Albertas best honey

[wildbill]

Just wondering, with all the flowers and what not in this here province, there must be some really good honey/apiaries out there, used to get mine from an apiary West of Pincher Crik some years ago but that place has since been sold.

[FCLightning]

Alberta is the highest production of honey in Canada.

My honey is the best but I only have 2 hives and none left to sell

Lots of small producers in just about every part of the province.

[CaberTosser]

I did some boiler work for an AO member west of Bowden and he gave me a jar of honey from his own hives, it was really good. He noted it was clover IIRC. I'd honestly not given honey comparison tests before and that stuff was distinctly nice compared to run of the mill Costco Kirkland Honey. Sadly that member is not on anymore.

[221fb]

My favorite is Fireweed
Both in smell and taste
Mmmmm...

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

I did some boiler work for an AO member west of Bowden and he gave me a jar of honey from his own hives, it was really good. He noted it was clover IIRC. I'd honestly not given honey comparison tests before and that stuff was distinctly nice compared to run of the mill Costco Kirkland Honey. Sadly that member is not on anymore.

Some other low cost stuff is sometimes mixed in from other countries.

I'm not sure how one corals strictly clover honey bees, but I'd bet most Canadian honey is pretty comparable.

Get unpasteurized, for the benefits of antioxidants.

[CaberTosser]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

Some other low cost stuff is sometimes mixed in from other countries.

I'm not sure how one corals strictly clover honey bees, but I'd bet most Canadian honey is pretty comparable.

Get unpasteurized, for the benefits of antioxidants.

I'm pretty sure he just had a big field of clover . I could have tagged out from his front porch. Coincidence, maybe

[Beeman]

Mine is the best, how much do you want?

To be serious though every year is a bit different and the peace country has a great reputation around the world. As far as different varieties of honey go it's entirely subjective just like wine. Kirkland branded honey is fully canadian and packed by beemaid which is a co-op of western canadian beekeepers however the organic brand is imported from brazil.

[bbqcrazy]

Here is our little apiary.

P1040203 (2) (640x480).jpg

P1040202 (2) (640x480).jpg

P1040270 (2) (640x480).jpg We went to four hives last year and got over 800 lbs.. It is amazing how easy it is to give away LOL. This year we had a good run of dandelion honey which some people like and some don't. It is very yellow in colour (of course) and a much stronger than clover taste. The rest of the year is all clover/wild flower. There is no canola within twenty miles of our place.

[hilt134]

My grandfather started his fortune with bees that someone was getting rid of. The swiss frank was 4-1 conversion rate to canadian so he had just about nothing but bees gave him his start. He has his hives in ontario so the flavour is a little diffrent with the plants down there.

The only albertan honey i have seen is the guys who do the farmers market loop pretty well the same ones everytime. Its better than supermarket stuff but maybe not as good as small batch operations.

[58thecat]

Is right at home.

[trophybook]

Never buy canola honey. Hard to process and always crystalizes.

[SamSteele]

My Aunt & Uncle run Very Berry Honey out of Tofield. They have a store onsite at their farm as well as distribution through Save On and various farmers markets. I can guarantee that the honey with their label on it is their own harvested product.

SS


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[josey]

Try the dandelion honey from Fallentimber Meadery. Unreal!

[wildbill]

Originally Posted by Beeman

Mine is the best, how much do you want?

To be serious though every year is a bit different and the peace country has a great reputation around the world. As far as different varieties of honey go it's entirely subjective just like wine. Kirkland branded honey is fully canadian and packed by beemaid which is a co-op of western canadian beekeepers however the organic brand is imported from brazil.

Probably only a liter, but I'm down South, I would prefer not the the store bought variety (but may have to try the Kirkland stuff out now), in BC I carpooled and was babysat by the Claphams in Aldergrove, (mid 80's) I just remember they had honey and beeswax everything, loved good honey eversince.

[lmtada]

Find a Borage field. Some farmers plant borage for seed. Blue Flowers all summer. Sweet, Sweet.
Alfalfa excellent. Pea flowers not too bad, not as sweet as alfalfa but ok.

[lmtada]

Originally Posted by trophybook

Never buy canola honey. Hard to process and always crystalizes.

Melt it down again.

[biggyJ]

Bought a pint of Buckwheat honey in Manitoba.

Very dark brown honey, has a sweet but nutty flavour. Unlike anything I have ever tried.

Has a very distinctive flavour, some like it, some dont, but definitely worth a try.

[lmtada]

Originally Posted by bbqcrazy

Here is our little apiary.

Attachment 130811

Attachment 130812

Attachment 130813 We went to four hives last year and got over 800 lbs.. It is amazing how easy it is to give away LOL. This year we had a good run of dandelion honey which some people like and some don't. It is very yellow in colour (of course) and a much stronger than clover taste. The rest of the year is all clover/wild flower. There is no canola within twenty miles of our place.

