I went to the farmer's market in Dallas, and there were four or five vendors selling locally-produced honey. A couple were selling only quarts and smaller. There were a couple selling honey in gallons. The prices weren't much better than at my LHBS, about .50 to .80 cents a pound less.
I went ahead and bought some Texas wildflower honey from
Rudy's Honey, even though the price wasn't great. They had a booth at the market. It is dark and has a powerful aroma and flavor, but none of the bitterness of the clover honey I recently bought at the grocery store. I made 5 gallons of a 3 pound mead with it yesterday using Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast. I hope it comes out good.
The folks from
Round Rock Honey in Round Rock near Austin were at the market too. Let me tell you, they had some fine tasting and wonderfully smelling honey. I think it might be better than Rudy's, but I didn't want to pay $40 per gallon for it. I can buy 60 pounds (5 gallons) for $150 shipped free. I may do that.
In view of the comments on Mesquite honey, I'm going to find a source for that too, and buy 5 gallons if I can.
I'll be making a lot of mead with all that honey. I still don't have a clue what mead tastes like, but I haven't found too many alcoholic beverages I didn't like, so I'm not too worried. Fermented Turpentine (Ouzo) is about the only one I've ever tried that I really didn't like.
