about YUME ambrosia
If you’ve been wondering exactly what ambrosia is and how we make it, this page is for you.
1. The Honey
Nectar plays an important role in Australian ecosystems. Over 60% of Australia’s floral species produce nectar as a means of attracting pollinators, more than anywhere else in the world. Because rainfall and nutrients are limited, but sunlight is in abundance, it represents the most effective way for plants to ensure reproductive success.
Much of Australia’s vegetation is uniquely adapted to specific conditions, such as a certain soil type or climate, meaning that species are highly specialised and occupy a relatively small range. This makes for high levels of diversity. For example, there are around 900 species of Eucalyptus alone.
Each floral species produces honey that’s intrinsically different from their neighbours, though we’ve noticed common threads such as acidity and palate weight that reflect local conditions. In this, honey is much like other forms of food and drink, which displays particularities of flavour depending on where they’re grown, changes in the season throughout the year and across years. As such, honey represents a taste of the Australian landscape in the contexts of both space and time.
2. The Beekeepers
We work selectively with honeys from migratory beekeepers to understand and reflect the seasons and endemic floral resources. In doing so, we hope to gain and share with you an insight into our unique flora and fauna, the geological and climatic processes that govern them and how environmental management can be optimised for healthy, robust ecosystems.
3. The Ambrosia
Pre-dating wine, ambrosia appears to be the first human-made alcoholic beverage, appearing over 9 000 years ago in China.
We have no written record of what they called this drink though; “ambrosia” is the earliest known name for honey-based alcohol and comes from the Ancient Greeks (Nectar of the Gods), who believed that their honey beverages conferred wisdom and longevity on those who drank them 3000 years ago.
Mead, which first appeared in the English literature as the beverage of choice of Beowulf some 1700 years later, is traditionally made with the addition of beer yeast, whereas our ambrosias are made with yeast that occur naturally in the honeys we work with and the fermenting environment.
Given that the majority of aromatic compounds emitted by honey is the result of low-level biological activity by yeast spores, we feel that is an important aspect of trying to convey a sense of place and time.
4. The Aim
It’s true, we love ambrosia, both making it and drinking it. But what we love even more is healthy ecosystems and sound natural resource management that won’t detract from the quality of life experienced by people now, or generations yet to come.
Beekeepers rely on the optimal functioning of the natural environment to get the best and most abundant honey flows. Their values are in line with conservation and regeneration values, yet their voice is rarely heard in decision-making as their direct contribution to the Australian economy is relatively small.
By value adding honey - via ambrosia, talks and workshops where we teach others to value add to honey through fermenting it - we hope to increase the value of the beekeeping industry, both in perceived and economic terms, in order that it can make more of a contribution to environmental management decisions.
5. Honey Selection
We work carefully to select the most interesting and delicious honeys that we can find. Each one’s intrinsic aroma and flavour characteristics will be determined by factors such as site, floral species and seasonal influences. The quality of the honey, or it’s ability to convey those characteristics are, we believe, determined by four main factors;
1. Bee genetics. Believe it or not, most beekeepers will have a selective breeding program in place for their hives. Typically, they select for temperament, hive hygiene and productivity.
2. Site health. Healthier ecosystems means healthier vegetation, which means more nutritious nectar. Nutrition in nectar (and every type of produce!) is the source of flavour.
3. Floral species. Some things just don’t make very delicious honey, producing honeys high in simple sugars and low in nutrition. Modern canola is an example of this.
4. Extraction practices. There’s a real skill and art to honey extraction. Just the right amount of heat needs to be applied to the boxes to make the honey easy to extract, yet not so much that the honey will be overheated. Cleanliness of equipment can create a lasting impact too.
6. Fermentation
In some ways, the process of fermenting honey is far simpler than grape ferments, yet in other ways it’s far more complex.
Honey and water are mixed, forming the basis for a basic ambrosia. The ratio of honey:water is calculated based on the desired final alcohol level. Botanicals or pre-infusions may be added pre-ferment or at any other stage of the process. Ambrosias without huge amounts of solids from botanicals to help retain heat, so often, their temperature needs to be adjusted either using the environment’s ambient temperature or through heating.
7. Monitoring
Ambrosias need to be monitored on a regular basis, though they are (generally) slower to ferment than wine, so tend to need a little less tending.
As part of this, we will conduct pushdowns if there are flowers or other infusions in them. Regular smelling and tasting is needed too (not the worst part of the job).
For barrel-fermented ambrosias, they will also need to be topped as some water will evaporate.
8. Bottling
When it comes to bottling our ambrosias, they follow a similar process to the wines in that they are gravity racked and bottled by hand. We generally label at this point too - all labels are derived from hand drawn or painted art work by Lou.
Most of our ambrosias are bottled as sparkling beverages in the pet nat style. This means that there is a little bit of residual sugar (from the honey) left in the ferment, which we measure to ensure that it’s at the right level. Over the course of a few weeks or months in bottle, yeast will continue fermenting the last remaining sugars, producing a tiny bit more alcohol and carbon dioxide as a byproduct. The carbon dioxide is trapped, creating a natural spritz.
9. Final Steps
And finally, once the ambrosia has rested in bottle long enough and is deliciously dry, refreshing and spritzy, we get ready to release it to the world.
We pack it onto pallets and send some to distributors. The rest we keep, waiting for you to discover it in our shop.
