No boil or low-heat pasteurize for own wild honey?

[otherchuck]

Greetings all!

I have brewed mead successfully in the past, but appear to have forgotten most of what I used to do in the past, so I am having to re-learn! In the past I have used professionally produced honey from a store, and I am pretty sure I only heated the water for the must to 115 degrees F. I am now a beekeeper, and am about to make my first batch using the honey created by my own bees. I am inclined to still just use the 115 degree paradigm (since that worked before), but I see others suggest some low heat pasteurization, heating must water to about 140 degrees F, and letting honey sit in that for 20 mins. One reason I might opt for 140F rather than 115F would be if my own-produced honey is more likely to contain something undesirable than store-bought honey might contain. I don't know if store-bought is, for instance, "pre-pasteurized." Thanks!

Otherchuck

 

[Seamonkey84]

Don’t pasteurize for making mead, you’ll loose a lot of aroma and the good healthy enzymes. If needed, Only use enough heat to get the honey to flow, and maybe some warm water to help dissolve it. If your using it for making beer, then I’ve heard you should pasteurize.

 

[Blacksmith1]

What he said. Nothing lives in honey. It might not have died but will not reproduce unless the honey is diluted and left alone for awhile. Toss your yeast in and it will out compete anything the bees may have left in there. No need to pasteurize.

 

[otherchuck]

Thanks! I warmed water to 115 degrees just to get the honey to dissolve nicely, but I can't imagine that temp would drive off aroma.

Otherchuck

 

[Seamonkey84]

Mixing in hot water is fine, the temp will drop if the honey was room temp. but if you were to heat the honey over that temp you’d be losing some aromas. I’ve read 110 is the highest you want to bring it, or it wouldn’t be “raw” anymore.