tapping in the catskills.

[Super Sapper]

Congrats on your retirement

[stimyg]

Congrats on your retirement Van! I’ve been lurking here for years, following your reports to help guide my own tapping timing, and just generally enjoying your posts. Good luck with everything!

[Pancake Hollow]

What an epic January in the southern Catskill foothills, holy cow. Only hope Feb and Mar can be the same weather.

[Pancake Hollow]

Best February by far and March started with a smooth boil, sap coming in 5 gallons every 6 minutes today on my high vacuum blue bush. Definitely some soft maples with some puffy buds around town, but up on the cold side of the mountain we’ve got snow pack, with more snow on the way, so here’s hoping the best sap is still ahead.

[Pancake Hollow]

Syrup made in March has been some of the lightest amber I’ve ever made, so this years crop has some real variation in color, great for sampling at the markets, it’s not about if the customer will buy, it becomes which one they will buy, light or dark! Hit a big round number last night with a midnight boil, a new high point for syrup made. Upgrading to a CDL liquid vane pump this year has been awesome, pretty much pegged at 30 inches all season and the unit is way more stable than the old Alamo dairy pumps I’ve used for years…sugar content from sap has been higher the few times I’ve checked it; I’ve seen several reports of high brix in March, including a peer farm in Wisconsin seeing a reading as high as 4% this week. Strong year for sure, with snow in the forecast tonight and next week, shooting for another couple strong weeks of the same to complete my strongest year for sure.

[MillbrookMaple]

Sap Tsunami forecast for the upper elevations of the Catskills............ Large sap flow predicted starting in the early hours of 3/17 thru Saturday morning. Please be prepared for full tanks! At 2000ft my season has been lack luster sitting at about 40% of a normal year. Too cold/too dry. We now have over 2 feet of snow on the ground and very favorable conditions predicted. Just in time for all you maple weekend folks! Good luck to all.

[Pancake Hollow]

In full cleanup mode, so fun. Syrup totals are exactly 50% increase from last year, so a fine season indeed. Hope everyone else had a great season too.

[DrTimPerkins]

In full cleanup mode, so fun. Syrup totals are exactly 50% increase from last year, so a fine season indeed. Hope everyone else had a great season too.

Congrats...always nice to have a great season.

[Pancake Hollow]

Seeing that many producers are now in full production mode, it’s definitely that time of year. I’ve been boiling consistently since late January minus a a few stints of freeze. Very good season so far, the most light amber I’ve ever made and now it’s darkened up to medium Amber with the taste that I’m very familiar making. The light runs had a very subtle taste with a nuttiness I’m not accustomed to. This year I significantly upgraded my collection station, and it’s been great. On a refurbished 18’ decked equipment trailer I had an Amish fellow build a 7x7 insulated shed for my vacuum pump and releaser, with an 11’ long covered porch for my sap tank. I installed wifi for 2 cameras, on inside on the releaser and one outside on the tank, plus a weather station. Been consistently pulling over 26” and have collected over 12,000 gallons from that bush. 2nd bush on gravity ain’t doing too bad either, maybe one day I can put that bush on vac too and if so, tap another few thousand over there. 2700 taps are on Tom’s Zap Bac spiles this year, so hope this season goes another month plus solid for me. Best to all producers, isn’t it just the best feeling to be a farmer. There are some pics of the new collection station on my Instagram for the farm if anyone is interested, Pancake Hollow Sugarworks.

[Pancake Hollow]

Why am I so happy? Oh that’s right, because it’s sap season! A satisfying relief when the tanks are full and the first batch of syrup is made. First note of the season is: concentrate from RO is the most mapley smelling I’ve ever had. Usually the sap/concentrate isn’t much to smell, but this year, before I even put it on the heat, as I flooded the pans, I was like, wow, that’s the most rich, maple smelling sap I’ve ever had…syrup smelled just as delightful last night as it came off Old Tilty Stack! Here’s to everyone making syrup in 2025, may God Bless your efforts with a wonderful crop and a full heart/spirit, what an amazing craft we are graced with!