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fermenting honey

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Jan 7, 2009, 4:18:43 AM1/7/09
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I have a bucket of slightly fermenting honey.
Is it ok to feed it to a hive of bees that is light when hefted or will it
have a bad effect on overwintering bees?

Regards

Martin

beekeep

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Jan 7, 2009, 7:46:27 AM1/7/09
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I don't think it will hurt them.

beekeep

Charlie Kroeger

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Jan 7, 2009, 1:43:01 PM1/7/09
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> I don't think it will hurt them.

Remember, alcohol is a poison in sufficient concentrations. If you put honey
in for feeding and it is mildly fermenting, it will keep on fermenting until
there is such a high concentration of alcohol it will kill the yeast.
Depending on the yeast causing the fermentation, a 4 to 8 percent by volume
alcoholic solution will be created. The bees probably won't touch it then but
I wouldn't risk it.

I would 'pasteurize' the honey first then mix it with white sugar syrup to
increase the sugar content of the syrup to a level that would inhibit any
further fermentation and adding the juice of a lemon for each gallon of syrup
to invoke in the bees a sense of wellbeing.

The reason why the honey is fermenting is the beekeepers fault. By harvesting
carelessly honey in unsealed combs you can be assured it will ferment because
it hasn't completed the transition from nectar to honey, a big difference.

--
CK

Robert Lewis

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Jan 7, 2009, 9:10:08 PM1/7/09
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Well, then..... How about adding enough water to get a good initial gravity
reading with a hydrometer & make mead out of it.

Robert


"Charlie Kroeger" <ckr...@frankensteinface.com> wrote in message
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Charlie Kroeger

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Jan 7, 2009, 10:01:51 PM1/7/09
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> make mead out of it.

Yes that's about the best thing to do with fermenting 'honey.'

--
CK

beekeep

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Jan 8, 2009, 8:04:50 AM1/8/09
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I've fed fermenting sugar syrup to my bees and have seen no effect on them. I
susspect that if the alcohol content is too high it would not be palatable to
them.

beekeep

PS: I predict an early spring. Bees had emerging brood two weeks ago. Maples
may bloom by late January!

Charlie Kroeger

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Jan 8, 2009, 12:19:32 PM1/8/09
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> PS: I predict an early spring. Bees had emerging brood two weeks ago. Maples
> may bloom by late January!

Where might this be?

--
CK

beekeep

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Jan 8, 2009, 5:13:13 PM1/8/09
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Southern Maryland. Back in mid December when I was gathering bees to ship I saw
one with orange pollen on her legs. I have no idea what it was from. I've seen
a few dandylions trying to bloom already as well.

beekeep

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Jan 9, 2009, 3:48:59 AM1/9/09
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"beekeep" <hon...@radix.net> wrote in message
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Not mutch blooming going on here in Buckinghamshire UK with -7C overnight.

Thanks for the advice previous.

Martin

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