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TheFlatline · 08-03-2008, 04:28 AM

Hi folks.

So tomorrow our resident mead freak is making the drive to cook up about 20 gallons of the golden elixir with us, since he found out we could probably lay down about 50 or 60 carboys if we really wanted to get insane with our fermentation room.

I had a question though. The local beekeepers ended up parting with 5 gallons (60 pounds) of honey blossom at 2 bucks a pound. Is this considered a decent price in this day and age?

I'm satisfied with the expenditure. 120 bucks, plus maybe 20-30 bucks in water and nutrients/yeast/whatever, for 20 gallons of mead seem to be pretty good. I was just curious what other people pay for 5 gallons of honey though elsewhere.

I'm just slightly afraid of tomorrow. 20 gallons of mead, plus a 5 gallon batch of irish stout. I think I'm going to be downright sick of brewing for a while after tomorrow.

hammacks · 08-03-2008, 05:04 AM

My FIL is a beekeeper. If you were buying in bulk (BYO container) and came to his house, he would probably charge $1.50/lb. So, you may be a little overpriced. Don't feel ripped off though, because it is Fin impossible for apiarist to make money.

**Brandon O** · 08-03-2008, 05:18 AM

$2 a pound is good for cream of the crop honey.

Costco here sells high quality honey for $10/6lb.

I would pay the $2 a pound tho if it was fresh. I did a bit of calling around and the cheapest I have found is midwest apiaries at 1.50/pound.

tooomanycolors · 08-03-2008, 07:42 AM

2 bucks a pound is good, esp for those of us without family connections, I found out at my last purchase that the place i get mine from is going to $140/5gallons which is a $40 increase.

TheFlatline · 08-03-2008, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon O

$2 a pound is good for cream of the crop honey.

Costco here sells high quality honey for $10/6lb.

I would pay the $2 a pound tho if it was fresh. I did a bit of calling around and the cheapest I have found is midwest apiaries at 1.50/pound.

Costco doesn't carry honey here any more. I checked and was bummed. Hence the 30 minute trip out to the bee keepers.

This stuff is pretty damn fresh I must say. It's all local, taken from the produce fields, and is filtered on site. I guess I could have gotten any of the other honey variants for that price, but the thought of throwing eucalyptus, avocado, or cactus honey (very thick and granular, but not too bad tasting) into my mead just sounded wrong.

It sounds like, at worst, we overpaid by as much as 30 bucks for the bucket. I'll happily eat that in support of my local bee keepers. I'd have been upset if people were saying "oh yeah, I pay about 90 cents a pound for my honey in 5 gallon bulk".

I'm intending on bringing 3-9 pounds of honey back from Hawaii when I go there this November. I think using it as a flavoring agent could give me some wonderful, unusual results.

**Nurmey** · 08-03-2008, 02:16 PM

With the honey bee mystery deaths so high, I don't think you overpaid at all. As I recall, California is one of the states that's been hit the hardest so your guy may have had some high production costs replacing his bees.

jahdrummin · 08-03-2008, 05:28 PM

Hey All, just moved from CO to VT, Burlington to be exact...

Want to get a bunch of mead started to supply a few events next summer and began the hunt for a local fresh honey source...

Called one place and told the owner i was new to the area and beginning to do some mead... asked him what he had and told me some fresh maine blueberry honey and $4.00 a pound...

I have never bought bulk honey before so i held off on going down there till i checked with you all to see if this is a fair price? But by reading some of your posts, it seems as if this guy wants to take me for a ride? let me know....

Thanks in advance

**claphamsa** · 08-03-2008, 06:22 PM

i buy mine from dutchgold.com 100$ for a 60 LB thing. works for me.

**Brandon O** · 08-03-2008, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jahdrummin

Hey All, just moved from CO to VT, Burlington to be exact...

Want to get a bunch of mead started to supply a few events next summer and began the hunt for a local fresh honey source...

Called one place and told the owner i was new to the area and beginning to do some mead... asked him what he had and told me some fresh maine blueberry honey and $4.00 a pound...

I have never bought bulk honey before so i held off on going down there till i checked with you all to see if this is a fair price? But by reading some of your posts, it seems as if this guy wants to take me for a ride? let me know....

Thanks in advance

Maine blueberry honey is a specialty honey, and that is why you are paying $4 a pound. That stuff would be great to back sweeten with. If you want to make some mead you should be able to buy clover honey at the supermarket for around $2 a pound if it is on sale.
That is what I would reccomend if you are just starting to make mead.
Get your base methods and base ingredients down.....then you will know how and if specialty honeys really make a difference for you.

z987k · 08-04-2008, 01:08 AM

I have never seen supermarket honey anywhere near the quality as you can get from an apiary. Get it from the beekeeper. Mead is a lot like beer, skimp on the ingredients and you get what you put in.

We paid $80 for 60lbs of 2006 clover and they want $140 for 60lbs of basswood, which is the current varietal the local apiary has.