Tapping Birch: Collecting birch sap for

mineral water, wine, beer, vinegar and syrup

photo credit to fergustheforager

In this article Fergus Drennan (author) will show you how to collect birch-sap easily and quickly. Around March time the sap rises throughout the tree’s in preparation to spring into life producing their buds and leaves. Birch Sap is a slightly sweet, watery & healthy drink. The Birch tree purifies the water, making it clean and safe to drink. To collect the sap, a spout, called a spile, is inserted into a hole drilled into the tree. The spile directs the sap into a bucket.

Sap can be used in place of water to make tea, coffee or other beverages; collected and made into carbonated drinks, beer or wine; or boiled down to make syrup. The sap should be kept below 41°F (refrigerator temperatures) for no more than six days, or it can be frozen for future use. Make sure you now head over to fergustheforager.co.uk via the link below for all of the information you will need. Make sure you check out his other articles!

Tapping Birch: Collecting birch sap for mineral water, wine, beer, vinegar and syrup