Honey fermenting

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Jeff Buzz

House Bee
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Jun 24, 2009
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Location
Thrapston Northamptonshire
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National
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40
I put a tub of last years honey in my tank to jar up today and although it was nice and clear with nothing on the top when I opened the bucket after warming two hours later it was fermenting like mad in the stainless steel jarring tub.
Never had this before I can only guess there was some airborne yeast in the tub?
 

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It's funny, until a few years ago I had never heard of much honey fermenting. But I have had it last year and it seemed to be a regular topic now. Maybe it is the power of the internet and I just hear more about it!
 
It's funny, until a few years ago I had never heard of much honey fermenting. But I have had it last year and it seemed to be a regular topic now. Maybe it is the power of the internet and I just hear more about it!
Maybe there is more osmophilic yeast around?
 
I have had Rape honey as it Crystallises it seems to force water out and you end up with liquid on top of the solid honey.
 
we had a fair bit of last seasons spring (with rape) honey ferment
it was around 19% I think when jarred
Yes, OSR is notorious for fermentation. It contains far more glucose than fructose, which crystalises out releasing water on top of buckets/jars allowing fermentation to take place because of the higher localised water content which eventually spoils the whole bucket. Need to heat the honey to kill off the yeasts.
 
My (mainly) heather honey likes to ferment in the jar despite my reducing the water content in a dehumidified room before pressing the comb. The only way I have to deal with it is to empty the offending jars into a double pan and pasteurise it. It seriously alters the character of the honey but at least it makes the stuff edible.
 
My (mainly) heather honey likes to ferment in the jar despite my reducing the water content in a dehumidified room before pressing the comb. The only way I have to deal with it is to empty the offending jars into a double pan and pasteurise it. It seriously alters the character of the honey but at least it makes the stuff edible.
Why don’t you freeze it. My heather honey sits in 1 litre tubs till I need it.
 
I put a tub of last years honey in my tank to jar up today and although it was nice and clear with nothing on the top when I opened the bucket after warming two hours later it was fermenting like mad in the stainless steel jarring tub.
Never had this before I can only guess there was some airborne yeast in the tub?
I had the same problem with some jars of honey, which I put down to a too high water content? As a result this year one of my new lockdown skills has been mead making! Never done it before so may be the word ‘skill’ should wait until we see some results! I have tried various recipes and currently have 2 gallons ordinary mead using different methods, 2 gallons melomel (black currant mead) using different recipes and I have everything ready to make a melomel using elderberries, which people say is very like port. Hopefully happy days ahead!
 
I had the same problem with some jars of honey, which I put down to a too high water content? As a result this year one of my new lockdown skills has been mead making! Never done it before so may be the word ‘skill’ should wait until we see some results! I have tried various recipes and currently have 2 gallons ordinary mead using different methods, 2 gallons melomel (black currant mead) using different recipes and I have everything ready to make a melomel using elderberries, which people say is very like port. Hopefully happy days ahead!
Ooooh! Let us know how it goes. I fancy making some mead but there are so many different recipes out there that I don't know where to start.
 
My (mainly) heather honey likes to ferment in the jar despite my reducing the water content in a dehumidified room before pressing the comb. The only way I have to deal with it is to empty the offending jars into a double pan and pasteurise it. It seriously alters the character of the honey but at least it makes the stuff edible.
I understand fermentation is a real problem with heather honey "The Honey (England) Regulations 2015" allows the water content of ling heather to be not more than 23%. At what % do you still have a problem? Yes, the pasteurisation stops the fermentation, but alters the taste. I tried it on my honey once which fermented due to me not replacing the lid to the honey bucket properly, use it for cooking myself. Some people say store it in the fridge?
 
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