I have been contacted by a fellow beekeeper for advice and believe my 
knowledge is inadequate to respond.

This beekeeper has been informed that honey extracted from his hives 
some months back and stored by the extracting company has fermented 
and is worthless.  It has been stated that the honey has candied.

The beekeeper has not yet inspected the stored honey and was not sure 
how to confirm fermentation.

My only experience with fermentation is that there is a distinct 
alcohol odour from frames with unripened honey in dead hives.

My question is, if the odour is absent, is there any reason to 
believe fermentation has occurred?

My reading on this matter is that fermentation is caused by yeast 
organisms which may exist in the hives and also be acquired during 
the extraction and storage process.

Advice would be appreciated.

Betty McAdam

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