California: SideTrack Mead debuts in Richmond and beyond

From richmondstandard.com 

A budding Richmond business owner is hoping people “get SideTrack’d” and check out his debut mead offerings.

He may look familiar: Steven Phillips, the onetime taproom manager and current member of the production team at East Brother Beer Co., is launching his own project, SideTrack Mead, out of space rented from his employer. Eventually, he hopes to open his own local taproom, but first people need to check out his mead.

                                                                                                   Photos contributed

SideTrack Mead specializes in producing sessionable meads (~7 percent abv, instead of the standard 10-14 percent). “Mead or honey wine seems scarce on the market and I had been home brewing it for years since there are no commercial examples to pick up,” said Phillips.

The one-time homebrewer enters the market with some serious props; he’s won multiple prestigious awards, including a gold at Mazer Cup International, the largest mead competition.

SideTrack offers two options for purchase—the Hidromiel De Jamaica – Hibiscus mead at 7 percent abv in kegs and cans and the Orange Blossom Traditional – honey only at 7.5 percent abv, which is solely available in kegs for now. Phillips plans to launch more flavors.

The new meadery has landed some retail partners, including the Point Richmond Market and Roma Caffé & Bar in Richmond and Ale Tales in Albany. SideTrack also offers shipping to about 40 states via Vinoshipper on its webstore.

The Richmond business owner said he balances meads at a lower alcohol volume for less conditioning time, which also equated to less fermentable sugars and less honey cost, making the cost a lot lower. Phillips said he also works with a local beekeeper in Galt, Calif. to provide his bulk honey to keep things cheaper without a middleman. SideTrack’s mead runs $18 for a four-pack, which Phillips said is among the lowest priced mead in the market.

Find SideTrack Mead pouring at the Bay Area Craft Beer Festival Saturday, April 26th in Martinez.

Stay updated on SideTrack Mead here or visit @sidetrack_mead on Instagram. Questions? Contact Steven Phillips at sidetrackmead@gmail.com.

https://richmondstandard.com/richmond/2025/03/26/sidetrack-mead-debuts-in-richmond-and-beyond/

Southern Indiana meadery turns honey berries into business

From eu.heraldtimesonline.com

When you have abundant bees and berries on your homestead, your mind might begin to ponder what you can do with such a bounty. That’s when Lost in the Woods Meadery was born.

Mead is a drink made of fermented honey instead of grapes. It can have all sorts of other things added to it for a diversity of flavours, and it is famous for being the first alcoholic drink that humans invented.

“Mead is kind of a forgotten beverage, most commonly associated with fantasy, Vikings, pagans and the old kings of long ago,” says co-founder Aaron Pollitt.

Aaron Pollitt (left) and Jason Rinehart with some of their mead.  

Photo courtesy of Aaron Pollitt

As for the name — Lost in the Woods Meadery — “the land we are based on is in the middle of nowhere,” Aaron says. “Also, we like how it leans into the mystery and fantasy themes that we so enjoy playing in.”

Many of the ingredients for Lost in the Woods Mead are grown at the lovely 24-acre homestead in Gosport where Lost in the Woods is located. The homestead has been in Aaron’s family for almost 60 years.

“My grandparents gave the homestead to my father who gave it to me,” Aaron says. “I was raised here on this beautiful land. I love it and I know every inch of the place.”

Gardening and beekeeping lead to mead making

Aaron Pollitt gathers honey from a beehive.  

Photo courtesy of Aaron Pollitt

As co-founders of Lost in the Woods Meadery, Aaron and Jason Rinehart say the origins for Lost in the Woods began as a sweet little family farm of artists and homesteaders who wanted to start a business.

“I first got into mead making through gardening and beekeeping,” Aaron says. “I love learning how to do things myself and discovered that I could make my own delicious alcohol using the things I was already raising from the land.”

