Tapped a couple of maple trees.

[Angry Perch]

I'm bummed, all we have are fir trees and blackberry bushes, pretty sure neither of those will work.

Ya, if you're going to tap blackberry bushes, you may want to have a couple units of blood handy!

[Rob]

This really is an interesting thread.  Thanks for posting!

[highside74]

I'm bummed, all we have are fir trees and blackberry bushes, pretty sure neither of those will work.

Who needs Maple syrup when you can make Blackberry syrup? 

[lokidog]

So, an FYI from when I did this on a fairly large scale (70+ gallons collected and lots overflowed), trees that were in or near water produced much more sap than ones farther away from draws on a hillside. I was using wine bottles for collection and had many that were full so I have no idea how much I missed.

[JimmyHoffa]

So, an FYI from when I did this on a fairly large scale (70+ gallons collected and lots overflowed), trees that were in or near water produced much more sap than ones farther away from draws on a hillside. I was using wine bottles for collection and had many that were full so I have no idea how much I missed.

Other than the volume difference, did you notice any variety in tanning or sugar content between different growing conditions?

[lokidog]

So, an FYI from when I did this on a fairly large scale (70+ gallons collected and lots overflowed), trees that were in or near water produced much more sap than ones farther away from draws on a hillside. I was using wine bottles for collection and had many that were full so I have no idea how much I missed.

Other than the volume difference, did you notice any variety in tanning or sugar content between different growing conditions?

I dumped them all together so did not do any testing. I'm looking forward to living in northern WI for my next syrup adventure. 

[Blacktail135]

 Rubber is about to meet the road! Just took pot in to house to “finish”! Got 5 gallons of sap. Hoping to get around 10-12 ounces of syrup. Timing is CRITICAL now. Will post when done.

[Blacktail135]

 I ended up getting 12 ounces of syrup (out of 5 gallons of sap). 2-5 ounce bottles that’ll be given away to family. 2 ounces for me! 😁 Might get more sap. Depends on weather. I’ll leave taps in until the buds start growing.

[Blacktail135]

 All utensils and pots were sticky and sweet during the end of the process!

[Angry Perch]

That is so awesome. Great job.

[pianoman9701]

I ended up getting 12 ounces of syrup (out of 5 gallons of sap). 2-5 ounce bottles that’ll be given away to family. 2 ounces for me! 😁 Might get more sap. Depends on weather. I’ll leave taps in until the buds start growing.

If the ratio for this variety is the same as a sugar maple (40:1), you should get 3.2 oz per gallon, or 16 oz per 5 gallons. Doesn't sound like much of a difference, but you'll increase your yield by 34%. Kind of hard to measure on the boil. Sugar houses use the color as their guide. Amber is considered the highest grade for commercial production. See the chart below. Amber is 2nd from the left.

Excellent job producing your own syrup. Making it yourself increases the sweetness!

[Blacktail135]

 I remeasured and wound up with ~13 ounces of syrup. Here’s a picture of 3 different maple syrups.....the sample on the left is this years Bigleaf maple syrup. The middle sample is Bigleaf maple syrup from 2019 and the sample on the right is grade A amber maple syrup from back East (sugar maple). The sugar maple syrup is sweeter with a slight butteryness to it and it is a bit thicker. The Bigleaf syrups are a bit thinner and have a stronger flavor (kinda like a hint of molasses). Sugar maples are definitely called that for a reason.

[Jpmiller]

This is awesome thanks for sharing.

[pianoman9701]

No doubt the sugar maple has a higher content. Well done making your own.

[Blacktail135]

 Thanks guys. Made my own salt the other day too but I scorched it a bit. Got about 4-5 ounces from 2 gallons of saltwater. Gonna retry that again soon. That’ll be another thread. 😁