Ive been given some honey comb and would like guidance how to get it out. There seems to be everything from a cold soak hot soak to fermenting with the comb in so not sure what the best approach is. Would like to shoot for a plain dry mead of around 10% if possible.
Thanks
Wilf
Honey comb
Re: Honey comb
I have made hundreds of litres of mead mainly from washed cappings. In your case with the comb you will need to open it up. Get a baking tray and a sharp knife and uncap the honey. As you will not own an extractor probably the best option would be to scrape the honey off the frame with an ice cream scoop. This is what I do for heather honey which is thixotropic. Loosely weigh the amount of scrapings so you have an idea of the weight of honey. I put the cappings/scappings into a pond filter bag available on eBay for about £6 each (6inch neck 18 inches long). I use a 100 or 200 micron mesh. The bag and scrapings goes into a stainless bucket and I pour about 2 litres of warm water into the bag and then work the honey into the liquor to produce a must. In a 12 litre bucket I need about 4-5 kgs of cappings to produce a must of about 1100. This will produce a Mead of about 15-16% and will be dry. The gravity normally goes below 1000, but it takes a good 3-4 weeks in the primary fermenter. The wax will remain in the filter bag . Do not compact it too much and wash it with further dilution water You will need to fill the bag 2-3 times to produce 10 litres of must . If you need any further help then just ask and I can send some photos. I am about to make some rape honey mead. When you have finished you can squeeze the wax into a ball and remove it from the bag. The wax can be melted down and processed, but that is another ball game.