Maple Syrup 2022

[Ryan Browne]

Well, we're still waiting for sap...

Hard freeze last night, so I took the opportunity this morning to bring down my bottling equipment and some cases of bottles. Our filtering and bottling setup has undergone some big changes in the last few years, going from orlon cone filters to a filter press and from an old school Amish-made bottling tank with no heat source to a water jacketed electric canner. Last year I ran the canner up at our orchard shed because it takes 40 amps of 220. This year since I've got enough power down in the woods, I'm gonna see how it works to bottle right as it comes off the cooker. Not having to reheat will be a real time and fuel saver if we can handle it. Being able to keep the syrup at the appropriate temp in the canner should make it pretty slick. Oh, and I brought down a grill too. Can't be without that.

 

[Johnmn]

Well, we're still waiting for sap...

Hard freeze last night, so I took the opportunity this morning to bring down my bottling equipment and some cases of bottles. Our filtering and bottling setup has undergone some big changes in the last few years, going from orlon cone filters to a filter press and from an old school Amish-made bottling tank with no heat source to a water jacketed electric canner. Last year I ran the canner up at our orchard shed because it takes 40 amps of 220. This year since I've got enough power down in the woods, I'm gonna see how it works to bottle right as it comes off the cooker. Not having to reheat will be a real time and fuel saver if we can handle it. Being able to keep the syrup at the appropriate temp in the canner should make it pretty slick. Oh, and I brought down a grill too. Can't be without that. View attachment 331907

I wish I was there helping you Ryan, damn work..........

 

[Ryan Browne]

I wish I was there helping you Ryan, damn work..........

It'd be great to hang out! I can't help you get out of work, but isn't that one great thing about having an RO? You can actually go visit other people while they're cooking. I always used to want to go check out other operations, but could never get away from the firebox.

I'll warn you though. If you were to come for a visit while we're running, there's no way you'd start next season without a flue pan. It's intoxicating watching that pan boil. Same thing happened to me. Once I saw one boiling I was sold.

 

[farminkarman]

Well, we're still waiting for sap...

Hard freeze last night, so I took the opportunity this morning to bring down my bottling equipment and some cases of bottles. Our filtering and bottling setup has undergone some big changes in the last few years, going from orlon cone filters to a filter press and from an old school Amish-made bottling tank with no heat source to a water jacketed electric canner. Last year I ran the canner up at our orchard shed because it takes 40 amps of 220. This year since I've got enough power down in the woods, I'm gonna see how it works to bottle right as it comes off the cooker. Not having to reheat will be a real time and fuel saver if we can handle it. Being able to keep the syrup at the appropriate temp in the canner should make it pretty slick. Oh, and I brought down a grill too. Can't be without that. View attachment 331907

Pretty cool setup you got there!

 

[legdelimber]

I always like reading these Syrup threads!
Makes me seriously want a stack of homemade pecan waffles and butter to go with it.
One of these days I should see about buying some syrup of the darker from someone.

 

[nbbt]

big changes in the LAST year,
Oh, and I brought down a grill too. Can't be without that. View attachment 331907

Thats a understatement.
When r u cooking next? OK to text info.

 

[Ryan Browne]

Pretty cool setup you got there!

Thanks!! I turn green with envy when I visit some of the bigger guys around here and see some of the setups that they run, but then I remember that we only produce a fraction of what they do. A guy can't spend thousands and thousands every year on a project that only goes on for a few weeks and is one of many things we do. I can, however keep an eye out for used stuff and good deals and over the last decade we've progressed leaps and bounds over where we were. I'll see if I can find some old pictures, it was pretty primitive!

Thats a understatement.
When r u cooking next? OK to text info.

Hey Ken, hope is to cook Thursday afternoon and again Saturday. Assuming some sap starts coming in. Keep in touch.

 

[Ryan Browne]

Firing on all cylinders today. Collecting, concentrating, cooking, filtering and bottling all at once. Never quite managed that before. It was a bit of a jiggling act, but we got it figured eventually and took about 1000 gallons of sap down to 32 gallons of finished product plus a few gallons left in the canner. Definitely a good day in the sugarbush! Couldn't have done it without my friends Cory and Mike who were there tossing wood and turning valves all day.



