Alberta, Canada: Why You Need Mead

From edifyedmonton.com

Your next big pour is 7,000 years old. But a local meadery is bringing a modern twist to the ancient sip

We’re familiar with fermented grapes in wine, but what about fermented honey? Few people realize that this drink exists, let alone that our province thrives in its production of high-quality honey.

Mead, known in ancient times as golden nectar, was a drink deemed worthy of gods and kings. Interesting fact: this drink predates beer and wine. Pottery containers dating to 7000 B.C.E in China show evidence of the fermentation of honey-based alcoholic beverages, a similar process to what we use now.

Fermentation is nature’s culinary wizardry, a perfect combination of science and art. The technicalities behind it are not lost on Curtis Foreman, who studied molecular biology. It was that and his father’s winemaking background that inspired him to own a meadery.

The Grey Owl Meadery was established in 2015 by the Schwengler family before Foreman and his family took over in 2023. The business remains a family affair through and through.

                                                                                                        courtesy Grey Owl Meadery

Even though mead was once held in high regard, its production declined in the 1600s as honey became more expensive to make. But within the past decade, it has made a comeback (we can probably thank Game of Thrones for that). And meaderies like Foreman’s are helping bring it to everyone’s table. “I want people to know that this drink is not just for the shelf,” Foreman says.

Though it’s crafted from honey, do not assume this drink is strictly for those with a sweet tooth. There is a mead for every palate, and Foreman cannot reiterate this enough.

Grey Owl has experimented with modern recipes, offering sparkling, cysers (a combination of mead and apple cider) and fortified meads. But the meadery’s still wines are the most popular, especially the Cranberry Orange — a cranberry, clover and wildflower honey mix, infused with Turkish oranges. If you are not sure what flavour is right for you, visit the meadery near Buck Lake, about two hours’ drive southwest of Edmonton, for a free tasting.

From taking in the view of the foothills and mountains to savouring the substantial charcuterie board, Grey Owl’s Tasting Room offers more than drinks. “We want the atmosphere to feel like a nice winery in Tuscany,” Foreman says. If mead is not your thing, bring someone who would partake in every sip and you can relax with a gourmet coffee — the scenery itself will make the experience worth it.

                                                                           courtesy Grey Owl Meadery

Grey Owl mead is also available at liquor stores across Alberta.

Grey Owl Meadery
452036 Hwy 22, Alder Flats, AB | 403.890.9834 | greyowlmeadery.com

https://edifyedmonton.com/food/drinks/why-you-need-mead/

UK: New Low-Alcohol Meads

From thecaterer.com

Lyme Bay Winery  has introduced two low-alcohol (3.5% abv) sparkling meads. Lyme Bay’s Traditional Mead is made from a blend of honey and water fermented with yeast to create a smooth mead base. Raspberry Lemonade Sparkling Mead balances sweet-tart raspberries with citrus notes and honey, while Strawberry & Elderflower Sparkling Mead combines strawberry juice with elderflowers.

 

Price 330ml can, £2.57

https://www.thecaterer.com/all-content/indian-craft-beer-nootropics-in-a-can-and-sparkling-fruit-mead-the-best-new-low-and-no-alcohol-drinks 

Ulster Mead toasts to SuperValu deal

From donegaldaily.com

Donegal mead maker Jakub Blaszczok is raising a glass to joining SuperValu's Food Academy programme

The Convoy-produced Ulster Mead will be on selected SuperValu shelves nationwide for a year.

Alongside the opportunity to win over new tipplers across the island, Jakub also secured a place on Ireland’s only accredited producer development programme at TU Dublin, studying for a Certificate in Food Entrepreneurship. 

Founded by Polish natives Jakub Blaszczok and Tomasz Rotuski, Ulster Mead Co. launched in 2021 with Ireland's first herbal wines, and the first wines of this kind to be made in Donegal.

The mead and botanical drinks business has grown steadily since then, moving from early test batches to a fully operating meadery at the former Convoy Woollen Mills building where all production now takes place.

The range now includes traditional mead (honey wine) and coffee-infused mead, both crafted by hand in small batches using careful fermentation and minimal intervention.

                                                      Jakub Blaszczok - Founder of Ulster Mead

King of the North Mead has become the flagship product and was recently a finalist at Blas na hÉireann 2025. Meadnight Drakkar remains Ireland’s first and only coffee mead, made using freshly roasted beans from New Kid Coffee in Donegal.

Jakub said: "Ulster Mead Co. is still a young business, but it is already contributing locally by collaborating with Chefs, restaurants, cafés, and shops, and by supporting community events whenever possible. Being part of the Food Coast Donegal network and working closely with other local producers has further strengthened our presence in the region.

