In my year and a half of caching I have met many people and can even call some of them good friends! In conversation with those friends and even others I am always amazed that most people are unaware of the homemade maple syrup "industry". I have been tapping trees and making syrup for 20 years now and until I discovered caching was never a problem. I spend 2 weeks in Feb. preparing for the season, 4-5 weeks in March collecting and boiling the sap and a week afterwards cleaning up. Because of the need to have a job I only boil on weekends if possible which does not help my caching efforts. This year I have 200 taps out and hope to make 25 gallons of syrup which is what it seems to take to keep my WHOLE family and caching buddies happy! The average gallon of syrup consists of 40 gallons of sap. I can boil 200 gallons of sap in 18 hours to produce 5 gallons of syrup. The perfect conditions are when the temps fall below freezing by around 8pm and the day is sunny and temps in the 40's.Because you need to have certain conditions the sap does not flow every day. I find the syrup hobby to be almost as fun as caching and thought that I would share some knowledege and keep updating with my daily collection totals. Today was not the perfect day but was quite nice. Because this was the first "run" I will be able to cache this weekend!:D
Todays sap collection total..... 100 gallons!

Do you have a commercial boiler? We have a home-made boiler (old oil tank) which works pretty good - but probably could be lot more efficient. We probably make a total of 10 gallons of syrup per year - all for "family" use. LOL!

No commercial boiler! I built a 9 foot long 4 foot high and wide stove out of high fire kiln brick. How many taps do you put out Bruce?

Ah Maple Syrup - the sweet nectar of Maine (and other states of course) Maples. I remember when Maine Family first started putting out caches they placed little bottles of Maple Syrup in their caches. A very nice touch.

How many taps do you put out Bruce?

We usually put out 30-40. Real big operation! LOL!

I've never been involved in the hard part of making syrup but I'm real good at standing by the fire and drinking beer, an intergral part of the process based on my limited experience. And Jim's brother makes some of the best homebrews I've ever had! Might have to swing by later and pay a visit.:)

When we were kids my uncle got us involved in making syrup. We use tin cans my aunt got from here job as cook a the school, and a fifty five gallon drum for a stove. Each year the operation got a little bigger, better equipment, a real evaporator, even a sap house. Today my cousin Douglas Morin still runs the business my uncle started fifty years ago in Limerick. He has the most modern equipment, puts out three thousand taps, makes 5-6 hundred gallons of syrup a year, but I bet it's no where near as much fun as it was for us kids.

I've never been involved in the hard part of making syrup but I'm real good at standing by the fire and drinking beer, an intergral part of the process based on my limited experience. And Jim's brother makes some of the best homebrews I've ever had! Might have to swing by later and pay a visit.:)

I am hoping to drink (boil sap) when you get back from your trip so I will let you know.

We always tapped 20 or so trees on our property when I was a kid. I didn't have much part in the process other than lugging 5 gallon jugs of sap to the house where my parents would boil it down on the gas stove. I am not a huge fan of pancakes or waffles or any of the traditional uses for syrup, so I can use imitation syrup on those. But I like the real stuff on ice cream. We also used to make the maple syrup crystal candy by dropping boiling syrup into the (non-yellow!) snow.

We always tapped 20 or so trees on our property when I was a kid. I didn't have much part in the process other than lugging 5 gallon jugs of sap to the house where my parents would boil it down on the gas stove. I am not a huge fan of pancakes or waffles or any of the traditional uses for syrup, so I can use imitation syrup on those. But I like the real stuff on ice cream. We also used to make the maple syrup crystal candy by dropping boiling syrup into the (non-yellow!) snow.

We eat it on ice cream but also in Homemade bake beans and also in squash!

Day 2 and another 120 gallons! I decided to start boiling tonight because it sounds like tomorrow will be another great day!

I can take maple syrup over ice cream but I never liked it in beans or squash. I prefer the taste of both of them without sweetening. Wife and I agree on that on the squash but not the beans. She likes what I call dessert beans and I prefer Marafax with just salt pork, dry mustard and maybe an onion in them. I don't get them that way often because I like them too much and she doesn't like me too much after I eat them. I just don't understand that at all.

