Beekeeping > General Beekeeping
another fermented honey question
rober:
one of the more venerable keepers here says that if you heat fermented honey to 180* it kills the yeast. would it then be safe to feed to bees? this is the 1st time i've had this happen. i've had an issue with my back that cramped my style of late. ( aging sucks ) the fermented honey was in a catch bucket under my uncapping station & had been forgotten while i was laid up. it had a loose lid & so was allowed to absorb moisture for near 6 weeks. i also had some honey ferment at a local feed store. that one i cannot figure out. i checked the moisture count in each bucket as i capped them & marked the % on each bucket. most of my honey was in the 16.5-17.5% range. a few were 18-19%. i've never had problems in those ranges. i've even had 20% honey not ferment. i did keep that for my own use to be safe. the honey at the feed store was 17.5.. i also delivered honey from the same bucket to a local mom & pop grocery. no problem there. i did have a pint in my garage from that batch that did ferment. there is no A.C. in my garage or at the feed store. i wonder if that is the clue. even so why would 17% honey ferment.
one more thing. the feed store is low volume. i trade out crystalized honey there all the time. the mom & pop store store sells 30 pints every 3 weeks. i don't even check with them any more. i just restock them every 2 weeks.
Poderac:
I don't know why fermented honey would hurt bees. They get fermented sap from apples , pears, peaches, ETC. as they lay on the ground and rot.
rober:
from a previous post
"Alcohol is poisonous to bees. So be sure if you do feed it back to them, it is in small amounts. Also, as RAST Indicated, it has been known to give them dysentery… So make sure it is nice enough weather for them to handle that as well. If it were me, I would either make Mead, or dispose of it."
Poderac:
Alcohol is poisonous to humans, too, in large amounts. My thinking is, the bees know best. Alcohol is available in nature too often for it to be a big problem.
Bakersdozen:
I am just guessing about this as I don't have that much experience with making mead. I have made a few small batches and have always added yeast, which starts the fermentation process. I think the finished product from champagne yeast would be far superior to the naturally fermented honey. It might be ok if you are able to wait long enough for the "natural" mead to sit.
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