Brian Drebber
Beekeeping Start
Pre AZ Hives
"My name is Brian Drebber and I am a NewBee.
In April 2010 after a series of seemingly unrelated events I began.
With two Langstroth 10 frame deep boxes hastily purchased and two packages.
Allow me to tell a story:
The Cast (ever growing)
Kylie (granddaughter), Robin (daughter)
Mason Orr (Marietta GA beekeeper)
Hoyt Rogers (Forsythe County GA beekeeper and woodenware supplier)
BJ Weeks, Weeks Works (commercial beekeeper, instructor, etc.)
"Lord" John Tackett (mentor)
MaryLou Blohm (Gilmer County beekeeper, fellow bee club member)
"Uncle" Don Byess (friend, neighbor)
The short version (Ha! say those who know me) is that Mason (whom I had just met) used the word "bees" in a sentence. We were working together at a motorcycle industry event in Chicago and I replied in conversation about some seemingly abandoned hives near my house discovered on a "nature hike" with then 11 year old Kylie. Following instructions I determined that there was indeed apparent activity in one of them, Mason brought me a funny hat and with a makeshift bee suit and on a sunny March day I helped bundle it up and load it in his hatchback. Sensing my interest he gives me Hoyt's number. I go to see what he's got. Off we go ("why not") to a bee club meeting (coincidentally that evening) where I learned that "there may be a few extra" when packages were to be delivered that Saturday.
"Shazam! "Or whatever one says upon some transformative event. I was a beekeeper. Technically, yes… home for my new girls seemed to be the little white boxes perched near the garden on my property. I had proudly installed them myself getting the brief 411 on how to do so when they were delivered.
Every day was a wondrous adventure. I would sit nearby and just watch, using binoculars to get an even better view from a safe distance. Any hint of a reason to open the hive and do something was good enough -- even if it was wrong. Information overload occurred on a daily basis. Any of you who started, regardless of how it happened for you personally, gets that part.
Despite my near zealous attention and determination to succeed, shortly after the New Year began they were dead. Starved. With honey 2 inches away. Devastation…
The diagnosis was made by BJ, whose mid-winter bee school I was attending at the time. Determined to do better, I was able to purchase three very early packages and queens from John. I met "Lord Tackett" at a Cherokee County bee club meeting. He seemed to be a person who had earned a great deal of respect -- for good reason and I credit John for my being as good a beekeeper as I am. I am thankful (as are others) that he blessed me with the time, knowledge and patience to continue. Perhaps there is someone similar in your beekeeping experience.
So now as our sixth year begins I look back on Year Two when three hives grew to eight. Year Three, when those eight Langstroth hives wintered over and became eighteen! This was starting to get serious I had imagined that 3-5 hives would be all I'd need or want. Kylie has been involved since the beginning and her mom more so recently.
Fifteen hives survived to become as many as 27 during Year Four and along with the growing fascination came the realization that it was a lot of work. Not the time spent so much as the hot, physically demanding brute force labor that was required. And having also acknowledged that I was unlikely to get less feeble as time went by, I began to question what I had gotten myself into."
Brian Drebber
Intro to AZ Hives
"Then as Luck would have it, MaryLou delivered the solution to fundamental part of my dilemma: an AZ hive, named for the initials of its creator. Her pleasure trip to Slovenia sprinkled with a pinch of Serendipity and the first example I'd ever seen or heard about was sitting on a table at the Cherokee County club's annual Holiday dinner. One look and I saw the recipe for my future as a beekeeper.
"I can build that."
As a fairly capable hobby woodworker it seemed simple enough. Determined to give it a go, metal parts were sourced, I enlisted Uncle Don's help and together we set out to build one for ourselves. In the Spring of 2014 I transferred a colony of bees into that first hive and set out to make a few more, refining the process and experimenting with materials readily available from retail building suppliers.