I guess I should have said sweetened beans, she doesn't like maple syrup on her beans.

Beans, Beans, the musical fruit,
The more you eat, the more you toot.
The more you toot, the better you feel,
And then you're ready for another meal.

I am sure you all know that one, unless it is a Maine song.....I'll take maple syrup over beans anyday..

The first 2 days of sap were boiled down and produced 4 gallons syrup. I then went and collected another 160 gallons of sap. Should be a big boil this coming weekend.

The first 2 days of sap were boiled down and produced 4 gallons syrup. I then went and collected another 160 gallons of sap. Should be a big boil this coming weekend.

How long can you hold the sap before you boil?

I have a friend who has a commerical sugar house . . . not a large one by modern standards . . . but they do enough to sell the product . . . typically they open up for Maple Syrup Sunday . . . actually Shuman Road you or your wife may remember him since I think one, or both of you, went to school with me . . . Chris Lewis . . . he and his Dad run a place in Thorndike . . . it's all commercial, but they still use wood vs. oil or propane for the heat source.

I have gone to a lot of those Maple Sunday things. Never had the chance to work at a sugar shack. Sounds fun.

How long can you hold the sap before you boil?

Depends on the temps. Mine is undercover and as long as we do not have to many 60 degree days in a row than I will store it for a week and then boil it off on the weekend.

I have a friend who has a commerical sugar house . . . not a large one by modern standards . . . but they do enough to sell the product . . . typically they open up for Maple Syrup Sunday . . . actually Shuman Road you or your wife may remember him since I think one, or both of you, went to school with me . . . Chris Lewis . . . he and his Dad run a place in Thorndike . . . it's all commercial, but they still use wood vs. oil or propane for the heat source.

I remember the name but that is it. I am afraid that if I went commercial than I would lose the fun. Now Jake, if only you could remember.

I have gone to a lot of those Maple Sunday things. Never had the chance to work at a sugar shack. Sounds fun.


You do not know what you are missing Mike. Boil sap ,drink beer,boil more sap and drink more beer!:D

Beer yuck. Whiskey good.

Beer yuck. Whiskey good.

To each his own!

I remember the name but that is it. I am afraid that if I went commercial than I would lose the fun. Now Jake, if only you could remember.

Oh I remember . . . unfortunately as my wife would tell anyone who will listen the stuff I remember is the stupid, useless stuff . . . as could be attested to by Maniac and Hiram from our adventures this past weekend when I would rattle off obscure facts from Star Wars . . . and insist I am not a Star Wars Geek . . . really . . . I have seen the movies a few times, but I'm not a fanatic.

Can you make beer from maple surple?

Can you make beer from maple surple?


YES!!!!! My brother did a batch last year and Dan had some!

Ahhh, this all brings back memories. In the late eighties I dated a girl whose parents (Ray and Ginnie Titcomb) owned Maine Maple Products in Farmington. In addition to their own trees with the tubes running between them they had sap trucking in from all over Maine, Golden Road, etc. I recall the sap dribbling into this huge stainless steel flat maze device....wood fire underneath....and the sap would start out clear and then go back and forth along the maze (much like the ticket line at an airport) boiling off the water along the way. By the time it came out the other end it was syrup which was graded according to the color. Such a simple, but yet ingenious, method.

So its that time of year again...My brother and I are putting the taps out this weekend as we dont have time next weekend. Last year we had no idea really what we were doing so it was experimental. We only put out 15 taps to try it and see what the result would be. We ended up boiling down enough to fill about three pint containers. The final product was great so this year we marked off (another fun use for the GPS) another 25 trees. Any of you that do this on a regular basis, when re-tapping the same trees the following year, i know you're supposed to rotate your way around the tree but do you get better results tapping below last years hole or above it?

