Sap is Running, But 1 tree taste funny?

[clifford5555]

Hey Guys. Last year I tapped this same tree and the sap was fine. The sap is just starting to run and all other trees sap taste normal. When I opened my collector bucket I noticed the sap had a very strong tree smell, kinda musty. So I pulled the line off and tasted the sap from the tap and it in deed taste funny, kind of bitter and musty tree taste?

Is my tree sick? It has a large twisting crack going up the side, but it has been their since I bought it 5 years ago.

Did I just tap a bad spot, should I try and tap a different spot? (its my smallest tree, should only have 1 tap based on diameter)

Or just not use the sap this season?

Thanks for any help.

[maple flats]

You likely tapped into a defect in the trunk. Try moving at least 6 or even 8" right or left. Be careful not to drill deeper than 2" and try again. Do not plug the abandoned hole, just let the tree heal itself.

[clifford5555]

Hi Maple flats,

Thanks for responding to my problem.

I did move the tap to the north side of the tree at least 8-10", it still had a funny taste, but not as strong.

Im planning on using it, if my 1st batch boils down and taste funny. then I'll consider not using in the future.

Seeing that I do it for personal use and family. I do small batches of 10 gallons of sap at a time, so no big deal if I get a bad boil.

And maybe its still too early in my area, last year I tapped on March 7th. but all the trees are running pretty good last 2 days. So IDK..have to monitor it.

Had 8 taps on 4 trees last year, got 2 gal. Got 13 on 5 this year. Hoping for another 2 gal!