Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

[blissville maples]

Quick question for Dr. Perkins or anyone else who might want to weigh in. Is it possible that sugar maples with lower sugar content produce tastier syrup, that is, if you are boiling 55 gallons to one instead of 35, maybe that means that the other components that add to the maple flavor are more concentrated in the finished product. It's also possible that everything is watered down in such trees, not just the sugar. Just something that's been on my mind... especially two years ago when we were pulling 1% out of the woods!

I've wondered this at times. I find the low sugar is usually accompanied by many non freezing nights which also pulls sap from different places. So it's hard to say really, but the theory is definitely valid. In general I don't think the mineral load changes alot, it's still the same amount just watered down a bit.

[DrTimPerkins]

Sometimes they will bleed if pressure develops because trees thaw quickly and the saddle loop is still frozen as is common on a sunny morning, trees will always thaw before lines when they're in the sun, creating pressure in the lines.

I think there can be a fine line between a thawing tree and a micro leak

This is most likely the correct answer. Pressure of the liquid in the lines is pushing some sap out around the edges of the spout. The alternative problem is that the spouts pop out of the taphole or the tubing pushes off of the spout (especially on some types of spouts with only a ring or less agressive barbs).

[DrTimPerkins]

Is it possible that sugar maples with lower sugar content produce tastier syrup....

Hard to give a real answer for this given that I don't know what "tastier" syrup means to you (darker and strong, amber and more maple-flavor, real light and more vanilla flavor)?

In any case, there is no real scientific evidence for this. Sap composition does vary from tree-to-tree in some ways, but not so much as to have a huge influence. Things like microbial action in the sap (driving conversion of sucrose to invert sugars) and amount of time in storage (more invert production) and during boiling (furthering caramelization of invert sugars) are much more important.

[tjanson]

Finally tapped Saturday. 3/11, 45 taps total, 30 on 3/16 tubing and 15 on buckets. Had a great run Sunday through Monday but it ran Tuesday and Wednesday as well despite the snow storm. We are at about 150 gallons in the tank. I am guessing we can make it to Saturday morning without overflowing the 225 ga tank but we will see.

[blissville maples]

This is most likely the correct answer. Pressure of the liquid in the lines is pushing some sap out around the edges of the spout. The alternative problem is that the spouts pop out of the taphole or the tubing pushes off of the spout (especially on some types of spouts with only a ring or less agressive barbs).

That's exactly the issue when this happens, spouts may blow off!! Been there done that haha

[blissville maples]

Good flows the last few days, and looks to continue for another 2 weeks. We're sitting about about a .31 gpt. Some of the richest butteriest tasting syrup I can remember. Usually by now we have several unfreezing nights and I think that doesn't do a whole lot for the flavor this year has been a year of its own as far as the temperature department. I think there has been one or two nights in the last 6 weeks that have not froze.

I still think the big runs are yet to come, lots of snow and likely frost still

[DrTimPerkins]

That's exactly the issue when this happens, spouts may blow off!! Been there done that haha

Pretty interesting to watch this on the electronic monitoring systems. Vacuum is good as the temperature starts to come up to what should be a good flow, then suddenly tubing pops off and vacuum drops like a stone since the lateral line is now wide-open to air. Not a tiny leak when it happens.

[DrTimPerkins]

Good flows the last few days, and looks to continue for another 2 weeks.

We're a bit colder than you. Sap didn't run on Thurs much, and didn't really open up well until Friday afternoon. Ran well since then though, so about 1.7 gal of sap per tap overnight. Didn't quite hit 32 deg F at the sugarhouse, but the branches probably froze up in at least some places of the bush and slowed down some. Starting to come in again well now.

We're at about 43% of a 0.5 gal/tap crop for sap totals...but less than that for syrup since we've got about 900 gal of 32 Brix concentrate sitting in the bulk tanks waiting to be boiled.

Looking like a good week for sap coming up. Good luck to all the maple producers out there.

[blissville maples]

We're a bit colder than you. Sap didn't run on Thurs much, and didn't really open up well until Friday afternoon. Ran well since then though, so about 1.7 gal of sap per tap overnight. Didn't quite hit 32 deg F at the sugarhouse, but the branches probably froze up in at least some places of the bush and slowed down some. Starting to come in again well now.

We're at about 43% of a 0.5 gal/tap crop for sap totals...but less than that for syrup since we've got about 900 gal of 32 Brix concentrate sitting in the bulk tanks waiting to be boiled.

Looking like a good week for sap coming up. Good luck to all the maple producers out there.

Goldilocks zone at 550' here!! We hit .34 gpt yesterday 1866 gals on 5400 taps.. Niter is horrible this year, but flavor has been outstanding!! Going to be scrounging up barrels soon!

Dr Tim do you guys have issues on some mornings (seems to be on a heavy run when it freezes fairly quickly) where when it starts to thaw the Frozen slushy sap piles up at a y or even a saddle? I do know the difference between a leak causing this and maybe a main line at 2-3% grade. It drives me nuts when you have a 2-ft slush plug and all the taps behind it are running! Sometimes I go out and massage them out with the torch on the cooler 35 36° days where it will never thaw unless you do.

I feel like my dry line needs to be connected every hundred feet to the wet lines. I have done this on most mornings this year and I think it has a little bit to do with my higher volumes this year

[PCFarms]

Dr Tim, When was your first run this year? There were a lot of warm days through Jan and Feb and I am wondering if you got them