favorite honey

[Coastie559]

so as I mentioned in another post im very new to brewing, im looking for suggestions on what's your favorite honey to make mead out of and why is it your favorite? do you like it because it turns out sweet/dry? do certain honeys taste better when brewed with fruits/spices? any input is appreciated

 

[Drewed]

I pretty much like everything BUT wildflower and orange blossom. Both made a mead that tasted way to much like flowers. Sweet or dry didn't matter. Should have just gone out to the yard and eaten a tulip!

My current favorite is from a local guy ( aren't they all?) He has a squash blossom honey.

 

[Coastie559]

yea I tasted some orange blossom at a local market I found close to me, I didn't like the taste of it at all. im sure it would make a nice brew over time but id be biased against it after that first taste of raw honey

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Here in MT, about all we can get is clover or alfalfa honey; both of which are fairly nondescript honey varieties. Not bad, just generically honey flavored. They're great for melomels or metheglins, when you want the fruit or spice to shine & the honey to be in more of a support role.

I do like orange blossom quite a bit & mesquite is a nice honey too, with just a wee hint of smokiness, but I think my current fav has to be acacia honey. It's so floral & delicate, best in a dry or semi dry mead IMHO. The trick is in retaining those delicate floral aromas through fermentation. It's twice the price (or more) of the clover & difficult to come by, so I've only made 2 small batches with acacia honey, but they were quite tasty.

Buckwheat honey is very dark & strongly flavored, some liken it to molasses, though I've always thought it had a sort of "barnyard" or dry hay and/or hay tea flavor to it; it's not for everyone. It's so strongly flavored that it's usually used with another variety like clover to lessen the intensity of the buckwheat flavor in a mead. It seems to be one of those things that people either love or hate, with little in between.

In short, I use the mild, generic honeys for melomels & metheglins and the distinct varietals for straight meads.
Regards, GF.

 

[bernardsmith]

so as I mentioned in another post im very new to brewing, im looking for suggestions on what's your favorite honey to make mead out of and why is it your favorite? do you like it because it turns out sweet/dry? do certain honeys taste better when brewed with fruits/spices? any input is appreciated

Honey - no matter the varietal does not turn out dry or sweet. You, the mead maker, determine whether you are making a dry or sweet mead and so you create the conditions for such a mead. You add yeast to sugar and the yeast will ferment dry that sugar unless the amount of sugar is too much for that yeast (and all honey essentially contains the same amount of sugar - so you either increase the amount of honey in your must ) and/or you select the variety of yeast that can either ferment that concentration of sugar (or survive the amount of alcohol ) or cannot. The more honey in the must the longer it will take the mead to age but you can make a sweet or dry yeast with 3 - 18% alcohol by volume (ABV) and you can ferment dry such meads but still drink them sweet because you stabilize and back sweeten the mead... Bottom line - You - the meadmaker - is the one in control.

 

[AkTom]

The only reasonably priced honey for me is Costco honey. Works good to great for what I have done. Some mead is a little thin. Apricot is thick, luscious and velvety. If it were a person.... red head and, oh wrong thread. ;-)

 

[Quaker]

I of course use what I harvest from my own backyard hives. It's a wildflower honey, because that's the generic term for "I don't know where the heck my bees went for food". In my case, it tends to be relatively light, but stronger flavored than just clover honey. There is a lot of roadside clover in my area which I believe is a fair portion of it.

I did make a mead with acacia honey I was given by a Hungarian beekeeper while on a business assignment over there a couple of years ago. It was nearly a water white honey with a vanilla taste. I slightly carbonated the mead, and it was very cream soda like in flavor. It did have just a touch of hot dog water aroma which you had to overlook, because the dominant vanilla like flavor was so interesting and tasty. The acacia honey I've had in the US is a bit darker and isn't the same flavor at all.

 

[growlrr]

"Hot dog water aroma"? That must be the the description of the day. :rockin:

 

[Auxcombrew]

I am a beekeeper on Anastasia Island in NE FL. One of my best meads was an accident. I put all my comb scrapings in a bucket and cover it for processing the wax later. I forgot about it and there was a lot of honey still dripping to the bottom of the bucket with some water.
Lo and behold, about a year later I opened it and smelled some of the best tasting mead I ever had!!

Go figure!

 

[Chaotic_Goodness]

The best honey for fermenting is the type you like best. Experiment before brewing. Consider purchasing a small amount of something you're interested in. Stir a little into seltzer or still water. If you don't like the taste, don't brew with it. A little simplistic, as it doesn't take into account the rest of your brew process, but it's a good place to start.
I'm fortunate enough to live in an area with a diversity of wildflowers, so that's my go-to/favorite. Well, unless I'm shooting for a specific style like a braggot, pyment, or historical mead. But that's for later. Figure out honey+yeast+water first.

 

[Chaotic_Goodness]

Yes, Auxcombrew! One of my favorite recipes is Hickory Smoked Honeycomb.

 

[Mardoo]

I am a beekeeper on Anastasia Island in NE FL. One of my best meads was an accident. I put all my comb scrapings in a bucket and cover it for processing the wax later. I forgot about it and there was a lot of honey still dripping to the bottom of the bucket with some water.
Lo and behold, about a year later I opened it and smelled some of the best tasting mead I ever had!!

Go figure!

Interesting. Sounds like you co-fermented with beeswax and likely some propolis. I wonder whether that made a flavour difference?

Anyone else ever try that?

 

[Chaotic_Goodness]

There was definitely propolis. The combs were capped when I got them, so that went in too! I'm not sure about the combs and caps adding much flavor, but they did add some great body.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Orange Blossom honey is my favorite for mead. 3 Lbs. per gallon for dry. 3.5 lbs. per gallon for sweet. 4 Lbs. per gallon and even with champagne yeast it is cloyingly sweet.

My favorite mead yeast (for its flavor retention characteristics) is Lallemand's K1V-1116. I don't like champagne yeast much for mead.

 

[biochemedic]

I guess it's all to taste, but I do like orange blossom...it is a very distinct honey.

If you can get it, sourwood is an amazing honey, and one of the best varietals I've ever tasted.

I've not had a chance to try it, but I've heard a lot of good things about meadowfoam honey making a great varietal mead....

 

[altodiva]

I love the taste of orange blossom honey, so I think it makes a great mead! I generally ferment to dry, stabilize, and then back-sweeten just a bit. I also really like meadowfoam honey (can be really hard to get) -- it has a strong vanilla / marshmallow flavor. Carrot blossom also makes an interesting mead, very rich flavor.