# It IS fermenting!!!



## GBov (May 4, 2008)

I thought my mum was going mental when she said our honey tasted fermented and the kids and I have been happily eating the honey out of the first jar and it tastes fine to us but I looked at the second jar and its covered with white stuff and upon opening it and taking a sniff, it doesn't half smell weird!

What did we do wrong?


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

The honey had too much moisture when you removed it from the hive. Honey should have a moisture content of 17.5%. I think all you can do now is make mead out of it. Or heat it to cook the alcohol out of it and feed it back to the bees.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

BarbadosSheep said:


> The honey had too much moisture when you removed it from the hive. Honey should have a moisture content of 17.5%. I think all you can do now is make mead out of it. Or heat it to cook the alcohol out of it and feed it back to the bees.


Our new package is due next month to replace the ones that buggered off out of the hive that the honey came out of. How hot do I need to get teh honey to make it OK for them?

Usually we cut the comb and pack it into a jar and squeeze any bits that dont fit so the honey runs into the jar around the comb. The kids chew the squeezed honey so none of it goes to waste but this time we crushed the comb.

Is it usual for home grown honey to go off like this? And if so, how on earth do we prevent it?


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

I am new at bees so I can't offer you much real-life experience, but I did find a really good web site for you. Check this thread.... http://www.beesource.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-198406.html


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

I'm relatively new to bees as well, only a couple years under my belt. My instinct would be to make mead out of this honey. If it's fermenting or going bad, do you really want to feed it to a new package of bees? I'm interested in learning what the beekeepers with more knowledge have to say. Learning is fun!!

I broke into a dead hive and found mold! I didn't think honey could mold either. I'm tossing that honey out, unless I hear differently.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

I read that you can just give it to the bees as it is and they will reprocess it for you. They won't eat it if it's bad for them....they know what they are doing.


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

GBov said:


> Is it usual for home grown honey to go off like this? And if so, how on earth do we prevent it?


It happens sometimes. You prevent it by making sure the honey you harvest is fully ripened. Like many hobbbyists, I don't own a refractometer, so I can never be absolutely certain of the moisture content, but there are things I can do to stack the odds in my favor:
1) Harvest only capped honey. Not every cell has to be capped on a frame, but for me, at least 75-80% should be capped.
2) If there are uncapped cells on a frame, give it a shake and see if anything runs out. Unripe honey will be more runny and drip out more easily.
3) Don't extract in a high-humidity environment. 
4) Make sure extracted honey is in air-tight containers.

I'm sure others can add additional suggestions.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

How should I feed the fermented honey to the bees? I have a feeder I could use.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

This is your own honey, right? Reason I ask is that American Foul Brood spores can live in honey so if the honey came from a hive that had AFB, you can transmit that to your bees by feeding them honey. I am not sure how youd' feed it...I think a feeder would work though.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

BarbadosSheep said:


> This is your own honey, right? Reason I ask is that American Foul Brood spores can live in honey so if the honey came from a hive that had AFB, you can transmit that to your bees by feeding them honey. I am not sure how youd' feed it...I think a feeder would work though.


Yep, honey from our own hive in the back yard. The bees did leave mid winter but as they took all the rest of the honey with them we think it was because the hive was in the shade due to the changing year. The other hive that is in full sun is doing great.

I shall put it in the feeder and see what happens.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Well, the feeder is working great and they have taken over an inch out of it since yesterday.

At Least its not going to go to waste, esp. as we dont drink so mead is not an option lol.


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