rookie

Hi Folks

I started beekeeping a couple of years ago and made my first batch of mead at a brew-in with the local homebrewers club last weekend (national mead day)
great folks and lots of fun
being a big fan of dark beers and now having a little equipment/motivation I guess I'll try some other homebrews too
stumbled across you folks on google
I'm sure I'll be popping by for advice from time to time

cheers
Dave

Welcome to HBT!
That is so cool that you are making mead from your own honey. How much honey do you produce and what type is it?

I have a dozen hives in my backyard and made about 20 gallons this year
it was a terrible year, I should have gotten 50 gallons
late cold snap and no rain in May
it's just a hobby so I got plenty for christmas presents and stuff
5 quarts makes 5 gallons of mead, I made a batch of straight mead saturday and I think I'm going to make a melomel (mead with fruit in it) as soon as I can go get another carboy
this is way fun

Dave

You stated that you only made 20 gallons this year of honey instead of normally getting 50 gallons. Well.. question is. I've read and heard the news talking about how the bees are dying off and that it could be a real problem with the nation's food supply. Are you experiencing any of these problems with your bee's?

By the way... welcome to HBT!

>Are you experiencing any of these problems

no
that seems to be hitting the big commercial guys with thousands of hives who haul them all over to pollinate stuff
mine are healthy as can bee
we just had crappy weather
got to taste lots of excellent mead last weekend
I'm psyched

Dave

Welcome. My intro to fermenting at home was with both beer and mead in the same year. I used to work next to the apiary department at U.C. Davis and got 5 gallons at a time free from them.

You should try taking a fruit salad, grapes, apples, pears etc. (maybe a little orange but not a ton of citrus) and then put some honey on it and ferment for about 3 days. It is wonderful on ice cream. Sweet, fruity, honey and alcoholic.