Sugarhouse Tours

Sponsored by Farm Credit East & Clarence Brown

Sugarhouse Tours Saturday April 26, 2025

Buses leave from top of Church St and corner of Bishop St

Holyoke Farm Maple: 10:00, 12:30, 2:30

The Maple Fix Farm: 10:30, 12:30, 2:30

Holyoke Farm is a family farm started in the late 1700’s and is currently operated

by Jack and Brent Brigham and their families. Maple has been produced on the

farm for many generations. Jack and Brent started in the 1960’s tapping a few

maple trees in the yard when they were 8 and 9 years old. Boiling was done on

the kitchen stove and then a small brick evaporator in the back yard. We have

expanded over the years adding tubing, vacuum system and a reverse osmosis

machine to the present 7000 taps. Our current production is 3600 to 4000 gallons

of syrup a year.

The Maple Fix Farm is a small maple sugaring operation located in Fairfax, VT owned by Adam & Renee Rainville. Besides maple syrup, we also raise belted Galloway beef cows and use our pastures to harvest organic hay for feed. In 2010 we first set up our home woods in Fairfax, with just over 2,100 taps and we sold our raw sap to a larger maple sugar maker. In 2017 we decide that selling our raw sap was just a bit too boring for us and we wanted to jump into the “fun part” of sugaring and make our very own sweet stuff! We purchased an oil-fired evaporator and equipped our sugarhouse with everything we needed to boil and make our own syrup! In 2019 we had the opportunity to purchase an additional 105 acres in Underhill VT with an additional 6,500 taps. Over the years we have added more taps to increase our production from our sugarbush. We also purchase raw sap from another local sugar maker. Currently we boil sap from 12,000 taps. Each year we make syrup in the springtime when the days are warm, and the nights are below freezing. After sugaring season, we spend our time crafting yummy maple goodies which have earned several blue ribbons locally. Our products include all things maple, maple cream, maple cotton candy, maple sugar, maple candies, maple popcorn, infused syrups including gin, bourbon, cinnamon and coffee. We also offer custom VT maple baskets for any occasion! 

This photo hangs on our sugarhouse wall and represents the “why” in everything we do in our maple business. Maple runs deep in our family. This is a photo of me (Renee) as a young girl, sugaring with my dad outside in our backyard on a wood fired arch that my dad hand made. Patiently waiting for syrup to be made, we snacked on hot dogs for lunch that were cooked and coated in maple syrup while tasting samples of “almost syrup”. I can remember tapping with spouts and buckets and then collecting those buckets filled to the brim with sap and boing info hours, only to make a minimal amount of that liquid gold sweet stuff. Today in our sugaring operation we use tubing, vacuum, RO’s, filter presses and an oil-fired evaporator. Technology has changed sugaring over the years, but one thing remains the same, the depth of love the we have for maple sugaring! My dad passed away in 2001 and much of our thoughts and ideas starting our business venture into the maple industry was inspired by him and his love for sugaring that he passed onto his kids and everyone that knew him. Every time we fire up the evaporator and that sweet smell fills the sugarhouse, I am reminded of him. 

For maple open house weekend please join us for FREE maple syrup samples with freshly made donuts, and FREE maple hotdogs!! We will have all our maple products for sale as well if you need to bring your “maple fix” home. 

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Sponsors

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