" I have never used " sugar bricks " before. Can someone tell me why they are a good idea and how you use them ?"
Winter sugar feed, whether dry or in various forms like sugar blocks, candy boards or fondant, never take the place of good winter hive prep late summer and early fall.
But sometimes hives are overlooked, are in a less than optimal shape for health or queen reasons, that were rectified late in the season, or the colonies are too small (Such as over wintered mating nucs) to get enough feed into them to last the entire winter.
Once it gets too cold for liquid feeding methods, dry methods are your last resort..or just good insurance if you are unsure.
In my case, I also use the sugar blocks on any colony that is over wintering in a single. Even if they have good weight, they still can benefit from supplemental feed directly above the cluster and in spring, directly above the brood nest until natural feed sources start to produce if the colony has enough foragers to leave the developing brood nest to collect in cool spring weather.
Solid Blocks are easy and quick to slip in on top the frames and hard for bees to haul out, if they were so inclined to try before they decided they needed them. That makes them more convenient to install when the weather is pleasant for the beekeeper.
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There's some debate about the use & safety of cider vinegar. All I know it the recipe I posted works great for me and the vinegar is an important part of that. By making the block more nutritious, more acidic and more appealing so they actually consume the slow and steady and fairly concentrated supplementation.
I don't use the blocks to control condensation, I usually have my ventilation adjusted correctly to handle that.(Besides, it's usually the larger colonies that will have condensation issues and they don't require sugar or blocks)
But some condensation from the colony is actually necessary for them to access the block. Something folks generally consider a problem, yet you can use condensation to your advantage.
My bees relish them and even the small colonies come out of winter in fine shape. Small enough mating nuc colonies on mini frames going into winter I seriously doubt the would have survived otherwise.
I have very few winter losses and good steady spring build up. I never lose a colony from starvation. Out of over 200 over wintered hives, I'll generally have 4 or 5 come out of winter queenless, but will catch them early enough to give them another queen. I'll find one or two that are just gone with full hives of honey-I assume they were queenless late fall/early winter and faded away. There's always a few early spring that are limping along I have to baby a bit, but that's usually it for losses.
If cider vinegar was detrimental to bees, I believe I'd be seeing it by now after 5 years of use.
The original recipe can be altered to use less liquid if you find the blocks don't harden as fast as you would like. I've tried it with less, but found them to be too crumbly.
Perhaps the brand of sugar matters and likely your humidity level as well. Just alter it slightly until they come out satisfactory.
You can certainly use less vinegar and use some water too for liquid.
I just adjusted the recipe as I developed it, to see how far I could push the vinegar amount.
I was surprised that the strongest version was the one they preferred the most. So that's the one I stuck with. Didn't have to back it off at all. But you can change the recipe if it makes you more comfortable. Just be aware, if you change the recipe, the smell and texture of the block won't be the the same as mine.
You can analyze the use of vinegar all you want in theory, but it's actual use & results in practical applications is really all that's important, isn't it?
Do some trials and see for yourself.
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25# cane sugar
one scant quart cider vinegar
About 1 tsp of electrolytes with vitamins
1-2 T citric acid or ascorbic acid blends
splash of pro Health or other scented essential oil of choice
Mix with a 1/2" drill and paint paddle until well blended. Mix should be soft have the texture of snow..not wet. Fill pans and compress with roller.DO NOT cook. Allow to air dry, dry about 100- 110 degrees in food dehydrator or dry in slightly warm oven for several hours.
In my climate my bees can get out fairly regularly in winter for cleansing flights. I top my bricks with dry bee pro. I do NOT mix protein into the block, only sift it on top so they are not forced to eat it when they are not rearing brood.
With the vinegar, pro health and sugar, these blocks smell amazing. It's like giving a dog a fat meaty bone. My bees love them. They consume them well. They come out of winter in better shape than they would have otherwise.
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