dark thick honey

[animal]

Finally got around to opening up the bucket of honey and comb salvaged from a cut-out to put it in jars.

It is exceedingly thick and dark.. way thicker than the heavy gold Amish stuff and puts local beekeeper stuff I buy from a mom&pop store to shame.

This is outright brown, and as thick as good ribbon cane syrup (looks and pours the same). It has a heavy pleasant aroma too. Taste (to me anyway) is excellent but strong (particularly good mixed with butter and spread on a biscuit). Even the honey from the newest combs is thick, but not quite as dark.
Clarity is also good, but in order to tell, you have to put a really strong LED flashlight behind it( not sure how many lumens, but it's one like the cops use on entry rifles) The only thing I've done to it is strain it through a fine mesh.

The main flowers in the area were red clover.

Would this be from it aging in the hive, this strain of bees drying it more than "normal", what it's made from, a combination of factors, something else, or no way to tell?
Just curious..

[Occam]

I'm curious to know myself. Sounds delicious regardless

[The15thMember]

The predominant factor in the color and flavor of a honey is the nectar source.  Based on the flowers the bees are foraging, the honey can be extremely light, extremely dark, and everything in between.  I am curious though, how long was this hive established before you cut it out?  Because keep in mind that the capped honey could be left over from last season if the hive was large and didn't eat all its winter stores.  Was the comb also very dark?  Because dark comb can also contribute a flavor to honey.  It's not a flavor I personally like, but some people really go for it.   

[animal]

the building the hive was in is about 5 years old. No idea how long the nest was there. The owner noticed bees inside the building in April, told me and I found the hive outside .. as well as a large number of bees, drones and a queen on the inside dead.
(it's a lodge/party house, not a residence)

I figured they swarmed and some went down the chimney and got trapped.

The hive that I cut out was next to the chimney, behind the soffet and fascia ... and extending a few feet beyond ...and inside the vaulted ceiling ...
There were lots of bees to start and they seemed crowded when they were in a deep box plus a shallow super ... but I really don't know what crowded looks like for bees. I just know that I wired comb to all but 1 of the frames in the deep box. there were 4 packed-full frames of brood comb when I reduced things to put them in the "nuc"

Some of the comb was like a walnut stain color, some like red oak without the redness, and the lightest with honey in it was like golden oak.. unused new wax was almost white. Even the light colored honey is really really thick.

The dark comb also has an excellent flavor and pairs well with sherry  or port   ... seriously ... but in saying that, I'm a little bit ashamed.. liking sherry as a reading-juice doesn't seem very manly
 

[The15thMember]

Some of the comb was like a walnut stain color, some like red oak without the redness, and the lightest with honey in it was like golden oak.. unused new wax was almost white. Even the light colored honey is really really thick.

Creative descriptions.    The comb gets darker with time, the brood comb especially.  The color of the capped honey will be somewhat visible through the light-colored translucent wax, whereas the dark comb makes all honey look dark.  If you are crushing and straining the dark comb will impart some dark color to the honey.  Different nectars, as well as the speed at which the honey was capped, will also contribute to different viscosities in honey.   

[animal]

sorry about the descriptions  ... not creative, just what I know...... to be specific, Minwax oil base transparent or semi-transparent colors ... woodworker ya know..    ... actually, "red oak" was mentioned because it is a very common color .. "provincial" is more accurate :)

The viscosity is what really blew my mind. Some was  so thick, it was almost like jelly

[animal]

I had cut the combs and put them in screened insert to the bucket, actually, buckets .. It took about 2 weeks for about a gallon(total) to drain to the bottom ... with it set next to the water heater in the utility room.
I haven't crushed the stuff yet and there's still lots of honey in the combs.

I was thinking about experimenting a little by washing out some of the combs, straining the liquid and using it as a base for making mead.

And seeing If I could attach the washed sheets of comb to frames for a foundation of sorts. (bad idea? ..just thought they might like their own pre-fab wax to build on)

[BeeMaster2]

Animal,
Setting the. Honey next to the water heater in a small room probably did a great job of drying out the honey. If you get the honey out of the comb without damaging it and you have the time to wire it into frames, by all means do it. The bees will fill it right up and fix the areas between them he pieces. Just make sure to put upside up. Comb has a 15 degree up angle to keep nectar in.
Jim Altmiller

[Sundog]

After straining, I put my "remains" from crushing out on my patio and let the bees reclaim whatever materials they want. 

They clean off any honey left and take back whatever they want and after a couple of days, all that is left is a bit of wax.  Amaizing!

I have heard this practice can lead to robbing, but I have not experienced it.  My patio is kind of around a corner and 50 feet away.

My honey is also typically dark and stout.  Most people that taste it like it.

[Kathyp]

My experience with red clover around here is that the honey is lighter.

Buckwheat is very dark and strong.  You either really like it or you don't.  There are a number of plants in the buckwheat family.

Might it also be concentrated from sitting in comb for a long time and kind of drying out? 

