Reedy Creek Honey
Reedy Creek Honey is a rare, post brood honey, produced in handcrafted Warré hives on regenerative farms near Junee and Cootamundra, on the southwest slopes of New South Wales. Cold pressed, raw and tasty, our honey is rich in pollen, propolis, bee bread, enzymes, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
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We are honoured to supply Reedy Creek Honey to the following fine restaurants, hotels and bars.
Our bees belong to biodiverse, regenerating farm ecosystems that include cattle, sheep, hens, wild animals, soil microorganisms, pastures, crops, woodlands, reedbeds, and people who enjoy our honey.
Reedy Creek Honey is produced via the Warré beekeeping system. This alternative method of honey production allows bees to manage their own colonies, build their own comb, and become a vibrant part of local ecosystems.
We manage small, permanent apiaries on five regenerative farms in the Junee and Cootamundra districts. We hand build our hives from new and recycled timber.
Genetically integrated with wild populations, Reedy Creek bees are resilient and productive. The busy insects pollinate biodiverse pastures and woodlands that nourish and shelter cattle, sheep, hens and wild animals.
Reedy Creek Honey is post brood, a rare and delicious type of honey. By inserting boxes at the bottom of hives, and harvesting boxes full of honey from the top, bees in Warré hives follow their instincts to grow comb downwards. Each year, hive boxes shift upwards, and bees make honey in comb that previously contained brood (eggs, larvae and pupae). This aged comb, darkened by fragrant deposits of propolis, pollen, and bee bread, is the beekeeping equivalent of old oak barrels used to ferment the finest wines. Reedy Creek Honey is renowned for its subtle sweetness and a depth and breadth of complex flavours.
Our post brood honey is sourced from single apiary sites and is never blended. The unique colour, texture and flavour of each honey batch expresses the particular ecological and seasonal characteristics of apiary locations. At each site, bees collect resins and saps from surrounding trees to make propolis. They line each brood cell with propolis to protect their young from disease. Nearby cells are filled with food stores of pollen and bee bread. During harvest, we crush and squeeze the post brood honeycomb inside a stainless steel fruit press. The flowing honey carries a rich and distinctive mix of propolis, pollen and bee bread.
In his book The Bee-friendly Beekeeper, David Heaf notes that the extraction of honey via crushing and squeezing comb (rather than spinning comb inside an extractor) avoids exposing fine droplets of honey to air, and thereby conserves ‘subtler aspects of flavour and bouquet.’
Highly active with enzymes, Reedy Creek Honey sometimes crystallises within days or weeks of harvesting. Studies suggest that raw honey with high levels of enzymes, pollen, bee bread, propolis, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals has extraordinary health benefits. Reedy Creek Honey boosts immune systems, reduces inflammation, and suppresses microbes, viruses, bacteria and fungi.
Post brood, raw, single source and regenerative, Reedy Creek Honey is a rare treat, rich in flavour and goodness.
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