never tried maple syrup you may like it but it wasn't for me.

I had a friend bring some back from Alaska for me to try too. Like you, I thought it was kind of bitter and really didn't like it. He was all excited about it and ready to move to Alaska so he could make it himself.

[Bruce L]

My wife was up north a few years back,bought a 250 ml bottle,paid $40.00 for it,looked like motor oil that had never been changed,smelled like burnt molasses,I wouldn't even try it,witnessed a few friends spitting it back out though

[eagle lake sugar]

Our maple season ended early last year and I still had some ambition left, so I tapped 50 birches that are right next to one of my mainlines. I had saved some maple permeate for this purpose and concentrated it 4 times and it was still only 2.5% sugar content. I then spent 2 nights boiling it down on a gas finisher and ended up with a quart out of 50 gallons of sap. My wife hates the stuff, I think it tastes more like teriyaki than syrup. It's good as a glaze for cooking, but I'll never do it again!

[Cedar Eater]

I made birch syrup a few years ago, but I did a lot of reading before I did it, so I wasn't as surprised by the results as some seem to be. First, it is not pancake syrup, nor would it be good for sweetening coffee. It's okay for oatmeal or drizzled on vanilla icecream, but it is much like molasses and works in most of the same applications, like baking, BBQ sauces, meat glazes, etc. The uniqueness of birch really shines in making things like pulled pork or beef brisket, but BBQ spareribs are my favorite use for it. RO makes a big difference because you burn less of the fructose, which is the primary sugar in it, but even so, you have to approach the syrup density slowly after boiling most of the water out. But I will tell you how I learned to make it better. Add 1-4 cups of plain white table sugar per 100 gallons of sap. This makes the boil behave much better. Of course, you can't do this if you intend to market it as pure, but it will taste much better and work better in baking.

[billschi]

Maple season is almost over and it never really stated for me. 235 trees and 5 gallons of syrup. So I'm going to make up for it and try making Birch syrup.
I'm adapting my 2x6 pan so the fire doesn't directly touch the pan. I found some scrap metal so the fire is a tunnel user the pan with firebrick on top to radiate the heat to the pan instead. Yes, it will be slow but I understand that's what's needed. Hopefully it'll be like a big crockpot.
Any inputs for improvements are welcome.
18617
18618

[Cedar Eater]

It needs to be slow at the end of the boil, not at the beginning. You could probably boil 100 gallons down to five before you would need to slow the boil down to a simmer and approach the final density slowly.

[Austin351]

It needs to be slow at the end of the boil, not at the beginning. You could probably boil 100 gallons down to five before you would need to slow the boil down to a simmer and approach the final density slowly.

Cedar Eater is correct.

[billschi]

It needs to be slow at the end of the boil, not at the beginning. You could probably boil 100 gallons down to five before you would need to slow the boil down to a simmer and approach the final density slowly.

I've read that before but I've also seen to not let it get over 200 F. So, I'm going to play it safe and not risk burning the sap. I also purchased some copper to make an aerator for my pan to keep the sap cool and boost evaporation a bit.
I will maintain an open mind for improvements. I want to do this right.

[NhShaun]

Curious to see how that adapted evaporator will work out for you. The biggest thing that kept me from trying birch syrup is the fact that I'm off the grid and have no running water.. keeping the tanks and buckets clean would be very difficult with the temps when birch syrup is in season. I'll live through you til I get a well on my property.

[billschi]

Curious to see how that adapted evaporator will work out for you. The biggest thing that kept me from trying birch syrup is the fact that I'm off the grid and have no running water.

I too am off grid but I do have a well, no septic. We are 3 miles from any utilities. I also have solar with a generator backup. It's more of a challenge but doable with a well.
I retired 2 1/2 years ago so I have time to babysit this. Plus my bride will help if needed. We'll see how it goes. Will be worth the time invested if I can figure it out.

[Atgreene]

We were at Proctor Maple Research Lab last week and they were boiling birch sap. A couple things I learned.

