Built in 1911, The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort is loved by guests for its historic features. Yet, there are also modern amenities like a brand-new indoor pool and hot tub, plus room upgrades coming soon. And that's not all that's abuzz here!

Skip Detrick, the beekeeper at Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, brings PTN’s Brianna Strunk along to check on his hives.

“This one is full of honey, absolutely full of honey,” he told her.

Eight thriving hives, with up to 60,000 bees in each colony, make up the resort's apiary.

“I love the relaxation of working with the bees. When I’m in the hive, I don't have to think about anything else. That’s the fun part,” Skip said.

Skip is a beekeeper and brewer. He uses the honey to make Apiarius, an English-style ale available on-site at ShawneeCraft Brewing Company, a stop on the Pocono Beverage Trail. You can also take Apiarius to go, or purchase the honey raw.

“I’m partially retired so I do this part-time, about three days a week, in the brewery. My son, Ian, is the head brewer and I’m the assistant brewer. It's just the two of us in the brewery itself making the beer,” Skip explained.

Next to the apiary, a spacious garden produces peppers, potatoes, corn, watermelon, pumpkins, lettuce, onions, asparagus, and all kinds of crops that change with the season. Picked and plated within hours, harvests are used in dishes at Shawnee’s three restaurants, including for the made-from-scratch, wood fired pizzas at ShawneeCraft.

“One that sells out all the time, we call it the Island Farm pizza, is kind of like a deconstructed ratatouille with summer squash, heirloom tomatoes, and fresh herbs. I never thought we'd sell out of a squash pizza on a nightly basis, but we do, and everyone loves it,” smiled Rob Kiesling, head chef and Taproom manager.

Head chef Rob Kiesling says the garden allows him to get creative with the menu and offer unique events like farm-to-table dinners open to the public.

He added, “and the clientele love it, knowing everything just came off the garden. It gives us a chance to play with things and it's all fresh, all organic, and tastes totally different.”

The apiary and garden are located on Golf Island, now open for year-round golfing thanks to a permanent bridge recently installed over the Delaware River.

“And my bees fly right down to the river, where there's always a water source no matter what. It also helps the garden a lot because we pull water from the river to water the garden,” Skip explained.

For Skip, whose been beekeeping for over a decade, the special ingredient in his brews is a love for the bees and this land. “I feel very fortunate that I get to do this and be out on this island every day, which is really nice,” he smiled.