SUMMER & FALL HONEY
Extra light amber in color, creamy texture, slightly buttery flavor, hints of butterscotch with a slight after taste of herbs.
Midsummer the honeybee colony size is beginning to reach its maximum population averaging around 80,000 honeybees when the later summer plants are coming into bloom. This creates an optimum time for the honeybees to gather the largest quantity of nectar.
The first two plants that are signs of the change in the season are Milkweed and Sumac. The next important plant for the honeybee is Knapweed and finally the latest plant closest to the fall is Goldenrod. The later season honey usually is an extra light amber in color, a creamy texture, slightly buttery flavor, hints of butterscotch with a slight hint of herbs.
Sumac Honey
Sumac honey is light brown (amber) in color, medium sweet caramel taste with a slight tart
finish. It’s a honey that most would agree tastes better as it ages.
Milkweed Honey
Milkweed plants are a major source of summer honey in most of Michigan. This honey can be very difficult to harvest as it has a very thick creamy consistency. Light amber in color, with a mild flavor, taste with hints of butterscotch and fruit flavor.
Knapweed Honey
Knapweed is a major late summer honey source for honeybees in Michigan. The color is light in color (white), sweet caramel, fresh herbs and buttery creamy texture. The honey is known to crystallize nearly white in color. Some say the honey has a slight spicy zesty taste of cinnamon.
Goldenrod Honey
Goldenrod plant provides the last important blossom for honeybees setting them up for winter survival. Honeybees gather larges amount of pollen in early fall from goldenrod allowing the honeybees to pack fresh pollen into their hives for early spring feeding. This blossom also allows honeybees to fill their last honey storage space prior to winter setting in. Goldenrod blossom honey is dark brown (amber) in color, sweet, hints of licorice, slightly spicy, a hint of beeswax flavor and a pleasant pungent aroma. Goldenrod honey is also thick and tends to granulate quickly.