Birch Sap News
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im pretty disappointed with the birch tree sap!!
after missing the season for 2 years running due to work commitments, i finally got the chance to tap some tree's last week. I got almost a litre of sap in one night from one tree but i was duly disappointed with the taste, i though it would be more sweet but infact it almost tastes like spring water, so therefore IMO not good enough to make wine with.
are there any other species of tree that can be tapped that can be put to better use??
after missing the season for 2 years running due to work commitments, i finally got the chance to tap some tree's last week. I got almost a litre of sap in one night from one tree but i was duly disappointed with the taste, i though it would be more sweet but infact it almost tastes like spring water, so therefore IMO not good enough to make wine with.
are there any other species of tree that can be tapped that can be put to better use??
i went out yesterday and tapped two, just went back (in the pouring rain) and collected two litres, tasted lovely, like fresh woody spring water with a slightly sweet aftertaste. well worth the effort. going to heat some up and make a nice brew later on, cant wait!
I managed six lires out of a single 15mm tap today - it's lovely and fresh. However, I set about reducing it and realised that in this day and age we can't justify the energy used to reduce UK Birch sap to syrup - you get half a cup full from 2 litre and use a megawatt of power to get it 
Brock - surely that's the perfect excuse for a fire... using carbon neutral (if you care about things like that - I certainly don't) and more importantly, free energy. Wood.
Get a good fire going and use that to reduce the sap down to syrup.
Get a good fire going and use that to reduce the sap down to syrup.
tried the spot on the way home, i could practically put out a fire with that!
tapping them thar tree's tomorrow, empty 2l bottles already in pack!
tapping them thar tree's tomorrow, empty 2l bottles already in pack!
er, well my clipper seems to be black? at least the tip?
after testing that birch tree last night that is. reckon this is birch tar?
after testing that birch tree last night that is. reckon this is birch tar?
I found a lovely big tree today so got my tap in just now, was coming out faster than i expected!! Will go back in a few hours to see if the bottle is full 
It's refreshing to drink as is but a bit insipid.
Reduce it by boiling to about a cup of syrup - it should appear slightly thick like single cream when cool. Now mix two parts syrup with one part Jameson's Irish Whiskey. If you want to you can add double cream but I prefer it without. Notice I don't use my best malts in this
It's pleasant (in fact some have told me it's very nice) but I'm not sure it's the best use of Birch sap!
Brock - surely that's the perfect excuse for a fire... using carbon neutral (if you care about things like that - I certainly don't) and more importantly, free energy. Wood.
Get a good fire going and use that to reduce the sap down to syrup.
Good point; mustn't ge sucked into these fads
By the way - Brock is my English cousin
Hmm - thought I'd typed Broch to be honest. K for H isn't exactly an easy typo to make. Oh well.
On uses of Birch Sap, I was considering making wine, but I now wondcer if it's really worth it...
...with such a low sugar content you've got to add sugar to get any respectable alcohol content (and I'm not after rocket fuel here, just something normal) and most of the recipes I've seen add various fruits too (raisins, citrus fruits and the likes).
I can't help thinking, that with such a delicate flavour in the original sap, the wine wouldn't tase much (if at all) different from sugar water and fruits fermented would taste.
Or is there something in the fermenting or ageing process that really makes birch wine taste like birch wine rather than raisin and citrus wine?
On uses of Birch Sap, I was considering making wine, but I now wondcer if it's really worth it...
...with such a low sugar content you've got to add sugar to get any respectable alcohol content (and I'm not after rocket fuel here, just something normal) and most of the recipes I've seen add various fruits too (raisins, citrus fruits and the likes).
I can't help thinking, that with such a delicate flavour in the original sap, the wine wouldn't tase much (if at all) different from sugar water and fruits fermented would taste.
Or is there something in the fermenting or ageing process that really makes birch wine taste like birch wine rather than raisin and citrus wine?
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