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Has anyone here ever tapped a maple tree? I have 6 or so in my yard I'm going to try to tap. It will be fun to make some syrup or maple sap wine or beer.

I'm looking for some 1/2" or so stainless pipe, anyone seen some around?

How long?

I was thinking 2 or 3 feet to make some decent taps.

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You mean 2 or 3 feet per tree?

Nah, total.

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1/2" pipe or tubing? 1/2" ss pipe is quite thick and heavy. Both are easy to source.

Just tubing. I'm going to cut it a bit and it doesn't need to be thick. Do you think Crane Supply or one of the other places in Burnside will sell it to me?

I've got a better deal, unless you want it tomorrow.

I'm planning on tapping a few of my maples too, if you can spare a bit more. If this weather keeps up tho, I'll be tapping before the Garrison Awards night.

akr71 wrote:I'm planning on tapping a few of my maples too, if you can spare a bit more. If this weather keeps up tho, I'll be tapping before the Garrison Awards night.

Have you done it before? Is it getting too late to get a good amount or is it the right time?

I helped my dad when I was a kid and I know a few people around here that do. You want cool nights (below 0C) and warm days ( ~+5C) to get the sap flowing. Its still too early around here, but it could be soon

I tapped 50 maples on my property last year and got about 450 L of sap maybe a bit more....... I mean technically yes... you could maybe start now as you want cold nights below zero and warm days above zero but no one around here is tapping yet... I'm just saying.... you might be jumping the gun... let me ask some of my hardcore neigbors this weekend and find out if they're starting... must say though... sucks when you tap and the temp drops below zero for two weeks straight... it can split the tap you drilled and you then have to drill another one when it thaws and who wants to do that to their trees.. especially when you're tapping them every year or every other year... my trees have enough holes in them...lol..

On an side note... I was thinking about taking a good portion of my sap this year and using it instead of water for my strike... but I've heard it makes no differnce... would be a waste I guess. Thoughts?

Might not be a bad idea. Maple is more of a waste if you only use a bit of the good stuff expecting a lot out of it. General consensus is to use the lower grades for better flavor carryover.

erslar00 wrote:On an side note... I was thinking about taking a good portion of my sap this year and using it instead of water for my strike... but I've heard it makes no differnce... would be a waste I guess. Thoughts?

I've tried it, but its more effective if you replace all the water with sap. Rather than any maple-ness in the beer, it is supposed to add a woody character to the beer from the other compounds in the sap after the sugars ferment out.

I was rather green when I did this experiment and can't say for sure that it made a difference. If I had 450L of sap it would be easier to justify the experiment tho

erslar00 wrote:I tapped 50 maples on my property last year and got about 450 L of sap maybe a bit more....... I mean technically yes... you could maybe start now as you want cold nights below zero and warm days above zero but no one around here is tapping yet... I'm just saying.... you might be jumping the gun... let me ask some of my hardcore neigbors this weekend and find out if they're starting... must say though... sucks when you tap and the temp drops below zero for two weeks straight... it can split the tap you drilled and you then have to drill another one when it thaws and who wants to do that to their trees.. especially when you're tapping them every year or every other year... my trees have enough holes in them...lol..

Thanks for the advice. I'll get the taps ready and wait for the right time.

I had also wondered about using the sap for strike water but wonder how it would effect the mash. I figure it would be better to do a lower volume and top up with a more concentrated syrup. I haven't researched maple beers yet but wonder how much or what you get out of the sap/syrup once the sugars are fermented out. Interesting note about the woody character.

-Rob

Warm weather has syrup producers running

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Chalmers and I used some sort of sap in a porter and it was great, gave it a nice woodsey flavor as mentioned above. We also carmelized some of it and threw it in. Part of my brewing philosophy is there is only one way to find out

I think what I might try this year is to boil my sap down to half its original volume and then use it as my brewing water.

I've got 10 buckets hanging and have been collecting for about a week, storing what I collected in the keg fridge. Last night I started my first boil-off - I started with just shy of 30 litres in my keggle and this is what is left after 4 hours of boiling: There is still quite a bit more boiling left to do, but I'll finish it on the stove. I'm guessing that this will end up as ~600-700ml, maybe a little more.

akr71 wrote:I've got 10 buckets hanging and have been collecting for about a week, storing what I collected in the keg fridge. Last night I started my first boil-off - I started with just shy of 30 litres in my keggle and this is what is left after 4 hours of boiling:

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There is still quite a bit more boiling left to do, but I'll finish it on the stove. I'm guessing that this will end up as ~600-700ml, maybe a little more.

That's a lot of work! I've never done it myself but I've been told it's a 40:1 boil off, so 750 mL would make sense, give or take depending on how runny your sap is. Enjoy your syrup!

I've been sick as a dog since last week so haven't gotten this done. Hopefully I can get the taps in today and still get something out of it.

Are your trees sugar maples or another variety?

benwedge wrote:That's a lot of work! I've never done it myself but I've been told it's a 40:1 boil off, so 750 mL would make sense, give or take depending on how runny your sap is. Enjoy your syrup!

Thanks! Yeah 40:1 is the ratio I've heard and have been aiming for. 65-66.5 degrees Brix too, except my refractometer only goes to 35 Brix
Either I started with less than expected, or boiled a bit too much off - I ended up with about 400mL. I'll aim for a little lighter next time.

KMcK wrote:Are your trees sugar maples or another variety?

I'm tapping whatever I know is a maple tree (we only moved in in December) and is within a reasonable pail-lugging distance of the house. I think a couple are sugar maples, but who knows about the rest.

I just got indoors from tapping 4 trees tonight! I believe the trees at my parent's place are Red Maples.