Back to beekeeping!
We are delighted to be back at the hives now that the weather has warmed up and the bees are flying. Everything has come through winter strongly and populations are growing fast.
Our first big move will be getting our bees down to the rapeseed fields in north Wicklow where they will forage for the first few weeks of this season. It’s a wonderful time as the hives all build up their numbers and strength for the year ahead. Here’s hoping the weather plays ball this year!
OpenHive Honey & pancakes
Pancake Tuesday has arrived and with it the many choices of what to put on your pancakes! We are a little bit biased but we think our soft set spring honey from the rapeseed fields of Wicklow is a lovely addition. Maria Dublin’s beautiful photo suggests the same!
Have a browse in our shop for some honey for your pancakes. Enjoy!
Apiary Visit: Abercorn Faram
Brighter longer days ahead. This is our apiary on Abercorn Farm in Belmont Demesne. We checked the hives to make sure they have enough stores and all hives made it through the winter well. We look forward to getting back to proper inspections and warmer days! #openhive
St. Valentine - the beekeeper!
Did you know? St. Valentine wasn’t just about love—he was also a beekeeper and the patron saint of beekeepers! 🐝💛 People believed he protected hives, helped bees thrive, and kept honey flowing sweetly.
So this Valentine’s Day, let’s show some love not just to our sweethearts, but also to the bees that keep our world blooming! 🌸🍯 #StValentine #Beekeeping #openhive
Stockist Focus: Áitiúil (Barna, Co. Galway)
One of the coolest new stores on the west coast is called ÁITIÚIL is a and is situated in the heart of Barna Village, less than 10 minute drive from Galway city. A boutique store, it sells everything from organic olive oils to jewellery and back! We are delighted to stock them with our raw Irish honey and recommend you give yourself time to have good browse if you visit. There’s a lot on offer!
OpenHive Heather Honey
It’s a wintery day out there, but here’s a little boost to get you through! 🍯✨
Cold days call for our Wicklow heather honey, nature’s perfect pick-me-up! 🌿🐝 Packed with antioxidants and bursting with rich, complex flavors, this golden goodness is not just delicious—it’s great for your immune system too! 💪🍯
A spoonful in your tea, drizzled over warm porridge, or straight from the jar—it’s the perfect way to brighten up a chilly day. Stay warm, stay well, and let native Irish heather honey be your winter fuel! ☕❄️
Welcome to the OpenHive Blog 2025 Edition
Over the course of the season ahead we intend to keep you posted about what we do, how we do it and most importantly why we do it. We are excited to share with you insights into our journey as beekeepers who have the conservation of the native Irish honey bee at the centre of everything we do. We will share stories about the beekeeping season, about our work away from the hives and about the bees themselves. Stay tuned for more!
Cocktail Corner: Honey Whiskey Sour
A lovely drink for an autumn evening…
Ingredients
60ml bourbon
40ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
1tbsp OpenHive honey
Method
Add everything into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a glass over one large ice cube. Garnish with a thyme twig or a lemon twist.
Have you tried our Soft Set honey yet?
By far the most popular honey at every event we go to, out stunning soft set honey is a sweet, tasty treat. Coming from the golden field of rapeseed in Wicklow, it a creamed or set honey which means it has a lovely spreadable consistency as well as a distinctly sweet taste. If you are looking for a more unusual but very delicious honey, this is the one for you!
Wild Swarm Genetics
Over the course of the season we have collected many swarms all across south Dublin and north Wicklow. We have taken samples of these wild swarms and sent them to the University of Galway where they will be tested for genetic lineage. This will help build a picture of the landscape of our native honeybee.
We are delighted and honoured to be able to play a small roll in the amazing work undertaken by the team in the west. You can read a lot more about their efforts here: Galway Honey Bee Research Centre.
Tribes Honey Show
We are excited to be apart of the upcoming Tribes Beekeepers Association Honey Show in Kilcornan on Saturday September 23rd. There will be local honey, homemade candles, a Honey Show Competition, a photography exhibition and more. It will be OpenHive’s first market/show in Galway and we are buzzing for it! Please pop by and say hello to Mark and pick up some of our honey.