We continued to build a total of (I believe) fifteen "authentic" Slovenian hives by the following winter -- inspired by that one original. We maintained the basic dimensions but made adjustments for the difference in lumber here versus metric Europe. We made patterns, re-did them and refined our crude production techniques, sourced materials from different suppliers and generally continued to evolve the process. Meanwhile between MaryLou and myself several hives were being populated during 2014.
I operated five, putting in small, potentially "sacrificial" colonies such as small swarms or splits -- not wanting to risk strong ones on an experiment. Problems came up and attempts to solve them were made by instinct. They sat mingled among my Langstroth hives on the same racks -- with a sheet of tin held down by rocks for a roof.
MaryLou made a second trip Slovenia and brought back more information which proved helpful. I began to envision and then construct my bee house. There were still many more questions than answers about what goes into the design of such a thing, but I set out to do my best interpretation.
We had little or no knowledge of what we were doing besides winging it. I prepared to winter four AZ hives (combined two) and seventeen Langstroth hives -- fingers crossed. All four AZ hives, installed in my bee house as soon as there was a roof on it in late November made it to Spring. I'm proud to say that all four of those original families are still buzzing along. Five Langstroth colonies survived -- out of seventeen. That's not scientific, just fact."
"I can build that."
As a fairly capable hobby woodworker it seemed simple enough. Determined to give it a go, metal parts were sourced, I enlisted Uncle Don's help and together we set out to build one for ourselves. In the Spring of 2014 I transferred a colony of bees into that first hive and set out to make a few more, refining the process and experimenting with materials readily available from retail building suppliers.
We continued to build a total of (I believe) fifteen "authentic" Slovenian hives by the following winter -- inspired by that one original. We maintained the basic dimensions but made adjustments for the difference in lumber here versus metric Europe. We made patterns, re-did them and refined our crude production techniques, sourced materials from different suppliers and generally continued to evolve the process. Meanwhile between MaryLou and myself several hives were being populated during 2014.
I operated five, putting in small, potentially "sacrificial" colonies such as small swarms or splits -- not wanting to risk strong ones on an experiment. Problems came up and attempts to solve them were made by instinct. They sat mingled among my Langstroth hives on the same racks -- with a sheet of tin held down by rocks for a roof.
MaryLou made a second trip Slovenia and brought back more information which proved helpful. I began to envision and then construct my bee house. There were still many more questions than answers about what goes into the design of such a thing, but I set out to do my best interpretation.
We had little or no knowledge of what we were doing besides winging it. I prepared to winter four AZ hives (combined two) and seventeen Langstroth hives -- fingers crossed. All four AZ hives, installed in my bee house as soon as there was a roof on it in late November made it to Spring. I'm proud to say that all four of those original families are still buzzing along. Five Langstroth colonies survived -- out of seventeen. That's not scientific, just fact."
Brian Drebber
Modifying the AZ Hive
"There had already been some concern over how to solve a fundamental problem with the AZ hive: the difference in frame dimension. Foundation -- plastic, wax whatever -- doesn't fit; an annoying problem that required a some thought. Quite early in the process I began to consider the idea that the AZ hive should be reconfigured to allow the use of commonly available (in the US) foundation. There was no ready source for AZ size foundation. A fellow from one of the major bee supply houses seemed to recall a box of "that odd size that may be sitting around here somewhere." One box… hmmm…
A new extractor was also in the plan -- one that would accept large frames. My current one would only fit six medium or shallow supers. I heard about one for sale and with AZ frames in hand and money in wallet I went to look. It was just the thing -- Dadant belt drive 12 frame, price was right. Perfect… almost.
In each of the three segments of the basket would fit four Langstroth deep frames. In each of the three segments of the basket would fit one AZ frame. The extra height of each frame made them hit in the center at the axle of the radial basket. Home I went -- to look into the matter. It seems that there are two "families" of extractors produced: one for the Langstroth markets of the world; the other for AZ users in Europe.
The solution to both problems lay in what I now call the 'modified' or "Drebbieville" AZ hive. Kicking myself for not having gone down that fork in the road earlier, we began to engineer the necessary changes and have since produced a prototype batch of 22. Ten of them are two-chamber models resembling the original; twelve are larger three-chamber ones. Even in Slovenia the larger-volume hives are seemingly the way to go.