"SuperValu Food Academy has been a major support for our business. It provided structure, guidance, and clear direction on how to grow in a sustainable way. Through the programme, we strengthened our branding, gained a better understanding of retail requirements, refined our costings, and prepared for expansion into additional stores. We also built valuable connections and received the support needed to bring Ulster Mead Co. to a wider audience."

https://www.donegaldaily.com/business/ulster-mead-toasts-to-supervalu-deal-633068

'We're both pretty excited': Vancouver meadery opens new tasting room

From vancouverisawesome.com

'It's been a long time for us to find a place that worked.' 

The guys behind Humblebee are eager to welcome folks to their new place.

"We're both pretty excited. I feel like it's been a long time for us to find a place that worked," says Pierre Vacheresse, who co-founded Humblebee with Jeff Gillham.

The new Humblebee space has experience as a tasting room. They're moving into 1830 Powell St. That was the home of Slow Hand Beer Company before they moved to Threefold just a couple of blocks away.

Slow Hand has actually "been super helpful" getting Humblebee set up in their new space, Vacheresse says.

The new tasting room will take advantage of the wood panelling of the space to create a cosy vibe, he adds, with the goal of making a space that feels like a familiar, friendly basement to hang out in.

"We're super excited to bring in something we're proud of and really captures what we want to put out there," says Vacheresse.

He notes the space is ideal for drinks at the end of the work week or for the weekend, with flights and glasses on the menu.

                                                          Vancouver's new mead tasting room is at 1830 Powell St.Nick Laba/V.I.A.

It's mead but brewed more like beer, founders say

On tap will be Humblebee's meads (which are brewed as braggots), like The Bee's Knees or Monkberry Moon Delight. They're bringing back one of their signature brews right now, too. Champion of the Sun, which includes orange and saffron, is coming, but only temporarily due to the war in Iran.

"This will probably be the last batch of it for a little while," Vacheresse says. "The price of saffron has skyrocketed."

Slow Hand beer is also on tap. Snacks are available, and a food program will follow later this spring or summer.

The tasting room will also operate as a retail location for anyone seeking cans of Humblebee.

Humblebee's mead is brewed as a braggot, which isn't like the typical honey wines people might think of.

"What Jeff and I decided to do is brew it more like a beer," says Vacheresse.

They keep the alcohol levels low (five per cent), use ale yeast, and integrate a gluten-free beer (all their drinks are gluten-free). 

The grand opening for Humblebee is April 30 at 4 p.m. The tasting room is located at 1830 Powell St. near Victoria Drive.

It's open Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 10 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 to 10 p.m.

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/food-and-drink/vancouver-mead-open-new-tasting-room-12219702

Whidbey, Washington: Meadery celebrates Gaelic event

From southwhidbeyrecord.com

Whidbey’s own meadery is hosting Beltane, a Gaelic May Day festival this Saturday.

The free, family-friendly event at Hierophant Meadery, located on Double Bluff Road in Freeland, runs 2-8 p.m. on May 2, according to the business.

The event will feature live music, including performances from Mutiny Bay Brass Band and the Whidbey Island School of Music and Dance. There will also be a mobile sauna, an auction, yard games and food from Wood Fired Pizzas and Whidbey Pies.

In addition, there will be May Pole Dancing, with a pole on lend from Whidbey Waldorf School.

Hierophant Meadery

Of course, mead made from “ancient brewing techniques for the modern palate” will able be available, according to the website.

Beltane is a Gaelic May Day festival that marks the beginning of summer, fertility and the full transition into the light half of the year. It started in Ireland and Scotland to celebrate open pasturing, according the Brittanica.

https://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/2026/04/28/meadery-celebrates-gaelic-event/

Study Finds Gen Z Drinking Fewer Flagons Of Mead Than Medieval Generations (Satire)

From theonion.com

ST. LOUIS—Revealing a drastic decline in regular honey-wine consumption among youths, a new study published by researchers at Saint Louis University found that Generation Z drinks far fewer flagons of mead than medieval generations did. “We observed that, as opposed to their predecessors, young adults today seldom venture out to their local mead hall and socialize with tavern wenches,” said lead researcher Michael Kempe, noting that the study’s conclusions also align with a recent downswing in attendance at jousting matches. “Over the years there has been, for some reason, a noticeable reduction in quaffing a goat’s horn overflowing with mead after vanquishing a beast. Perhaps with marijuana use and vaping on the rise, it’s natural to see the market for crude, sickly sweet fermented beverages shrink. In addition, Gen Z seems to be more frugal when it comes to indulgences like tossing a coin to a lyre player to regale one’s fellow bannermen with a jaunty ballad.” Kempe added that due to the increased dominance of the internet, there was also a steady downtick in youths passing down long poems through oral tradition.

https://theonion.com/study-finds-gen-z-drinking-fewer-flagons-of-mead-than-medieval-generations/ 

New Jersey USA: Somerset County's first meadery now open in downtown Somerville

From eu.mycentraljersey.com

Most people’s only taste of mead – one of mankind's first alcoholic drinks – has been out of a drinking horn at a Renaissance fair while adorned in peasant garb.