In 2020, Aaron and Jason started getting the facility ready and obtaining permits to start their meadery. “We opened up our meadery and made our first sales in November of 2022,” Aaron says.

Harvesting wild elderberries to make mead.  

Photo courtesy of Aaron Pollitt

“One of our mottos is ‘Making beekeeping and berry picking a fun and profitable business venture through the magic of fermentation,’” he says, adding that the business now has a team of six or so.

“This business brings together so many of our passions like fantasy, artistry and working with the land. I feel like it is really a perfect creative outlet for us.”

Much of the honey, herbs and berries for Lost in the Woods Mead is grown at the homestead. “We love our bees and they give us lots of honey back in exchange for the care we give them,” Aaron says.

“At the moment, we don’t have enough hives to provide for all the mead we make, but there is plenty of our own honey in our mead, and the rest of the honey comes from other local beekeepers.”

Some ingredients sourced from other local farms

The same can be said for herbs and berries, Aaron adds. “We grow or wild harvest some of our own but also source from other local farms.”

As for the spring water used in their brews, Aaron says good water is a very important ingredient. “Unlike wine which is just fermented grape juice, mead is honey that has to be mixed with water in order for it to ferment.”

Water accounts for about 60 percent of the volume of Lost in the Woods Mead, “so we are using the best water we can find,” Aaron says. “Shout out to Sexton Spring Water Company in Springville for providing us with such good water.”

Coming up with new flavours for mead is a fun challenge. “There is so much creativity in experimenting to find just the right combinations, then coming up with a theme and an art piece for the label,” Aaron says.

“One of the new flavours we’ll be coming out with soon is Whole Hive Mead. Over the winter, we will inevitably have some losses of our bee hives. With Whole Hive Mead, we’ll take the entirety of one of these dead hives and add it to a fermentation tank.”

The pollen, the propolis (a resin-like material made by bees from the buds of poplar and cone-bearing trees, used to build hives), the royal jelly, the bee bread (fermented bee pollen suspended in a matrix of honey) and the honey all together make for an amazing deep musky flavour, Aaron says.

Mead bottle labels created by local artists

Local artists create Lost in the Woods Mead labels.  

Photo courtesy of Aaron Pollitt

For the creative mead bottle labels, Aaron says the work is done by different local artists. “It is one of our favourite parts of this business. One of our favourite artists to work with is actually my mother, Joanne Shank. But the real heart of our art is co-founder Jason. He is one of the primary artists as well as the graphic designer for all our labels, and he does an amazing job.”

In addition to making mead, Lost in the Woods also sells honey, beeswax candles and specialty honey chocolates. “We have some really cool merchandise as well, like Viking drinking horns and leather-wrapped potion bottles, but they are not as homemade as our other products,” Aaron says.

Starting a new business, especially in these times, is difficult but rewarding, Aaron says. “Especially one that is starting on a shoestring budget and trying to make a really quality product. The business is doing great though, we doubled in size last year and we expect that year three we’ll really start to find our stride.”

Planning April public gathering

Future plans include hosting a Sun & Moon Earthskills Gathering at the homestead on April 10-13. “At the gatherings, every day is filled with classes about connecting with the land and learning wonderful old skills about how to live in harmony with the earth as a community,” Aaron says.

“Lots of folks who go to these gatherings make mead and in the evening, there would often be something called a Mead Circle. Folks would tell stories about the mead they made, the different herbs and berries in it, who they made it with and what kind of honey was in it.”

Then the mead would be passed around the circle for everyone to try. “It is such a fun activity and it really got me into the culture of mead making,” Aaron says.

Now that Lost in the Woods Meadery is getting established, the mead-making future is exciting, Aaron says. “We’ve got some big dreams and are looking forward to growing in all sorts of wonderful creative ways.”

