Roadtrippin’ 2023: Tapping and tasting Alaska-made birch syrup in Talkeetna

TALKEETNA, Alaska (KTUU) - The Roadtrippin’ crew visited Alaska Birch Syrup & Wild Harvest in Talkeetna to get a behind-the-scenes look at how birch syrup is made.

Dave Allgood trekked into the Alaska woods to see how sap is harvested — two methods include the old school way and the “new” way — and how it is then cooked down to the rich brown raw product that becomes the gourmet Alaska Pure Birch Syrup.

Dulce and Michael East, who own the business, have been tapping and making their birch syrup since 1990. They’ve gone from tapping just 200 trees a season to the now 11,000–plus trees they use to collect birch sap.

The Roadtrippin’ crew not only followed the process from trees to cooking, but got a little insight into the incredibly short window they have to collect sap and the frenetic pace and energy needed to process as much and as fast as they can within a three-week period.

And of course, Dave got to taste test the finished product, the uniquely Alaskan birch syrup!

For more on this Talkeetna landmark, visit the Alaska Birch Syrup & Wild Harvest website.

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