1. It's not "syrup" like we think of syrup. It's a delicacy for chefs and suvh, but to call it syrup is a disservice to the consumer. They are looking for another name for it to alleviate confusion with anything to do with maple. We'd do well not to call it syrup lest anyone think it's maple related.
2. They had two 3x10 evaporators running side by side boiling it. Can be ro'd, roughly 100 to 1.
3. There's currently no rules or guidelines for birch. No agreed upon consistency or density as to when it's done.
4. It's roughly $75 per quart, if you find a market.

It was an interesting tour, but I can see that I have no interest in birch.

[Atgreene]

Proctor maple lab was running it off two 3x10 evaporators, running wide open. They don't use a double boiler or lower temperature.

[billschi]

Thanks for the info. I don't plan to compare it to Maple syrup. There are so many mixed reviews on it and I really don't want to disappoint. I know a few restaurant owners and people who sell bbq commercially. I intend to give them free samples so they can see what they can come up with. Free samples of a good product sells itself. Something I learn having a business for 25 years. I'm not a very good salesman, I just need a foot in the door.
If it's selling for $75/qt, there's a market. A lot of people make/sell Maple syrup here, not Birch syrup.

[DrTimPerkins]

I had some a friend gave me that he brought back from Alaska. Did not like it at all. Had a bitter finish to it. I guess if you never tried maple syrup you may like it but it wasn't for me.

Birch syrup is altogether different. If you like maple syrup, and you start out comparing it to maple, you're likely to be rather disappointed. It typically isn't used as a topping, but more as an ingredient in foods where you want the strong flavor to come through.

[MillbrookMaple]

We have been making Birch Syrup off and on for about 10 years. A few years back a bunch of producers around the world and met at conference hosted by Cornell at Paul Smiths in the Adirondacks. Though we didn't come up any standards I feel that the majority of the producers there take their syrup to the same brix as maple. That is how we do it and we have a market for it with return customers. What was established that their are many ways to use birch sap and syrup and you just have to look at it as totally different than maple.

Many of the producers will separate the syrup into first run, Mid run, and late run to grade the syrup.

I want to reiterate what some have posted.

Low sugar content. .2%-.7% is where our raw sap ranges. I would not suggest doing it without and RO. The amount of fuel needed to make a gallon is not worth the environmental impact. Also just like maple the longer you boil the more it darkens and it is a potent flavor regardless.

Again... It is not table syrup... It is not maple syrup. Do not put it on pancakes. It is an ingredient. Don't just take a big swig of it as well. People use vanilla extract to make things taste awesome all the time. I dare you to take a spoonful of vanilla extract and say you like the flavor. Our favorite recipe is to make glaze for Salmon and grill it. (Birch syrup, Garlic, Soy Sauce, lemon juice) but as others said. BBQ sauce and pork glazes are great uses. It is also good in baked products. It is unique flavor and has to be appreciated in the right way.

I have customers that own restaurants that use about a quart a month for signature dishes. We sell it for $150 a half gallon shipped for these customers. For retail we sell it for $30 for an 8oz bottle shipped. We made 26 gallons a few years ago and have sold out. (400 taps that year)
Since maple season was a bust and we were out of birch we did tap a few weeks ago when if finally warmed up but we went from snow on the ground to 89 degrees in one week and we managed to make only 4 gallons and are pulling the plug because the yeast growth is very fast and the sap is spoiling. This was an odd spring and now just looking forward to next year for our syrup adventures.

We boil ours right down to a point from finished right in the evaporator. We try to get the sap to 5-8% with the RO. We also don't lay back on the heat unless it gets too foamy. We have had no success with using pipeline in the past and do all of our birch on buckets. A tap can run anywhere from 1-5+ gallons a day.

I'm not sure if this answers the original questions but I felt I needed to chime in just for the fact that so many dislike the product and probably have no idea how to use it. A simple spoonful into the mouth will haunt you all day so stop trying it like that.

If you have a bunch of birch trees and an RO I suggest people try it if they are interested. We spend so much money on equipment for maple it would be nice to have other uses for it. Also if someone has no maple trees but lots of birch, it gives them something they can do in their woods. that is a fun springtime project.

