best sap storage methods?

[parrothead600]

I spend the week collecting sap and storing it in 55 gallon drums until the weekend, when I have time to boil it down. Last week I collected my sap and spent most of Saturday boiling it down. I checked the brix level with a refractometer that is made for home-brewing. It was at 2.8 brix.

Sunday morning, I went out to resume boiling my last barrel of sap only to find that my pan was leaking. After spending 2 hours attempting to repair the pan, I decided that it was a lost cause and decided to call it a year. I had approx 40 gallons of sap left, so I decided to save about 12 gallons and use it to brew a batch of beer (which will be next weekends project). Today I checked the brix level and was surprised to see that I had 1.9 brix.

This sap was kept inside an unheated building. Our outside temp has been as low as 18 at night and no higher than mid 40's during the day. Does this drop in brix sound right for only 3-4 days of storage? Other than boiling within a day or 2 of collecting, is there any way to reduce this de-grading?

[30AcreWoods]

I'm not sure why your brix is dropping. If the volume of fluid is the same, your sugar content should be the same. Usually, with much time between collection and boiling, you get bacteria growth in the sugar environment and thus the color darkens (you make darker grade syrup), and if it goes too long, it spoils and doesn't taste good. Sap is like milk, it spoils - even if kept relatively cool. If you are going to be 2-weeks between collecting and brewing, I'd recommend freezing the sap ASAP. If the sap has been as cold as you say, there should be ice on it in the mornings, and if you remove the ice the sugar content should rise. The other thing you might check is if you are measuring your brix at the top of the storage barrel, you might find if you mix it or check the brix at the bottom, your sap has stratified and you will have higher brix at the bottom. Bottom line: boil ASAP and you get the best tasting, optimum grade. But the realities of life are that we can't all do that, and thus I try to keep the sap as cold as possible and not keep it for more than 4-5 days before boiling.

[Russell Lampron]

Temperature has an effect on the Brix reading and it could be as simple as a temperature difference when the two readings were taken. If the sap was collected on different days that could make a difference too. The trees will put out different sugar amounts on different days. Bacteria will be eating your sugar too and the loner the sap is kept the lower the sugar content will be. There is no one answer to your question. For best results boil your sap as soon as possible and freeze or refrigerate it if you plan to store it for more than a couple of days.