CHIRIP SIRIP
The Farm at Gnome Hollow
ABOUT
Chirip Sirip, located at the 'Farm at Gnome Hollow' is a small maple syrup producer located in Warren County, New Jersey.
What started as an “I wonder if I can do this?” curiosity, turned into a passion that has driven me for nearly 10 years. I strive to create the best tasting, pure, all-natural maple syrup you have ever tasted.
Where it started~
When my kids were young, we went skiing in Vermont every year and would stop for breakfast at the Sugarhouse in Rutland. One year we saw the trees were tapped and my son wanted to try it at home, so we bought a spile (tap) and a bucket and thought we would try it on our property which had many birch trees.
A number of years passed and we hadn't tapped a tree. I did make birch beer and it wasn't what I expected so I asked a family member who had actually made maple syrup in the past for help. He guided me to the sugar maples on my property and I tapped my first tree in March 2013.
I hand carried 5-gallon buckets out to the trees, filled them up with the sap and toted them back to the house. I got a couple of pots and a 9x24” pan and started boiling on the stove. Day after day, after day I was collecting and boiling, YES it literally took days to make my first batch, but boy the house smelled good. I WAS HOOKED!
By 2015 I had found an amazing 'Maple Mentor', boiled 500 gallons of sap and bottled about 6 gallons of syrup all in ½ pint bottles. My family and friends were thoroughly impressed and said I should 'do more'. So I DID!
The Chirip Sirip Sugar Shack
Owner and creator Andy Chirip
Along the way~
In the years that followed I learned countless lessons about what it took to craft a quality pure maple syrup. I went 'all in' when I converted a small outbuilding on our property to the 'Sugar Shack". This allowed me to move my operation out of my house and add commercial equipment to help manage consistency in the production process.
I put sugar bushes on tubing systems, expanded our tree footprint and upgraded my equipment. I got a 5 gallon Maker's Mark barrel for our Bourbon Barrel Aged Infused variety, and added a Vanilla Infused syrup to the product lineup
Our presence continues to grow at new local farm markets and specialty shops. We are featured in local ice creamery flavors and restaurants feature our syrup in their menus. We even participated in a Maker's Mark sponsored fundraising farm to table dinner event.
Where I am headed~
Today we get about 5600 gallons of sap collected and craft over 80 gallons of syrup in three varieties. We will continue to expand production and flavor varieties, partnerships with Maker's Mark, and local stores and markets.
My passion continues to grow through the encouragement, guidance and support of so many mentors, business partners, friends, family, and customers that have made all this possible!
I truly had no idea that a simple family breakfast in Rutland all those years ago would have been the spark to this amazing venture. I am grateful to have you all along for this SWEET ride!