Q: Dear Beegirl,

I have heard that consuming rather small amounts of local honey can sometimes treat allergies.  Can I obtain from you or any other local beekeeper any products described as "East Bay Area" honey?  How about "Five Inner Bay Area Counties" honey?  And where can I purchase them? --I.I. Butler

A: Dear I.I.:

While there have been no definitive studies on this matter, anecdotally, eating raw local honey does seem to help people with their pollen allergies as it contains homeopathic amounts of the exact pollen blend of the region. If you do experiment with local honeys, start with the smallest amount, perhaps a quarter teaspoon a day and build up from there, as there is also anecdotal evidence of reaction to the honey itself as the body's immune response builds up.  

I am not a commercial-scale beekeeper and don't have enough honey to spare for selling. However, there are several beekeepers who sell honey from the East Bay and beyond. Marshall Farms is a good one--they sell East Bay honeys, SF Bay Area Blend, and honeys specific to many of our region’s counties. They sell at farmers markets all around the Bay Area including the Saturday Grand Lake Market in Oakland.   They also website at marshallsfarmhoney.com. This lists the many varieties available as well as the markets they sell at. I have seen local honey at Whole Foods, The Berkeley Bowl and Farmer Joe's in Oakland.  Just visit the honey section and have a look!

Q: Dear Beegirl,

I wanted to know...is it possible to make mead out of agave nectar?  It was something I wanted to experiment with.  Do you have any experience with this? --Tia

A: Dear Tia,

There is a long tradition amongst indigenous peoples of making fermented beverages with cactus juice. When the Papago people of the Sonoran desert make their sacred fermentation from saguaro sap, it is called Tiswin, when the Tarahumara Indians use agave it is called Pulque. Each of these drinks is considered sacred. The plants themselves, the process of fermentation, and the consumption of the drink are surrounded with ceremony and considered essential  to the ability of the culture to successfully continue. Fermented cactus beverages are also the pre-cursers to tequila, which is a similar concoction that is then distilled.

This is a long way around to tell you, that yes, it is quite possible to make a fermented beverage from agave nectar, or, for that matter, any plant-based sugar. The name "mead" is name is specific to drinks made with honey. Something made with agave or saguaro juice would not be mead, but some other brew.   

While I have not personally made a beverage with agave nectar, basic brewing sense says to start by adding water to your syrup until you reach the potential alcohol level that your yeast prefers (use a hydrometer to do this). For wine yeast, this will be in the range of 12%-15% and for ale yeast, it will be in the range of 4%-7%.  You might want to add an acid companant, as well as some yeast nutrient and tannin to help the yeast perform better.

For more information on the background and traditions of fermented beverages made from cactus, I highly recommend the book “Sacred & Healing Beers” by Stephen Harrod Buhner.

Happy Brewing!

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