32 oz.
Pure Maple Syrup
USA

Howie and Stephan founded Deep Mountain in the '80s when they were living in Glover. Howie was a member of Bread and Puppet Theater. They started collecting maple from other people's trees, going from tree to tree, up and down the mountain with snowshoes, collecting the sap from individual buckets. Over time they bought some land with some trees themselves and their business developed, first with buckets and horses, then with tractors and buckets, and now with tubing. We met them through our friend Jonathan who, when he moved up to Vermont for last summer, swore off wheat and sugar but was allowing himself free access to maple. He actually had mentioned Howie and Stef for years, as they sell maple at the farmers market on Saturdays in New York. When we arrived to their place we tried the maple from his gallon jug and were immediately into it. We set out to meet them and visited their home and forest. Right now their collection method consists of tubing that runs from tree to tree leading to the sap house, which at peak times supplies the boiler with 300 to 400 gallons an hour. That's peak. Howie explained to us how - although they have more sap than they used to - they continue to produce it with the same type of boiler they always have, wood-fired. I asked him why and it was simple: for the flavor and the quality, it's what they want and what they believe in. The dark amber grade is considered rough stuff by maple connoisseurs. Almost the type of thing many would not dare to eat. To me it's earth, like how a good French cider is - not that it tastes the same, but it has the same good and honest value. Most people use the dark amber for cooking, hence we sell it in a big jar. For certain when it comes to cooking, lighter grades don't make it, the flavor disappears; you need a dark amber, this grade or even one level darker.