My honey is horrible!

[auntnana21]

Oh it is so bad I spit it out! One hive didn't make it but I had frames full of gorgeous light honey so I extracted it this past sunday. I noticed when I was going through the uncapping and straining it had a really strong smell but I figured it was the comb. Let it sit in the honey bucket and started filling a jar tonight. It is horrible! It doesn't smell bad but it tastes like nasty gym socks! It's very pretty but there is no way anyone would eat this. And the aftertaste is even worse!

So my questions are - what gives with the awful taste? and what do I do with it other than pour it down the drain (so to speak). Should I have left it in the frames for my new bees coming in May? Can I feed it to my new bees somehow? This is only year 2 for me so any and all advice is appreciated.

[Hawkster]

I am sure your new bees will like it, some people describe goldenrod honey that way although I sort of like it

[Ravenseye]

Some honey just tastes bad. Some honey ferments and just tastes bad. Leave it for the bee's. If they don't want it, the drain will probably handle it for you.

[auntnana21]

so really stupid question - how do I feed it back to them? put it in my feeder instead of the sugar syrup? I thought it might be because of the golden rod because I posted here in the fall when I thought my hives had a dead animal smell.

[flatfootflukey]

If it was collected last summer it could be from bitter weed. you’re a little east of me but here the bitter weeds were thick and about the only thing blooming during all that hot dry weather we had.
I’ve never tried any, but I read that it makes the honey so foul it’s not fit for human consumption.
But the bees were working it over hard.

[NasalSponge]

If you feed it back in a feeder you want to water it down a bit. When I feed honey back to my hives I always open feed it some distance from the hives.

[dixiebooks]

To feed it back, try putting it in a bowl or pan and setting in on the inner cover with an extra hive body up around it. Then, put on the telescoping cover. That will keep robbers out and the bees will pull it down into the lower boxes where they want it. -james

[Swobee]

As mentioned, some tastes bad, some is wonderful. We were in Hawaii two years ago and I just had to buy some 'honey from paradise'. Worst tasting crap I ever had. Each year is a different vintage, color, flavor, etc. with wildflower honey.

[jadell]

I have put it in my syrup jars with holes in the lid. I don't water it down and they take it just fine. Watered down honey tends to spoil for me.

[Mtn. Bee]

That is how some of my honey taste last season, or so I thought! We had a really bad honey year last season and there was lots of honeydew getting hauled back into the honey supers.
The honey was dark and what I call robust or strong!
I was scared to sell any of it so I let some regular honey customers try a free sample.
I could not believe what I heard, they loved it and wanted to buy a bunch.
So I sold all I had at a Christmas show and was it a hit, I still have customers telling me that was the best
honey they have ever had and when will I have more available!
I still don't believe it and I don't know if I could produce that honey again if I tried and I definitely don't want to go through another season like that!
Some people just prefer a dark full flavored honey and others like the light flower tasting type.

[Ravenseye]

You can put it in a container and put the container over the inner cover. Drop a box over that and put the outer cover on top.

[FlowerPlanter]

You might think about making mead.
You can ask the mead makers how it tastes. I saw someone was looking for golden rod for their mead.

[Coach B]

Last fall was a good one for goldenrod in my area of TN. Had a buddy who extracted some and hated it. It was dark, had an aftertaste, thick, and went to sugar quickly. He gave me a full jar and my kids ate it right up. It was sweet and that's all that mattered to them.

[Aerindel]

You might think about making mead.
You can ask the mead makers how it tastes. I saw someone was looking for golden rod for their mead.

Probably not good for mead. Generally is a lot harder to make a good mead out of strong tasting honeys than lighter ones. The fermentation mostly just turns some of the sugar into alcohol. You would end up with the same bad flavors but without the sweetness to mask them.

[willyC]

That is how some of my honey taste last season, or so I thought! We had a really bad honey year last season and there was lots of honeydew getting hauled back into the honey supers.
The honey was dark and what I call robust or strong! .

Sounds like the leafy spurge honey we sometimes get around here. I got about ten hives for free because the Beek did not like his own honey.

[geebob]

That is how some of my honey taste last season, or so I thought! We had a really bad honey year last season and there was lots of honeydew getting hauled back into the honey supers.

I had the same thing happen last Fall. My hives feasted on rotting crab apples and that honey I could only describe as a mix is Kool Aid and urine. It was the most horrible taste I've ever encountered. I might wind up moving those hives this year if I see them foraging there again.

[auntnana21]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I don' feel near as bad now. I think I'll just feed it back to my bees. Now I am extremely glad I plowed down that hay and planted sweet clover and lavender!!!

[Lauri]

I have not had to feed extracted honey back to the bees yet, but when I do I plan to try thinning it a bit with cider vinegar instead of water. Might make an interesting feed.
Doesn't sound like it would be worse than your honey! Might just be good- acid and sugar make a great mix for lots of recipes. Try marinating some meat or fish in it and slap it on the BBQ.