Birch Travel Bug

The Birch Travel Bug originates in Scotland but would like to go to lots of different places and finally end up in St Paul, Minnesota, where my dear sister and her family live.

Birch Tree

The birches were among the first trees to colonise the bare tundra after the Ice Ages. Three native species exist: the Silver birch (B. pendula), the Downy birch (B. pubescens) and the Dwarf birch (B. nana).

Birch woodland is the most common type of semi-natural woodland in Scotland today probably as a result of the removal of more useful species such as Scots pine or oak for timber.

Birch is a good burning wood as it contains ethereal oil. It has also been used for birch tar, birch oil, tannin, and even roof tiles since the bark is waterproof. Native American Indians used it for canoes and wigwams, and birch tools, bowls and trays are found around the world. Birch Sap wine, made from the sap, has been drunk since 1240 BC, when it was mentioned by Albertus Magnus.

BIRCH SAP WINE

Choose a silver birch of at least 10 ' (1/4 m) diameter at base - not downy as it gives an unpleasant sap. The best time is in early spring when the sap is rising, before the leaves open but when the drooping apex of the tree has a red-pink colour through it.

The idea is to extract a gallon of sap from a hole drilled into the bark and transfer via a plastic tube to a gallon jar. A standard 1-gallon bottle (from a home wine making shop) takes a 1" cork; so take a hand drill and a 1" auger drill. Just penetrate through the bark (usually less than a 1/4' or 6 mm), put the cork in and connect the tubing to the bottle through a second cork (with a little slot to let the air out).

Leave for two days and if conditions are right a gallon of sap will be found in the bottle. When collecting the bottle, fill the hole you have made in the tree with a new, complete cork, this gives the tree an easier task in repairing its bark.

You can use the same tree again the following year - you haven't hurt it, but remove last year's cork and remove any insects that may be harbouring in the darkness of the hole. The sugar content is not high - about 4oz to the gallon - so another 2 1/2 lbs to the gallon will make a dry wine and 3 lbs to the gallon a sweeter one. Left dry it can taste like a German wine while, if liked sweeter, add the juice of two oranges as well as the juice of one lemon that should be added in both cases. The rest of the procedure of fermentation, racking and maturation follows normal home wine making practice.

Not sure that I can recommend this ! Haven't tried it myself