Jim Stacey makes some of the best I've ever tasted. He actually placed 4 quarts of the stuff in the final cache of his state series.:)

Jim Stacey makes some of the best I've ever tasted. He actually placed 4 quarts of the stuff in the final cache of his state series.:)

Dont forget. Food items should not be put into caches. Especially things that are sweet and taste good......so if anyone is putting maine maple syrup in a cache please give me the co-ords so I can go remove it and properly dispose my pancakes..I mean syrup.:D:D:D

So its that time of year again...My brother and I are putting the taps out this weekend as we dont have time next weekend. Last year we had no idea really what we were doing so it was experimental. We only put out 15 taps to try it and see what the result would be. We ended up boiling down enough to fill about three pint containers. The final product was great so this year we marked off (another fun use for the GPS) another 25 trees. Any of you that do this on a regular basis, when re-tapping the same trees the following year, i know you're supposed to rotate your way around the tree but do you get better results tapping below last years hole or above it?


The hole rotation is not so important but when tapping the same tree again and again you MUST put the new holes about 1.5 inches away from older holes. Remember the tree has died about 1 inch around those old holes and needs several years to heal itself. Sap does not flow through dead wood! I may put some back in the Maine cache just for the first few finders this year. I know NO food or drink in a cache but because I own it and do the upkeep and it is very close by I think I will be okay.

MaineFamily - some great folks from up Dover/Sangerville way used to put little bottles of Maine Maple Syrup in their caches (which always had great swag)! They, too, lived close to their hides and maintained them well.

Now that would be a treasure.

Tis the time again!

I have only done 78 trees so far. The snow is still covering up my big line. Maybe after the next rain storm. Should be around 220 when that line is up and running. The season is about a week late this year.

Collected on Sunday and things are running very well. Have about 40 trees tapped about got about 10 gallons the first week. We keep getting these nice warm days and chilly nights, it should be a good season. Cant wait to sit around and boil with a few frosty cold beverages.

Ah, the famous sit around and boil with a frosty beverage. How I miss that! I have now collected 128 gallons of sap. I hope the runs get bigger soon.

I know how to toss a log on a fire. I know when sap is boiling and when it's not. I like to drink beer. I am, therefore, a maple syrup expert. Let me know when you start the fire and I'll be by!:)

I know how to toss a log on a fire. I know when sap is boiling and when it's not. I like to drink beer. I am, therefore, a maple syrup expert. Let me know when you start the fire and I'll be by!:)

As soon as I know I will let you know and I have HOMEBREW!!

Today was finally a good day.85 gallons! I still have to put the big pipeline into production. I have enough to boil this Saturday Dan and you need to have beer at hand so that every thing goes well.

We now have 3 invites to attend "boiling festivities" Saturday. I need to load a keg in the back of the family truckster and make the rounds. What time are you starting Jim?

We now have 3 invites to attend "boiling festivities" Saturday. I need to load a keg in the back of the family truckster and make the rounds. What time are you starting Jim?

probably about 5 am. boiling that is! The boiling will last all day and I will not finish until sunday sometime. Drinking beer starts.....

This definitely was a good run week. Quickly jumped up to having about 85 gallons from our 35 trees. Next year might be time to invest in some actual equipment. Right now our taps consist of holes drilled into the trees with tubing running to a 5 gallon covered bucket. For boiling, we use an open top cement block furnace with room for 3 stainless steel catering style pans that are 6 inches deep suspended over the fire. Quite the very basic set up with a very low cost. What do those that know what they are doing use for a set up?

Is this maple syrup Sunday when people open their maple syrup "FACTORY" to the public?

Is this maple syrup Sunday when people open their maple syrup "FACTORY" to the public?


In case you are really asking, Maine Maple Syrup Sunday is the 27th where you can go to an actual functioning producer to see their operation and taste test their product. I doubt they'll be tapping kegs or serving alcohol which means they wont be having as much fun as those with private operations.

This definitely was a good run week. Quickly jumped up to having about 85 gallons from our 35 trees. Next year might be time to invest in some actual equipment. Right now our taps consist of holes drilled into the trees with tubing running to a 5 gallon covered bucket. For boiling, we use an open top cement block furnace with room for 3 stainless steel catering style pans that are 6 inches deep suspended over the fire. Quite the very basic set up with a very low cost. What do those that know what they are doing use for a set up?

I use to do the bucket thing but as the years go by I have converted to mostly pipe line. For boiling, I built a stove out of high fire brick that it 9 feet long,3 feet wide and 4 feet high. This reduced my wood consumption from 3 cord down to .5 cord to make the same amount of syrup. I do like to low cost!