Last Beekeeping Experience of 2023!
Our final Beekeeping Experience of this year will take place this weekend. We have the last few places available. Come and join us on the 9th of September for an unforgettable experience. Book now: https://www.openhive.ie/shop/beekeeping-experience-with-openhive-and-windyridge-nurseries
A late summer crop...
After the washout in July we are getting a late burst of sunshine and our bees couldn’t be happier about it! Lovely to see the sun blazing, the supers humming and the bees as busy as they’ve been all season. Long may it last…
Recipe Corner: Baked Camembert
Ingredients:
250g block of camambert cheese (Sheridans)
Openhive honey
Figs
Chopped pecan nuts
Method:
Cut a few criss-cross lines on top of the Camembert and pop it whole into the oven at 180°C for 10-15 minutes. When ready, top with fresh figs or any other seasonal fruit, chopped pecan nuts and generously drizzle with honey. Dig right in with a piece of sourdough bread!
Fact: it tastes much nicer with the bread broken into pieces rather than sliced :)
OpenHive Bestseller: August
The best selling OpenHive honey so far this month (August 2023) is our summer blossom. We sell it in a pack of two jars that we can ship to wherever you live. Order from our shop here: https://www.openhive.ie/shop/2-pack-of-honey
Great Taste Awards 2023
We were delighted to have our honey recognised by The Great Taste Awards this year. A lot of time, effort and hard work by our native Irish honey bees goes into each jar of honey or cut of honey comb that we produce.
To receive encouragement from a body like the Guild of Fine Food is a nice bonus for us as a growing organisation and helps us to get our conservation message to a wider audience.
Thanks to our honey bees, and to all our volunteers who have helped us all season too.
OpenHive Heather Cut Comb: 2 stars
OpenHive Summer Blossom: 1 star
OpenHive Heather Honey
We love heather honey - it’s a real delicacy. The heather in the Wicklow mountains only flowers for roughly 2-3 weeks per year so its always very reliant on getting good weather for that window. Our bees have recently moved to the mountains to forage on this year’s crop. We are hoping the weather will be good to us and we can have a harvest like last year!
Heather honey has been recently studied by Trinity and DCU (2018) to show its comparable health benefits to Manuka honey. Many people pay a lot of money for a honey that is flown across the world when heather is available on your doorstep…
Heather is generally located in remote hard to reach areas of the mountains which can be difficult to access. The honey is also known as a thixotropic honey, meaning it is like a gel rather than a liquid, and therefore, can not be spun out like regular honey. We either produce it as cut comb or crush it out of the comb and filter it into jars.
OpenHive Heather honey, cut straight from the comb, won bronze at the Blas na hEireann awards last summer.
OpenHive on Ireland AM
On Saturday morning Kyle was invited to the Ireland AM studios to talk about planting for bees. It was a great opportunity for us to talk a little bit about what we do as an organisation and to fight for the honey bee!
You can watch the full clip on this link: OpenHive x Ireland AM.
Recipe Corner: Honey, almond & sea salt toffees
Caution: These nut butter toffees are a truly addictive.. They are super easy to make and taste delicious. You´ll be making another batch before you've finished the first one :)
Ingredients
½ cup of almonds or any other nuts you may like
½ cup of Openhive honey
1 cup unsweetened almond butter or other nut butter
2 tbsp coconut flakes
sea salt flakes
Method
Chop the nuts or whizz in a blender and set aside. Pour the honey into a pan and heat it over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it starts to foam. Stir the foaming honey for about 5 minutes, then turn the heat to low and add the almond butter. Stir the mixture until it begins to thicken slightly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped nuts and coconut flakes. Blend quickly until it becomes a smooth paste. Place the warm mixture into a tin lined with baking paper. Smooth the surface and sprinkle with sea salt. Allow to cool and set in the fridge before cutting into bite size pieces. Wrap the toffees in parchment paper and store in the fridge. These will last in an airtight container for couple of weeks.
Recipe and Photography by Maria Dublin.