Here's my wife filling the first bottle. We did get our act together and bring over a chair right after this.

 

[Ryan Browne]

Ran good overnight. Our 280-300 taps gave us 782 gallons of sap in the last 22 hours. Very pleased right now. Probably make 35 gallons of syrup today, and a bunch tomorrow and Monday too.

 

[Duane(Pa)]

Ran good overnight. Our 280-300 taps gave us 782 gallons of sap in the last 22 hours. Very pleased right now. Probably make 35 gallons of syrup today, and a bunch tomorrow and Monday too.

That is awesome! I measure yield in ounces...

 

[cuinrearview]

That is awesome! I measure yield in ounces...

@dall might be able to get you on a workout routine D.

 

[Ryan Browne]

It's been a wild ride since Friday morning. Been processing 1000-1400 gallons of sap a day for the last four days, and tomorrow will be the same story. The weather has been all over the map, the sap has only taken a couple of breaks, which is great and also exhausting. Had our big annual potluck yesterday morning and had a bunch of OPE slackers over on Saturday. It's been a great time hanging out with a ton of different people. I typically try my hardest not to cook syrup during our potluck event, but we didn't have much choice. Having 1-10 people around is great for cooking. 30+ gets to be a different story. But the sap supply called for it, so we ran the RO all morning and made 44 gallons after the party started to wind down.

More sap showed up this morning, so I squeezed some water out of it and cooked another 41 this afternoon. Didn't finish all the sap, but I made it home by dinnertime, so that's a win. Hopefully we've got another ten days or more of sap flow. That'd get us in pretty good shape.

 

[nbbt]

keepin in touch, maybe wednesday?????

 

[Ryan Browne]

keepin in touch, maybe wednesday?????

Decent chance. I'm cooking tomorrow for sure. The weather looks soggy, but I'll probably need to cook either Wednesday or Thursday. With any luck the other day I'll be able to take a break from cooking.

 

[Ryan Browne]

The sap has hardly taken a break. Collected a new record of 936 gallons from 300 taps in the last 24 hours. RO has been running 10-16 hours a day. Cooking again today, which will be 8 out of the last ten days. And the dang sap is just about keeping up with me. Yesterday I surpassed last years total for syrup produced, so it's a record year from this point on. I'm down to slabwood and some ash I need to split yet, but the forecast shows good sap weather again starting Thursday. So if I'm lucky I'll get most of what I have cooked today through Tuesday and might get a day off on Wednesday.

I think I'm gonna need a bigger RO next year...

 

[Johnmn]

We RO'ed, cooked, filtered and bottled 9.5 gallons yesterday.

 

[Ryan Browne]

I have to say that this last month of weather has been pretty unpleasant. Cold, wet, windy, muddy, you name it. But, it's been good for sapping. Had a couple days that were too cold towards the end of this week, but we picked up a gallon per tap Saturday and 2.7 per tap yesterday. I wasn't planning on cooking, but I was worried about running out of space, so i cooked for a few hours twice yesterday. Sugar content has dropped considerably, so it takes longer to make syrup, but everything is all set up, so I'll get while the getting is good. We should have another freeze tonight which will give us sap for a few days after that. Then we can start cleaning up...

 

[nbbt]

Are you still waiting for sap...

Oh, and I brought down a grill too. Can't be without that. View attachment 331907

Anything new with the shack planned or implemented this year

 

[Ryan Browne]

Anything new with the shack planned or implemented this year

I did get a new bigger RO and a new bulk tank. Thanks for the bump, I'll start a new thread and get some pics up. Just started replacing taps this week, and ran down to mondovi for slabwood today. Did some ice skating with my gooseneck trailer in the driveway today. Got lucky and didn't crunch my cab, thankfully.

 

[redline4]

I saw some trees down the road from me with sap bags hanging off of them yesterday.