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Thread: Tapping Trees Other Than Maple This Year

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
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    Moosic, PA
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    2

    Default Tapping Trees Other Than Maple This Year

    Hello all. Has anyone given consideration into tapping different trees, like walnut, birch, or sycamore, this year in Pennsylvania?

    We're working on opening up a craft distillery in Wilkes Barre and would like to use something alternative in our products in the future. Especially if that alternative syrup or sap is somewhat local versus coming from Alaska.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Granville, PA
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    I had a good time tapping birch trees last year to make birch beer. Lots of sap per tap. I was getting about 8 gallon per tap per day. The sap goes sour quickly though. Birch sap runs right after maple sap dries up. I didn’t get something right though. My birch beer tasted great for about 6 weeks then went sour. Had quite a kick to it.
    Last edited by minehart gap; 01-08-2018 at 05:17 AM.
    Matt,
    Minehart Gap Maple

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
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    Moosic, PA
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    Quote Originally Posted by minehart gap View Post
    I had a good time tapping birch trees last year to make birch beer. Lots of sap per tap. I was getting about 8 gallon per tap per day. The sap goes sour quickly though. Birch sap runs right after maple sap dries up. I didn’t get something right though. My birch beer tasted great for about 6 weeks then went sour. Had quite a kick to it.
    Glad to hear somebody was messing around with birch. Making real birch beer is something I'd love to do this year, but we have no birch trees on our property. How many birch trees did you tap?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Central OH
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    Hey Nick...

    I'm trying walnuts this year, over in central OH. I've talked with a home-brewer friend about starting with sap, but it doesn't appear that the maple flavor makes it through the fermentation. After looking a bit deeper, the folks that had the most success with maple beer did so by aging in barrels that held syrup. Similar approach may apply to spirits, I think.

    One more note, 2017 was my first year making Nocino (black walnut liqueur). Not terribly impressed with the recipe I used...a bit too much going on in terms of all the flavors. This year I'm shortening steep time a bit, and trying a couple different recipes. I've only found one distillery in OH that makes Nocino, so it might be something to look into for PA.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    illinois
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    132

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    [QUOTE=Worthy;339848]Hey Nick...

    I'm trying walnuts this year, over in central OH. I've talked with a home-brewer friend about starting with sap, but it doesn't appear that the maple flavor makes it through the fermentation. After looking a bit deeper, the folks that had the most success with maple beer did so by aging in barrels that held syrup. Similar approach may apply to spirits, I think.


    Do the walnut runs end when the maples do? and if so, which maples, reds or sugars?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Lenox pa
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    90

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    I've been thinking about tapping birch, how long will the sap last before it goes bad.i can only boil once or twice a week as long as weather is good since I do it outside.so the sap might have to sit 4-6 days.

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