Strange smelling sap

[briduhunt]

I just disposed of 150 gal of sap that had a strange almost a fermented smell to it. I did not want to chance it so I dumped it and cleaned all of my containers. Now I do not have anything to boil as the last two days have been dry. I will get some extra sleep tonight and possible tommorow but I would rather be boiling. Has any one had the happen to their sap? All of my sap has only been int he tanks for 2-3 days tops as I boil in the order I collect it. Any ideas on what happened or is it the temp. we are having the past few days?

Thanks

[3rdgen.maple]

I would chalk it up to temps. Warm days here and sap in the holding tank started to turn. Got it all boiled down made grade a dark so caught it in time. I think I would have boiled that bach of yours down if it made grade B someone like Bascom's would buy it. Anyways did a cleanup and expecting another run again tomorrow now that it is below freezing tonight.

[Bucket Head]

Yes, its the temperature. Its awful for sappin'! Your sap heats up and basically sours.

I've got a few collection barrels that smell a little funky. So tommorow I'm going to swap clean ones and bring those home and clean them out for another swaping later on when it gets warm again.

So far, I would rate this sugaring season as poor. It figures we freeze all winter and get buried in snow for months, and then it goes to fifty and sixty degrees in the middle of March.

I say it all the time, and I'll say it again here now- the weather in this state sucks year round! It does'nt matter what or when you try to do something around here. Its guaranteed the weather will ruin it.

Steve

[Oaknut]

Don't dump any more sap! Talked to my equip. dealer/bulk syrup buyer today and he says the rumor is at least for this season there won't be any difference in the bulk price between the grades. Boil every drop you collect and put it in a barrel, you'll get good money even for the nasty stuff.

[Russell Lampron]

Yes boil it all. You may be surprised at how good the finished product will be. I have boiled a lot of cloudy and starting to turn sap in the past and made some great tasting good colored syrup.

[PerryW]

I'm guessing that ...

Either the sap was spoiled or your tank needed cleaning

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I try to sanitize all my tanks and buckets once a week during the season and it makes a big difference in sap quality and sugar content towards the end of the season. If you don't, they get a slimy buildup on them by the end of the season.

[mapleman3]

Boil it all!! someone will buy it

[newhampshirefarms]

I'm new to this, but how long can I let sap sit? I've been having trouble setting up my evaporator and have about 300 gallons that I haven't gotten too. Probably half of that was from last week and is cloudy looking. I'm doing this for fun, so even if it isn't perfect syrup I'd still boil it if I can...Should I boil the ones that are a week old, or dump them?

This is a big learning experience for me so I'm trying to learn from all this so I can do better next year and not have so much of a backlog for my 2x6 evaporator.

Thanks

Matt

[Amber Gold]

boil it. It'll still make syrup. The sugar content will be lower so it'll take longer, but you'll at least get something. If it's not yellow it should still taste OK. Keep in mind the season's almost over.

[PerryW]

Should I boil the ones that are a week old, or dump them?



While a week is a long time to hold sap, it would depend on the temperature.

If the sap stays nice and cool (for the week), you will still make good tasting syrup, though it would be darker.

If the sap gets hot, it will spoil and start to smell bad, and will have an off flavor.

Think of sap like you would milk; keep it cold.

[michiganfarmer]

Boil it all!! someone will buy it
EXACTLY! Thats my philosophy

[3rdgen.maple]

I used to say boil it all till I seen the three dead mice in a sap bucket yesterday. Other than that boil it.