But Middlemist, which just became one of just four meaderies in New Jersey and the first in Somerset County, is showing that what’s old is new again.

The meadery is now open at 30 E Main St. in Somerville, which was shuttered since the closure of Arusuvai Indian Restaurant. Hours are 2-11 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, noon to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays.

Its flagship offering is mead, a fermented, naturally gluten-free alcoholic beverage made with honey that ancient Greeks called “nectar of the gods.”

“Thousands of years ago people accidentally made the first mead when some rainwater got into harvested honey that fermented and it’s been a long tradition ever since,” said co-owner Ryan Guasp. “We also like to think of it as a new beverage because it’s been out of style for so long. We want to reintroduce mead to the public through lots of different flavours of mead that we have developed ourselves.”

Mead has fallen by the wayside in favour of alcoholic beverages that are cheaper to produce, like wine and beer, as honey is relatively expensive. But Guasp, as well as Middlemist co-owners Ilija Melentijevic and Caleb Ahles, believe people will be interested in the novelty of the new-to-the-public drink sometimes referred to as honey wine.

Middlemist offers meads made with honey from Stiles Apiary, a honey farm in the Fords section of Woodbridge.

The meads include various types of honey, fruits, hops, herbs, teas and spices to make them reminiscent of wine, beer or a drink in a class of its own, with ABVs from 4.5% to 17% and tasting notes ranging from sweet to dry.

           The meadery is now open at 30 E Main St. in Somerville, which was shuttered since the closure of Arusuvai Indian Restaurant

None of the meads served in Middlemist's tasting room contain sulfites, which are preservatives used in food and drinks that people sometimes blame for hangover headaches.

“Our meads are going as far as from the tanks in the back to the tanks and kegs in the front,” said Guasp.

Middlemist is also exploring options to keep sulfites out of to-go bottles of mead, which will be offered in several months, followed by bar distribution. The meadery is currently only selling its mead for onsite consumption.

Middlemist will offer house-brewed honey sodas, juices, teas and coffee in the future, filling the space for today’s desire for non-alcoholic options, as U.S. alcohol drinking levels are at an all-time low.

“Part of what we are envisioning here is not just a place where you can taste mead but also a community gathering spot where you can drink non-alcoholic options and just hang out,” said Melentijevic. “There are a lot of people looking for happy hour locations but if a few team members don’t drink, they’re left out. We wanted to make it inclusive so we can host anyone.”

The 115-seat, 6,500 square foot space is inspired by European-style bars and cafes as well as the solarpunk movement, which involves handmade items and achieving harmony between manmade structures and nature, said Guasp.

The tasting room includes 400 plants sourced and cared for by a neighbouring East Main Street business, Spotted Leaf Plant Company, intermingled with wooden furniture crafted by Melentijevic and steel mead tanks.

“It’s emblematic of mead because you take this wonderful natural product – honey – and combine it with high technology,” said Guasp. “We are trying to merge that ethos of nature and futurism with a very pleasant welcoming space where people can just relax.”

                                                                                                                                      Provided by Middlemist

The idea for the meadery was planted after the trio met at Rutgers University and began homebrewing with Melentijevic and Guasp’s expertise in microbiology, in which they both earned PhDs in at the university.

During the pandemic, that homebrewing morphed into making mead, which “was the best thing we’ve ever made,” said Melentijevic.

As they racked up mead awards, they realized that they – and their friends – liked their mead better than what was on the market.

They later decided to open their own meadery in Somerville, which became a conundrum that even the scientists struggled to solve as bureaucratic obstacles and New Jersey’s infamous arcane liquor laws stood in their way. They had hoped to have their meadery open nearly a year ago.

Each U.S. state has an average of 10-11 meaderies, while New Jersey only has four – Beach Bee Meadery in Long Branch, Armageddon Brewing in Somerdale, Rag and Bone Meadery in South Harrison, and Beetopia Meadery in Cherry Hill. New Jersey created a specific mead and cider license in 2017 – less than a decade ago.

“We haven’t had an easy time and there have been a lot of shifting goal posts to this day,” said Guasp. “But the community has been very welcoming and people are excited to have us.”

Go: 30 E Main St., Somerville; middlemistmead.com.

 https://eu.mycentraljersey.com/story/entertainment/dining/2026/04/20/somerset-countys-first-meadery-now-open-in-downtown-somerville/89425964007/