We have now enlisted the help of a commercial cabinet shop who are manufacturing the so called "Drebbieville Hive" for sale to the public. We're getting ready to begin the next chapter in this story.
Drebbieville is an actual place but you'll not find it by name on any map… yet."
A new extractor was also in the plan -- one that would accept large frames. My current one would only fit six medium or shallow supers. I heard about one for sale and with AZ frames in hand and money in wallet I went to look. It was just the thing -- Dadant belt drive 12 frame, price was right. Perfect… almost.
In each of the three segments of the basket would fit four Langstroth deep frames. In each of the three segments of the basket would fit one AZ frame. The extra height of each frame made them hit in the center at the axle of the radial basket. Home I went -- to look into the matter. It seems that there are two "families" of extractors produced: one for the Langstroth markets of the world; the other for AZ users in Europe.
The solution to both problems lay in what I now call the 'modified' or "Drebbieville" AZ hive. Kicking myself for not having gone down that fork in the road earlier, we began to engineer the necessary changes and have since produced a prototype batch of 22. Ten of them are two-chamber models resembling the original; twelve are larger three-chamber ones. Even in Slovenia the larger-volume hives are seemingly the way to go.
We have now enlisted the help of a commercial cabinet shop who are manufacturing the so called "Drebbieville Hive" for sale to the public. We're getting ready to begin the next chapter in this story.
Drebbieville is an actual place but you'll not find it by name on any map… yet."
Brian Drebber
Manufacturing The Original Drebbieville Hive
"As we set out in the new year 2017 it is time to update the story and introduce a few new characters.
Earlier in 2016 we had decided to get some real professionals involved in manufacturing our “Original American Bee Cabinet” so that we could share the experience with others in a meaningful way. It was just more work than any couple of us wanted to undertake.
By another stroke of luck, I was given the name of a man who ran a big custom automated facility in nearby Dawsonville. After several calls and messages left, Mike of Artisan Millworks phoned back. I introduced myself, gave him the 411, and asked if he was interested.
“My partner is a beekeeper. Why don’t you come over and let’s talk.”
Harps played. Angels sang.
Mike and “King” Art met with with us and agreed to take on the project immediately. Our online store — TheBeeShop.com was created — with the idea that a range of products would be offered to complement the Drebbieville Hive.
“We had been looking for a ‘production piece’ to help fill in the lulls between custom and commercial jobs. This came along and seemed a perfect fit. It’s going to be an adventure and we’re in it for the duration.”
Measurements were taken from the latest handmade Drebbieville bee cabinets. These were translated into computer drawings which became a program fed to the CNC router that cuts out parts. We experimented with different materials, made hardware and design changes, tested them here in our bee house, and sprinkled a few early prototype examples among others to do the same.
After a seemingly short season and satisfied that the basic design was performing well, we began production and made an endless list of tasks involved in getting our creation to market. The official introduction would be at the North American Beekeeping Conference trade show January 10-14 2017. Booth space was rented, reservations made, and deadlines put in place.
Kylie took up designing the booth and managing a contest for local artist to submit drawings for painting the hives to be displayed. Winners were selected and the one-piece hive fronts were delivered to the artists along with a budget for materials. The results were more varied and imaginative than we had expected.
Kylie also designed a tri-fold brochure to hand out, and edited our various videos into one continuous loop. She put together a slide show of images from the beginning of our beekeeping experience to present, adding music. We framed some pictures to hang in our display area and selected accessory items to hang in our simulated bee house at the show.
Construction on the display booth began during the last week in December and was completed just in time to load everything in the truck and head to Galveston. Ads had been placed in American Bee Journal and Bee Culture magazines to coincide with the start of the show and to reinforce our presence there for the winter equipment buying season.
The adventure continues…"
Earlier in 2016 we had decided to get some real professionals involved in manufacturing our “Original American Bee Cabinet” so that we could share the experience with others in a meaningful way. It was just more work than any couple of us wanted to undertake.
