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dark thick honey

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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
 :wink:

The15thMember:

--- Quote from: animal on May 22, 2023, 12:08:51 am ---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.

--- End quote ---
Creative descriptions.  :rolleyes:  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.   

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