I suppose it must be the time of year, but in my local beekeeping magazine an article has been written by a friend of mine, Bill Clark, on just the subject of honey and ripening. In short... Fermentation is Preventable! Fermentation is caused by certain yeasts that can tolerate higher sugar concentrations than ordinary yeasts, and which tend to accumulate in the atmosphere of the extracting room, on the equipment and on combs - especially on wet stored combs. It is safe to assume that all honeys contain yeasts, though there can be wide variations in numbers per gram; from less than 1 to 100,000. The highest counts are found in honeys with the highest water content; eg. from partially sealed combs containing unripe honey..... No matter how high the yeast count, if the moisture content is 17% or less then that honey will not ferment in a year. Between 17% and 18% it will be safe if the yeast count is not more than 1000 per gram of honey.. From 18% - 19% the count must not be more than 10 per gram. How is the moisture content to be measured? By a refractometer! These are not cheap, costing about =A3100 in the UK. Bill suggests that dehumidifiers can be very effective for reducing the moisture content of honey in the comb. I suppose that few beekeepers in the US will have such a need for such an household item, bu= t in the damp and mirky UK they are not uncommon. Apparently a small dehumidifier will reduce the moisture content of 7 or 8 Dadant supers by 3% - 4% in about 4 days. Also - where fermentation occurs it usually follows granulation as the moisture content of the liquid component is increased. Storage below 10 C will give a good measure of protection against fermentation. Avoid the range 11-15 C unless you want to encourage granulation. Commercially honey may be heated to around 64 C for around 30 minutes to destroy yeasts and so prevent fermentation. But this process is bound to affect the quality of honey adversely. Bill also suggests that it is not a good idea to extract from any unsealed combs at all. I have extracted from sealed combs with a few partly unsealed combs - maybe 25% unsealed. I have kept some of my honey for 2 -3 years and some of it has fermented! Best wishes Joe Hemmens (thank you Bill Clark)