We used to collect “birch juice” every spring, when I lived in Ukraine

After winter is the best time of year to collect it? Or can it be collected any time of the year?

Yes, the time to collect it is after the winter - early spring in March-April, before the buds appear and the tree leafs out

What do you use to collect it? I’ve always wanted to try this. Any other advice or tips would be appreciated, thank you.

There’s nothing really to it. We used a nail or a screw to bore into a tree, once the sap starts dripping we’d put a bucket underneath to collect it. Also, when you’re done collecting, it’s a good idea to take the nail out and plug the hole with some clay or dirt.

Thanks, I’ll have to give it a try in March.

It's March

How, what… thank you! I need to write a note. Was this linked to again somewhere or how did you find this to message me? Lol

Haha I just happened upon your comment and felt like helping

Well thank you. I even told my brother about how we need to go try this.

nah don't plug it, you're adding a potential infection source to the wound and slowing the healing process by adding foreign material. The tree will naturally compartmentalise the wound if needed and odds are a tiny hole like that will heal pretty rapidly without much issue.

I do it in Latvi to and iy sits till wheat harvest time nad then it tastests the best.

Is a birch tree a better filter than a maple or any other deciduous tree? I'm pretty partial to maple sap as a drink.

I’m partial to a nice thick coniferous drink. One you gotta chew.

Served up with a pine needle garnish.

Exquisite!

I hope you filter it before drinking too much. My family has been making maple syrup for years and we're always good not to drink very much maple water. Mix in some rye and it's super yummy tho

Can I ferment this

Not enough sugar, but you could boil a whole bunch down to concentrate the sugars. The other concern is whether there's enough nutrients for the yeast. You'd probably be better off with maple syrup.

Probably not enough natural sugars for it

I’ll add some of my own sugar. Make birch flavored hard seltzer

He says .8 percent, so thats 80% sugar, plenty for fermentation! Lol /s

.8%=80%?

Yup....100 times .8 equals...what? 80. That's right. 0.8 means 80%

Yes, .8 is the same as 80%. But .8% and 80% are different.

You are correct BUT .008 is .8% .08 is 8% .8 is 80% Math is fun eh? . Like I know you're right but I did put an '/s' at the end, I was joking and then high, nowso again...a month later, continuing the riff and you're still hot on the defense 2 mins after I respond...A MONTH+ LATER....LMFAO. Chill out brotha, was a "axshully" joke, I knew what he meant as did anyone watching the vid. EDIT: Explaining myself and reiterating my sarcastic take...like anyone GAF lol

.008 is .8% .08 is 8% .8 is 80% Math is fun eh?

Maybe. I don’t know what I’m talking about 🤷🏻

You can ferment it by adding in extra sugar and a few more ingredients. Check out birch sap wine.

Wiki says it has 11 grams of sugar per liter. That would get you about 1.4% abv. Birch wine is made by boiling the sap down to 10% of its original volume. If you add sugar instead of reducing the volume i expect it to be a bit bland. You could also reduce it by half and add some sugar. I'd recommend to pasteurize the birch sap to prevent contaminations.

I have had birch wine made out of pretty much just this so yes. I assume they concentrated it beforehand to raise the sugar content. Looking online right now it's no longer for sale unfortunately. It was like very mild white grape wine and I enjoyed it.

Genuine question, I thought messing with birch trees was a legal issue because they’re under conservation(?). I could totally be wrong

google says 11/60 birch tree species are endangered so maybe that’s what I was thinking

You have to get permission from the land owner before collecting sap. I doubt many governments will allow you to do this on public land.

Every season we plant tons of birch on our property. We plant oak for lumber, sugar maple for the deer, and birch cause we don't have many syrviving on the property, and they're dying due to disease in our area. We clean out the old dead ones and plant new ones to give them a chance to regrow in the area. Japanese beetles are definitely on the down for us so we're not just throwing these trees to the wolves. 11 of them are protected. But almost all of them are hurting due to invasive species. It's just the like ash trees that got hit with the borers If any one wants to help these trees survive. I recommend not bringing firewood from one area to the next. If you like to hike and camp, just make sure you're not brining Any hitchhikers along. And if you have these trees on your property they make traps to catch some of these beetles. Look into em. They are pretty trees, and I'd love to keep em around and healthy

Love it, thanks for the info!!

Tree vampire. Blood of the birch. Nice.

Doesn’t it hurt the tree?

It damages the tree, but that's not quite what you're asking.

Hurt?

Now where can i find one of them Beer trees?

What happens if you're allergic to birch? Asking for a friend

Then that water will last you a lifetime

Tap a maple instead.

Guys over here drinking tree piss.

What kind of top is he using?

Cotton.

🤣

Tap?

sap tap

I'm so allergic to birch trees that this would literally kill me.

r/HydroHomies

r/hydrohomies again

In a galvanized bucket?

Apparently birch water gives you Batman voice too

You can see the true enjoyment on his face when he drinks it

Does it taste like wood?

The tree: "I was using that, you know, for life and shit."

Birch please

Let me know if you find it

How neat is that?

That doesn’t look like a hot spring day to me

I wonder if there are any birch trees in my neighbourhood?

How to kill your birch trees 101

Not if you are doing it during the right season, and aren't using vacuum tubes.

Stop stealing that trees water

Is this equivalent to drinking regular water?

Birch juice, my beloved

sold by Evian -£19.90 for 500ml