Syrup Sweetens Life in Ashe County

Cold winters mean good business at Waterfall Farm, where a simple venture tapping “a few maple trees close to the house” in 2006 has evolved into one of the few commercial maple syrup operations in the region.

Doug Monroe, who established the farm in 1976, said “the ongoing family farm operation” began after he noticed a neighbor harvesting sap from his backyard maple trees.

“A friend of mine was tapping trees in his yard. He gave me some taps” and some advice. “You ought to tap some of those trees along your driveway” was the suggestion.

It was a good idea. The family farmers at Waterfall Farms in Ashe County, North Carolina, collect hundreds of gallons of sap in the winter after the maple trees have spent the season dormant.

“Sap runs are dictated by temperature and season,” said Monroe. “Freezing triggers it. The thaw is what delivers the sap. Trees literally freeze, then they thaw, then the sap starts moving and you collect it.”

Doug, his daughter Wheeler and her husband Michael collect the sap through a series of tubes and about 475 taps that connect hundreds of trees to two large tanks located downhill from the forest of sugar and red maples.

“We have more taps out there, but we're at a point now where we are catching our breath before expanding again. We have another 500 taps out there. We can handle 500 taps or so pretty nicely.”

Monroe said the sap comes out of the trees with the consistency of tap water and little of the traditional sugary sweetness.

That sweetness known worldwide comes after the sap is rendered down through evaporation. Doug says it takes about 55 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

The Monroe’s built a sugar house in 2010 using lumber milled on site from timber cut on the farm.

In the sugar house, a wood-fired evaporator heats 70 gallons of sap an hour, thickening the fluid.

The fresh sap enters the cooking pan with a sugar content of about 1.5 percent to 2 percent. When syrup is drawn off at the other end a sample is taken and a hydrometer is used to measure its specific gravity to identify exactly when the sugar content has reached precisely 66 percent.

At that point, the syrup is filtered, reheated and bottled.

The farm produces a limited amount of syrup each season. Once it is gone, there is no more until the next year.

Monroe, who grew up in New England, said his syrup has a surprising taste for those familiar with the varieties processed for generations up north.

“It tastes different. The maple syrup from up north has a very classic flavor. It’s the taste we’re all used to.

“It’s really good stuff,” he said.

“Our syrup has more of a buttery, butterscotch flavor. I’d love to photograph the faces of people when they first taste it,” Monroe said. They think they know what to expect, having eaten New England syrup all their lives. But their faces light up as the buttery flavor of his North Carolina syrup caresses the tongue.

Monroe said most customers use his syrup as a pancake topping, though others have different uses.

Some use it as a mixer in alcoholic drinks, and others use it for presumed health benefits. “I have a number of clients who buy it as an elixir,” Monroe said, and there are varying published studies showing that while it is heavy in sugar, it also contains antioxidants.

Monroe is emphatic in its benefit. “It is considered a super food,” he said.

While the farm actually makes its syrup in winter, the Monroe family is busy year round getting ready for the draw.

They install and inspect the tubing connecting the trees to the sap tank, and must harvest and split as much as seven cords of wood to season in late summer so the fires burn hot in the evaporator when the syrup is being rendered.

They cut the firewood on the farm, opening up the forest for the maples to have the best conditions possible.

They use hydraulics to split the firewood narrowly so the fire burns bright hot.

The Monroes also cut locust for fencing, and have built trout ponds on the property for visitors to enjoy.

Those wanting a bottle of syrup can get it on Saturdays from April-October at the Ashe County Farmers Market, while supplies last.

You can also contact the farm for an appointment to drive out to purchase a bottle.

Visitors choosing to personally pick up their syrup at the Warrensville farm can also make a reservation to stay a night or a week at The Retreat at Waterfall Farm, a beautiful four-bedroom country house that sleeps 12.

Vacationers can hike and explore, visiting art galleries in West Jefferson, the renowned Ben Long frescoes in two Ashe County churches, and the only cheese factory in North Carolina.

Learn more:

Visit the North Carolina maple syrup website, waterfallfarmnc.com, for more details.