For more information: Visit www.lostinthewoodsmead.com

Where to buy Lost in the Woods products: Bloomingfoods Co-Op and Goods for Cooks

Upcoming festival: Sun & Moon Earthskills Gathering on April 10-13 at Lost in the Woods, 7260 W. Wampler Road in Gosport. For updated information about the gathering, visit https://www.facebook.com/lostinthewoodsfarmwinery 

https://eu.heraldtimesonline.com/story/lifestyle/features/2025/03/18/how-lost-in-the-woods-meadery-became-a-homegrown-business/82487973007/

Zydeco Meadery makes four meads, and each one tells a story

From bostonglobe.com

Eric Depradine is serious about his mead.

During a thoughtful conversation recently, Depradine weaved together information about his family history, Afro-Latino culture, honey production in Louisiana and Mississippi, and prohibitive licensing laws into the story of how he and his wife, DeAundra, started to make mead.

Their company, Zydeco Meadery, is named for the Zydeco style of music native to rural Louisiana. Eric and DeAundra became interested in mead after their honeymoon to the Puget Sound region of Washington State, where DeAundra fell in love with wines made from Riesling and Gewürztraminer grapes. When he quickly realized those grapes wouldn’t grow in his then-home of Louisiana, Eric got to work trying to coax the same flavors out of his own mead, or honey wine.

“You can’t grow European style grapes in Louisiana because of the climate. It’s too hot and there are some pest issues,” says Depradine. “But then I discovered mead.”

Eric, who has both a chemistry and history background, is honest about his trials and errors with initial batches of mead. Taking viticulture classes made Eric more confident. Eventually, to accommodate full-time jobs in other fields, the Depradines moved their business up to Massachusetts, where Eric grew up.

Zydeco makes four meads, and each one tells a story. Yankee Heritage Cyser is inspired by New England colonial times and made with fermented bittersweet apples and raisins. Bayou Soleil is a co-fermentation of grape juice and wildflower honey and most closely resembles in flavour the wines sampled on the Depradines’s honeymoon.

                                                         Eric Depradine is serious about his mead

I recently opened a bottle of another Zydeco mead, Atlantic Creole, made from knotweed honey collected from the rural areas of Massachusetts. In the glass, the wine smelled floral, but once I sipped a pleasant, nutty honey flavor was most prominent. There was a nice viscosity to the drink also, though not so much as to coat your throat.

The story behind Carnival Rose, a hibiscus mead made with honey and ginger, is the most personal.

“Hibiscus based drinks are really popular among Afro Latinos,” says Depradine. “The Mexican community, especially on the Gulf Coast, and also West Indians and West Africans — because it all came from the Atlantic coast of West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade — people from those regions, from Senegal to Angola, when you had a party, you usually made a red based drink, either out of the cola nut or the hibiscus plant.”

Eric’s grandmother, who lives in a nursing home in Dorchester, would always make a red drink for important occasions, and it stuck with him. Dialing in the recipe, he says, was not easy.

“Oh my goodness, old people don’t believe in measuring anything,” Depradine says with a laugh. “Man, it took me a long, long time and a lot of phone calls to my grandmother.”

Asked why he puts so much time and effort exploring the origin of his meads, Depradine says, “I had some really good teachers at Boston Latin Academy.”

Zydeco Meadery is a family affair, with the Depradines’s teenage son and daughter giving up their Saturdays to help produce the product. Those interested in purchasing any of the Zydeco meads can email Eric directly at info@zydecomeadery.net, or search the product on vinoshipper.com.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/18/lifestyle/zydeco-meadery-meads-bottles-honey-wine/ 

UK: Hive Mind to supply National Trust shops

From beertoday.co.uk 

Hive Mind Mead & Brew Co have announced that they are to supply National Trust shops across the UK with their meads

Hive Mind sparkling meads (3.4% ABV) are a contemporary take on mead, brewed to a low-alcohol strength and using honey from the Wye Valley and surrounding areas. They are designed to be a refreshing alternative to cider, beer, or sparkling wine, using natural ingredients and low intervention brewing methods.