Good job. Fun.watching all those bees go hard. One common goal, the perfect communist party. Lol

[MK2750]

Sobeys carries Nixon honey from east of Innisfail. They also are regulars at the farmers markets around here. Good people and great natural honey. It is night and day compared to regular honey from the store but I have no idea how it compares to other local bee keepers.

[Twisted Canuck]

Well, it's not from Alberta, but my Uncle (and now my cousin) have been operating an Apiary on Vancouver Island by Cedar for so long I don't know...before I was born? Over 50 years? *OK, since 1966, I just read their webpage....* Anyway, some years when weather conditions are right, he gets some of the most amazing dark balsam honey. Amazing stuff, flavour is hard to describe, but it is very rich tasting. I haven't had any honey that I prefer to it. I'm still hoarding a couple of half kilo jars of the stuff, hoping the kids don't find it...stashed way behind my good scotch!

http://fredrichshoney.com/index.htm

Also, if you look at the monoculture pollen we get here, whether from Canola or clover, it is generally a very pale uniform yellow. If you look at the pollen coming from around Cedar, it is crazy in comparison, orange, yellow, green, brown....and the flavor of it is amazing as well.

[Sooner]

If your ever traveling between Golden and Radium, a local lady makes some great Honey at about the half way mark.


Good thread, now i can find some local made stuff here.

[bbqcrazy]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

Well, it's not from Alberta, but my Uncle (and now my cousin) have been operating an Apiary on Vancouver Island by Cedar for so long I don't know...before I was born? Over 50 years? *OK, since 1966, I just read their webpage....* Anyway, some years when weather conditions are right, he gets some of the most amazing dark balsam honey. Amazing stuff, flavour is hard to describe, but it is very rich tasting. I haven't had any honey that I prefer to it. I'm still hoarding a couple of half kilo jars of the stuff, hoping the kids don't find it...stashed way behind my good scotch!

http://fredrichshoney.com/index.htm

Also, if you look at the monoculture pollen we get here, whether from Canola or clover, it is generally a very pale uniform yellow. If you look at the pollen coming from around Cedar, it is crazy in comparison, orange, yellow, green, brown....and the flavor of it is amazing as well.

That dark balsam honey would be interesting to try. One of the great things about honey is it's storage life. (Egyptian tombs had honey stored that was still edible).

I like sitting and watching all the different pollen colors coming in. Dandelion for instance is orange colored, some white, brown, yellow of course from different wildflowers.

It's a great hobby and you never quit learning about bees. Each hive is different and have their own "personalities".

There seems to be alot of people getting into bees. Most sources of package bees and nucs are sold out in short order.

[wildwoods]

We've had the privilege of trying 2 Alberta honey products. My farmer friends up north in High Prairie loaded me up with local honey. It was amazing and didn't last long. Coal Lake also has a producer that puts out a very nice product. I'm no honey connoisseur but man I can eat those local beauties. I heard local honey is the best for you anyhow. Something to do with your immune system or something like that. Maybe someone can elaborate?

[lmtada]

I just collect freebee's. 10-20 swarms/year. Then pinch off queen. Re-queen.

Freebee-how this word originated.

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by bbqcrazy

That dark balsam honey would be interesting to try. One of the great things about honey is it's storage life. (Egyptian tombs had honey stored that was still edible).

I dug out one of my stashed jars, it has been there a couple of years hiding, so is crystallized...but you can really see the dark color. Obviously, it is not Canada #1 White! The family always seems to get dibs on this balsam honey, so not too much makes it out to the public. Now, I'm going to go have a spoonful! I was happy to see they were 1 kg jars, not half!

[bbqcrazy]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

I dug out one of my stashed jars, it has been there a couple of years hiding, so is crystallized...but you can really see the dark color. Obviously, it is not Canada #1 White! The family always seems to get dibs on this balsam honey, so not too much makes it out to the public. Now, I'm going to go have a spoonful! I was happy to see they were 1 kg jars, not half!

That's sure unique!! Thanks for posting.

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by bbqcrazy

That's sure unique!! Thanks for posting.

You are welcome, and I appreciate the topic because it made me dig out a hidden treasure. I'm going to go have another spoonful. I couldn't open their 'store' on the web page, but I'd suggest trying to get a small jar of this if you can to try. Worth the price of admission. TC

[covey ridge]

Are regular retail food stores allowed to sell unpasteurized product?"

[bbqcrazy]

Originally Posted by covey ridge

Are regular retail food stores allowed to sell unpasteurized product?"

Yes they are. Nixon's are one of the larger retailers around here that sell unpasturized product. The pasteurized stuff tastes like...well you know.

[bbqcrazy]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

You are welcome, and I appreciate the topic because it made me dig out a hidden treasure. I'm going to go have another spoonful. I couldn't open their 'store' on the web page, but I'd suggest trying to get a small jar of this if you can to try. Worth the price of admission. TC

I was just on their website. They sure have alot of different products and been doing it for a long time as you stated. Awesome website.

I can`t get into their store web order but if I still can`t by tomorrow I will phone them and see if they have any left.