Very runny honey

I have a friend who has just started keeping bees and has given me a jar of honey from their first batch. It is not much thicker than water, is this normal?

Well, there are some honeys which are thinnish, notably thistle honey, but in my experience they are very rare in Ireland. The most likely explanation is: the honey is not ripe. When bees bring nectar into the hive it is very watery. The bees have to condense and ripen it to turn it into honey, after which they seal it over with wax. As your friend is a beginner, I'm guessing he or she took the honey out of the hive before the bees had time to process it. What you have is unripe honey which will not keep - it will ferment.

Thank you Sean, it will be pointless me trying to tell them as they always know best but at least it explains it as I didn't think it was right.

You could try warming it at temp below 160 f. As a test to see if uncapped honey is ripe (oilseed rape) we would hold it horizontally above a sheet of news paper. If any drips are found on the paper then it is not ready.