How to Make Fermented Honey Drinks for Gut Health and Flavour
There’s something almost magical about taking a jar of golden honey, adding water and time, then watching it transform into a bubbling, complex elixir. Learning how to make fermented honey drinks connects us to an ancient human tradition. Tradition that dates back thousands of years to the Viking halls and Ethiopian feasts.
Fermentation is nature's way of preservation. It turns simple sugars into active cultures, alcohol, and acids that can boost gut health and tantalize the palate.
While it might seem intimidating to leave a jar of liquid on your counter for weeks, the process is actually quite simple. Best of all, you don't need a chemistry degree or expensive equipment. You just need patience, cleanliness, and high-quality ingredients.
What’s Happening in the Jar: the Science of the Bubble
When you look up how to make fermented honey drinks, you’re essentially looking up how to manage yeast.
Yeast is a microscopic fungus that lives practically everywhere, and it loves sugar. When yeast eats the natural sugars (glucose and fructose) in honey, it produces two main byproducts:
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Carbon dioxide (bubbles)
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Alcohol
If you let it go long enough, bacteria might take over and turn that alcohol into acetic acid (vinegar).
The key to successfully making fermented honey drinks is controlling this environment. You want to encourage the good yeast and keep out the bad bacteria. This is why using raw honey is so important.
OneRoot Raw Honey is unpasteurized, meaning it still contains natural wild yeasts and enzymes. Pasteurized honey from the grocery store is dead; the heat has killed the potential for life, making it much harder to get a good ferment going.
Why Honey is the Perfect Base
Honey is unique among sugars. It’s sweet, yes, but it also has a flavour profile that includes the flowers, soil, and season. When you learn how to make fermented honey drinks, you’ll find that different honeys produce vastly different results.
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Boreal Forest Wildflower Honey creates a balanced, floral drink.
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Buckwheat Honey produces a dark, robust, molasses-like flavour, perfect for heavy meads.
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Wildflower Honey dissolves easily and offers a smooth texture for lighter drinks.
Using high-quality honey, like OneRoot, ensures that your final product doesn't just taste like alcohol or vinegar but like the Boreal Forest.
The Benefits of Fermented Honey Drinks
Why go through all this trouble? Because the result is a probiotic powerhouse.
When you understand how to make fermented drinks using raw honey, you’re preserving the enzymes and adding beneficial bacteria (lactobacillus) to your diet.
Store-bought sodas are full of high-fructose corn syrup. Your homemade honey drink contains antioxidants from the plants the bees visited, plus the gut-healing properties of fermentation.
Getting Started: Sterilization
The most critical rule in learning how to make fermented honey drinks is sterilization. You want to grow specific microbes, not random mould.
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Wash everything. Use hot, soapy water for your jars, spoons, and airlocks.
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Rinse well. Soap residue can kill your yeast.
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Use glass. Plastic can scratch, harbouring bacteria. Glass jars are best.
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Boil the water. Most Canadian municipal tap water contains chlorine or chloramine. These chemicals are designed specifically to kill bacteria and microbes. If you use straight tap water, the chlorine might kill the delicate wild yeast or the SCOBY. Either use filtered water or boiled and cooled water to remove the chlorine.
Recipes on How to Make Fermented Honey Drinks
The "Short Mead" Recipe (Simulated Sima)
Mead is the oldest alcoholic drink known to man. Traditional mead takes months or years to age. However, if you want to know how to make fermented honey drinks that you can drink quickly, try a "Short Mead" or a variation of Finnish Sima. This is low-alcohol and sparkling.
Ingredients
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4 litres of filtered water
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2 lemons (sliced)
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1 cup of cooled strong tea
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A pinch of brewing yeast (highly recommended for beginners) or a handful of organic raisins to introduce wild yeast.
Raisins are traditional when making Sima, but nowadays, they’re treated with oil or preservatives which can flop the fermentation. It’s best to add yeast.
Instructions
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Boil half the water. Pour it into a sanitized bucket or large pot.
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Stir in the honey until dissolved. (Do not boil the honey. It ruins the raw properties).
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Add the remaining cold water to bring the temperature down.
