Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1186, 26 May 2005
From: mead-request@talisman.com

Mead Lover's Digest #1186 Thu 26 May 2005

 

Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor

 

Contents:

Re:Subject: Re: Larger fermentation tanks (Robert Keith Moore)
Molasses (Dick Adams)
Sweet Sorghum Syrup (Dick Adams)
Maple Honey (Dick Adams)
Re: American Honeybee Epidemic ("Dan McFeeley")

 

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Subject: Re:Subject: Re: Larger fermentation tanks
 From: Robert Keith Moore <Rob@ineedachef.com>
 Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 17:11:13 -0700
 

Yes, I must agree, beer kegs work great. I have been using them for
years to make mead. You can find good used kegs in their specials
section. http://www.kegs.com/

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Subject: Molasses
 From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
 Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 21:18:46 -0400 (EDT)
 

In spite of admonishments for people I consider to be knowledgeable,
I have started fermenting three pounds of molasses in a 3-gallon
carboy. My excuses are (1) the molasses was free and (2) I need a
lesson in patience.

Has anyone ever had a success story with molasses?

Dick

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Subject: Sweet Sorghum Syrup
 From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
 Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 21:20:27 -0400 (EDT)
 

I keep waiting to read something from a meadmaker who used
sweet sorghum syrup. Anyone have a clue as to the pppg of
this syrup?

Dick

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Subject: Maple Honey
 From: rdadams@smart.net (Dick Adams)
 Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 21:25:03 -0400 (EDT)
 

HoneyLocator has no Maple Honey. A beekeeper in Vermont suggested
that the bees collect it and consume it leaving no excess to be
collected. This was confirmed by someone at the Honey Board. Yet
every now and then someone seems to find some!

Anyone know more about Maple Honey?

Dick

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Subject: Re: American Honeybee Epidemic
 From: "Dan McFeeley" <mcfeeley@keynet.net>
 Date: Wed, 25 May 2005 08:26:39 -0500
 

Hello all — I read the msn article at

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7656383/

and want to echo some of the earlier comments.
It was a public information article on a subject
that is old news to beekeepers, but not widely
known to the general reading audience.

Beekeepers have been dealing with the varroa problem
for quite a few years now. It's a serious problem — feral
bees, the bees that live in the wild, were wiped out by
varroa mites once they were introduced to this country.
Beekeepers had to resort to chemical means to control
the mites, knowing that these efforts would, in time, create
strains of mites that would be resistant to these measures.
Bee populations in other countries have also been
devastated by the varroa mite. It's not a problem unique
to the USA.

Here's a recent news item on the varroa problem:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050517110843.htm

There have been reports of feral bees here and there, suggesting
that bees in the US are developing ways of resisting the mite
naturally. I've seen them myself, just one or two but definitely
honeybees. There is a beekeeper about 3 miles from where I
live so there is a likely chance that these are his bees who have
taken a long foraging route. Still, I'm hopeful that these are
indeed feral bees.

<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>

Dan McFeeley

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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1186

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