Moisture content

[Mary Grace Ott]

On Sunday I pulled 36 frames of honey to extract. 35 frames were fully capped and one was 1/2 capped.

I neglected to test the moisture content before spinning the frames because I thought fully capped comb was ready to harvest. I had one 5 gallon bucket come in at a reading of 19 and one 5 gallon bucket come in at 18.5 and 5 gallon bucket 1/3 full come in at 19. I just read that in humid, rainy weather, even capped honey can exceed 18.5 moisture content. Didn’t know that!!

I have the two buckets with the 19 reading sitting in a small space with a dehumidifier and fan next to them for 2 days. The partially full bucket is down to 18.5 but the full bucket is now between 18.5 and 19. I’m stirring them throughout the day.

Any experience or suggestions with this from fellow becks??? My understanding is 18.5 is the highest reading honey can be and not ferment.

Thank you!
Sent from my iPhone

[Joseph Bessetti]

Bottle up a jar, just one, and see what it does. Fermentation requires yeast, naturally occurring in the honey, of course. If the yeast count is low, it won’t ferment.

Joe

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 6, 2025, at 11:16 AM, Mary Grace Ott <marygr...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Sunday I pulled 36 frames of honey to extract. 35 frames were fully capped and one was 1/2 capped.

> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "madbees" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to madbees+u...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/madbees/DF907DC9-04F6-422A-9A6F-92288BEBEE8C%40gmail.com.

[Mary Grace Ott]

Thank you for responding, Joe. I didn’t realize honey had naturally occurring yeast. How long would it take for the fermentation to occur?
Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 6, 2025, at 10:51 PM, Joseph Bessetti <jgbes...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Bottle up a jar, just one, and see what it does. Fermentation requires yeast, naturally occurring in the honey, of course. If the yeast count is low, it won’t ferment.

> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/madbees/B60BF928-11E4-4784-AF56-F2E154E12A3B%40gmail.com.

[Joseph Bessetti]

Usually, the water content is low enough that the yeast won’t grow, but when the water content is a little higher, as you describe, fermentation depends on yeast levels. You are doing the right thing to reduce moisture - the question becomes how low does it need to be?

If conditions allow the yeast to grow, fermentation will start right away. If it’s bad, you might see bubbles forming in the honey. If you don’t see any bubbles or foaming as you continue drying out the batch, it is a good sign.

Joe


Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 7, 2025, at 8:28 AM, Mary Grace Ott <marygr...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thank you for responding, Joe. I didn’t realize honey had naturally occurring yeast. How long would it take for the fermentation to occur?

> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/madbees/FBBE77BC-226C-4D08-9073-55F7BA5F1DA1%40gmail.com.

[Mary Grace Ott]

Another big, giant thank you!
Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 7, 2025, at 9:32 AM, Joseph Bessetti <jbes...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Usually, the water content is low enough that the yeast won’t grow, but when the water content is a little higher, as you describe, fermentation depends on yeast levels. You are doing the right thing to reduce moisture - the question becomes how low does it need to be?

> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/madbees/CY5P221MB09282DC52F03018044637198AE2CA%40CY5P221MB0928.NAMP221.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM.