• PATRONS: Did you know we've a chat function for you now? Look to the bottom of the screen, you can chat, set up rooms, talk to each other individually or in groups! Click 'Chat' at the right side of the chat window to open the chat up.
  • Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
  • We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.

Ethics

Barrel Char Wood Products

dr9

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 12, 2009
386
2
0
athens ga
Forget the PETA type people. But what about bait and switch? Is it common for a bee keeper to lie about the kind of honey they have? If I call up and say 'Do you have apple blossom honey?" and they say "uh... um... yeah... sure.. how much you need?" just in time to make a new label for the jar of wildflower... is that something that happens?
 

Medsen Fey

Fuselier since 2007
Premium Patron
Honey imported from China has been documented to be cut with high fructose corn syrup among other things. I'm sure there are a few less than honest folks who might try doing as you suggest. Caveat Emptor!

Fortunately, some honey is pretty distinctive - orange blossom, meadowfoam, berry honey, tupelo, and heather are just a few that you won't likely get mixed up with anything else. I'm not sure about apple blossom.

If you deal with reputable folks, you'll get good honey. BeeFolks, who are great sponsors of this site, the Mazer Cup, and mead making in general have great honey. It isn't always cheap, but with them, you get what you pay for. You can find other good suppliers that people have dealt with mentioned in posts throughout the forums.

If you have a local producer, then you can meet them face to face and see how much they care about their product - you'll probably be able to tell what kind of quality you are getting (and you can learn a whole lot). If you find a good producer, be sure and post up to tell us about them - we all like to support good folks.
 

wayneb

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
One thing to keep in mind is that even a good-sized local producer may not always know everything there is to know about the honeys that they have available. My favorite local supplier here in Colorado has a large apiary operation that does both the local eastern Colorado wildflower/pasture (which they know is 80% clover/alfalfa, with the rest being from nectars produced by the local wildflowers native to our grasslands), and does orange grove pollination every spring, so they get loads of first-quality California Orange Blossom honey. Periodically they'll trade honey with other local producers around the country -- that's how he got lots of excellent raspberry-blossom from a producer in Oregon last year. However, sometimes he'll trade for something totally foreign to him. That's how he got 20 barrels of "California Wildflower," that he called "Brown California $#!%." He offered some to me at a bargain price, and when I saw, smelled and tasted it I realized that he had barrels-full of wonderful wildflower that was at least 80% western buckwheat! ;D

That was a nice find.
 

dr9

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 12, 2009
386
2
0
athens ga
Bee folks... please take a look at this topic, it relates to ethics as well, involving possible watering down or corn syruping honey. Thank you!

http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15543


(Also... moderators... please feel free to edit my title to "Ethics" if it bothers you as much as it bothers me... thanks!)
 
Last edited:
Barrel Char Wood Products

Viking Brew Vessels - Authentic Drinking Horns