amazing deals on honey and cider

Just figured I'd share some amazing deals I got this week.

Walgreens by me (Treasure Island, FL) has 2lbs of honey for $3... might wanna check your local stores to see if they have the same deal... I'm assuming it's not the best honey in the world... but it is honey... and it's a damn good deal.

Also... Target has a clearance on their 1 gallon Market Pantry brand Apple Cider. I got it for $2.19... they're usually $5... and it's really good cider. They have the spiced stuff on clearance as well... but I'm rockin the regular stuff first. I may go back to see if they have any spiced stuff left just to give it a shot.

I'd be weary of cheap honey.. at least for use in meads. I bought some 5lb clover honey at Costco a while ago and used that to make a mead. It turned out awful, tasted like a cheap white wine.

bruin_ale said:

I'd be weary of cheap honey.. at least for use in meads. I bought some 5lb clover honey at Costco a while ago and used that to make a mead. It turned out awful, tasted like a cheap white wine.

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+1, find a local honey dealer, you can usually purchase bulk for a decent price.

The cider is normally $3 at my local target, but thanks for the post! I will spread the word.

bruin_ale said:

I'd be weary of cheap honey.. at least for use in meads. I bought some 5lb clover honey at Costco a while ago and used that to make a mead. It turned out awful, tasted like a cheap white wine.

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Great. I just bought 10 lb of Costco honey (Dutch Gold Clover Honey) for my first serious attempt at mead. Would this be suitable for something like a cyser/melomel?

StuporMan said:

Great. I just bought 10 lb of Costco honey (Dutch Gold Clover Honey) for my first serious attempt at mead. Would this be suitable for something like a cyser/melomel?

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You'll be fine. You can make good melomels with Costco honey. That's what I started off using. Costco frozen strawberries are great too.

It's worth finding a beekeeper because the honey is a better, which can lead to better mead and when you buy in bulk, the price is the same.

I don't recommend a cyser with it.. I did a cyser and a regular mead with that exact stuff and they turned out not so great - ie. not worth the time I spent fermenting them. I still have 5lbs of that stuff, I think I'm going to use it in a braggot or in some porters just for fun but not as the primary ingredient in anything.

Those who are a little worried about how "cheap" honey might turn out ?

Just make something where the honey is less of the main flavour i.e. a cyser or other melomel/metheglyn etc

Or, just use it in batches of JAO.

Obviously, if you're making traditionals, or show batches where the flavour of the honey/resulting ferment is paramount, then don't use cheap blended honey.

After all, I'm guessing that the cheaper blended (blended for eating, not mead making) honey, often says "produce of more than one country" or something similar. If it contained eucalyptus honey, I'd stay away from it. I've had problems with eucalyptus honey.........

regards

fatbloke

I believe it says, Product of Canada and USA. I'll check the label again for any mention of eucalyptus.

What about something like this:

5 gal apple cider
5 pounds cheap honey
Fruit added to the secondary - how much?

Not sure what you'd call that. Hydromel/Cyser/Melomel?

StuporMan said:

I believe it says, Product of Canada and USA. I'll check the label again for any mention of eucalyptus.

What about something like this:

5 gal apple cider
5 pounds cheap honey
Fruit added to the secondary - how much?

Not sure what you'd call that. Hydromel/Cyser/Melomel?

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Well, if it's Canada and USA, the honey is unlikely to have any eucalyptus in there.

The juice/honey ratio depends on what you want to aim for. I suspect that the apple juice (sorry, I'm in the UK, so if it's fermented, it's cider, if it's not fermented, clear or cloudy, it's just apple juice......) will probably show a gravity somewhere in the 1.050 or so range, and I'd guess it might need 10lb a.k.a. 2lb per gallon of the honey. Even then it's likely that it will ferment dry, because most wine yeasts will easily go to 12% ABV......

As for any fruit flavour you add to secondary, or even tertiary, well that's up to you, but I tend to have a look for recipes that use that kind of fruit and then use the same quantity, as would be used for the fruit wine. That way, I get a good level of fruit flavour/colour etc. Plus it often makes for a batch that is drinkable earlier.

regards

fatbloke

I just found a place in Hanford CA that will sell me 1 gallon of uncooked honey from the orchards here for 30 bucks. It works out to be somewhere between 10 to 12 lbs and will be ready in about a month so a mead is heading my way

I used to produce honey and I sold it for $3 per pound so your deal isn't a bad one for local honey. BTW, I love costco but their honey mostly comes from China or Argentina where it is produced by giving bees access to ponds made of sugar water. Look for local honey and talk w/ the beekeeper if possible to find out where the hives were located. I would use costco honey for adding a little alcohol kick to a wine or cider but I wouldn't make mead from it. Real local honey is very different from Costco honey.