Birch Tapping one Month Away

[BC Birch Tapper]

We're cleaning up the sugar shack and starting to get ready to start tapping white birch for our 3rd season. That's right Whire Birch (Betula paperiferia, paper birch, canoe birch) Typically Birch starts flowing after Maple, which in our area is the Month of April.
Birch has a much lower sugar content than Maple, typically birch is 100 to 1.
We live in Cental BC where no maple grows other than ornamental planted versions. We tap about 200 trees & enjoy the experience on our 2x6 wood fired evaporator.
The end product & taste is different than sugar maple but it sells for a much higher price tag ( $60-$100/litre).
The southern part of BC & Vancouver Island has Big leaf maple which has similar properties to Sugar maple & flows typically in February-March. It too fetches a tidy sum at the farm gate, but there are very few producers so the demand is much greater than the supply. As such it doesn't last long on local store shelves.
Best of luck for the season

website: www.moosemeadowsfarm.ca

[KenWP]

I have lots of paper birch and even more yellow birch. I am wondering what kind of syrup they would make also. If I have time I would like to try to tap a few and boil once and find out.

[tuckermtn]

BC birch- spent last year in Rossland BC where we tapped silver maples and made some pretty passable maple syrup...now back in NH for the real thing...
I think there was someone on here the other day from Port Alberni

[dano2840]

i have a little 2x4 that im going to fix up this summer and i have about 30 taps worth of yellow birch i could tap up in my big sugar woods, is it the same as boiling maple syrup? like same density for finished product? when do they start running/ stop running? taping is the same as tapping a maple i assume?

[KenWP]

Birch starts 2 weeks after maples they say. It boils the same but since you have to boil 100 to 1 it gets very dark unless you do it like very light maple syrup. They also are supposed to run really strong when they do run instead of the gallon or so maples run. I have a old survival maual that has a really good explanation of how to make the stuff.

[BC Birch Tapper]

I have lots of paper birch and even more yellow birch. I am wondering what kind of syrup they would make also. If I have time I would like to try to tap a few and boil once and find out.

Hi Ken;
Birch Trees & maple trees are hardwoods & drop their leaves in the fall & produce sugar in the spring, but that's about it.

Birch typically flows later than maple-2-3 weeks depending on where you are. The season can overlap a bit. We tap white birch & I haven't heard of anyone tapping yellow birch, but it is worth a try. I'm sure it would behave similarly. I remember reading a scientific article ( FERIC) 25 years ago from a University library which went through all the different maples & their sugar contents, & it included birch on the bottom of the list. The only comment was that you could make syrup our of birch if you wanted to, but why bother.
My answer is , to try something different.

There are 10 commercial syrup makers & 2 wineries across Canada & numerous producers in Alaska as well. It will never replace maple, but for those who have both trees in close proximity, it may be a way to utilize your investment to make another high valued product.

Maple is very forgiving and is composed primarily sucrose & glucose, which means you can heat it as hot as you want without much of an implication., although I understand it does darken somewhat.

Birch is composed primarily fructose & glucose, & when evaporating you must keep it under 100 deg Celsius otherwise you will scorch it & make tar, which is great if you are making a canoe but not a food product.

Whenever you heat birch it gets darker in colour & bolder in flavour. It is sought after by chefs due to these characteristics. Some of the bigger producers use RO's to remove H20 without heating. Any time you can remove H20 without heating birch will result in a lighter syrup. We always finish our syrup on a double boiler to keep the heat constant. Some operations stabilize their product by adding fructose after about 40 deg brix. There are no standards for birch syrup, but most producers are following the maple stds of 66deg Brix

The tapping collecting & evaporating is essentially the same but the taste is dramatically different.

I'm from eastern Canada originally & I put maple syrup on pancakes, birch we use in sauces, marinades, on ice cream & in cooking applications. We've just sold some product to some restaurants this week on the east & west coast for $86/litre.
We've written a manual on its Birch Syrup Production which highlights lots more of this in detail. We also put on workshops on how to make it.