[animal]

Beemaster2,
Setting honey by the water heater was with the idea that it would be warmer/thinner. Buckets were sealed and had no condensation on the top so I don't think it dried any ... My wife sets the thermostat on Antarctica as as soon as the weather starts to warm up. So .. it was more like compensating for that, than anything else.
Thanks for the 15 degree info. .. hadn't noticed that.
Luckily, I loaded the frames with brood comb the right way up ..(and also in the same order from the opening as they were in the wild hive if that matters) ...  with the idea that since I didn't know what I was doing, staying on the "safe side" would be to do it the way the bees did. ... happy accident, I guess.

But I didn't pay that much attention to the frame of honey I put in for them. Was just wanting to make sure they had plenty of food in their weakened state. I'll be sure to check that the next time I open the hive.
Thanks again !

[animal]

Kathyp,
Within close proximity are 2 large deer fields, a small lake, huge lawn, and pine woods. The lawn and fields are covered in red clover now. Who knows what gets planted in the fields .. They are also large enough to be dove fields, so some type of grain is probably planted there part of the year.
Just a guess. I had never seen the property before April.

[animal]

Sundog,
Do you do all your pressing with those small strainers?
... Asking because I think I might be on the side of "severe overkill" in what I was thinking of rigging up.. Aluminum fry pot a little smaller than a 5 gal. bucket lined with screen, pot that fits inside the fry pot to use as a piston, disc of plywood in the bottom of the "piston"pot, metal strap that attaches to the fry pot edge and across the top of the "piston". The strap tapped in the center to accept a piece of allthread going down to the center of the plywood disc. .. turn allthread,squeeze out honey ..

I'll probably end up pressing the stuff because of cutting across the combs to release the honey, and they might be too thin to use in the frames now...

[The15thMember]

Kathyp,
Within close proximity are 2 large deer fields, a small lake, huge lawn, and pine woods. The lawn and fields are covered in red clover now. Who knows what gets planted in the fields .. They are also large enough to be dove fields, so some type of grain is probably planted there part of the year.
Just a guess. I had never seen the property before April.

Just keep in mind when thinking about forage that bees will easily fly up to 3 miles to a nectar source, and in times of scarcity 6 miles or more has been recorded for foraging trips. 

Sundog,
Do you do all your pressing with those small strainers?
... Asking because I think I might be on the side of "severe overkill" in what I was thinking of rigging up.. Aluminum fry pot a little smaller than a 5 gal. bucket lined with screen, pot that fits inside the fry pot to use as a piston, disc of plywood in the bottom of the "piston"pot, metal strap that attaches to the fry pot edge and across the top of the "piston". The strap tapped in the center to accept a piece of allthread going down to the center of the plywood disc. .. turn allthread,squeeze out honey ..

That sounds like "severe overkill" to me!    I crush and strain, and I just use a big plastic tub, a potato masher, a honey strainer bag (think paint strainer bag), and a big pot or 5 gallon bucket, depending on the amount I'm doing.  I got a new stainless steel honey sieve for Christmas that I'm going to try out this year, since my strainer bag is starting to get some tears. 

I'll probably end up pressing the stuff because of cutting across the combs to release the honey, and they might be too thin to use in the frames now...

If you'd prefer to give it back to them, the bees will easily build the comb back out to proper size.  That's the whole idea behind foundation. 

[FloridaGardener]

Glad this topic came up, because I've been wondering about nectar source on a dark honey I harvested.  It's not thick. 
It was not brood comb - it's white wax drawn in the large loopy cells for honey, not precise cells for worker brood.

I pulled it from above a QX late last summer/fall.  I pull my main harvest just before tallow (popcorn) tree flow which is mild, kinda watery honey... I leave it for them during the dearth.  So sometime before November (still 70 in November here) I went to look at compacting the hive.  I got 4 frames from only one hive. 

It's dark dark brown, not much scent, almost no flavor.  Not even very sweet.  I don't care for it, but I put some in a nuc's feeding rim and they went nuts for it.

Any guesses as to source? Florida panhandle...Thanks folks.

[Occam]

Sundog,
Do you do all your pressing with those small strainers?
... Asking because I think I might be on the side of "severe overkill" in what I was thinking of rigging up.. Aluminum fry pot a little smaller than a 5 gal. bucket lined with screen, pot that fits inside the fry pot to use as a piston, disc of plywood in the bottom of the "piston"pot, metal strap that attaches to the fry pot edge and across the top of the "piston". The strap tapped in the center to accept a piece of allthread going down to the center of the plywood disc. .. turn allthread,squeeze out honey ..

I'll probably end up pressing the stuff because of cutting across the combs to release the honey, and they might be too thin to use in the frames now...

I wouldn't say severe overkill necessarily. I know of people that use a small stainless cider press for their honey and it works exactly like you are thinking

[salvo]

Hi Folks,

Could this *dark honey* actually be honeydew?

We talked about it last year. Paus said: I have heard them in Blackwalnuts and I thought they after honey dew.

Sal

[Ben Framed]

Thanks Sal.

[Sundog]

Sundog,
Do you do all your pressing with those small strainers?

Nah, I cut the comb up in a big Tupperware type flat bin container with a hole in the end and a cork, tip it up and let it collect for a couple of days and then drain it into a big bowl.  Then I run the honey through the "strainers" pictured to collect the wax particles that remain in the honey.

Results may vary...