Birch Sap Tap

[cyberjackcyberjack]

so can you drink this

[seanmulhall]

@cyberjackcyberjack

For sure

[cyberjackcyberjack]

@seanmulhall cool thats a handy trick for water, but sadly its for a limited time only

[NZealandKiwi]

did this today, got about a litre within an hour using a syphon

i'm 17 and do this every year, delectable!

[historicaltrekking]

Good one Sean, thank you.

Regards, Keith.

[OneWithGuns93]

you should use a tap

[tf94]

im tapping now 9 of april

[harpsealer]

Great video! thnkx 4 posting! This is my first year tapping birch trees & i was wondering why some sap is a golden color like apple juice ? is it still drinkable?

[SnipRif]

I have recently been tapping Birch...my method: drill a hole in the tree, stick a straw in the hole...and there you go, I usually drill about four holes around the same area of the tree.

[noor121212121212]

you cant do it with paper birch right ?

[seanmulhall]

If you mean silver birch, which has a paper like bark you can. If you mean the Himalayan Paper birch I do not know. I would guess so but I cannot say for sure.

[noor121212121212]

okay thanks :)

[95jamesm]

can you do this on silver birch

[seanmulhall]

Yes, silver birch, and sycamore.

[iSurvivalSkills]

Excellent thank you!

[jorguno]

easier and more tasteful if you harvest from the branches! fakt

[Ollieboyz]

@jorguno

How do you harvest it from the branches?

[jorguno]

@Ollieboyz

cut a branch, the thickness should be such that it exactly fits in the opening of a bottle. Place the bottle over the branch and tie it firmly. tie branch to the ground so that the sap can flow into the bottle. :D

[Ollieboyz]

Nice one cheers for the tip

[johntrevy]

Isnt the sap flamable? or are not all saps like that.

[jorguno]

@johntrevy

its not flamable!

[TorDruid]

which two weeks are best for doing this?

[seanmulhall]

It varys around the country, but as a rule of thumb the end of march and begining of april.

[matszz]

A shame you can only get it during a two week period. Can you preserve it somehow? Can you do something more with it than just drinking it? Is it very nutrisious?

[seanmulhall]

I believe it is said to be detoxifying. As for preserving it I know some people freeze it into ice cubes to add to gin. Other than that I cannot help you.

[kevporteretna1]

can you do this on any Birch tree?

[seanmulhall]

Yes Birch maple and sycamore

[ThatOneGuy8904]

thanks! pretty cool i didnt know you could do this

[Colin24Astonwood]

Can I just add, if people try this technique,they should always always seal the hole up afterwards. For two reasons.

One desease can get into the tree,

Two some birches have been known to bleed to death.

With care you can harvest from the same tree for years and years without a problem.

You can seal the hole back up with either a wooden plug cut to fit, or Natural Bees or Grafting wax.

Takes only a few seconds to do.

Great Videos!

[NancyToday]

thanks

[MarkusAir2000]

Birch sap is awesome but Maple sap is better.

But I still like birch sap, it tastest great and its good for your health. This seassion is good, I already got like 15 L of that sap.

Btw, I have one question...How to preserve this Sap? As I know it gets soury.

[seanmulhall]

I have always just drank it. I know that some people freeze it. Particularly into ice cubes for their G&T. I dont remember who told me that so I cant give them credit.

[passgodtpaadegselv]

Ray Mears told us in the last episode of his Bushcraft series that he makes this sap into ice cubes "to drop in a good single malt". Hehe, sounds nice. Maybe that's where you've heard it?

[maxpullara1]

Nice technique... I prefer this approach to making the hole in the tree as it damages it less... You could do a few of them in the area

5 stars

[R4MZI890]

nice video one quesion how long does the sap last for in the tree my book says through out autum but you said 2 weeks

[seanmulhall]

The sap is in the tree through out the growing season but only pumps fast in the first two-three weeks of March. If you cut a birch in the summer you may get a weeping but not a constant dripping.

[nathanhughes61]

Great Video Sean.

I do it a little different as i mahe a hole with my knife and insert a twig with a kink in to the hole.

The kink acts a a dripper and goes in to my tin

when I am finished i snap or saw my twig to fill the hole this stops any damage to the tree and it heals quite nicely.

Nathan

[seanmulhall]

Hi Nathan, I have tried with a twig and have never got it to flow right. I have managed to succeed with a piece of bark thanks to a friend of mine.

[htolas]

Good video. I live in the tropics, not anywhere near a birch tree but when I do collect liquids from nature for drinking, I would usually place a filter / sieve over the top to prevent unwanted things from entering the reservoir. A clean piece of cloth (e.g. coffee bag material) would do.

[seanmulhall]

To be honest I normally carry a cotton bandana for this purpose. On this occasion I used the bandana when I tipped all of my collectors into my 1 litre water bottle. I tapped more than 1 tree.

[ferretman37]

Another Quality Vid from the Silver Fox..... Cheers & i`ll have a go this weekend I think...just hoping i`m not too late !!!...keep um coming !

[corpsemunger]

hey, thanks for that video ill try it out this weekend.

just wondering where did you get your fleece/parka thing... its very cool

cheers

[seanmulhall]

It was made by a freind of mine from an army wool blanket.

[corpsemunger]

ah sounds like a project...

[cusitoloco]

Hi Sean, nice video, but....can you do me a favor please. put more volume to your videos, or get closer, or speak louder, I hope you don't get mad because of the observation. Thank you very much.

[seanmulhall]

No Problem. I may need to get a seperate mic.

[starablaskova3]

Is the sap from a white birch tree also drinkable?

[seanmulhall]

Yes it is.

[starablaskova3]

Hi, I tried going out today and made an incision in a white birch, but it did not run. It is still snowing outside. Do you think the sap might be frozen or something?

[seanmulhall]

The cold weather may have stopped the flow. In your area it maybe a bit later. In the UK it is normally around the first two weekends of march after the frost have gone. The rising sap is where the tree is forcing moisture up to the unopened leaves. So keep an eye on the buds, when they swell and are about to open the sap should be rising. Good luck.

[starablaskova3]

I live close to Vancouver, BC and it was snowing today. Is it still a good timing to do this?

[johnjayrambo11111]

great video sean .

malc

[thisreddot]

might give it a go.....

[mecrazy5]

im doing this after college tomoro, i will try to take a drill and a pipe out wuth me to get a good load

[maveraver]

Tried getting some yesterday Sean, all the birches up in my part of the world are dry at the moment.

[wildlifeed]

Great stuff, makes for a great cuppa. Cheers, ED

[atomdongle]

nice1 sean 5*

[Krynnr]

5/5 off to try this in a couple of days as soon as I'm off work.

[seanmulhall]

Next weekend may be your last chance. This was the first weekend I got any. Everytime before that its was not pumping. Maybe because on the mendips we are much higher up. But other areas have had sap for two weeks now. Good luck.

[QuietBearr]

Looks like I am the first to view and comment, or as far as it says.

Good video, an important skill to know when you are into survival or backpacking!

[seanmulhall]

Yes and no. Its only available for 2-3 weeks of the year. Its a nice refreshing treat and you can collect alot depending on the size of the cut you make.

[QuietBearr]

Don't really get why I got a negative rating on that comment, I guess people think that I was lying or something?

Regardless, still liked the video.