[BC Birch Tapper]

I've checked out our long term forecast and our weather is looking good for us to tap next week.
As far as Birch goes I tap when you see the first butterfiles, which usually means temps in the 15 deg C range.
We've still got lots of snow which makes life interesting.
We'll get an average of 4 Litres/sap /day/tree, but on a good day & good producer we'll get 2-3 times that amount.
I'll likely put in some test trees on the weekend to get an idea on flow.

[Mac_Muz]

I made some of this in NH once but burned it, or it tasted burned.

At 100 C which is 212 F just how do you boil it?

I am at maybe 600 feet above sea level and found boiling for me starts at about 209 F/ 98.3333333 C.

Are you saying to get just below a boil and sort of steam away the water with out getting a mad boil?

[KenWP]

I have a yellow birch here that must be older then Mac Muz and 4 feet across at the bottom. I figure its the grand parent of all the other yellow birchs around it. They are dripping some now so will tap them maybe end of next week depending on when my maples give out.

[BC Birch Tapper]

The most critical time is the last 1/2 hr or so. As the syrup gets closer that 100 deg is ctitical as well.
Birch will not behave the same as maple either. Maple gets thicker the closer you get to 66deg brix.

[KenWP]

I tapped a sweet birch today and it came up dry. The yellows are running and I tapped a huge paper birch and if a maple tree ran that good I would only need a few trees. Sap poured out of the tree and I could litterly drink out of the tap. Should be a intresting thing to do when my maples stop produceing.

[BC Birch Tapper]

I tapped a couple of test trees yestrday and was expecting some flow but nothing so far. The temp was up to 16deg C but the ground is still frozen so no sap as of yet. That's fine with me cause I've still got snow to my knees.
Should see lots of snowmelt this week if the weatherman hits the mark. Hopefully I should be going by later in the week.:confused:

[KenWP]

Tapped a couple of birch trees today. My paper birch is running very well. The yellows are trying to keep up. Tested the sap and it is all .5% but what the hell just trying to have fun. If maples run that well I could make a lot of syrup. As I get more taps freed up will tap more birchs and try and make molassas.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Temps hit 14-15 deg C today but ground is still to frozen for sap flow. Checked my indicator trees again, nothing yet, thank heavens. Snow taking its good time melting., still over my knees.
I'll try a few trees later in the week at a lower elevation which may make a difference. stay tuned.

[KenWP]

My sweet birchs do not seem to want to run yet. Have a few big ones and nothing yet from them. The shaveings from drilling them smell really wintergreen.
Found out my yellow birchs have the same winter green taste as paper and sweet birchs just not as distinct.
Have no idea how much sap the paper birch will give becasue the bucket is allways over flowing when I get there to dump it.

[Gary R]

Pulled my 26 Birch taps 2 days ago. Got enough sap. About 15-20 gal. a day for 2 weeks. Just need to make the Birch Beer and clean up.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Well, one of my 3 test tree's started dripping today a bit about a cup & 1/2. I checked with another local producer ( we have 3 in our community) & he had similar results. Temps today didn't get too warm but the ground is starting to thaw ( 6 deg C) & the water is flowing off the hills. The weather is calling for warmer temps over the next few days. I would think that we'll be tapping over the next couple of days.
The fun's about to start

[KenWP]

I do not have time to tap birchs right now. They produce a lot of sap when they do flow. One gives me 5 gallons a day easy. Made my birch maple syrup saturday and will figure out what to do with it. Tastes sort of like sponge toffee to me.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Well,
I tapped 3 test trees today at lunch & they're all flowing. Looks like our fun is about to start. The weather forecast is for warmer temps which will get rid of more of our snow which will make access easier.
The water level in the rivers & creeks went up which means the ground is thawing & time to get sugarin. :)

[BC Birch Tapper]