Side note: We had some friends test making sycamore syrup this year and I'll tell you maple syrup people will enjoy that syrup's flavor. The strange spring made us unsure when the season is for sycamore but more tests will be run in the coming years.

[billschi]

First batch of Birch syrup under my belt. It sure was a lot of work but wow, does it taste good. It has somewhat of a black licorice taste with a bit of lemon. I read somewhere some were discussing calling it something other than syrup. Maybe a Birch sap concentrate? I think the problem with that is, adding water wouldn't bring it back to it's original state.
I evaporated the sap without allowing it to boil in my 2x6 evaporator pan. It only evaporated about 5 gph. I will use the same set up but will inject air to see if that increases the rate of evaporation. If that works, I will remove the firebrick under the pan and just run a mellow fire under.
I used an induction cook top to finish the syrup and had it set to 190 F. it took a long time but eventually got it down to 66 on my hydrometer. I then filtered it through an Orlon filter prior to bottling. I noticed a lot of niter in the bottom of the pot. It actually built up and crusted to the pan. It was not burnt though. So, what I don't know is, is that niter needed in the syrup? If I used air injection would it keep that sugar in the finished product? What I will try is using my smaller evaporator with air injection to see if there is a difference.
Thanks for this site and Dr Tim because my ideas came from all of you.

18638

[billschi]

Is there a market for Birch syrup? I'm here to tell you, yes there is.
I went to 6 different places today and sold to 5 out of 6. Restaurants with signature entrees, Gift shops, smoked meat places and bbq joints. Those are the places I went to today and sold ten 8oz bottles for $15 each. Each place I asked if they ever heard of our tasted birch syrup. Not one had ever tried it. I had a sample jar and had them try it. All were surprised but delighted. I had to restrict each to two bottles because of my limited supply at the time. The chefs and the gift shop were the ones who requested more than two bottles.
Now it's a wait and see to see how much each of them wants more and what quantity. Each of the chefs invited me to the restaurant to eat the dish they come up with. I call this a win.
I went back to reread this thread, and seen people mentioning about the burnt taste. The way I made this, there is no burnt taste. I went with the understanding that certain sugars burned when over 200 degrees, therefore, I didn't allow mine to reach 200. Yes, it took me a long time to evaporate, but it tastes really good. Not Maple syrup good. It tastes Birch syrup good.

[blissville maples]

I watched a friend of ours make it and what's funny is you can't actually boil it, rather simmer. Is that what you've found also?

[billschi]

I watched a friend of ours make it and what's funny is you can't actually boil it, rather simmer. Is that what you've found also?

Yes, that's what I found. I believe if I aerate the sap as it's simmering, I think the bubbles will create more surface area to increase the evaporation rate. I found a thread on this site explaining just that. So I will need to find out if that air needs to be preheated a bit before injection in case it cools the sap down too much. I will also implement an air filter so I'm not pushing dusty air in the sap.

[Jolly Acres Farm]

When do you pull taps on birch? If you dont pull the taps before the buds swell, does it make buddy syrup or do you keep collecting until the sap stops running?

[billschi]

My new bubbler. It keeps the sap from getting too hot yet increases the evaporation rate.
I used a copper manifold for in floor heat. The air gets distributed out to 1/2" pipes. I wanted to see if my fan was strong enough to push the air before I used 2 manifolds. I will do that next.
I tapped another 25 birch trees today and will do another 25 tomorrow. Each tree is giving me 2-4 gallons of sap per day.

18642

[wobbletop]

Because of the warmer temperatures the sap is collected at, did you use some type of chiller to keep it cold before boiling?

[billschi]

We've been in the 50's and 60's here. I collect sap twice a day and boil the same day. It did get up to 75 the other day and I through the cloudy sap out. Now having this bubbler, I hope to be able to keep up with the flow of the sap. I collect in buckets and store them on the north side of the garage where it's cooler.

[Jolly Acres Farm]

My new bubbler. It keeps the sap from getting too hot yet increases the evaporation rate.
I used a copper manifold for in floor heat. The air gets distributed out to 1/2" pipes. I wanted to see if my fan was strong enough to push the air before I used 2 manifolds. I will do that next.
I tapped another 25 birch trees today and will do another 25 tomorrow. Each tree is giving me 2-4 gallons of sap per day.

