It’s all about living the sweet life

Have you ever had pancakes or waffles, drizzled with sticky, sweet, maple syrup and wondered how it was made? More goes into it than you can imagine and producing maple syrup is not for the faint of heart, with a lot of hours dedicated to the process. That’s why many choose to purchase their maple syrup, relying on producers to do the work for them. That’s where Wellner’s Sugar Shack, of Cadott, comes in, turning out 100% Grade A pure maple sugar. One might be surprised to learn that the business is run by someone who is barely legal to vote. That’s right, Wyatt Wellner, who graduated from Cadott High School just this spring, is the brains behind the whole thing. He first began at five or six years old, then really got serious about production before he was even in high school. “When I was younger, I always looked forward to doing it after school, going to Grandma and Grandpa’s, and gathering sap,”said Wyatt. “First thing I’d do, is run to the house, Grandma always has doughnuts or something ready.” Making maple syrup is something that runs in the family, as Wyatt’s paternal grandfather, George Wellner, was who taught him, then Wyatt’s father, Mark Wellner. Wyatt has also helped mentor his cousin, who now is tapping trees on his own. “I did it ever since I was eight years old,” said George. “I never really got out of it, I think. It was work, but it was fun.” Of course, things were a little different then, when George worked for Marley Dahm, with 10,000 taps running, and horses and sled used for gathering. George sometimes went for days, with no sleep at all. “This time of year, there’s no sleeping,” agreed Wyatt. “It’s a lot of late nights and early mornings.” Maple syrup making is not a one-man operation, by any means, which means you have to a good crew behind you, to keep up with production. The season begins each spring, anywhere from February to April, depending on weather. As long as it’s above freezing at night and not too hot during the day, maple sap starts running and so do the ones who make it. “The weather’s totally different than what it used to be,” said Wyatt. “Once it gets too warm, the sap’s actually starting to shut down. I think a lot of it has to do with the air pressures, too, during the days and nights.” This year, Wyatt has about 1,200 taps, using plastic lines, strung through the woods. The family used to hang buckets, then bags, but had a problem with squirrels getting into the sap, so they went with the lines, despite reservations about the cost to do so. “But, I knew right away, that it doubled the production of sap on it,” said Wyatt. Once the lines are up, a generator supplies power to the pump, which creates a high-vacuum, essentially sucking the sap out of the tree into the lines. Wyatt is OK with using bags and buckets, you just have to wait longer, for the sap to really start running. It takes about 30 gallons of sap, to make 1 gallon of the amber-colored liquid goodness, otherwise known as maple syrup. Once there’s enough sap to begin cooking, Wyatt, or his dad or grandpa, takes the sap from a tank and load it on a trailer, hauling it to their cook shack west of Boyd, owned by Wyatt’s grandma, Carolyn Wanish. The sap is then pumped out of the tanks into the reverse osmosis tank, where it goes to a third bulk tank and is pumped into the cooker. The reverse osmosis cuts cooking time down significantly and by using a wood evaporator, as opposed to a gas one, it lends a smoky flavor to the syrup. After the sap cooks down, leaving syrup, all that’s left to do is bottle the amber liquid, with a label designed by Wyatt’s mom, Amy Wellner. However, Wyatt has to reheat the syrup when bottling, so it seals itself. He also makes maple sugar candy, just not in as great quantity as the 500 gallons or so of syrup each year. “Candy’s kind of hard to make, it’s kind of tedious,” said Wyatt. When it comes to marketing, people reach out Wyatt, as word spreads, to sell the product in a few local stores, but he also ships some to Montana. He’d like to expand the business more, with more taps, but for now, is just enjoying the work. “Maple syrup is one of my favorite ingredients, it’s on pretty much everything,” said Wyatt.