The Sweet Life: Two Bears Honey Farm

“Bees are very curious creatures,” says Kent Allison, who, along with partner Scott Tyler, operates the Lafayette Heights–based apiary Two Bears Honey Farm on the southwest side of Indy. Tyler and his two kids, Aidan and Mae, kept bees as a hobby each fall, eventually luring Allison into their pastime (and getting him over his fear of being stung). The couple decided to make their small operation official in 2014 and hope to grow from one 70,000-bee hive to 10 hives and nearly 1 million bees this year. “The bees, or the ‘girls,’ as we like to refer to them, have become part of our family,” Allison says. “We always reference them as our thousands of little workers.”

Tyler and Allison package their organic honey in embossed reproductions of historic glass Muth jars (the first of their kind specifically produced to hold honey in the 19th century), burning their bear-paw logo into each cork closure. The honey is slightly heated for processing, but unpasteurized in order to preserve its natural enzymes and health benefits. The duo also make aromatic all-natural honey and lemon-sugar body scrubs. Two Bears Honey is available in 1-pound ($11), 8-ounce ($7), and 4-ounce ($4) jars—along with the sugar scrubs—at City Market, Toolbox Men’s Supply Company in Broad Ripple, and local farmers markets. How sweet it is. 2832 Westbrook Ave., 812-605-0403, twobearshoney.com