18642
Looks good. Have you had any issues with the acidity of the birch sap. Almost all of the eductional research stated NOT to use any metals other then stainless due to off flavor. Copper being one of the worst to use.

Also any answers to my privious question yesterday about when to pull taps would be appreciated, thank you.

[billschi]

I discovered the problem with the acidity level in birch reacting with copper yesterday. I had to throw the whole batch out. Dammit.
My understanding about the duration for tapping is much the same as Maple. When the buds come out, the season is over. I was hoping someone else would chime in to tell the both of us. This is my first time ever with birch and have only tapped maple for 3 years now.

[billschi]

I have revised the way I am finishing the Birch syrup now. Because it seemed I was losing product with a flame under the stock pot, I decided to put firebrick between the stock pot and the flame. The syrup seems to be sweeter and less niter in the bottom of the pot. What while I found while finishing on an open flame, it niter forming in the same pattern as the flame from the stove. The niter was hard and crusty but not burnt as I didn't exceed 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here's the preheater.
18652

Here's the evaporator.
18653

Finishing pot.
18654

[billschi]

As careful as I was during the finishing process, it didn't matter. I will go back to an open, low flame.
I have about 70 trees tapped and getting about 70-80 gallons of sap per day. I lose about 5-10 gallons of sap due to mice, squirrels and sometimes the bags falling off the trees because they got too full. I collect sap twice per day.

[Jolly Acres Farm]

Well im all done with our Birch syrup experiment. Made about a quart of finished (68 brix) from 3 taps. Here what I learned.

1st, not sure when to tap, I tapped one Birch tree every day after finishing maple season. On day 10 finaly I got good sap out of the 10 th tree. The original 9 gave a total of 1 pint to just short if a quart each day. The 10th tree was giving about 1.5-2 gallons each day. This cotinued for 3 days. After this I pulled the first 9 taps as they were just not producing enough sap to make it worth while. I then tapped two additional trees, they ran like buckets when tapped. One produced 3.5 gallons and the other overflowed the 5 gallon bucket each day. They ran like this for the 4 days before the buds started to swell, at which point I pulled the taps. All taps were new 3/16 drops into 5 gallon buckets.
2nd you can NOT freeze concentrate birch sap like maple sap. Since I only had three taps by the time the sap actualy started running, I was freeze concentrating the sap. I had done this for 4 days, throughing out the ice. While threwing out the ice one morning from the prior days sap, I was thristy so I ate some on the ice. While doing this it had a slight hint of sweetness. I tested the sap at 1.4% before putting it in the freezer, it now tested at 1.8%. I let the ice all melt then tested it, it tested at 1.1%! I had been threwing out sugar the whole time. I repeated this experiment 2 more times with similar results.
While cooking down I cooked 5 gallons down to 1/2 gallon of concentrate, then remove and filtered the concentrate before freezing to start the next batch of raw sap. I repeated this until all the sap was concentrated. I then took the concentrate and cooked it down on propane making sure not to boil it, keeping it to a strong simmer. The end result was a deep red amber colored syrup.

[Jolly Acres Farm]

Picture just before final filtering. 18655

[billschi]

Looks like you did well.
When I'm done tomorrow, we will have around 3 gallons if finished Birch syrup. Not bad for starting late with 25 taps and ending up with 75 taps. I have a few restaurants interested in the product and trying out new recipes for it. So far I have sold 10 8oz bottles for $15 each. I don't think I'll have any problem selling the rest of what I have.
The buds just starting coming out today, and I am done. The sap tasted starchy.

