off color sap

[canaanmaple]

What can cause sap to be off color? just had a little sap in the tanks that was fresh and clear, not cloudy, but a little brownish looking when looking at the totes. there was a thin layer of ice on top, so I know it never got warm and didn't sit for more than a day. I keep tanks very clean and rinse good every time I pick up. It tasted sweet also and looks clear in a jar. Just the quantity in the tanks looks a little brownish or copper color. Is this something that happens when about to go buddy, or some other factor in the trees that can cause that? Getting paranoid about end of season since been going a month now but have wonderful sapping weather (cold and snowy) ahead in the 10day forecast

[Pdiamond]

what is the sugar content?

[blissville maples]

I find that if it's froze up for a couple days with no sap flow the sap turns a little darker and it has to have something to do with sitting in the lines and being exposed to UV rays or just aging because when it's 20° out there is no bacteria growth so I rule that out.

After the first collection of the next run it turns back to Crystal clear instead of that yellowish tint

Nothing to do with going buddy people are so worried about this scenario it only happens when you're running high vacuum and trying to make syrup in the summer! Pretty rare event honestly because at that point almost all of The producers have pulled the plug because they can't get the stuff through their osmosis or filter it. If you have snow on the ground you never have to worry about Buddy syrup the trees will not break dormancy until the ground warms and dries up

[ebliese]

I've had some off-colored sap like you are describing in my buckets sometimes. In fact, I had one bucket today with it. When I first noticed this I kept the sap separate and boiled some off on the stove on the advice of some on the forum. It tasted fine, no off-flavors. Usually the sugar content of this brown-ish sap is higher than other trees. These trees don't always produce the brown-ish sap, though. It must have something to do with when the trees run after a halt in sap flow.

[DrTimPerkins]

Very frequently the yellow-brown color observed in sap in buckets is due to rain/snow melt running down the tree trunk (stemflow) and into the bucket. Tannins and contaminants (dirt) in the bark turn the sap a darker color.