It came down to a close call, as the three judges tasted the final two syrups vying for first place at the Ledger-Transcript’s annual maple syrup contest.
“Now it’s simply a matter of personal preference,” sighed judge Roger Swain, going back and forth between the two finalists. “There are no flaws that would make these bad syrups.”
Finally, all three judges came to a final decision, declaring a winner and runner-up – Faber Family Sugar House snagging first and Mark and Katie Fernald of Spring Hill Sugar House getting second.
“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” said Mark Fernald ruefully. “This is my third time getting second.”
Both the Fernalds and Fabers have relatively small sugar house operations. The Fernalds tapped 110 trees and made 27 gallons of syrup, while the Fabers tapped 130 trees and made 30 gallons.
This is the first year that the Fabers have made enough syrup to start selling it commercially, said Michael Faber.
“Though we’re still a teeny producer on maple syrup sales,” he said in an interview Monday.
Faber, of Hancock, said he was first introduced to maple sugaring when he visited a friend’s sugar shack. He was instantly attracted to the camaraderie of that experience and wanted to produce his own syrup.
“I loved the ritual of it, and the family and community aspect of it, just spending time in that sugar house with some of my friends and his family was just a great experience.”
This was his first time entering the Ledger-Transcript’s syrup contest, he said. His wife sampled his best syrups to select their entry.
“So she had the magic choice,” said Faber.
This year’s syrup season has been one of ups and downs, said Swain, with an early start in February being cut short by fluctuating weather. The result was much darker syrup more in line with other season’s end-of-year taps.
Faber said that other sugarers have noted that this year’s sap produced a lower sugar content, which results in needing a longer boiling time, which also produces a darker syrup.
“I consider myself an interested learner in all this stuff,” said Faber. “It’s fascinating to learn about these differences from year to year and the different things that affect it,” said Faber.
Fernald’s second-place entry, an amber-grade syrup, was the lightest syrup he’d made all year, he said.
Fernald has been making syrup since 2007, though he said he’s just a hobbyist who makes enough to have for his family and give away to friends – so he’s proud that in his years of entering the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript’s contest, his quality has been consistently high enough to make it to the final round three times.
While the judges were going back and forth on their own final choices, the people’s choice award also was nearly too close to call – the first round came out as a tie between two of the entries. A second-round eked out a winner by a single vote – but it turned out that both entries had been made by Rueben and Peter Somero of Somero Maple Farm.
Cathy Somero, whose sons own Somero Maple Farm was at Saturday’s contest, and cast her own vote, but noted that “I don’t always pick ours. They’re all good syrups.”
When the winners were announced, she laughed.
“Well, that goes to show,” she said.
The Someros were by far the largest producers that entered this year, with nearly 2,000 taps and over 300 gallons of syrup produced at their New Ipswich location.
If you are interested in purchasing Faber Family Sugar House syrup, you can contact Faber at faberfamilysugarhouse.com or 831-0323.