[billschi]

We sold our birch syrup at 3 farmer's markets so far. The response and sales was amazing. We made sure people tasted it before they purchased. We sold what we had allotted for the markets. The rest is for the restaurants that have their dibs on bottles. We sold our 8oz bottles for $15 which is well under what they're selling for online. I never let the sap get over 200 degrees and doesn't have a burnt taste. I had a couple of other guys that made their birch syrup try mine who boiled at first and simmered at the end and they preferred mine as well.
Next year we are going to shift to making birch syrup as soon as we can. I want to make a RO system so I can step up production. My goal will be 10-20 gallons of finished product. I may keep my prices the same to get more awareness as no one has heard of this before. The people I targeted other than the fine restaurants we the rugged guys at the farmer's markets. They are likely the people who like to grill and the wives drag them along to flea markets. My guess is about 80% of those guys purchased our product after tasting it.
18679

[billschi]

Yesterday I had a restaurant preorder 4 gallons of birch syrup from the 2019 season.
This is a chef that bought an 8oz bottle from me last spring. He assured me there are many restaurants in the area that would do the same.
I am excited for next spring's maple and birch season.

[NhShaun]

That's quite the pre order size from the initial 8oz bottle ! Wish I could get people to do that with my maple syrup. Still not set up enough to try birch. Maybe a little bit next season. Goodluck to you, I'll be keeping an eye on your thread to learn some more about birch.

[billschi]

There's a guy at a farmer's market here that charges $2/oz by adding cinnamon, ginger or jalapeno to his maple syrup when he bottles it. People are lined up at his table.

[DavidSetness]

Do you think that making a concrete slab to set under the pan in place of the fire brick would work? I'm just thinking that it could be custom sized and one piece instead of many bricks.

[billschi]

I made an aerator for the pan to make birch syrup this year.
I am still in maple syrup season and will try it out on 40 gallons of maple sap tomorrow.
I made these with BBQ grill burners and bath safety handles. Both made from stainless steel.
20014
20015

[billschi]

Here's a video of the aerator in action.
https://youtu.be/wAHlbYT4oxM

[billschi]

We made about 15 gallons of birch syrup. We sold our 8oz bottles for $20 at farmers markets. All sold out. Our very first market I had a guy beeline to our table while we were setting up before the market started. He bought 4 bottles. He said he wanted to get some before we ran out. It was an amazing year. This year we also made a pancake version by mixing it with maple syrup. It also sold very well. We will be stepping up production next year. If you make it correctly, people go crazy for it. I usually get people coming back to the market in following weeks just to let us know how they used it.
Has anyone else made birch syrup this year?

[Shirefisher]

Mr. Bill,
Thanx for the motivation and congratulations of your sales and experimentation of the good stuff that is Birch syrup! I made a couple of pints last year for my first time and after reading a lot on here about the trial and error I found a great tasting product by slowly boiling the concentrate after I had boiled 90% of it at a fast boil. Friends and family were intrigued for sure. I also had good luck boiling some maple and birch sap together when they were both running in early April. This year I upped my system from turkey fryer to a sugar house and a 2x4.5 Mason evaporator. I can't wait to see how it all works especially since the season lasted a good few weeks after the Maple was done. Do you folks use plastic to collect the sap? Do you consume much of it your self?

[Shirefisher]

I tapped 20 birch trees on Saturday, anyone else?

[Lensman]

I tapped 20 birch trees on Saturday, anyone else? I don't think I could take doing back to back seasons...Need a break for some sleep and then cleaning and start cutting and splitting wood :)

[DuncanFTGC/SS]

I tapped one birch on the 26th, watching it, will tap another 15 to 20 this year.

Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk

[Shirefisher]

Last year i boiled one small batch- abount 1 pints worth ( on a turkey fryer) of maple and birch together The syrup had a great flavor. I may try this same thing tomorrow as I might have about 20 gallons each of birch and maple sap... And that will most likely be my last maple run and clean the pans and hope for some pure birch syrup to be made the next couple of weeks. What do y'all think?

[DuncanFTGC/SS]

My test birch started running, a little, yesterday. Is there a minimum tree size to tap? Any other guidance?
I'm currently not sure if I can boil full bore for most of the boil, or simmer the whole time?

Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk

[Shirefisher]

I only have tapped 20inch +birch as the small ones really don't produce. I plan to batch boil and finish on an electric pan so I can boil slow to finish. The method worked well for me last year.

