Oh boy...Sam of http://www.anarchyapiaries.org/ and I did some work last night. While eating bacon cheeseburgers (bacon from Mike Picinelli, Thunderhill Farm, grass-fed beef from Leigh Skidmore, cheese from NY cheese, pepperjack, onion rolls from Wild Hive Farm and wilted spinach from Fog and Thistle Farm) we made 25 gallons of whole hive mead from these wild hives. Live bees, larvae, pollen, propolis, the whole 9 yards. In 16 months, you should ask me for a bottle, and I still have some mead from the last bounty! Not to mention that so far this season I have made strawberry wine, lilac wine, dandelion wine, and I am about to make gooseberry, rhubarb, and blackcurrant. These wines are all used on the menu throughout the year on our menu in dressings, and reductions. Also, this week I have eaten my first english peas of the year. These sweet peas are my favorite food. Ever. They are what I dream of at night, and what I dream of during the day. They are perfect in every way. I like the sweet ones, and the bitter ones, when they are overripe, and when they are underripe and when they are just ripe. They are truly the perfect food. You all may think that I am crazy, but really, if given the choice, I would move to a place where peas are the main part of every meal. I will try to make that here, since next week, when I have more peas, the chef's choice on the menu will be fresh spelt fettuccine with peas, onions, and basil topped with blue cheese and broiled. Try and stop me. Just try. This weekend we have a salad with peas, radishes and goat milk feta cheese. And bright and early in the morning, I will be going over to Thompson Finch to pick strawberries, and keep in mind that they will only be around for another couple of weeks. This coming Tuesday, I will be down at Fishkill Farms, harvesting blackcurrants, both for wine and for a raw kale, garlic, toasted almond and blackcurrant salad. Next weekend. Thanks Ethel and Tom for the perfect and super-fresh lacinato kale that has been sustaining me, day to-day! Remember, this Sunday...Tuba Skinny. It is going to be packed, so plan to stand and enjoy.
Pardon me for asking what might be the dumbest question you've ever heard :) but when you say "whole hive mead " and "live bees, larvae, pollen, propolis, the whole 9 yards" does that mean all of that is going into mead? And if so, just wondering what that brings to it instead of just honey?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Hi Chelle,
ReplyDeleteIt does mean that all of that has gone into the mead, and it is both for the health benefits and to increase the intoxicating flower of the wine. By using only honey, you can make a lovely mead, sweet or dry, and have the benefits of raw, fermented honey. By using the whole hive, you receive the venom of the bees, propolis, pollen, and all the bits and pieces of the hive that you would otherwise lose. Check in with me next July, and I would be happy to share a bottle with you.
With wild hives, is there some risk that the bees have made the honey from poisonous flowers, or have made the propolis from road tar?
ReplyDeleteAlso, have you ever brewed heather mead or heather ale? Supposedly the fogg moss in the heather adds a hallucinogenic chemical to the mead.
hi daniel, nope...no risk. those bees are pretty darn smart. road tar not a problem. that would be a no for me on the heather, as it makes me sneeze. i find that if you want a trippy mead, lilac or dandelion would do just fine.
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