The barrel-aged traditional mead (18% ABV) is made by ageing Hive Mind’s award-winning traditional mead for at least 12 months in former whisky casks, layering the mead with natural vanillins from the oak and undertones of the whisky the barrels used to contain.

Hive Mind makes its mead in a purpose-built meadery in Caldicot, South Wales. It uses honey from its own hives in the Wye Valley, an area renowned for its natural beauty and biodiversity. It also sources British honey from other producers, supporting bee-keepers throughout the UK.

“We’re excited and honoured to supply the National Trust,” said Kit Newell, co-founder of Hive Mind Mead & Brew Co. “It’s a great fit for us, both in terms of our mission to breathe new life into one of the world’s oldest alcoholic drinks, and also our commitment to nature conservation through our honey making and support for bee-keepers.

“The deal with the National Trust gives us distribution across the UK throughout the key spring and summer months, when visitor numbers will be at their highest. We look forward to using this as a platform to showcase the quality, versatility, and sustainability of our delicious drinks.”

https://beertoday.co.uk/2025/03/17/mead-national-trust-0325/

Chef 'blown away' by taste of new yeast spread

From bbc.co.uk

A chef has created the Forest of Dean's answer to Marmite by using leftover yeast from a company which brews mead.

Joe Parke, chef manager at Harts Barn Cookery School in Longhope, teamed up with Matt Newell, who runs Wye Valley Meadery in Caldicot, to produce the recipe.

The product still has no name but Mr Parke said he was "blown away" by the taste and he has plans to refine it.

"For me, it was more of a project to see if it could be done and, now that I know it can be done, we can take it a bit further and develop a final product with a proper name," he said.

"The guys at the meadery do an amazing job using all of their products until this very last one.

"I thought there's a chance that something good can come of it," he said.

To make the spread, Mr Parke put the yeast in the oven at 60 degrees centigrade and left it to reduce for a week.

"It was quite labour intensive and there's a really, really slow Maillard reaction and a really slow caramelisation," he said.

"Then I took it out, blended it with a nice, high-powered blender and it's gone the sort of consistency of dulce de leche - condensed milk caramel.

"We vacuum-packed it and aged it for another week in the dehydrator, just to intensify all the flavours," he explained.

                           Joe Parke developed the spread using waste yeast from the Wye Valley Meadery

'Nice sweetness'

Mr Newell keeps bees to produce his own honey which is fermented to make a 14.5% alcoholic mead.

He said he did not know what to expect before he first tried the product but he said he was pleased the taste of honey came through.

"It's very nice, it's smooth, it's not overly sweet and it's actually got a nice sort of tannin but there's a nice sweetness in there as well; quite dry, savoury but sweet at the same time," he said.

"It's nice to be able to taste a new thing that's come out of what we make with Joe's experience and a bit of application of some technical knowledge."

Image source,Wye Valley Meadery

Image caption,

Matt Newell usually composts the waste yeast from his meadery or throws it down the drain

Mr Parke said he had not yet considered what to do with his creation but he felt it had potential.

"I was blown away by the sweetness and there's quite a few delicate notes in there; there's bitter, there's sweet, there's coffee, there's chocolate," he said.

"Some possible uses for me straight off the bat; coffee cake, chocolate cake, Christmas cake, possibly in a sourdough, either a sweet or a savoury, mixed through a buttercream, or turned into a miso.

"The fact that we were able to make an incredible product out of something that's effectively going to go in the bin - I love that," he added.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd65x8dn82wo

Local mead maker brings Viking tradition to New Braunfels, Texas

From communityimpact.com

From the halls of Valhalla to the heart of New Braunfels, local entrepreneur Isaac Pruna is reviving the ancient Viking tradition of mead through Valkyrie’s Kiss Mead.

The background

Pruna’s interest in craft brewing was sparked after serving 10 years in the Army. He travelled around the world exploring different drinks. However, after realizing that the beer and wine market was failing, he decided to pursue a different path.

