Has this Honey gone bad??

[jflongo]

I just noticed we have about 80 oz, close to 5lbs of Clover Honey sitting in our pantry. About 1/3 of the bottom is somewhat solid now. Not sure how long it has been in there. Would you still make mead with this, by just putting it in the microwave to make it liquid again? Or do you think it's bad now?

 

[bigwardog]

still good. warm it by putting it in a pan of hot water; it should turn back liquid. make some mead quick!

 

[jflongo]

still good. warm it by putting it in a pan of hot water; it should turn back liquid. make some mead quick!

Sounds good thanks!

 

[LibertyBrewer]

Honey really doesn't go bad. What's happened is the honey has "sugared". It's absorbed water and turned crystalline. You can do one of the following:
When you go to make mead, just stir it up, and add it. It will still dissolve.

Place the honey container in a 120F water bath and leave it for a while. It will turn back into honey. It might be a little darker than it originally was, but it will taste the same.

BTW I'm a beekeeper as well as a brewer.

 

[jflongo]

Honey really doesn't go bad. What's happened is the honey has "sugared". It's absorbed water and turned crystalline. You can do one of the following:
When you go to make mead, just stir it up, and add it. It will still dissolve.

Place the honey container in a 120F water bath and leave it for a while. It will turn back into honey. It might be a little darker than it originally was, but it will taste the same.

BTW I'm a beekeeper as well as a brewer.

Thank you, I plan on making the mead today. I will put it in hot water in my sink that is a little over 100F. Meanwhile heat up about 2 gallons or so of water to dissolve it in.

 

[Matrix4b]

Friendly tip, to keep the bottom of plastic containers from melting put a cloth or dish rag in the bottom of the pot. That will keep the bottom of the honey off of the bottom of the surface with direct head. Little tip that I picked up from Alton Brown from Good Eats. It works great.

Matrix

 

[Hopinista]

I'm a beekeeper as well as a brewer.

Where are you located? I make mead sometimes and I'm always looking for cool honeys

 

[jflongo]

Friendly tip, to keep the bottom of plastic containers from melting put a cloth or dish rag in the bottom of the pot. That will keep the bottom of the honey off of the bottom of the surface with direct head. Little tip that I picked up from Alton Brown from Good Eats. It works great.

Matrix

I plan on letting it sit in hot water in my sink, not on the stove under heat. Nice tip though. Cheers.

 

[Firebat138]

We just had a guy come in and sell us some local honey. Blueberry, Orange Blossom and Butterbean. It was awesome. We will definitely be using these in a summer kolsch.

But. The owner told us and I forgot. If honey does crystal a lot. Does that mean it wasnt as PURE? Good luck.

 

[LibertyBrewer]

Where are you located? I make mead sometimes and I'm always looking for cool honeys

I'm in southeast Texas, about half way between Beaumont and Houston.

 

[Hopinista]

I'm in southeast Texas, about half way between Beaumont and Houston.

My wife's from Tyler lol. What kind of varieties do you have?

 

[LibertyBrewer]

We just had a guy come in and sell us some local honey. Blueberry, Orange Blossom and Butterbean. It was awesome. We will definitely be using these in a summer kolsch.

But. The owner told us and I forgot. If honey does crystal a lot. Does that mean it wasnt as PURE? Good luck.

This is not true. Pure honey sugars up. I'd be leery if it didn't sugar up.

 

[LibertyBrewer]

My wife's from Tyler lol. What kind of varieties do you have?

Wildflower only. There's no farming around where I'm at except cattle.

This is not a bad thing.

 

[Hexadecimus]

Almost any honey will do that given enough time. It depends ont he variety and environment. Honey is a supersaturated solution, meaning it has more sugar dissolved in the water than it normally can handle. Eventually the excess crystallizes and precipitates, especially if you add a little moisture like if a bottle has been opened. Raw honey will also crystallize faster, but that's all I will use. More flavor and nutrients.

 

[jflongo]

So far all is good with the honey I used, I pitched s-04 a few days ago, and it's chugging away nicely right now. Cheers.

 

[ram5ey]

Yeah honey doesn't spoil. I seem to recall reading about so,e honey found in a tomb in Egypt that was still good.