making dark from the start

[chrisnjake9]

i tapped a couple weeks ago and have made 40 gallons so far of all dark syrup any one else having this trouble. dark color with a medium flavor :confused:

[chrisnjake9]

could it be bacteria in my ro causing this

[Haynes Forest Products]

I can't see how it could add any noticeable amount to that much sap/concentrate it would have to be full of it to add it. Question is after concentrating how long did you store it before cooking?

[heus]

Dark is all I have made so far in NE Ohio. I think it's a combination of my usual low sugar content (1-1.5%) and warmer than normal temps.

[jetdoc]

Made dark from day one. Sugar has tested between 1.0 - 2.0. yesterday it was tested at the 2.0. hopefully with this cold temps back at night things will straighten out. Time will tell.

[heus]

I prefer to make dark anyways. I think I have only ever had one or two customers ever ask for light. Most request dark.

[chrisnjake9]

i prefer dark also but im already making darker than my grade kit dark i dont usually make much light or medium but i usually make some this year i made medium on my first draw then right to dark and its getting darker. i recirculate with the ro till its ten percent usually takes 6 hrs to do this them once it coming out 10 percent out of the concentrate side into the feed tank it goes and boil it

[heus]

If you are recirculating back into the same tank that you are drawing from, that would be another reason for the dark syrup (especially with the warm temps). I am also doing it this way which I plan to change in the future with a separate tank.

[Hunt4sap]

Think it's a timing thing
Made alot of light( but I was tapped on 1/20/18
Think as weeks go by it generally gets darker from my limited time sugaring
And like others say on here more time between collecting and evaporator = darker syrup
Even in my own small batches this year I kept batches as separate as possible so I could see different grades and both years it started light and progresses to darker...

[Sugarmaker]

Well at least someone close by is making light syrup! Our first boil was on 1-26-18 and made Amber Rich from the start. Then went to dark , now at very dark.
OP some of it is out of your control. Like Heus says a lot of folks want dark syrup now. Well we will have it for them this year!
Keep boiling!
Regards,
Chris

[mol1jb]

Ive also made nothing but dark this season. Not worried one bit. As long as it taste great I dont care about the color

[chrisnjake9]

thank you everyone for chiming in i don't feel like it's any thing that i'm doing wrong or can change i guess its just that kinda year

[markcasper]

i prefer dark also but im already making darker than my grade kit dark i dont usually make much light or medium but i usually make some this year i made medium on my first draw then right to dark and its getting darker. i recirculate with the ro till its ten percent usually takes 6 hrs to do this them once it coming out 10 percent out of the concentrate side into the feed tank it goes and boil it

Recirculating into the same tank is a BIG NO-NO if you want to make light syrup. What do you have for sap storage, if you have plastic pickup tanks and plastic tanks that "only have a couple gallons in there." That is another big no-no. Cage tanks?? They need to go to the dump. Start there, keep up on the gathering, quit recirculating and the grade should get better. By recirculating that long, your also multiplying the bacteria by the millions. In addition, every pass the concentrate warms up about 4 degrees, YIKES!!

[Lukie]

Same here in Maine usually make light the first couple of batches and this year is dark . only 4 gallons but I am glade to here that it wasn't just me .I do batch boil so I know the longer I boil the darker it gets but I have been doing this 11 years and this is the first time this dark . second batch looks like it may be lighter .

[Russell Lampron]

I know that we are discussing this via PM but thought that I would add this here for others to see. I had the same problem a few years ago and in 2013 I built a bubbler for my evaporator. I use it in both pans and haven't had a problem with dark syrup that taste like golden or amber since. In fact I haven't made any dark in at least 3 seasons.

[Knobbs]

Tapped a full month earlier than '17 got a quick 20 gl of sap but the syrup is darker and more robust this year. We had very little rain last summer and I think that the stress on the trees is the culprit.

[Z/MAN]

I have made no amber this year at all. All Dark and Very Dark. Usually make some Golden, mostly Amber and some Dark. Very seldom make any Very Dark. Sugar content is mostly 1.5 to 2. Much lower then my normal so it is boiling a lot longer but it starts turning dark fast. 55 to 1 this year. My worst ever.