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SUGARHOUSE
& GIFT SHOP HOURS
Memorial Day to Labor Day
Monday - Friday 9am to 3 pm
Saturday 9am to noon
Sunday closed
Online Store 24/7
Take a Self-Guided Tour Brochure While Visiting The Farm
From
Memorial Day Weekend to October 1st
ADMISSION:
Adults, $4; Children, 2-12, $2; Under 2, Free |
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 The
Carman Brook Maple Farm attracts visitors year round from
around the world. The Self-Guided Tour Brochure walks you
through the sugarhouse while giving you interesting facts
about how Vermont maple syrup is produced. The family
members and employees you meet on the farm are more
than happy to answer your questions and share a view into
their livelihood.
The
Fortin family began dairy farming on the Fortin Road in
Highgate Springs, Vermont, in 1911. Five generations later the
family continues farming combining the traditional farming
values and lifestyles with today's labor efficient
technology.
The sugarhouse is
open year round. Enjoy the maple flavors and aromas
coming from our family owned and operated Vermont Maple
Sugarhouse. Where you can enjoy our family's tradition of
making Vermont maple syrup.
A scheduled
group tour with someone who lives and works on the farm is
available for parties of 15 or more. Call
the sugarhouse at 1-888-84-MAPLE (6-2753) for rates and
times.
DIRECTIONS TO THE FARM:
Directions from I89 North: Take I89 North to Exit 21 Swanton. At the bottom of the exit ramp at the stop sign take a right onto Route 78 and an immediate left onto the Frontage Road. You will continue North (I89 will be on your left) for 3 miles. At the 4 corner stop, go straight to the Fortin Road. The farm is 1 mile on the left.
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Before the season even begins, we work in the sugarwoods for many weeks. There are fallen limbs or animal damage to the pipelines, or more lines to be added. |
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In Vermont, Maple syrup is produced at the end of the winter. Sugaring time starts around the beginning of March. When the nights are clear and cold (below freezing) and the days are warm and sunny (above freezing), the sap will run from the trees. When weather patterns are forecasted for sugaring, trees are tapped. We collect this sap and boil it to make sweet maple syrup. |
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At the Carman Brook Farm (CBF) we use a vacuum system to help draw the sap into the sugarhouse. The three vacuum pumps and storage tanks are in the woods. One set is behind the barn, one about a half mile away and the third is a mile away. The lines are checked regularly throughout the season for damage. |
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When the sap gets to the sugarhouse, it is stored in a 2,000 gallon tank. We make
maple syrup as soon as there is enough sap to start the equipment. Maple sap ferments over time. Keeping the sap cold and processed quickly preserves quality. |
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Our sugarhouse is equipped with a Reverse Osmosis (RO) machine. This machine is kept in a small room that is heated. All the sap first goes through the RO machine where it is filtered and put through a membrane that only a water molecule can pass. It takes an average of 40 gallons of maple sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. The RO machine eliminates 75% of the water. This procedure saves time, energy and wear on the evaporator. The concentrated sap is pumped upstairs into a 500 gallon storage tank where it gravity feeds into the evaporator. |
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The evaporator boils away the rest of the water. By applying heat, the maple color and flavor is released. Maple syrup is boiled to a temperature 7 degrees above the boiling point of water or 218 degrees F. The density of the syrup is checked with a hydrometer for 32 degrees on the Baume scale.
The syrup is then filtered through our filter press. The filtered syrup is then stored in stainless steel barrels. The syrup is stored in barrels until it is pumped into the canner to be bottled in smaller containers for retail sales. |
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QUESTIONS:
Email your questions to be answered by someone who lives and works on the farm. |
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