It was all
a dream.
In 1895, Great Grandpa John Kistler ventured into the maple syrup-making world, unknowingly starting a family legacy that would carry on long after his death. Five generations later, we're still crafting the same great-tasting syrup that's been enjoyed throughout the United States for almost 125 years.
Our process has modernized a bit, but our dedication to quality hasn't wavered. We still tap the sap from our majestic sugar maple trees, infusing each bottle with a pinch of personal pride and a whole lot of hard work.
We invite you and your family to experience the pure goodness of our maple syrup and maple syrup products; it's a taste of tradition you won't soon forget!
How Our Syrup is Made
Catch the Sap
Sap from Maple trees has been collected and made into Syrup in North America for a long time! Native Americans were making syrup long before Europeans ever arrived on the continent.
It takes a maple sapling on a woodlot an estimated 45-50 years to become a mature tree that can be harvested for sap, year after year. We are still harvesting sap from trees that Great Grandpa John harvested from in 1895!
Sap Lines
In the Spring, during the thaw, frozen sap in the trees thaws and is forced upward, traveling through the tree’s trunk. Holes are tapped in the tree, that allow us to harvest the sap. We’re able to collect the sap through a system of lines that carry the sap from the trees to our boiling system in the Sugarbush.
The Evaporator
In the Sugarbush, you’ll find our state-of-the-art evaporator. Boiling the collected sap reduces the liquid and evaporates the water. The beautiful, golden substance left behind is nature’s best sweetener - Maple Syrup
Bottle it Up
This is perhaps the most exciting and rewarding part of the syrup-making process! Sap is made by nature, but our syrup is crafted by us! Our methods have modernized but we continue to make Syrup the same way that it has always been made. There are no shortcuts to Pure Maple Syrup - from the Maple Tree that has to grow, to the careful process of condensing the sap. There will never be a substitute!
Homemade, pure Michigan Gold!