storing syrup 6-9 years.

[log cabin luke]

I am looking for any real world experience. Has any one out there ever stored there syrup in hot packed stainless drums for a long time? I am looking to make a large quantity of syrup over the next few years that will be stored in drums and then sold off over the next 6-9 years. I know that it will darken over time which is fine by me because darker syrup sells better in my experience. I may age a few in bourbon barrels but most will be stainless. From my understanding syrup in Canada under federation control could be a number of years old. I have had syrup hot packed in a bottle that was at least 4 years old and it was perfect.

Thanks Luke

[wiam]

I would refrigerate it

[log cabin luke]

As of right now I store my syrup in 15.5 gallon beer kegs with a 2 inch plug for a cap. I do not hot pack the syrup. I just pour it in as I draw off so I would imagine that its at about 130 degrees or more by time I cap them. I have a root cellar as my wife is a vegetable farmer. The root cellar uses just the ground for insulation. Its about 34 degrees all winter and does not get above 50 until the beginning of June. By August it peaks at about the upper 60's. I have stored syrup as long as 18 months using this method with great success . I would be storing the syrup in this same environment for the 6-9 years. The long term storage syrup would be in standard 40 gallon stainless drums and hot packed.
The whole idea of this is that I would have ample reserves to sell for 6 plus years after I sell my sugar bush and move on to some other spot and down size. I get bored in one place for too long.

[maple flats]

I've had syrup that had been stored in SS for 10 years, it was fine. It was packed hot. As long as the seal is good you will be fine. Store it as cool as you can. Syrup warehouses where long term storage is holding syrup are kept refrigerated, but I don't know what temp. they cool it to.
My understanding on it darkening is mostly during the initial cooling process and not the time it is held cold. Others may correct me if time is also a factor. I also get far more sales of dark than any other. If you do bourbon barrel aged maple syrup, don't store that for 6+ years in the oak barrels, get it to the proper flavor and then hot pack it in SS. If left in the oak, with little or no alcohol it will spoil. And by the way, when you open a barrel, stand back, not over top of the bung. I uncapped one that had pressure in the barrel, as I tapped the bung sideways with a leather mallet, the bung flew up and hit me in the forehead real hard, it sounded like a loud gun going off. After re-filtering and heating that batch, it was still great flavored. I heated it in my water jacketed canner for several hours to be sure the alcohol was not too high for my label stated 2% max.

[DrTimPerkins]

Unlike wine or spirits, maple syrup doesn't get better in storage. As you suggest, it will darken. The flavor might remain relatively good assuming the barrels are in good condition (no rust and ultra-clean), the syrup is hot-packed, and the barrels don't have any issues with seals or pinhole leaks in the bungs. If you do this, pack a bit on the heavy side ....or at the very least make darn sure none of the syrup is light. There will certainly be some "loss" in storage, either from leakage, spoilage, or in some other way. It might not amount to a lot, but plan for some.

Yes, the Federation stores a lot of syrup, but they also have some losses in storage and not all the syrup that went in good comes out good, but they have a market for all types of syrup (including commercial/industrial syrup). A portion of the syrup that is stored for a real long time started out as very dark, commercial, or off-flavored to begin with (which is why it is difficult to sell). You have a very different situation in that you wish to keep good syrup for a long time and have it remain good.

Perhaps a better way in the long run would be to sell all your syrup in bulk at the time you make it, then buy bulk syrup back (from local producers near you or from a packer) as you need it for packing. You'd likely end up with much better product and it would mean a lot less moving around of barrels.

As a consumer, I'm not sure I'd be thrilled with the thought that the syrup I just bought had been sitting around for 6-9 years.

[log cabin luke]

Thanks for the info Dr.Tim and Maple flats. I really doubt I will make enough syrup to sell for 9 years but there is a good chance at 6. Its good to know that someone out there has gone as long as 10 years. I will plan on some possible spoilage . I would only be selling syrup as long as the taste was good. If some turns on me there's always the bulk market.

[maple flats]

In fact I sold some bulk this year that was up to 8 years old but had not fared as well as hoped. While some long term storage works well, I had 3 out of 8 barrels that I re-boiled, filtered and sold bulk. 1 sold as commercial and 2 sold as very dark. Your results may vary, as Dr. Tim says, make sure the syrup is at or slightly more dense than standard and that the barrels are perfectly clean with good seals on the bungs. Long term storage will find any flaws you miss.

[S.S.S]

I've had syrup that had been stored in SS for 10 years, it was fine. It was packed hot. As long as the seal is good you will be fine. Store it as cool as you can. Syrup warehouses where long term storage is holding syrup are kept refrigerated, but I don't know what temp. they cool it to.
My understanding on it darkening is mostly during the initial cooling process and not the time it is held cold. Others may correct me if time is also a factor. I also get far more sales of dark than any other. If you do bourbon barrel aged maple syrup, don't store that for 6+ years in the oak barrels, get it to the proper flavor and then hot pack it in SS. If left in the oak, with little or no alcohol it will spoil. And by the way, when you open a barrel, stand back, not over top of the bung. I uncapped one that had pressure in the barrel, as I tapped the bung sideways with a leather mallet, the bung flew up and hit me in the forehead real hard, it sounded like a loud gun going off. After re-filtering and heating that batch, it was still great flavored. I heated it in my water jacketed canner for several hours to be sure the alcohol was not too high for my label stated 2% max.

Dave after you heated it to temperature and bottled it did it lose some bourbon flavor from what it was before you heated it? Thanks, Jon

[maple flats]

I've not held bourbon barrel aged syrup. What I had long term as pure maple syrup.
The part about opening a bourbon barrel after aging was a different syrup from this year. This was my first year making bourbon barrel aged maple, but it won't be my last. I packed one batch into retail bottles last week and will be packing a second batch next week. Looks and tastes like a winner. After heating the bourbon barrel aged syrup I detected no loss of bourbon flavor. While it contains little or no alcohol, it may have lost some but the flavor is not alcohol related, it's just a great match between maple and bourbon flavors.

[DrTimPerkins]

Long term storage will find any flaws you miss.

That's an excellent way to summarize it Dave.

About 75% or more of the issues we've seen with syrup degrading in storage has been due to poor bungs (often pinhole leaks).