Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

I opened a new jar of honey today from last summer's extraction, and it smells like alcohol and is a little foamy at the top.  I'm assuming it's fermenting. 
1. Why did this happen?  Is it just that the water content was a little too high?  (I don't have a refractometer, maybe time to invest in one.)
2. Can I feed this back to the bees, or is it not good for them? 

1. Water content too high.
2. Feed it back to the bees. They will reprocess it.

You could also use it to make mead.
Jim Altmiller

Thanks for the tips, guys.  :smile:

Put it in hot tea.   :tongue: 

Kills any botulism or whatnot.

Fermented honey has alcohols in it. Not sure i would feed. Amazingly high in B vits, and folks pay a lot for it. Very good as a tonic. Weird taste in my humble......
Really raw honey sells it.

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Much of the honey bees rely on over winter is partially fermented.  Nothing wrong with that.
Feeding it back to them is as safe as if it never came out of the hive in the first place.

Quote from: sawdstmakr on March 02, 2021, 03:24:06 AM
You could also use it to make mead.
Jim Altmiller

Jim, I've got just shy of a gallon of fermented honey from the fall that I didn't extract in time.  I've been wanting to take a stab at making mead...you're saying that I can use that?  Will the fact that it fermented prior to adding the desired yeast influence the final product then if I otherwise used non-fermented honey?

Quote from: JurassicApiary on March 18, 2021, 04:00:11 PM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on March 02, 2021, 03:24:06 AM
You could also use it to make mead.
Jim Altmiller

Jim, I've got just shy of a gallon of fermented honey from the fall that I didn't extract in time.  I've been wanting to take a stab at making mead...you're saying that I can use that?  Will the fact that it fermented prior to adding the desired yeast influence the final product then if I otherwise used non-fermented honey?

Jurassic,
Part of making mead, if you are adding yeast is to cook it and kill any existing yeast.
So, that is not a problem.
When I was young, they always talked about a wine being a good year or a bad year. You don?t hear that anymore. The reason is they were using the natural yeast from the field. Sometimes it was a good yeast, sometimes not. Now you kill all of the field yeast and add the type of yeast that you want.
Jim Altmiller

For mead, I always use fresh honey, often the honey with higher water content, which I get a bit after months of rain in our area recently.
My husband takes all my fermented honey off me to make some mash and puts it into his still to make clean alcohol.
Some he gives to me for cleaning, some he makes into drinkable schnapps.
He turns it into science by measuring the sugars and what not before adding yeast.

I heard an amount of hive beetles in the hive can cause honey to ferment, even without slime out.
I?m inclined to agree, just watching it.

Quote from: Beelab on March 19, 2021, 03:38:03 AM

He turns it into science by measuring the sugars and what not before adding yeast.

It doesn't have to be a science experiment but some of the sugar has already been consumed by the natural fermentation.  So add a little more to the must.
15th member, I didn't use all fermented honey on my last batch of mead and Jim and others have said to me "its the best mead they have ever tasted".  I put all my jars in the freezer and that will stop the fermentation until you thaw it out.  I kind of like fermented honey on my toast, at least mine I did.  I also love manhattans.
Technically it is illegal to sell so make it free and just charge for the shipping and handling.  LOL

Like Ace, I also personally like the taste of honey that is just slightly fermenting. The thin layer of foam on top is premium on toast. 
For a honey that is too far gone. Make mead. Get a yourself a hydrometer. Water it down to 1.112 SG. Do not cook or boil it. Use a highly competitive yeast. For a 5 gal bucket batch of must (watered down honey):  Drop in one whole cinnamon stick and a pinch of allspice. Mix in 5g-10g of Lalvin1118 yeast per 5gal bucket. Set aside in a dark place that is 60-80 degF. The temperature is not exact with 1118, it doesnt care. Wait 3 to 6 months for bubbling to stop and the liquid to clear. Then bottle it and enjoy thoroughly.

