Massachusetts beekeeper and entrepreneur Rick Reault (New England Beekeeping /The Colony) joins Eric for a deep, joyful dive into bees and business—from his first disastrous mead batch to an award-winning traditional made with Japanese knotweed honey and bourbon-barrel aging. Rick demystifies the mead making process (must temps around 60–65°F, 6–8 weeks of ferment, a year of patient aging), then maps how he turned a backyard beekeeping hobby into a diversified honey operation: honey wholesale and retail, classes, apothecary goods, candles, and seasonal pollination. You’ll hear a practical revenue framework (“five ways to make $20k”), the realities of transporting bee packages from Georgia with partner apiaries, and how Northeast nectar flows shape both honey and mead. In our “Invention Mention,” we test a beekeeping smoker starter, the Speed King hot uncapping knife, and a game-changing J-hook hive tool. Rick also offers a candid status report on colony health, early impressions of VarroxSan, and hard-won advice for beginners—plus a tender mentor story that captures why this craft keeps him coming back to the hives, year after year. Video Version: https://youtu.be/kjaMPT8qIYcMann Lake's New Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mannlakeRick's Website: https://thecolonyma.com/Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your first $100 order.https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/[email protected]

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