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Add the lemon slices.
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When the liquid is lukewarm (not hot!), add your yeast, raisins, and tea.
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Cover with a cloth and let it sit at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours until you see bubbles.
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Strain into bottles with tight seals.
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Refrigerate immediately. Consume within a week.
Note: This creates a carbonated, lightly alcoholic soda. Be careful when opening!
Jun Tea Recipe (The Champagne of Kombucha)
You’ve probably heard of Kombucha, which is fermented black tea and sugar. But if you want to know how to make fermented honey drinks, you should meet Jun. Jun is Kombucha’s cousin, but it feeds exclusively on green tea and raw honey.
Ingredients
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1 litre of filtered water
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2 bags of green tea
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A Jun SCOBY (You can buy these online. Note: A regular Kombucha SCOBY can be trained to eat honey over time, but it takes patience.)
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½ cup of starter liquid (previous Jun tea)
Instructions
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Brew the green tea in the water. Remove the tea bags and let it cool to room temperature.
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Stir in the raw honey. It must be cool, or you will kill the beneficial bacteria in the honey and the SCOBY.
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Pour into a glass jar. Add the SCOBY and starter liquid.
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Cover with a breathable cloth and secure with a rubber band (flies love fermenting honey!).
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Let it sit for 3 to 5 days. Taste it daily. It should get tart and fizzy.
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Bottle it and refrigerate.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
When learning how to make fermented honey drinks, you’ll likely make a few mistakes. That’s part of the fun.
No Bubbles
Your water might have been too hot and killed the yeast, or your room is too cold. Fermentation loves temperatures between 20°C and 25°C.
Too Sour
You let it ferment too long. It’s now vinegar. Don't throw it away; use it for salad dressing or marinades.
Exploding Bottles
This is a real risk. As yeast eats sugar, it releases gas. If you bottle it too early and leave it out of the fridge, the pressure builds up.
Always "burp" your bottles daily (open them slightly to release gas) or keep them in the fridge to slow fermentation.
Experimenting with Flavours
Once you master the basics, you can get creative.
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Add ginger for a spicy kick (great for digestion).
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Add berries (blueberries or raspberries) during the "second ferment" in the bottle for colour and flavour.
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Use OneRoot Buckwheat Honey for a drink with deep, earthy notes that resemble a dark ale.
FAQs About Making Fermented Honey Drinks
Is it legal to make this at home?
Yes. In Canada, it’s legal to brew beer, wine, and mead for personal consumption. You just can’t sell it without a license.
How much alcohol is in these drinks?
It depends on the time and sugar. Short meads and Jun usually have very low alcohol (0.5% to 2%), similar to over-ripe fruit. Traditional mead can be as strong as wine (12-14%).
My honey is crystallized. Can I still use it?
Absolutely. Crystallization is natural. Just dissolve it in warm water. Making fermented honey drinks is a great way to use up the last sticky bits in a jar.
Can I use pasteurized honey?
You can, but it lacks the natural nutrients and wild yeast. The fermentation will be sluggish, and the flavour flat. Raw honey provides a more robust culture.
How do I know if it’s gone bad?
Trust your nose. It should smell yeasty, sour, or sweet. If it smells like rotting garbage or has fuzzy mould (black, green, or pink) growing on top, throw it out.
Do I need special equipment?
For simple recipes, no. A mason jar and a cloth are enough. If you want to make high-alcohol mead, you will need an airlock and a carboy, which you can find at any brewing supply store.
Brewing Nature's Gold
There’s a profound satisfaction in pouring a glass of sparkling, golden liquid that you made yourself. It tastes of patience and the wild Canadian landscape.
When you learn how to make fermented honey drinks, you’re finding new ways to experience the harvest of the Boreal Forest.
So, grab a jar of raw honey, some water, and start your own chemistry experiment today. The bees did the hard work; you just need to let nature take its course.
CTA: Get your organic, raw honey here.
Begin your brewing adventure.
Disclaimer: We love sharing our passion for wellness and nature's goodness. Please remember, the content on our blog is for general informational purposes. It should not be taken as medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.