From bee to bottle with Hydromel Charlevoix
A multitude of pollinator insects, vital participants in the local ecosystem, gather pollen in the Charlevoix, buzzing from blossom to blossom, collecting the very essence of this land...
From bee to bottle
with Hydromel Charlevoix
A multitude of pollinator insects, vital participants in the local ecosystem, gather pollen in the Charlevoix, buzzing from blossom to blossom, collecting the very essence of this land that is, by turns, agricultural and wilderness. Here, you’ll find them across fallow fields; there, they’re residents of a few beehives kept by a farmer. Each terroir has its own character, its own flavour, imbued by the flora, and modulated by the seasons. A special, valuable nectar, every drop of it treasured, and able to be collected thanks to the work of bees in the thousands, 30,000 to 60,000 per beehive. They’re the real workers. And yet, the apiarist also plays their role, gathering this golden, raw material from the frames, harvesting it by way of centrifugal force, producing honey, or rather, many kinds of honey, derived 100% from the Charlevoix’s terroir.
Bottling terroir,
distilling Charlevoix
The beekeeper’s harvest occurs more than once: spring-summer honey, floral and light, the autumn harvest producing a bolder flavour; and then there’s the buckwheat and blueberry honey… Similar to winemaking, there is some assembly required: playing with characteristics and subtleties to create the sought-after local craft products that have earned Hydromel Charlevoix their reputation: creamy honey or wildflower honey aged in bourbon or saffron-infused barrels. But what first drew Anthony and Alexandre to train as beekeepers was the desire to broaden the range of available alcoholic products from Charlevoix. In their hands, the oldest alcohol in the world is made into a wide range of honey wines and spirits, from “Pet Nat,” to gin. Yes, indeed! Honey gin, prettily called Floraisons, a pseudo-rum too, and schnapps…
Pay a visit,
have a taste
Starting with honey as raw material, using the surrounding fruit and aromatics to make singular products… Sure, all of it’s good, but you have to have a taste! Sharing: a matter of honour in the Hydromel Charlevoix adventure. At 49 rue St-Jean-Baptiste, in the buzzing heart of Baie-Saint-Paul, agrotourism plus Charlevoix (already a proven love story) is fully embraced. Take time out for a visit and a tasting.
