Silver Birch Sap

[Cloud]

Anyone know how to make Silver Birch Sap wine as my grandad used to make it and if i remember it was bloomin lovely.

[Polly Fouracre]

You,re too late for this year,Cloud. You need to tap the trees in early Spring as the sap is rising.
You will need a length of plastic tube and a 1 gallon fermenting jar.
Bore a hole into the birch bark, making sure you don't go too far into the wood. The hole would have to be the same diameter as your plastic tube.
In March you should be able to fill a jar in a couple of days.
Boil your birch sap for half an hour along with some thinly peeled orange and/or lemon rind.
Make back up to 1 gallon with water and add a bag of sugar and half a pound or so of chopped raisins then carry on fermenting etc. as normal.
PLEASE though remember to plug the hole in the birch with a cork or something. If you don't the tree may bleed todeath!

[chuffa]

Hi Cloud, check these out.
Lady of the woods - the birch
Nick Truman's Ferrari and Wine Making Website
Collecting Birch Sap Wild Food Cooking and Recipes

[Hazel at the Hill]

There was discussion earlier in the year about this here.

[wildone_uk]

please remember you MUST seal the hole with a tight fitting WOOD BUNG and cut off level
with the bark or as polly made clear the tree willbleed to death or become infected
laurence

[jacob marley]

In case any body is interested the sap is rising now there is a tree in the wood behind Marley Towers that has been dripping for about a week now....jacob

[burnie]

I saw Ray Mears drinking it neat on one of his programmes,always fancied trying it,where's that brace?

[Alan Farmer]

LOts of good advice above. I am an ex-brewer and used to make birch sap wine at home. If you'd like to e-mail me I can perhaps give you a few tips, The best time to tap the trees is the first week in March, The sap then is loaded with nutrients and chemicals to enable the buds to form and burst forth, but you must stop taking sap by the second week or the trees will suffer. alanfarmer@aol.com

[burnie]

Alan , welcome advice,but may I suggest it might not be such a good idea putting your email address on public display,you could get all sorts of weirdo's contacting you and I don't just mean those on here either!