Story Maple Farms
Pure Maple Syrup

Available at the Story Inn.
Order by calling (800) 881-1183

February 14, 2003

The Sap Flows in Brown County: The Story Inn and local syrup maker team up for third year

The calendar says its still winter, but Dean Manuel is feeling the heat.

These days, at the break of dawn, Manuel and his six children can be seen tromping through the forest tapping the hundreds of sugar maples near his southern Brown County home. It's a race against time.

"The best run of maple sap is right now. Cold, freezing nights and warm days really gets it flowing," says Manuel, who lives just four miles from the 19th century village of Story, Indiana. "If you miss this run, you might as well pack it in for the season." The unusually cold and wet winter will likely mean a bumper harvest.

The Manuel family has been producing maple syrup for five generations. This is, however, only Manuel's third year working with the Story Inn, Indiana's oldest bed & breakfast and one of the state's most famous restaurants. Together, they are producing and marketing the only pure, all organic maple syrup in Brown County.

"Real maple syrup has all but disappeared from our tables. Like the family farm, it's endangered," says Richard R. Hofstetter, one of the Story Inn's owners.

It's easy to see why real maple syrup has been replaced with cheaper, mass-produced products made mostly of corn syrup, preservatives, food coloring and chemical esters which poorly mimic the taste of maple. "Making maple syrup is a labor-intensive process, no doubt about it," explains Manuel, pausing from his work only for a moment. "This year, we plan to have at least 2,000 taps in about 1,100 trees, each dripping into lines which in turn drain into collection tanks. I gather the sap and boil it myself, over a log fire. I cut the firewood myself. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup." With luck, Manuel will produce about 400 gallons of the amber ambrosia before the trees begin to bud. "Once buds appear, the season is over."

Time is of the essence. "We need to boil within a day of collecting the sap, to capture the best flavor. There's no time to lose" says Manuel.

Frank Mueller, the other owner of the Story Inn, thinks it's worth all the effort. "There is no comparison. There is no substitute for the real thing." The Story Inn has won awards for its banana walnut pancakes, which are made from scratch. "It would be a sin to put anything but real maple syrup over them." The first batches of maple syrup, the very best of the season, will soon be hitting the tables at the Story Inn.

"Old timers here remember what it was like to have home-made maple syrup. We're trying to bring it back, along with the entire town of Story. We're raising a generation of kids on processed food, and it tastes normal to them. It's a real shame," says Hofstetter. He has reason to be optimistic. Last year, Story sold out of its entire production of maple syrup. "We're not producing a staple food here. It's a luxury, and we say, 'indulge, while it lasts!'"

The 2003 production will be offered at the Story Inn as well as through select health and natural food stores in southern Indiana under the label of "Story Maple Farms." Supplies are limited.

Available at the Story Inn.
Order by calling (800) 881-1183