Odd smelling (and tasting) honey

[Antipodes]

What tiny amount of honey I have collected from my hives this year stinks sort of like the family dog. To give you an idea of the smell (and taste), it is particularly like the smell around the dogs weeping eyes or the smell the vacuum cleaner emits after using it for a month or so vacuuming up the dog hairs around the house. All my honey this year has suffered with it from various apiary sites up to 100k's apart and with different forage. You can actually smell it when the hive lid is lifted. The smell and taste stays in the honey ie. does not dissipate after a few months.

I have no brood disease apart from chalkbrood.

We have had the worst season here in living memory. There has been almost complete failure of the leatherwood harvest (one honey producer down from 280 tonnes last year to 20 tonnes this year). Been much warmer than usual and very very dry with huge parts of the state burnt.

Any ideas please?

 

[enrico]

I would suggest that they have been forced to forage on different flora. Or gather water from a smelly source due to the unusual conditions. Just a guess
Do what they do in NZ and sell it to us at a high price as a special honey!!!!

E

 

[Anduril]

Goldenrod, dandelion and aster can produce stinky honey. Dandelion, if you noticed a very yellow wax.

 

[Antipodes]

Thanks for the replies.

I think then asteraceae of perhaps a few varieties. Dandelion in urban and peri-urban areas and perhaps Musk Daisybush (Olearia argophylla) in the forest.

 

[AHTS]

Hi,
What region do you live? And what month was the honey harvested. Some honeys are described as animal, wet dog, brothy, horse stall or pig sty. They are objective descriptions and not defects. It depends upon the floral source.
For more info: americanhoneytastingsociety.com

 

[Antipodes]

Hi AHTS, and thanks.

I'm in Tasmania which is at the bottom of the world.

I harvested the honey over quite a period. The initial harvest was the worst, that was probably November going into December. More was harvested in early March and more again in mid March. Another description could be sheep poo. We have dandelions here as well as the largest type of daisy bush in the world....I'm putting it down to nectar from those plants in a very poor season.

 

[Antipodes]

Yes ......most definitely in the animal section of the American Honey Tasting Society Honey Aroma and Flavour chart....

 

[For want of a better word]

Yes ......most definitely in the animal section of the American Honey Tasting Society Honey Aroma and Flavour chart....

Makes the "Germolene" aroma of Manpuka seem palatable

We use tea tree oil to keep nits off our dogs........

1001 uses for honey!!!

Chons da

 

[Antipodes]

Makes the "Germolene" aroma of Manpuka seem palatable

...that's what I was thinking. I'll try any alternative nectar source.

 

[For want of a better word]

...that's what I was thinking. I'll try any alternative nectar source.

Was a few years back... but one Tasmanian solicitor and beekeeper was taking your government to task over the destruction of Leatherwood trees and the understorey damage caused by logging...... sounded like an environmental disaster waiting to happen!
What happened,,, did he get it stopped????

sorry

Chons da

 

[Apiarisnt]

...that's what I was thinking. I'll try any alternative nectar source.

Bearing in mind that, as I understand, Tasmania grows almost half the world's supply of licit opium poppies (https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2014-11-05/tasmania-poppy-mildew/5868248) perhaps you have the potential for a seriously premium honey...

 

[Antipodes]

seriously premium honey

...now there is a thought...

 

[Antipodes]

Was a few years back... but one Tasmanian solicitor and beekeeper was taking your government to task over the destruction of Leatherwood trees and the understorey damage caused by logging...... sounded like an environmental disaster waiting to happen! What happened,,, did he get it stopped???? sorry Chons da

I hadn't heard about the legal challenge (I'll look into it) but this film here is worth a look if you haven't already seen it. Hedley is the grandfather of Tasmanian beekeeping.

 

[For want of a better word]

Thanks for sharing that....

Oh dear.... now we will have the nurdy gurdy men banging on about how yellow the bees looked!

Luckily Tasmania has populations of Amm [interior] and AMl [ more coastal] I believe

Yeghes da