Honey for Mead...

...where do you purchase get yours?

Just curious...been looking around and am surprised at the prices I'm seeing.

honey is pretty much one of the most expensive ingredients out there. i like to try local farmer's markets and such for decent honey for lower prices.

I tried the farmer's market and won't go back there for any honey purchases. They are way overpriced around here and there's sort of a local monopoly on that one place selling honey at farmer's markets.

I have since found out that around here at least, there are (somewhat) local honey producers that will direct sell.

The Honey locator will give you good resources locally.
http://www.honeylocator.com/
You'll find the larger the quantity, the better the pricing.
I just picked up 5-12lb jugs for $2.50/lb. Beats the $4-$6/lb at the store for smaller bottles.

Farmer's markets are a trap that a lot of people fall into. There are some geniune deals there, but there's as many people selling stuff off the same truck as the grocery stores.

Farmer's markets are no longer good priced honey sources. In Colorado the honey is just as expensive as in the store. Local beekeepers if you can find them have good prices. Me I get mine from Madhava's. Current price in bulk is $1.90 a pound in a 42 pound bucket wholesale. I got their wholesale prices by letting them know that I make mead and dont resell it. I gave them a small bottle to prove it. They are out of Lyons, CO. between Longmont and Boulder. This is the least expensive honey I found. Now They only have Wildflower, Alfalpha, and clove honeys. But good prices and high quality, not your grocery store over filtered and over cooked honey. I like the robust alfalpha honey best. Incedently it is more not getting it wholesale. More like $2.50 a pound last I checked. honey is always going up.

its $3/lb at whole foods now.

Prices went up since the bee crisis. Someone introduced agressive bees into the wild and it killed off honey bees. Saw it on some educational channel a few years back.

Located in ontario
I am a honey producer
$3.93 canadian a pound for honey Is what I charge

In addition to homebrewing, I keep bees with my wife in our backyard (this will be our second season this year). We belong to a local beekeeper's association, and meet monthly. Some of these hobbyist beekeepers (especially those retired) sometimes have upwards of 50-60 hives they manage. A lot of them don't need the money from honey sales and do it just to have something to maintain in their retirement years. Matter of fact, one of the old-timers was complaining at the last meeting that he still had five gallon buckets of honey left over from last season.

All that being said, I'd google local beekeeping clubs/associations and reach out to one of the members. You may be surprised about locally sourced honey costs from hobbyist beekeepers. We typically sell our honey to coworkers/friends at about $1/ounce, but if someone from the local homebrewing group asked, I would be willing to barter/set up some kind of deal.

Maybe try:

http://ribeekeeper.org/

Find a local beekeeper that you can trust, and buy from him/her. You'll get the best honey that way.

Good topic, though the thread is over ten years old lol.
Local bee keepers are best if you can, just to support locals. However my local bee club/store is charging premium price it seems, so $80 for 12lb jug. I’ve been getting my discount stores like Big Lots (wildflower $10 for 3lbs) and Ocean State Job Lot nearr me has Gunter’s varietal honey for 3.99/lb.

A lot of varietals that I like, I can't get locally...

(Tupelo, Florida orange blossom, Mexican coffee blossom, Brazilian wildflower, etc...)

Local isn't always better, nor the most economical.

AZ_IPA said:

A lot of varietals that I like, I can't get locally...

(Tupelo, Florida orange blossom, Mexican coffee blossom, Brazilian wildflower, etc...)

Local isn't always better, nor the most economical.

Click to expand...

Oooo, I have two pounds of coffee blossom I’m sitting on, waiting to find at least another two pounds so I can try a gallon traditional with with. How does it taste as a mead? Brazilian wildflower, I wonder if that’s what one of my jars labeled jungle blossom is.

Have you guys checked out dutchgoldhoney?

AZ_IPA said:

A lot of varietals that I like, I can't get locally...

(Tupelo, Florida orange blossom, Mexican coffee blossom, Brazilian wildflower, etc...)

Local isn't always better, nor the most economical.

Click to expand...

That is all true enough...but you're rolling the dice if you buy commercial and not from locally sourced honey. There's a show on Netflix (the name escapes me now, but it might be 'Rotten') that dove into the entire counterfeit/adulterated honey market that originates in Asia...that ends up making its way in the honey market to commercial sellers in the United States (ie. grocery stores, box stores, etc.). A little frightening what is added chemical/compound-wise. I'll pay more (and keep more bees) to know exactly what it is that I'm eating, adding, brewing, etc.

That's crazy^^^^

berniecarincibb said:

Located in ontario
I am a honey producer
$3.93 canadian a pound for honey Is what I charge

Click to expand...

I'm in Kitchener.. I buy alot

AJinJacksonville said:

That is all true enough...but you're rolling the dice if you buy commercial and not from locally sourced honey.

Click to expand...

Not when I get pollen reports and other information from the bee keepers and/or retailers.

It's not like I'm buying tupelo honey in plastic bears from big box grocery stores...but I'm also not drastically overpaying for "local" wildflower (that's often boring honey) from the farmers market.