Falls Village sugarmakers open for maple weekend

FALLS VILLAGE — Denny Jacobs dipped a metal spoon into boiling maple sap that was slowly turning into maple syrup.

He held the spoon up horizontally and watched as the thick liquid dribbled off.
“It’s not done until the last drop stays on the spoon,” he said. “That’s what the old-timers told us.”

The Jacobs family — Denny, Judy and their son Dave — along with Bill Beebe and a couple of dogs, were busy Saturday morning, March 21, at their Whiting Brook Farm on Undermountain Road maple syrup operation.

Judy Jacobs had a covered skillet perched on the side of the evaporator. In it were hot dogs and kielbasa, cut in slices and simmering in maple sap.

The Jacobs operation was one of six Falls Village sugaring concerns participating in a statewide maple syrup showcase weekend, with visitors traveling between farms to see each operation in action.

Matt Gallagher and his son Connor were boiling away at a much smaller apparatus at the Gallagher home, also known as Acer Creek Farm, on Canaan Mountain Road.

Matt Gallagher said he had one big tank just off Canaan Mountain Road which collected sap via tubes from 24 taps, plus another 73 taps and buckets on trees.

Jody and Jean Bronson, ofUndermountain Road, also had a smaller system running and a steady stream of visitors.

Bronson said they prefer a more robust, darker syrup than the amber colored variety that is the unofficial standard, and Jean Bronson had samples ready for visitors.

The amount of sap needed to produce syrup varied considerably. Denny Jacobs said the Whiting Brook Farm ratio was between 50 and 55 gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup. Bronson and Gallagher had 35-to-1 and 30-to-1, respectively.

Bronson, a retired forester, said altitude and whether trees are wild or farmed both make a difference.

Back at Whiting Brook, Denny Jacobs and Beebe, watching the hydrometer and the spoon, decided it was time for a “draw.” A clean five-gallon bucket was positioned under the tap, and the hot, dark syrup filled the container.

Then it was time for the initial filtering.

Jacobs was proud of his innovative filter mechanism. A conical filter made of a thick, felt-like material was suspended between the legs of an upside-down kitchen stool, with another five-gallon bucket beneath.

Jacobs simply poured the hot syrup out of the first bucket into the filter. The syrup slowly seeped through. “We finish it on the stove at home,” said Judy Jacobs.

Also participating in the maple weekend were Lou Timolat and Eric Carlson at Saw Mill Syrup on Route 7, Kent Allyn on Music Mountain Road, and Adamah Farm on Johnson Road, each operating from their own sugarhouse or farm.

The Falls Village maple syrup makers are hosting an event on the town Green on Saturday, April 25, co-sponsored by the town’s Recreation Commission. There will be demonstrations and, of course, maple syrup for sale.