“My buddies were making mead at home, and I was just like, ‘What the hell is this?’’’ Pruna said. “I thought it was weird at first, but I became really into it and started brewing [mead] at home."

Pruna said after researching the art of mead, his next step was to introduce it to New Braunfels. For two years, Pruna crafted each beverage until launching the company in 2023. In June 2024, Valkyrie’s Kiss Mead opened a brick-and-mortar location.

                                                      Isaac Pruna is the owner of Valkyrie's Kiss Mead. (Thalia Guzman/Community Impact)

Diving in deeper

Traditional mead is an alcoholic beverage made with honey, yeast and water, Pruna said.

The mead is fermented and aged in-house, then bottled and corked by hand. Pruna said the company produces nearly 6,000 gallons of mead, equating to approximately 27,000 bottles per year.

In efforts to remain local, ingredients are sourced from Youngblood Honey in Pearsall and Holdman Honey in Seguin.

The mead is fermented and aged in-house, then bottled and corked by hand. Mead's origins can be traced back over 20,000 years to the African continent. It was consumed by Vikings, Greeks and other cultures.

Valkyrie’s offers several flavours of mead, such as “Cherry Nice to Mead You.’’ Others include apple, strawberry, blueberry and blackberry. Pruna said he will expand offerings with new flavours like pineapple jalapeno and strawberry hibiscus in the future.

                                                                                          (Thalia Guzman/Community Impact)


What’s in a name?

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is a female warrior who guides a slain warrior from battlefields into Valhalla, which inspired Pruna based on his military background.

“I ultimately went with Valkyrie’s Kiss because I've lost friends, and I've lost some of my buddies [in the military] there too, so it’s a way of honouring them," he said.

Several local bars and restaurants carry Valkyrie’s Kiss, including the recently opened Cowboys and Cadillacs. The mead is also available at local farmers markets. Guests can make reservations for tastings Fridays and Sundays.

• 6500 Hwy. 46 W., New Braunfels TX 78132

https://communityimpact.com/san-antonio/new-braunfels/business/2025/03/06/local-mead-maker-brings-viking-tradition-to-new-braunfels/

Virginia USA: A Meading Of The Minds

From styleweekly.com

By Rachel Kester

Sip on the nectar of the gods at these two RVA meaderies 

It might be one of the world’s oldest alcoholic beverages, but mead (or honey wine) is widely overlooked in a world focused on beer, wine and spirits. Crafted with honey, yeast, water and whatever infusions strike a mead maker’s fancy, this drink marches to its own drum despite often being pushed into the shadows.

In Virginia, there are only about a dozen meaderies—a stark contrast to its over 300 wineries and 200 craft breweries. Richmond is home to two of these meaderies, each with distinct styles but the same mission: To spread an appreciation for the nectar of the gods.

Funktastic Meads & Beer

Tucked in Midlothian’s Alverser Plaza, this suburban meadery has been pouring some of the wildest mead flavours imaginable since opening in 2022. Where else can you order a mug of Sweetish Fish, a play on the popular candy?

“Making mead is very similar to traditional grape wines,” says owner Matt Carroll. “We use honey, water and yeast as a basis for all meads we make and then, us in particular, do crazy stuff to it.” Carroll, who has a chemistry background, infuses batches with everything from fruits and spices to hot peppers and coffee beans.

                                                                                     Funktastic owner Matt Carroll

While traditional mead is available, Funktastic also creates carbonated, pure fruit and cocktail-inspired options. Their flavours hit on nostalgia and are full of intriguing twists. One of their most popular selections is the fizzy F&M Root Beer, an ode to the classic soda.

Funktastic uses about 12,000 pounds of honey yearly—primarily wildflower—but other varieties will sometimes show up, like meadowfoam. This honey naturally tastes like a fresh vanilla-infused marshmallow and is featured in their Marshmallow Eyes.

