Birch sap tap.

[Dougster]

I think I need to try this ASAP
The Cherry trees are already in blossom here ! Spring is on its way, and I still haven't cut the hedge back.
Cheers
Rich

I tested the birch yesterday. They aren't ready yet. I'll have a look at Sycamore this afternoon hopefully.

Richard

 

[dave k]

whisky with ice - no no no!!
It's got to be served at room temperature, with a bit of water..

 

[Butchd]

Birch here appear to be ready, though my test was a rather unscientific prod with the point of my knife. And that reminds me, I really must take the tops out of the conifers today before their sticky sap makes the job ten times harder.

 

[leon-b]

how do i test if the birch are ready ?
leon

 

[Dougster]

whisky with ice - no no no!!
It's got to be served at room temperature, with a bit of water..

I beg to differ there old bean. A Macallan Oak aged with a birch sap ice cube is the business.

Leon, stab your knife point sideways on and lift, wait a few seconds. If it starts to drip you're on. Push the bark down afterwards.

 

[jon r]

stick your knife in the tree and wrench it upwards a little to make a small opening. Leave this for a few mins and see if any sap starts to drip out. You need stick your knife through both layers of bark into the main wood.

 

[leon-b]

ok i will try that tommorow, it may be ready or it might not, if its not how long do you suggest i leave it untill i try again ?
leon

 

[jon r]

Greg, yes the water from the birch is safe to drink, the tree cleans it.

Guys dont forget the humble Sycamore as well, there are far more Sycamores about and the sap is pretty good.

Do you just tap sycamore in exactly the same way? And can you dring the sap straight from the tree without doing anything to it?

Also what does it taist like?

 

[billycan]

yes, within reason, if its on top of some nuclear waste then clearly its not going to filter out radiation, but yes it will be clean and Sycamore is done the same way.

 

[w00dsmoke]

Remember folks if there are undesirables about you are gonna get your billy nicked...

What I do is drill a wee hole, insert a hoze (with cammo tape-even silver gaffa tape can work ok with birch) and bury/cover a demijon nearby with the hoze going straigh in. Check every couple of days

 

[heath]

ok Iv'e got my sap,
er what do i do with it?

 

[spamel]

Try drinking it!!! You ca apparently make a beer or mead from it but I wouldn't know how to do that! Tell us what you think of it,do you think it tastes a little like syruppy sugary water?

I missed last years sap rising as I was in Iraq, this year all my kit is in Germany and I'm here in UK!!! I go back on the 15th though, so I may get back in time.

 

[Biddlesby]

Keen not to miss it this year. I have a medium sized birch. Drilled a hole slightly upward, about 3 cm. I come back each weekend to unplug it, and see if anything is flowing, but so far no luck. Anybody else had success yet? I also have found a large sycamore - I presume the technique is the same, for testing.

 

[Nightwalker]

I'll be tapping the Birch this year for my first time And I'll try the Sycamore too no doubt, now I know you can. There's plenty more Sycamore around my area than there are Birch.

 

[Nightwalker]

I feel relatively new to identifying trees, the summer just gone was my first real attempt at trying to look for and identify Birch trees. I wish I got on the job and identified more, now its winter it'll be harder for me, I know of two areas in my mind that I might visit.

Any recommendations on identifying Birch in Winter and are all types of Birch tap'able?

 

[spamel]

Look for a white barked tree, that'll be silver birch. Take a closer look at the bark and you will see it peels off going around the tree as opposed to going straight up, and the peelings are very papery. You will probably find a stand of them together, they grow fairly quickly I think and they soon take over. The papery bark will light even when wet due to a natural oil in the bark, and it gives of a slightly black oily smoke when it burns. There will be little buds on the tips of the branches, and I think they grow along the sides aswell but I can't quite remember.

There's bound to be an online guide somewhere!!

 

[spamel]

Try this link for birch info.

http://forestry.about.com/cs/treeid/a/the_birch.htm

 

[Hunter_zero]

Keen not to miss it this year. I have a medium sized birch. Drilled a hole slightly upward, about 3 cm. I come back each weekend to unplug it, and see if anything is flowing, but so far no luck. Anybody else had success yet? I also have found a large sycamore - I presume the technique is the same, for testing.

The birch trees around here have just started. I'll be placing a tap tonight when I take the dogs out for a walk.

John

 

[Jim_aramis]

I tapped a birch over the weekend and had 3 litres after 12 hours. It tasted delicioulsy fresh in the cold morning with just a tiny hint of sweetness. I've reserved this batch for making wine and it was hard not to drink it.

A friend also tapped a field maple, the sap was much slower but he boiled a cupfull down into a syrup.

 

[heath]

it's flowing fast here in the midlands, I left a bottl overnight and it was overflowing when I collected it, tastes like slightly sugary water, I think I'll try some more tonight. Does anyone know how well it keeps?