Well, we got 70 trees tapped today and trails plowed so we can do a 100+ more tomorrow. Temps supposed to hit 17 deg C which should result in some good flows. Should spark up the evaporator on Friday.:)

[BC Birch Tapper]

Well temps hit 15-16 deg C today & we tapped another 160 trees or so to bring out total to around 240 ish. Almost all were running so I'm expecting a good flow tomorrow 800 + liters or so/day which will keep us hopping. The tapping was challenging as our tees are scattered and the snow is disappearing rapidly but still over your knees in spots and rotten.
So the Sleep deprovation exersise begins. :rolleyes:

[BC Birch Tapper]

Well we've had some cool weather but we've been pulling 600 Litres/day since the start. Rain & some snowflakes today so I don't expect much tomorrow. Had some unexpected changes in asssitance which was frustrating but we've got that sorted out now.
Lots of geese flying north which is one of the reasons why I love this time of year. That & finding the stuff you lost in the snow over the winter.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Quite wet here & lots of sap. I can see my sleep deprivation exercise continues.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Pulled in 800 litres yesterday & didn't even finish everything from the previous day.
Cold last night (-6 deg C) and a few furries today so the flow was down thankfully. Hopefully I can make up some ground today.
Getting ready or a pancake breakfast this weekend & expect to have a bunch of people attend & learn about the whole process.:D

[KenWP]

What does 800 liters give you for syrup. I only boiled down 40 gallons and then got swamped with maple sap again. I am finished boiling for another year after boiling for 12 days straight this last time.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Ken
it depends what your sugar content is, ours is about 120 to 1, which should give us about 6 1/2 litres ish. Another consideration is if you're planning on making pure birch or adding fructose. We make pure syrup but will try a fructose version this spring.

we sell our pure stuff for $86/litre & sell out each year.:D

[KenWP]

I finished up my maple birch syrup today and bottled it up. She who must be obeyed likes the taste of it. It tastes sweeeter then maple syrup. I figure thats becasue its got different sugars in it. I will keep that idea for future years when maple season lags again.

[BC Birch Tapper]

We're having an open house today, pancake breakfast with tours etc so I'm up early bottling syrup .....crazy I know.
We've pulled in almost 5000 litres of sap, pulled 1/4 of our taps at a lower elevation & expect to go for just a few more days.
It's been a good season.:D

[KenWP]

Why pull the taps so early or do they bud that fast there.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Ken,
some of the trees are turning here, budding out & as such the sugars are changing. The sap smells yeasty & turns cloudy.
Not all of our trees have turned, typically 15 % or so go then a bit more & so on.
I can't recall what happens with maple? What does it look like when you pull your taps? What changes exist?

[KenWP]

The buds swell and sprout little feelers and the syrup smells. I got caught with one batch of syrup that I never pulled my silver maple taps fast enough.Tastes semi okay but the smell is sort of earthy or woody. The birches here are budding now and the tap holes put out a white yukky sap now.

[BC Birch Tapper]

I'll be pulling the rest of our lower elevation taps tomorrow which will leave us with around 150 or so for a few more days.
Trees are thinking about budding out & grass is sprouting on the south slopes.
Had a good open house yesterday....150 people or so & a school tour today & we just got an order for 6 litres of syrup from a restaurant in Alberta.
I even got an opportunity to go to bed before midnight yesterday. What a treat!:lol:

[BC Birch Tapper]

Ken
I was sure I was experiencing the 'earthy smell' today as I've pulled about 1/3 of my taps & some of the buckets were going cloudy. I kept smelling this funny smell all day & after supper I realized where it was coming from: my rubber gloves that were cooking on the back of the evaporator for the past 6-7 hrs.....yuk:emb:

[KenWP]