By another stroke of luck, I was given the name of a man who ran a big custom automated facility in nearby Dawsonville. After several calls and messages left, Mike of Artisan Millworks phoned back. I introduced myself, gave him the 411, and asked if he was interested.
“My partner is a beekeeper. Why don’t you come over and let’s talk.”
Harps played. Angels sang.
Mike and “King” Art met with with us and agreed to take on the project immediately. Our online store — TheBeeShop.com was created — with the idea that a range of products would be offered to complement the Drebbieville Hive.
“We had been looking for a ‘production piece’ to help fill in the lulls between custom and commercial jobs. This came along and seemed a perfect fit. It’s going to be an adventure and we’re in it for the duration.”
Measurements were taken from the latest handmade Drebbieville bee cabinets. These were translated into computer drawings which became a program fed to the CNC router that cuts out parts. We experimented with different materials, made hardware and design changes, tested them here in our bee house, and sprinkled a few early prototype examples among others to do the same.
After a seemingly short season and satisfied that the basic design was performing well, we began production and made an endless list of tasks involved in getting our creation to market. The official introduction would be at the North American Beekeeping Conference trade show January 10-14 2017. Booth space was rented, reservations made, and deadlines put in place.
Kylie took up designing the booth and managing a contest for local artist to submit drawings for painting the hives to be displayed. Winners were selected and the one-piece hive fronts were delivered to the artists along with a budget for materials. The results were more varied and imaginative than we had expected.
Kylie also designed a tri-fold brochure to hand out, and edited our various videos into one continuous loop. She put together a slide show of images from the beginning of our beekeeping experience to present, adding music. We framed some pictures to hang in our display area and selected accessory items to hang in our simulated bee house at the show.
Construction on the display booth began during the last week in December and was completed just in time to load everything in the truck and head to Galveston. Ads had been placed in American Bee Journal and Bee Culture magazines to coincide with the start of the show and to reinforce our presence there for the winter equipment buying season.
The adventure continues…"
Kylie von Drebber
Coop Dreams
Filling in for my Grandpa Brian, to continue the story.
We were approached in late 2017 by Brad from Coop Dreams, who informed us that one of our customers Otis Baker had recommended us for the show.
Coop Dreams is a TV show on Destination America about Brad and his family's "homesteading" journey.
Each season will generally focus on a different addition to the homestead, season 4 would be bees.
We were excited agreed to do the show, my Grandpa Brian would be Brad's bee mentor on season 4 of his show, which by the time I've written and published this- is available for your viewing in it's entirety.
Along with filming the show, we also participated in Coop Camp, where I taught a work shop on making homemade beeswax lip balm.
We were approached in late 2017 by Brad from Coop Dreams, who informed us that one of our customers Otis Baker had recommended us for the show.
Coop Dreams is a TV show on Destination America about Brad and his family's "homesteading" journey.
Each season will generally focus on a different addition to the homestead, season 4 would be bees.
We were excited agreed to do the show, my Grandpa Brian would be Brad's bee mentor on season 4 of his show, which by the time I've written and published this- is available for your viewing in it's entirety.
Along with filming the show, we also participated in Coop Camp, where I taught a work shop on making homemade beeswax lip balm.
Kylie von Drebber
The Passing Of Brian Drebber
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On August 23rd 2018 at about 5 am
my Grandpa Brian passed away in a deer/motorcycle accident, on his way to the air port for a race he was announcing in Pittsburgh. He was 68 years old, engaged to his lovely Mara Yetter, survived by myself, my Mother Robin Drebber, and his sister Donna. (Memorial service shown to the left of this text) I now for work at TheBeeshop.com full time continuing my Grandfather's vision. His bee house is being rebuilt at our facilities in Dawsonville Georgia, including a wheelchair ramp, so that we can continue to share, show, educate, and work with our visitors. we've begun setting up distributors across the country, and are preparing for a fruitful 2019. This is far from the end. |