Thank you all for your input on the fermented honey--I'm going to give the Meade a try! (Big Grin).  :)

Quote from: TheHoneyPump on March 21, 2021, 12:15:57 PM
Like Ace, I also personally like the taste of honey that is just slightly fermenting. The thin layer of foam on top is premium on toast. 
For a honey that is too far gone. Make mead. Get a yourself a hydrometer. Water it down to 1.112 SG. Do not cook or boil it. Use a highly competitive yeast. For a 5 gal bucket batch of must (watered down honey):  Drop in one whole cinnamon stick and a pinch of allspice. Mix in 5g-10g of Lalvin1118 yeast per 5gal bucket. Set aside in a dark place that is 60-80 degF. The temperature is not exact with 1118, it doesnt care. Wait 3 to 6 months for bubbling to stop and the liquid to clear. Then bottle it and enjoy thoroughly.

That sounds like a plan I'm going to do it thanks  Honey pump

I have some hives in the lake city area that if the flow is great from cabbage palm. Gives tons of nectar But ferments even in the hive, even if sealed sometimes it ruptures the caps (Not from hive beetle) Its good honey but the water content is huge. I extract, allow to ferment naturally for 2 weeks then add fruit (making it a melomel) and let it ferment out. Bottle.  age 1 year or more. Drink.

Quote from: Bill Murray on March 21, 2021, 09:01:31 PM
age 1 year or more.

This is the secrete to all good meads.

I appreciate the wisdom of everyone for contributing (and continuing to add to the thread).  Lot's of valuable info. here.  THANKS!

Quote from: TheHoneyPump on March 21, 2021, 12:15:57 PM
Do not cook or boil it.

I don't boil the must.  I boil the water and let it get down to 180 before adding the honey.  That will stop the fermentation so it doesn't compete with the yeast you add.  It takes a long time to cool down so I let it set over night before adding the yeast.

I have a similar question. I was going through some dead outs. And they had uncapped sugar water from where I feed last fall. It smelled as it was fermented as well. I was just shaking it out of the comb. But obviously can?t get it all. When I drop these frames in a colony will they clean out the fermented feed? 

Wash it out.

Quote from: Acebird on March 25, 2021, 08:24:28 AM
Wash it out.

Didn?t think of that. Got a couple spots of mold where there was a cluster of dead bees. I was thinking just cut that section out or will they clean mold up?  Thanks

The bees will remove the mold.
Jim Altmiller

The mold is there because they weren't using that comb so it wasn't cleaned.  They will clean it before they use it.

All frames that come from dead-outs I dunk in a bleach/ water solution then shake and let air dry before reinstalling.

Quote from: Bill Murray on March 30, 2021, 11:16:46 AM
All frames that come from dead-outs I dunk in a bleach/ water solution then shake and let air dry before reinstalling.

Chlorine combines with other elements to form other compounds with chorine in it.  The water evaporates but the compounds don't.  Bees clean primarily by licking.  You might clean your dogs paws with a chlorine wipe but it is not good for the dog.
People treat their hives with oxalic acid and claim it doesn't hurt the bees.  That makes my brain hurt thinking of the bees licking up the crystals.

Well I will say this. I have lost way fewer bees since I became so anal about the bleach.

Quote from: JurassicApiary on March 21, 2021, 02:20:24 PM
Thank you all for your input on the fermented honey--I'm going to give the Meade a try! (Big Grin).  :)

Especially good after a long hot day in the beeyards. 
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210705/993b80cc447c60ecb8f21e70bd2c73ce.jpg)

Quote from: TheHoneyPump on July 05, 2021, 01:01:57 AM

Quote from: JurassicApiary on March 21, 2021, 02:20:24 PM
Thank you all for your input on the fermented honey--I'm going to give the Meade a try! (Big Grin).  :)

Especially good after a long hot day in the beeyards. 
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210705/993b80cc447c60ecb8f21e70bd2c73ce.jpg)

I?m totally jealous at the moment.

On a trip in Arizona at the moment and I could sure use a glass of that!


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I feel bad for you having to tread through the desert.  So bad that I will pour out another one and cheer/toast your name on each tipping and sipping of the glass until that one is empty too.  . Hope that helps you feel better.  I know that I am going to feel better on this end. LoL.