[Shirefisher]

I gathered 40 gallons of birch sap, it's happening!21355

[Maple dabbler]

I made some birch syrup at my university over the past 3 weeks. With everything shut down, I was able to commandeer the sugar house for the experiment by myself. I tapped 31 birch trees, I believe all yellow and paper or river birch. Some of the trees produced only a small amount of sap, and with others, the buckets overflowed every day. I got about 280 gallons of sap and pulled the taps on Tuesday. Without an RO system and a tube collection system, this just wasn't worth the trouble. From my first 100 gallons of sap, I only got about 1.5 quarts of syrup, a dismal yield of only about 0.35% sugar content. Once I finish the remainder of my concentrate into syrup, I'm expecting about 1 gallon total.

All in all I'd do it again, but only with some better planning and equipment.

[Shirefisher]

Cool experiment. Good for you for giving it a go. It retails locally here for 20$ for 8 ounces. My days work could produce 60 or more dollars worth if I'm lucky and this year this hobby has made my time at home go by in a blur... it will be real tasty on some salmon and venison in the smoker...

[Maple dabbler]

Yes, it retails for a pretty penny. I was hoping to get enough to sell, but the sugar content was just too low. Also, I'm not using the double boiler method as others have suggested, so my syrup may be dark and scorched. Hopefully still good for marinades or sauces. My final batch is in the gas finishing pan as we speak.

I was thinking about an evaporator design that would use a vacuum pump to lower the pressure in the boiling chamber, which would lower the boiling point of sap. I wonder if this is possible, and whether it could be used for maple sap as well. I also wonder if anyone has done this before. I suspect this is the secret behind the Maple Guild's "steam crafting" method.

[DuncanFTGC/SS]

I tapped two more birch today, they are just starting. My maples gave me a good spurt of sap today, as well.

Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk

[MillbrookMaple]

We do birch every 2-3 years. Best year we made about 20 gallons off 400 taps on buckets. We have yellow birch mostly all in the stream bed scattered over 4 miles so pipeline isn't an option. It usually runs 2-3 weeks for us after maple season unless it gets 70 degrees, which it has many times. I imagine if we tapped earlier during the end of maple we would get another week or 2 but no way to do both at the same time for us. Some trees will over run a 5 gallon pail some days others will do a half gallon everyday at most. Yeast build up and clogging happens at warmer temps. Sap to syrup ratio for us runs anywhere from 100-200 gallons of sap per gallon of syrup. RO is a must or it will be motor oil by the time you get it to density. Draw it off early and then finish the last few points slow because it scorches easily towards the end. We boil it on my buddy's half pint since there isn't enough sap to run my rig after concentrating. We retail 8oz for $20 shipped. Wholesale $100 a half gallon to restaurants. Every year we do it we say we are never going to do it again and every few years we run out of syrup and have a short maple season and still have energy left and say "Let's do birch this year!" Then we slap each other after the season. ;)

[Shirefisher]

21363 35 ish gallons of birch sap yielded me 20 ozs of syrup.

[Maple dabbler]

I finished all my birch syrup. 31 trees over 10 days yielded me 280 gallons of sap (would have been more, but I only checked on them every 2-3 days, so some of the buckets overflowed several times over). After boiling it all down, my final yield was 23 half pints, or just under a gallon and a half. That puts my sap at about 200:1, or roughly 0.45 brix.

With the way the weather was this year in Connecticut, I probably could have started earlier and finished later, but this was just an experiment and the tapholes were seeing some major bacterial growth, resulting in slightly cloudy sap. Honestly, it's possible the birch season will actually last longer than Maple this year. Imagine that. With a good setup, based on the market price of birch, it's possible that birch syrup is as profitable as maple right now in this region.

[Shirefisher]

I finished all my birch syrup. 31 trees over 10 days yielded me 280 gallons of sap (would have been more, but I only checked on them every 2-3 days, so some of the buckets overflowed several times over). After boiling it all down, my final yield was 23 half pints, or just under a gallon and a half. That puts my sap at about 200:1, or roughly 0.45 brix.

With the way the weather was this year in Connecticut, I probably could have started earlier and finished later, but this was just an experiment and the tapholes were seeing some major bacterial growth, resulting in slightly cloudy sap. Honestly, it's possible the birch season will actually last longer than Maple this year. Imagine that. With a good setup, based on the market price of birch, it's possible that birch syrup is as profitable as maple right now in this region.