Carroll is constantly experimenting and has over 200 recipes with 25 meads currently available on tap, although these rotate monthly with about three regularly available.

Black Heath Meadery

Take a drive from the ‘burbs to Scott’s Addition and you’ll find Bill Cavender making mead at Black Heath Meadery.

Black Heath was the first of its kind in the city when it opened in 2015, but Cavender’s passion for the drink slowly ignited about three decades ago after returning home from a semester abroad in England.

“I had really fallen in love with a lot of European beer styles and from there came home making beer and I kind of moved over to honey wine,” he says. Mead making was a hobby for about two decades before it became his primary job.

                                               Black Heath Meadery’s owner, Bill Cavender with office mascot Otis

“[My wife and I] started the RVA Mead Lab and ran that for about a year,” he says. “[The lab] was to explain mead to people and engage people in mead making.” Black Heath Meadery came to fruition soon after.

One of Cavender’s biggest focuses is incorporating local ingredients in his meads, especially fruit. The meadery partners with area farms like Swift Creek Berry Farm and Agriberry for fresh blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. These can be found in batches like the award-winning Berry Goode, Red Razz and Bramble Bee.

                                                 Black Heath’s award-winning Berry Goode, Red Razz and Bramble Bee

As a beekeeper, Cavender produces the majority of his own honey with hives scattered throughout the commonwealth. Over 3,000 pounds of honey from the hives is used toward their mead.

Black Heath currently offers 12 meads on draft with about 18 in to-go bottles, including the popular Demon Sweat, a hibiscus and cinnamon blend.

You can also find Black Heath mead in local restaurants and bars that use their concoctions in cocktails, including Bar Solita, who makes their Velvet Lechance with cabernet franc, Black Heath’s blackberry mead, port wine, Spanish vermouth, mulling spices and orange.

If you’re unable to visit the meadery, Black Heath is often at local events, including the upcoming Richmond Renaissance Faire on March 7.

As this year marks a milestone birthday for the business, starting March 15, Black Heath will throw a 10-year anniversary, 10-week long bash. The kickoff party will feature Thai soul food from pop-up Eat Boi! and they’ll also debut a green mead for their small batch Spectrum series which features fruit meads with no water added.

Plight of the honey bee

While it has been around for centuries, mead is still strange to some, one of the biggest challenges for meaderies. It’s why Funktastic added beer to their menu last April. “[There were] people coming in for beer but once they got here they made their way into mead,” says Carroll.

Because mead is honey-based, the plight of the honey bee is also a concern. The insect faces numerous obstacles due to climate change and toxic chemicals which can affect honey quantities.

Despite this, Cavender feels mead provides the perfect learning opportunity. “People are more aware on a larger scale,” he says regarding the honey bee’s significance. “It’s not just honey but all these wonderful foods bees pollinate. Mead has kind of helped educate people on how important the honey bee is.”

                                                                           The exterior of Black Heath Meadery

Mead is believed to have origins in Africa and has been used over the centuries across societies as an offering, medicine and even a good luck charm.

Unlike traditional wine, mead is more resistant to oxidation and spoilage. Its notes also progressively evolve, something evident in Funktastic’s High Tide, a mixture of black currant and vanilla.

“When it’s fresh, the vanilla is really present and pops,” says Carroll. “But over time, it homogenizes into a black currant flavour.”

While made of sweet honey, mead can be savoury or dry, feature up to 20% ABV or go as low as 7% ABV, be aged in bourbon barrels—there’s really no limit to what can be done.

But perhaps for some, what makes mead so spectacular isn’t just how the drink defies expectations but how it uniquely links the world.

“I feel mead is an important cultural and social connection for people,” says Cavender. “Pretty much every society in the world has consumed [mead] in their history. It serves as a touch point for people to find commonality.”

https://www.styleweekly.com/a-meading-of-the-minds/