I've been making syrup in steam pans for 5 years now. My first year I had 11 different batch boils during the season. Went from VERY light to Medium to Medium Dark to light to Medium to Very Dark during that season. Got a cool picture of it all somewhere but this season would probably be over by the time I found it. I used three pans ( now four ) and move/scoop syrup well and draw/pre filter/ and finish else ware. I also use angle iron cross members to keep the sides of the pans out of the fire, such that fire only hits the bottoms of the pans. That results in little to no charring/burning on the sides. Over my experience I also learned that steam pan siphons work like a dream on pots of cold water in the kitchen, but out on the fire and in the roll they are a "pipe dream". Literally. So unless your boil rate is one gallon every 4 hours, do not bother with steam pan siphons.

Starting with that first year I found it not uncommon for maple made in late January to taste like sugar with a bit of brown food coloring in it, and nothing more. Essentially, that is what it is. Might have this problem ( if that is what one wants to call it ) in late March as well, although I find it far less common at that time of the year.

That is one of the many reasons I have started holding off, starting last year, with tapping early. I tapped mid Feb rather then late Jan and am glad I did. I am not a big fan of the light syrup and I think most feel the same. It is or once was the more expensive syrup because it was less common in supply. Not because it tasted better.

I pack away my syrup made in batch boils into 1/2 gallon jars. Sometimes one full inch of sugar sand settles to the bottom of the jar after a few days, sometimes 1/8 settles to the bottom.

Not sure if sugar sand has anything to do with flavor .... but if sugar sand can do this over the course of a season one could say to themselves ... "why the h is flavor not allowed to do the same thing?"

Clearly it is allowed to do the same thing.

So with all this said the number one thing to take away from "MY EXPERIENCE" is that the time of season your syrup was made has more to do with its flavor then anything. Other factors are involved such as how long you keep firing finished syrup by adding more sap and such.

Now if a burnt pieces of wood are boiling along with your syrup, results are unpredictable.