View Full Version : Birch Sap! We have lift off!
For all those who are interested the Birch sap is on the rise. Been out today with my tapping gear. It seems to be flowing at a fair rate, but recon it'll be next week befor it reaches full flow. For all thoes wine makers out there, it's time to dust off the demijons and head for the woods! :D
The sap was rising pretty rapidly this weekend and I tapped a couple of litres yesterday afternoon which i picked up after work today :D
Its my first year that i've done any tapping or tasted birch sap, and i was very pleased by its flavour. Yum.
Still a bit slow on my patch......only managed a quarter of a cup mid Saturday to mid Sunday..
benjamin.oneill
22-03-2006, 09:36
I'm having a crack today in east sussex... we have a bit of sun!!! I'll let you know how i get on
4lt's so far with 9 more 750ml bottles out. I will post some pic's later. Interested to know how much people collect & what they are doing with it!
I plan to collect a little this year, when the sap start rising here. When I was a kid we collected a lot. We mixed it with sugar and drank it. Tasted a bit like lemonade.
Torjus Gaaren
benjamin.oneill
23-03-2006, 09:56
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h210/benjaminoneill/DSCN0424.jpg
Here's the return so far from my first tree... i think you might just about notice a few tablespoons worth in the bottom there.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h210/benjaminoneill/DSCN0426.jpg
This is just to show my little tapping rig. It's just a split down piece of bamboo with a notch cut in it, over which the bottle hangs. Its very simple and the thinking is that any drips that run a long the bottom of the tap are collected. Also, the bottle is sealed from bits and evapouration, not that that would matter, its still pretty cold here.
got my sap early this year... :)
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=11522&highlight=birch
Here's the pics of the birch sap I collected. It is now busy bubbling away in the demijohn.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f122/MissyMycelium/Birch%20Sap/IMG_4718.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f122/MissyMycelium/Birch%20Sap/IMG_4720.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f122/MissyMycelium/Birch%20Sap/IMG_4725.jpg
Never made this wine before so Im looking forward to trying it. :D
By the way, I didn't collect all the sap from one tree. It took about 9 trees to get this lot (about 7ltr.) The pegs I made to fill the holes worked brilliantly. In fact I can probably pull them out next year and use the same trees.
Thats a lot of sap Yarrow. How do you make the wine?, Do you just add sugar and how much? Also do tou have to release the cork periodically to let off pressure or do you have some sort of valve release?
Thats a lot of sap Yarrow. How do you make the wine?, Do you just add sugar and how much? Also do tou have to release the cork periodically to let off pressure or do you have some sort of valve release?
The wine is just Birch sap 8pints, 1kg sugar, lemon juice, raisins (chopped) and yeast. I put it all in a demijohn with an air lock. I can report that it is now bubbling away merrily :D No pressure release, I just use an air lock. Dead cheep about 1£.
as soon as i get the time to go out to the woods I will definately try to get myself some birch sap!
So nice to read all your experiences...
Here`s how we did it on a "primitive man" course a few years ago...
1.) An optional method to drilling into a fully grown, mature tree (and faster?) is to select a birch sapling about 2-3 meters tall (diameter 3-5 cms?)...and to bend the top down towards the ground.
2.) Slice off the tip of the sapling, and insert it into e.g. an empty 1.5 l empty (coke) bottle...
3.) tie the bottle to the sapling and peg it into the ground...
4.) If you`ve done this correctly, the bottle should fill in a couple of hours/overnight.
The idea is, that the "beheaded" sapling will simply grow a new tip, an you won`t be (possibly) damaging a mature birch...
Marko
Ditch Monkey
24-04-2006, 11:56
It is not possible to collect birch sap from a beech tree.
I even carved my own tube for draining it off with.
ho hum
Biddlesby
24-04-2006, 15:03
How big should the tree be?
It is not possible to collect birch sap from a beech tree.
...?...
Marko
Geoffrey_Bubbles
24-04-2006, 21:52
Can somebody possibly knock up a guide on how to tap, I'm concerned about damaging the tree, in fact I'm also worried about picking the wrong tree :o
Any guide/tips/pics would be appreciated. Fancy giving it a go if I can find a local tree...
Cheers in advance
Geoff
Check this out....
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=5623
Good luck mate :)
Geoffrey_Bubbles
25-04-2006, 19:34
Ta for the link.
Good post, just hope I'm not too late to get my first taste of birch sap. more to the point, hope I can identify a birch!
Cheers
Geoff
janiepopps
10-05-2006, 22:37
:1244:
Hey, can't wait for an invite Yarrow!!