So what was your method and how is the taste? I'm thinking of doing a continuous boil of 200 or so gallons over this coming week and drawing off at maple temp to then finish on an electric controlled temp pot... i was going to batch it but that is pretty time consuming.

[Maple dabbler]

We don't have an RO, so I had to boil it all the way. We have a continuous fed wood fired 2x6 arch. I did it in 2 batches, 100 gallons in the first and 180 in the second. I did this over the course of about 10 days, so some of the sap might have sat out for 2-3 days before getting boiled. It was very slightly cloudy and yeasty by the end, but not bad. Once I got everything into the evaporator, I stopped feeding the fire and put everything in the gas finishing pan, and finished it there. I didn't really have any way of lowering the temperature, so there was definitely some scorching.

As for the quality of the syrup itself, it looks like extra dark robust maple. The taste is very strong, and not exactly pleasant on its own, but it smells very nice. It tastes like dark, slightly acidic molasses, with notes of burnt caramel and sour cherry. I think it will still be great in sauces and marinades, and am excited to try it in recipes.

[Shirefisher]

Well very good thank you for the update. I think I'll go ahead and boil it down as best I can in the evaporator. I think it tastes like a balsamic raspberry syrup. I really like it. I did salsa, soda, salad and enchiladas with it yesterday. It worked well on all for some unusual but great flavoring.

[DuncanFTGC/SS]

I boiled down 98 gallons of birch, just finished it. Ended up with 5 pints plus a little more to taste in a day or two, after the Easter candy clears my tastebuds...... Lol
It boiled nice, I ran my flat pan at 3 inches instead of 2. Finished on propane slowly. It filtered real clean off the evaporator. Filtering at 66 brix, I ended up with 1/4 cup of what looked like wet sand, but the syrup filtered clean, and everything rinsed out of the filters. I think it smelled better than maple till it hit about 50 brix, then it got stronger smelling. It tastes a bit like mollases, and strong of earthy/nutty, hard to describe.
We had a freeze night before last, today I collected 18 gallons of maple, still at 1.4%. We have three nights of freeze, low 20's, I'm hoping to get a little more maple coming out of that. I'm thinking a barrel of maple and two barrels of birch cooked together to try that too. That should just about finish the propane tank for this year.

Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk

[4Walls]

ive made it before a few years and want to do a big run this year. I've only ever done small batches over propane before and learned that it boils off well until the sugar gets up then it darkens quickly at high heat. The key is low and slow for the finish. I am planning on doing both yellow birch and white birch in different batches. Just finished bottling the last of my maple syrup and pulling the taps today. I am in Northern Ontario and we are not even close to budding out on the maples. Was -7c this morning. The sap is still flowing but I have way too much dark syrup left over from last year.

So my plan is to do about 50 white birch on my property on tubes and another 50 yellow birch on a buddies property by bucket. I dont like birch in buckets because I find that there is way WAY more bugs and critters in the sap with the warmer temperatures. I am thinking about collecting twice a day because, in my experience, the birch really flows and goes sour fast. The idea is to collect one type and run it through the RO for the night to increase sugar content to maybe/hopefully 4%. Get all that into the evaporator and boiling down while the other type of tree is collected and run through the RO. Drain the concentrate from the pans and finish low over propane. Repeat and alternate with the other type of tree. This way I can isolate the species of syrup and do a real and live comparison of the two types.

I am going to optimize the main boil of in my evaporator (2x8 D&G) by running a recirc pump from the finishing pan back to the sap entry point. The front of the pan always burns hotter. I figure I can get the same evaporation over the entire pan and keep the front of the pan cooler by taking from the hot side and pushing it to the cold side. I can also control the total heat in the evaporator very easily. I converted from burning wood to being able to burn pressurized used vegetable oil with a spray injector. (another story). That said, I can easily control the heat and go from 6 of 8 feet of pan at a roaring boil to a low simmer in the front pans only with only the turn of a valve. There is also way less heat momentum than traditional coals at the end of the boil. The pan goes from roaring boil to off in a matter of minutes. This should help with not scorching the birch syrup.

