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price of honey
I have recently been looking more into making mead and have been trying to find a good supplier of honey. The best I could find was a beekeeper who was selling 5lbs for 20-25$ depending on the type. Is this a good a price for honey? I have no idea.
In the summer, I have a roadside produce stand. Last summer, I was selling fresh, locally produced honey for $3/12oz "honey bear" bottle. That comes out to $20 for 5lbs. I would expect you should be able to purchase it directly from the producer in that kind of volume for much less than he quoted you.
Sam's Club Sue Bee pure clover honey, 5# for under $8. Local grocery store, (Hy Vee) their brand clover honey, $10.
I get mesquite honey for less than 3 bucks a pound in Tucson.
You might try your LHBS. Mine here in AK sells honey @ around $5 per # or 12# for $35. I uasually just buy it at our local warehouse store, 5# for about $10.
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i agree with that. i just bought five pounds of clover honey at Sams club for around $10 myself. i have seen honey range in price from $2-$20 or even more depending on the honey you want.
this site has tons of honeys' check it out they have some really wild veriaties.
http://www.artisansweets.com/category/blackberry-honey
Go with clover honey if you intend to brew a large batch.
Brew 1g batches with your more expensive honeys. But you should defiently brew 3 or 4 exotic honey meads at the same time and the exact same way so you can get a feel for the nuances of different honey types. My current favorite sippin mead is made from Fireweed honey.
We get clover honey at Sam's Club for about $8.50 for 5#. Worked just fine in my beer & ales, haven't made a mead in a long time, so no idea on that.
I have a friend who recently got some special honey from a guy he works with. The honey is made only in Greece, up in the higher mountain areas. He said the bees don't have flowers to pollinate with, they use pine trees, so the honey they make is very different. I tried a little bit, and it was unique to say the least. He was only able to a get a very little, I guess because the price is so high here in the states....
What is the smallest amount of honey needed to make a batch? I guess, if I have a 1 gallon carboy, could I make a small batch with less than a pound? Also, what is the minimum needed to get any flavor profile in both 5 and 1 gallon batches?....
If you have a local food Co-op, give them a try. I can get 10# from my local coop for $25.