After raiseing pigs my whole life I am both deaf and have no sense of smell so things have to be loud and smell bad before I catch what it is. That's why I never noticed any smells in the sap alone and had to make syrup before I caught it.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Well
we've pulled all our 225 taps, washed all the buckets & taps & pulled in 6000 litres of sap & burned most of the firewood supply. We should be able to net somewhere around 50 litres of syrup. Right now it's all in concentrate form in a freezer so we can finish it at a later date.
This year was a better season than the past two years. Every year is a new experience & we learn more about the process & what works for us & what doesn't. We've had lots of folks stop by to pick up some syrup & see the whole process. We're sending off some sap & syrup for some chemical analysis at a local technical institute which will give us some good info.
All in all...... a satisfying season.:D

[northernbirch]

Our birch just started flowing this week - we collected first round on tuesday (may 5th), some areas are still frozen, expect the volume to increase over next few days. We have about 570 litres so far...heading up to collect this mornings volume shortly.

[KenWP]

Which birch trees are you tapping. I tapped paper and yellows as the sweet never did run for me here.

[northernbirch]

We're tapping paper (white) birch - it's the only birch species that grows in this region. Have to be a couple hours south before you run into yellow birch.

[BC Birch Tapper]

We're gearing up for a couple of Birch tapping workshops in Northern BC this spring. We put on a Big Leaf Maple tapping worksop on one of the Gulf Islands last fall.
A Big leaf Maple festival is planned for February 6th on Vancouver Island
http://www.discoveryforest.com/?bigleaf-maple-syrup-festival,109

:) :D

[Frank Ivy]

Not sure where I read it, but I thought Yellow Birch was the original source of birch beer.

I have many yellow Birches in my woods, but every one looks like it's clinging to life by a hair. :(

Anyway, I'd tap them in a second if they were just a bit healthier.

[KenWP]

Actually birch beer was a old Russian thing for centuries. They killed off whole forests of it over tapping for birch beer before anybody though of syrup. It's supposed to have some kind of health benifits also. Makes a different kind of syrup. The trees over there look like our paper birch.
By hanging on do you mean they look sick or is the bark sort of shaggy on them. The shaggy part is normal. I have a yellow birch that must be 4 feet across at the bottom. has to be the mommy to all the others in the woods. I put a tap in it and filled a 5 gallon pail a day off of it. All of them run well. I have paper and sweet birch but can't seem to get sap out of the sweet birch.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Birch sap has been used for centuries in Europe, As Ken indicated there are believed health benifets. They even sold it as a hair tonic at one time. It is believed to asssit with urinary tract infections as well.
Maple sap has about 2 % micronutirents and birch sap has around 8 %. They sell a sap drink in Europe even today, which is what I call "Nature's Gatorade".... water, a bit of sugar & some micronutrients.
White Birch is classed as a "weed" out our way, but I've got a description over 1/2 page of what birch has been used for through history.

[Beans Maple]

I have to tell you...last year a customer brought about a pint sample of birch syrup to my sugarhouse for me to try. He wanted to trade it for a pint of maple. I took a sip of it and almost threw him out. I decided not to and accepted it graciously but charged him for my syrup. Does this stuff always taste this bad or did he just have some rotten stuff. What is it used for? I couldn't imagine anyone actually enjoying what I had on pancakes or anything else.

[KenWP]

As some peoples tastes differ(Some guys can drink bourbon and normal people drink rum) it's hard to say. Mine has a toffee taste and has a different sweetness then maple. We used it for pancakes and what ever. If it didn't taste good I wouldn't eat it. Would like to taste aomebody else's and see some time. Will hopefully make another batch this year again.
Oh and the trees flow when the maples stop for some reason which is why I did it anyway and stopped collecting when the maples started again.

[red maples]

I made a little last year I personally don't like it. but I have a friend that is from minesota and he lived in north west cananda somewhere and he loves birch syrup and very dark very strong almost bitter maple syrup. so I said if I have some wood at the end of the season I would make some for him. and we wants the very end of the season maple syrup too. said he would buy what ever I have. even if tis buddy. said SURE no problem!!!

