Michael Mahar

Michael Mahar Profile Photo

The Everything @ 21st BEE Guy

My name is Michael Mahar and I'm the creator, patent holder, and manufacturer of the Infinity Frame by "21st BEE". I'm a 14-year hobby beekeeper who is currently running 25 hives in my backyard apiary. I run Russian bees that I selected for my treatment free system of beekeeping. I produce my own queens and open mate them all. I went to school for zoology and evolutionary biology and look at bees through those glasses.

My families manufacturing business, Mahar Mfg., is located in Van Buren, Arkansas where we have been in business since 1988 making school furniture and pet training beds. I'm 2nd generation manufacturing and have incorporated my love of beekeeping into a separate product line named "21st BEE". We injection mold my own patented style of beekeeping frame that solves a lot of the issues I have always had with other plastic frames, and frames in general. We make everything from start to finish in our building, and I'm working out in the plant on a daily basis... unless I'm traveling to bee conferences to show our products.

Besides manufacturing frames, I also produce my own raw honey that I sell at conferences and such, and I have developed my own way of bourbon aging honey that I offer as well. This year I will be branching out into offering other flavors besides bourbon such as an aged rum, hot, and smoked honey. How much is made and when it is ready just depends on the bees, the nectar flows, and my taste buds.

396
Aug. 3, 2026

Michael Mahar: Rethinking Frames, Varroa, and Bourbon Honey (396)

Michael Mahar of 21st Bee joins Jeff and Becky for a wide-ranging conversation about designing durable plastic bee frames, communication passages in comb, small-cell bees, drone brood, genetics, and his unconventional treatment-free approach to Varroa management. Then Michael explains his elaborate process for creating bourbon-infused honey using bourbon-soaked oak, different toast and char levels, temperature cycling, and months of careful tasting and adjustment.
Guest: Michael Mahar