Why is the brix so low?

I dropped in an observation tap today on a 12+ " sugar maple that I have tapped twice before, just to see what might be going on. Tapped at noon and I had 3 pints by 4:30. I brought it into the house to check the sugar content. I put it on the refractometer expecting to see 3 or more, as I remember this tree providing, and I got............1.4. Needless to say I was a bit underimpressed. The refractometer was checked. It should have been at least 2.5 as all my sugars are at this or above.

My question is: does the sugar content start out low as a tree thaws and starts to flow, or does it start high from the get go? This low number has me concerned. What to do??

The more freeze thaw cycles the higher it will get, until late in the season.

It seems to start out watery. It seems like the maple season is starting! We were planning on tapping around the 15th of February, but it seems like it's starting earlier according to the forecast for the next few weeks!

Thanks for your input. Here's another question. Does the sugar content, or can the sugar content, of a tree vary from year to year? This tree in question put out a gallon over the past few days, but still 1.5%.

There can be changes year to year in the sap sugar concentrations in an individual tree, group of trees, a whole woods, or even the state of Maine. Many are due to the weather, the amount of rainfall and sunlight and the timing of it the previous year/s. Another big factor is what went on the previous year reproductively with the tree/s, did they seed up heavily. Over all tree health or stress is another factor, were there any insect issues ?

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Originally Posted by Mvhomesteader

Does the sugar content, or can the sugar content, of a tree vary from year to year?

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Yes, sometimes considerably so. However in relation to its neighbors, a tree will retain its relative sap sugar content (SSC) rank. So a tree that is the lowest of the group will tend to be the lowest every day (or week or year), while a tree in the middle stays in the middle of the pack, and a high SSC tree tends to be high all the time. Because SSC is dynamic, it is important when you do these comparisons to measure SSC at as close to the same time as possible. You can't compare the SSC taken on a tree one day with a measurement on another tree taken the next week (or year, etc) except in very general terms.

Back when I done buckets I checked every tree and noted the strong and weak producers. with lines I don't know unless I run a tap to a bucket.

I've had some of those chronically low sugar trees and I just can't help but tap them when the line goes right by. So when I sold some timber and I had to take down lines for access, guess what, those low sugar trees had a blue mark on them. Their neighbor then got more light to produce sugar from. It was funny my timber cutter came and asked if it was a mistake.....I had always told him he'd get docked for any maple tree he damaged. So those are candidates for thinning in my woods.

I see mention of using a refractometer for measuring sugar content in sap. My nephew has a refractometer that he uses to check the sugar content of grapes before he harvests for wine making. Can this same refractometer be used to check my sap content or are sap and wine refractometers calibrated differently? I just purchased an RO bucket and I would like to measure the sugar content before and after processing.

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Originally Posted by NoblesvilleIN

I see mention of using a refractometer for measuring sugar content in sap. My nephew has a refractometer that he uses to check the sugar content of grapes before he harvests for wine making. Can this same refractometer be used to check my sap content or are sap and wine refractometers calibrated differently? I just purchased an RO bucket and I would like to measure the sugar content before and after processing.

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Yes, I believe it can. We use ours for testing fruit and vegetable sweetness (an indicator of product health).

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Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins

Yes, sometimes considerably so. However in relation to its neighbors, a tree will retain its relative sap sugar content (SSC) rank. So a tree that is the lowest of the group will tend to be the lowest every day (or week or year), while a tree in the middle stays in the middle of the pack, and a high SSC tree tends to be high all the time. Because SSC is dynamic, it is important when you do these comparisons to measure SSC at as close to the same time as possible. You can't compare the SSC taken on a tree one day with a measurement on another tree taken the next week (or year, etc) except in very general terms.

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Thanks to all for the input. I'll be tapping out this weekend so by what I see as a small run early next week I'll be able to make some judgements as to what is occurring in nearby trees at the same moment in time. I won't make any predictions or get worried till I get some more data.

I sampled a dozen or so trees today after I tapped, and it seems to me that the brix is generally slightly lower than last season, perhaps 0.5. The range was 1.8 to 3.6, and I know that higher one was a 4 last season and I never started out with any less than 2. I'll check in more detail once the flow kicks in.


I would be interested to know if anyone else has similar observations. Ultimately I guess it means slightly more boiling for an equal volume of syrup compared to last year.

I measured the brix in four 5 gallon buckets that I collected today, ranging from 2 to 2.8, with an average of 2.45. I checked back at last year's records and saw that on the first boil (mid March) I had a brix of 3 boiling 50 gallons down to 1.5 gallons. I will be boiling about the same amount on Saturday so at a brix of let's say 2.5 I'll be down a pint compared to 2019.

Anyone e!se noticing this?

Did a lot of the higher sugar sap get taken up the tree in January during all those thaws and l missed it?

I boiled at 2.4% today. Often I start around 2.0-2.2, climb to 2.5-2.8 for the middle of the season, then taper off. I generally end up right in the neighborhood of 40:1. So starting off at 2.4% is a good place... some good freeze thaw cycles should bring it up farther.

No, the trees aren't using the sugar in the sap yet. You might have a down year. But I would expect it to get sweeter before you're done.

Interesting that Abbott had a 2.4% boil. I did as well on my first boil today. Still lower than my first last year, but I'll cross my fingers that Abbott is right, as well as a few others on this thread, and it might go up as the flow begins!😊 I'll keep posting results as they come in.

Second boil had the same brix of 2.4%. At least it's consistent and not dropping yet. I'll see how the third one goes Sunday.

Well I'm disappointed in my sugar content. It's been about 2.2% lately. Without any deep freeze likely, I'm afraid it isn't going to go up much. I think my worst season averaged out at about 43:1. We may be looking at another like it.

I'm still trying to stay optimistic but it's getting harder. Have had some nice daytime temps but the overnight lows have not been there. And the trend continues to look warm overnight after the much needed cold snap this weekend. Certainly not throwing in the towel but just not getting as much sap as usual for the prime early season runs.
On a good note, our sugar content has been pretty good this year. Just below 50:1 which is good for us with the reds we have mixed in.

Since I last posted on 3/6 I have boiled twice more, and got a sugar of 2.5 each time. I consider this consistent with the earlier boils. I looked at last seasons numbers. The season, you'll remember, stated late. I began with 3%, moved to 3.3% by the fourth boil, and then saw a steady decline to 2.2% after nine boils. I also noted the flow was strong and steady.

So, as Abbott mentions with his sap, I see my own sugar content lower than last year. As mainebackwoodssyrup notes, I also see the general volume down. I've had one day where I collected 35+ gallons, where last year that was common for several days. Dr.Tim commented last season that the sugar of any given year is a combination of sugar made by the tree over a general 3 to 4 year period. And with water, sunlight, and other conditions as variables, I'm not sure it's even possible to attribute the difference to any one item. However, I will say that my garden has had issues related to what I consider an overly hot sun, and I've noted over the past several years many sugar maples in the fall with leaves drying and crisping on the tree before falling off in the fall, never turning yellow but rusty brown. Who knows.

Hopefully the flow will stay steady for a bit since with a lower sugar content, I need more sap! I'm afraid mainebackwoodssyrup might be right about the too high temperatures next week causing reduced flow. One night is supposed to be in the mid forties. I still think the warm January has a hand in this somehow.......

Typically at the beginning, it's very low. I got around 300 gallons last week on our little warm up that was only 1% sugar content. I need 800 gallons to use my R/O and there was no more coming soon, so down the drain it went.