I am interested to see the difference in the taste between the two trees and see if I can make a thick but lighter coloured product at the end.

I will also note that my description of the taste of birch syrup is to close your eyes and imagine the taste of the best Root beer or Sarsaparilla drink you've ever had, now imagine stripping the sticky sweet corn syrup taste and remove the carbonation, add a hint of wintergreen and some pepper to it and that is the taste of birch syrup.

[billschi]

Our first batch of birch syrup finished. We are processing 400 gallons per day. We don't cook our sap over 180F. After it gets to about 60%, we waterbathe it at around 160F or less.

21435

[DuncanFTGC/SS]

Our first batch of birch syrup finished. We are processing 400 gallons per day. We don't cook our sap over 180F. After it gets to about 60%, we waterbathe it at around 160F or less.

21435Very cool, may I see pictures of the equipment you use to do that?

Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk

[DrTimPerkins]

21435

Very attractive looking product -- how's the taste?

[billschi]

Dr Tim, the taste is amazing. I can't even describe it.
We cook it off at about 180F to about 60% sugar. Then we water bathe it at 160F to 67%. This stuff can actually be used on pancakes. It's that good. I believe any flame to the pan when finishing will caramelize it and give it a different taste. Caramelized birch tastes like molasses and balsamic vinegar. We sold 13 gallons of all caramelized last year. People loved it. I think they'll love this too. Last year because it sold real quick at $15 for 5oz and $20 for 8oz, we will up the price to $16 for 5oz and $22 for 8oz.

[billschi]

Duncan, we are using a RO I made. It gives me 60 gallons per hour of permeate. I have a homemade 2x6 flat pan with aerators. The pan and aerators are stainless steel. I use a Buckethead vacuum and adjust airflow with an adjustable fan speed knob to maintain the temperature. The water bath (for now) are just pots that sit on my aerator. We run the syrup through a Smoky Lake filter press at 160F. Yesterday and today we processed 500 and 550 gallons of sap. We have 365 trees tapped.

[lostupnorth]

billschi, what is your evaporation rate at 180f?

[billschi]

lostupnorth, about 20 gph with only one 2x6 evaporator. I have another but haven't been using it.

[billschi]

Dr. Tim

[QUOTE=how's the taste?[/QUOTE]

I can send a sample to you if you're interested.

[billschi]

After a request to see my aerator in a PM, I was unable to load it up there so I will post it here. I found out 2 years ago copper can not be used as an aerator with birch because of the high acidic level in birch sap. It turned all my hard work green.

21437

I had to put a pot on it to hold it level in the pan. The air will push it up enough for the air to come out unevenly. I filled the pot up with 60% syrup. That's how I discovered how to maintain the nice reddish color while finishing. The temp in the finishing pot holds about 160F. So, it's either the fire licking the pan when finishing at 180F or just finishing at 180F that will caramelize the sugars and turn it black. Either way both ways have their own unique flavors and are very desirable. I will also make some caramelized birch syrup for the markets as it was a big hit last year.
We used a Smoky Lake filter press to filter.

[Bruce L]

How long does birch run sap? I know it starts when maple quits,but when does birch quit running?

[DrTimPerkins]

Dr. Tim
I can send a sample to you if you're interested.

Thanks for the offer. Let me check with Dr. Abby...she is the resident birch expert at UVM PMRC.

[lostupnorth]

lostupnorth, about 20 gph with only one 2x6 evaporator. I have another but haven't been using it.

Managing a 20 gph rate @ 180F is impressive.

[lostupnorth]

Are the birch still running for anyone? We are getting freezing night temperatures and the lines only thaw in late afternoon.

[billschi]

I may make this my last day. I'm exhausted. I hauled 450 gallons again today.

[billschi]

We ended up making 42 gallons of birch syrup. We tapped about 375 trees. We got up to about 550-600 gallons of sap near the end of the season. We hope to tap 500 tree in the 2021 season. The trees are spread out so it's time consuming to collect.
It was such a hit this year and sold out doing two markets per week between July and September.