After driving an hour to Owen/Withee and laying down 150 large (or "large" for me at least) for the 20,000 bees and two queens, it was off to install them into their new homes. It's an odd feeling driving somewhere with one passenger, and coming back with 20,003... The bees were well behaved, and barely made any noise for the duration of the trip. One little guy managed to make it out of the cage (or was out to begin with) and kept myself and my girlfriend Ezra company on our way to the hive locations.
We arrived at dusk, and decided that the weather was good enough to install at least one of the packages. Slightly cloudy, about 55-60 degrees, and a bit windy. We arrived at the "Hilltop" location at approximately 7PM and proceeded to set everything up.
Supplies necessary for the task included:
-Hive (2 Medium Supers with 10 frames each, screened bottom board, queen excluder, inner cover, outer cover)
-Hive tool
-Spray bottle with 2:1 water/sugar solution
-Feeder with 1:1 water/sugar solution
-Marshmallow, for the queen cage
-...and everything else.
Notice the lack of protective equipment in that list... My reading around this time had been focusing on inspecting the hive AFTER the bees were established, which requires little-to-no protective equipment. However--for the record--when installing a package of 10,000 confused, homeless honeybees you are going to want protection.
After a light spritzing of sugar syrup, I extracted the can of syrup and the queen cage. The queen was alive and healthy, and I gave it to Ezra's dad to hold onto while I maneuvered the bees into the hive.
Now the way you are to "install" these bees is to tap the edge of the package on the hive to make them pour into the hive like liquid.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Beekeeping Background
So now...the bees.
Much like the origins of my interest in Homebrewing, the motivation for my venture into beekeeping is also somewhat cloudy. The seed can probably be traced back to a beekeeping demonstration I attended with my girlfriend last summer at the Minnesota State Fair.
Whatever my motivations, I decided that I wished to start a hive (actually--two) and read up on the subject like a frenzied spider monkey. Four or five months later, here I am with two newly started hives and a whole lot of supplies. The hives are placed in two different locations. One is located on a "tree-farm" with a moderate sized garden, while the other is in a "less-farmy" semi-rural area.
The Bees:
Since I spent so much time reading up on the subject, it was not until a month or two ago until I started my search for bees (very late for the season--many beeks recommend purchasing your bees mid-winter, although they do not get shipped until the spring). After a couple of inquiries about Russian bees (bees thought to be more resistant to diseases/pests) I ended up settling on New World Carniolans from HoneyGlow Farms in Owen/Withee WI.
Much like the origins of my interest in Homebrewing, the motivation for my venture into beekeeping is also somewhat cloudy. The seed can probably be traced back to a beekeeping demonstration I attended with my girlfriend last summer at the Minnesota State Fair.
Whatever my motivations, I decided that I wished to start a hive (actually--two) and read up on the subject like a frenzied spider monkey. Four or five months later, here I am with two newly started hives and a whole lot of supplies. The hives are placed in two different locations. One is located on a "tree-farm" with a moderate sized garden, while the other is in a "less-farmy" semi-rural area.
The Bees:
Since I spent so much time reading up on the subject, it was not until a month or two ago until I started my search for bees (very late for the season--many beeks recommend purchasing your bees mid-winter, although they do not get shipped until the spring). After a couple of inquiries about Russian bees (bees thought to be more resistant to diseases/pests) I ended up settling on New World Carniolans from HoneyGlow Farms in Owen/Withee WI.
Homebrewing Background
I've been brewing for the past two years (all-grain for about the last 1.5) and have learned much about the brewing process and what goes into making a great beer. To be able to see, smell, and taste each ingredient before sampling the final product has functioned to deepen my knowledge and appreciation for craft beer.
The reasons I started homebrewing are many--I myself am not even sure of all the exact reasons. The one that played most prominently though, was probably the inability to attain craft offerings under an age that these great States deem necessary to responsibly enjoy such a beverage. So here's a long overdue "thank you," to Uncle Sam, for inspiring me to brew.
My brewing history reads a little something like this:
English Brown Ale (Extract)
Cherry Witbier (Extract)
India Pale Ale (All-Grain)
Honey-Weizen (Extract)
Russian Imperial Stout (All-Grain/Extract)
Belgian Witbier (Extract)
Double IPA (All-Grain)
80- Scottish Ale (All-Grain)
Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy (All-Grain)
Altbier #1 (All-Grain)
Altbier #2 (All-Grain)
India Pale Ale (All-Grain)
Berliner Weiss (All-Grain)
Lacto No-Weiss (All-Grain)
Upcoming:
Imperial IPA
Lambic
The reasons I started homebrewing are many--I myself am not even sure of all the exact reasons. The one that played most prominently though, was probably the inability to attain craft offerings under an age that these great States deem necessary to responsibly enjoy such a beverage. So here's a long overdue "thank you," to Uncle Sam, for inspiring me to brew.
My brewing history reads a little something like this:
English Brown Ale (Extract)
Cherry Witbier (Extract)
India Pale Ale (All-Grain)
Honey-Weizen (Extract)
Russian Imperial Stout (All-Grain/Extract)
Belgian Witbier (Extract)
Double IPA (All-Grain)
80- Scottish Ale (All-Grain)
Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy (All-Grain)
Altbier #1 (All-Grain)
Altbier #2 (All-Grain)
India Pale Ale (All-Grain)
Berliner Weiss (All-Grain)
Lacto No-Weiss (All-Grain)
Upcoming:
Imperial IPA
Lambic
A New Blog---Homebrewing and Beekeeping
Alright, so I've finally decided to start a blog. The two hobbies (possible careers?) I have been pursuing, homebrewing and beekeeping, have been taking up loads of my time. If nothing else, I intend this blog as a way to keep better records of my brewing ventures/recipes and situations encountered with the honeybees.
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