Tapping questions (birch)

[Bettacreek]

Alright, not sure if this is the correct place to put it or not. Anyways, I plan to tap birches this spring (white birch to be exact). First, would I be able to get small metal tubing/pipe (or plastic for that matter) and make a spout thingy (I'm an idiot, can't remember what they're called, lol)? Second, would I be able to collect 5g buckets with lids, then connect tube from the spigot to a hole in the bucket lid? How long would it take to fill a 5g bucket? I won't be able to check on the buckets all of the time (once a day or every other day, the least the better). How much will one tree give on average? Is it hard to make beers and such from birch sap? Is it good straight from the tree (strained if need be)? Can you evaporate it to 50%, then add sparkling water to make a fun sparkling, non-alcoholic drink? Thanks in advance for reading/answering these silly questions.

 

[sylvie]

Spiles are the spouts. I've made spiles from sumac branches. You can attach plastic tubing to the hole you've drilled and run into a covered 5 gallon bucket set below. Usually spiles are tapped/hammered into the tree trunk so just a hose would be iffy staying in place.

It depends on the weather and tree as to how much you will get.
Not sure about white birch but I get 1-2 gal per day from each tap on my sugar maples. If it is a large tree I may have 3 taps on it. 10" diameter is the minimum tree diameter that you should tap, BTW.

I wouldn't so much worry how long it takes to fill a 5 gal bucket as much as how long it is sitting in the bucket. If left more than a day it will begin to ferment, if a freak warm day I would empty within 8 hours.

I don't know about birch beer, 50%, etc. Maybe someone else has has that particular experience. I'm big on non alcoholic drinks so will be interested in what you come up with.

River/Yellow Birch has wintergreen scent and I'd love to have a sparkling batch of that, too.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I never tapped one but we cut the birch roots when we were developing a spring once. The water tasted like wintergreen for a week. Loved it!

 

[Farmfresh]

I tried to tap my D1's maple trees a while back but ended up giving up. Her half Husky dog LOVED the sap and kept getting in and dumping the buckets!

I did find a source for supplies however! Sugar Bush Supplies