[Frank Ivy]

Actually birch beer was a old Russian thing for centuries. They killed off whole forests of it over tapping for birch beer before anybody though of syrup. It's supposed to have some kind of health benifits also. Makes a different kind of syrup. The trees over there look like our paper birch.
By hanging on do you mean they look sick or is the bark sort of shaggy on them. The shaggy part is normal. I have a yellow birch that must be 4 feet across at the bottom. has to be the mommy to all the others in the woods. I put a tap in it and filled a 5 gallon pail a day off of it. All of them run well. I have paper and sweet birch but can't seem to get sap out of the sweet birch.

By unhealthy I mean - no yellow birch gets to more than about 1.25 feet in diameter, and by that time there's at least one dead main spar. They typically have bark wounds, rot spots, and so on. They're all clinging to life. I'm shocked they even grow, considering the red maples and red oaks grow like gangbusters.

The ground around here is heavy clay and always wet - the birch don't like it. Cherries too. Cherries around here always look like they have 1,000 wood pecker holes, all of them weeping goo.

But there are various ridges and whatnot around (not so much on my property) that stay dry and you can find some huge cherries and, I presume, birch, on them, and those are the ones doing all the seeding for the sick offspring.

[ejmaple]

i'am intrested in trying to make some birch syrup. i'am not too famliar with birches, i think we have yellow and black birch? the black ones seem to get a lot larger or older than any other around here. my question is are all birch speices game for tapping or is there a prefered speices? thanks ed

[KenWP]

Far as I know black birch is sweet birch and yellows yellow. So you can tap those two and any paper birch. Just be prepared to boil a lot. I want to try birch wine by taking it down to almost sweet so that you don't have to use sugar with it. Another fellow on here does it that way.

[red maples]

yeah I have probably as many black birch as I have red maples. I have a few yellow and some smaller white paper but alot of the paper birch took a good hit last year in the ice storm bent over so far they broke off!!!

I will just do enough to make a few gallons no more than that use too much wood to get it down to syrup. need like 80 to 120 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup depending on sugar content!!! need like 400 +gallons just to sweeten the pans!!!:o but it does clean your pans great. removes the niter!!! more acidic and breaks down the niter, so I have read.

[BC Birch Tapper]

To compare the two is like comparing apples and oranges....yes they both grown on a tree but that's about it.
A similar analogy can be made with birch & maple.
One uses the same hardware, and collection methods but that's about it. You're looking at a different type of tree, different type of sugar, different type of end product & different end use.
We tap only white birch as that is all we have in our area.
I realize it is a stretch to look at different trees for syrup making, but we I have seen is that folks can make a niche product that uses local species to make something a little different which usually fetches a higher price.
some food for thought......:cool: ;)

[BC Birch Tapper]

Well, Canada & Vancouver is hosting the Olympics and birch syrup is there from two producers in our Province. It's getting good reviews & publicity at the BC Street in Richmond :D :) .

[BC Birch Tapper]

The snow is going fast here as the temps are starting to hit double digits (10-12 deg C) during the day. The weather conditions look to to be about a month ahead of normal....whatever that is.

I've got a couple of test trees that I check at lower elevations, but nothing is flowing yet. We typically don't start til April, but this year who knows.

We just got our syrup bottles from Quebec yesterday. Will do a little clean up on the sugar shack over the weekend & get things ready to go.

We plan to tap about 250 birch trees this year.
:)

[cheesegenie]

If your weather is like ours this year, will be much earlier, here was ahead 3 weeks. I have heard about the birch syrup, but don't know much about it.
I think the ratio is over double for maple ,100-1 ? Does it finish out at 66br?
Do you get "sugar sand" with same filters, and does the tree recover ok from the tap hole?
I know , a lot of questions. Thank you and good luck with your season.

[KenWP]

The sap tests about .5 so its more like 160 to 180 to one. I made a small batch last year and you can boil a lot before it starts to taste or color. Maybe this year I will try again.It tastes different then maple with more of a carmel taste. Hard to discribe.

[red maples]

cross between caramel and molasses but less sweet than molases I think yes hard to describe