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Honey, not one you love

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Sparked_Tiger

Worker Bee
Registered Member
May 3, 2021
48
24
8
USA
Please forgive my ignorance, but are there different types of honey? Like do different bee species make different types of honey? If so, which tends to be better? Also is raw honey better for making mead than processed honey?
 
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Cobrac

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
Sep 6, 2016
677
11
18
Västra Götaland, Sweden
It has very little to do about specimen of the bees. It’s where they collect their nectar. And how they blend it in the hive. One example is if you live on the countryside and some farmer grow big fields of clover, oranges, raspberries, cherries, apples etc etc the bees will most likely collect most of the nectar (which become honey when it has gone through the bees stomach) from those fields. This will give you a “mono collected honey” which will give a very unique taste depending on which flower the bee will visit and collect from. There are tons of variety when comes to honey, they will blend everything they can get their hands on. Depending on the location of the hive you will get different types of honey. They will behave very differently in meads. Both in colour and taste.


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Cobrac

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
Sep 6, 2016
677
11
18
Västra Götaland, Sweden
Regarding the raw or heated honey it’s all about what you prefer. Today most meadmaker use non-treated honey. Which sometimes can be hard to find. Many brands pasteurize their honey to increase shelf life and it won’t crystallize that quick. Best is to get it from the beekeeper and ask for non heated honey. Today many beekeepers offer non-treated honey for sale on web shops.
 

Dan O

Honey Master
Registered Member
Oct 12, 2020
177
89
28
New Hampshire, USA
Please forgive my ignorance, but are there different types of honey? Like do different bee species make different types of honey? If so, which tends to be better? Also is raw honey better for making mead than processed honey?
There are over 300 different types of honey, in the US alone. As @Cobrac stated, it's about where they collect the nectar from that determines their distinctive flavors & different floral notes.
 
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Shelley

Honey Master
Registered Member
Sep 13, 2013
365
32
28
Harford, NY
MeadMagic.com
You might be interested in https://www.specialtyfood.com/news/article/flavor-wheel-honey-aims-educate-support-standardization/

Some other quick honey thoughts from a meadmaking beekeeper:
  • You don't need to heat honey to make mead. If you heat honey too hot, you can use the floral aromatics that can make a mead special.
  • Crystallized honey is not spoiled (quite the contrary, it's more of a sign that it's raw honey).
  • Buying honey from your neighborhood beekeeper (and you probably have one -- start by finding a local bee club) means you're getting unadulterated honey, not honey cut with other ingredients (I'll admit a bias here).
  • Local honey will be more expensive than SueBee/big box brands.
  • True organic honey is probably not available from US beekeepers.
  • Honeydew honey is not true honey.
  • When you start making mead, use good honey but not super-rare expensive honey to start out. Learn the craft first. Even Sue Bee honey can help you learn to make mead.
 

Sparked_Tiger

Worker Bee
Registered Member
May 3, 2021
48
24
8
USA
You might be interested in https://www.specialtyfood.com/news/article/flavor-wheel-honey-aims-educate-support-standardization/

Some other quick honey thoughts from a meadmaking beekeeper:
  • You don't need to heat honey to make mead. If you heat honey too hot, you can use the floral aromatics that can make a mead special.
  • Crystallized honey is not spoiled (quite the contrary, it's more of a sign that it's raw honey).
  • Buying honey from your neighborhood beekeeper (and you probably have one -- start by finding a local bee club) means you're getting unadulterated honey, not honey cut with other ingredients (I'll admit a bias here).
  • Local honey will be more expensive than SueBee/big box brands.
  • True organic honey is probably not available from US beekeepers.
  • Honeydew honey is not true honey.
  • When you start making mead, use good honey but not super-rare expensive honey to start out. Learn the craft first. Even Sue Bee honey can help you learn to make mead.
Thanks for the information. What type of bees do you keep? I heard that many bee keepers also have flower gardens. Is that true? Do you have one?
 
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