Mead has made it into downtown Irwin, thanks to the Laurel Highlands Meadery's new tasting room for its version of the honey-based wine with a history that goes back thousands of years.
Matt and Mandy Falenski, who make the mead in a converted barn on their Sewickley Township property near Herminie, opened the tasting room in a building on Fourth Street. The small meadery with a few tables and a bar offers glasses of its honey wine for $6 and bottles for $17 and $18.
Falenski, 45, said he began making mead in 2007 after dabbling in home beer brewing for about 20 years.
“I won some competitions and got some encouragement to go forward,” said Falenski, who is a network administrator for a North Huntingdon company.
He makes his mead with honey, filtered water and yeast, then allows it to ferment for up to a year in stainless steel brewing tanks, ranging in size from 60 to 200 gallons, or oak barrels, which adds a different flavor.
“We've been slowly ramping up” production, Falenski said.
The Falenskis are becoming more commercial at a time when meaderies are growing in popularity. In the past three years, the number of meaderies in the United States has grown from 40 to 300, according to the Ale Street News, a trade publication based in Maywood, N.J.
“It's an extension of how craft brewing has become more popular,” said Tony Forder, publisher and editor of Ale Street News. “Mead is the most ancient of fermented beverages, and it is being rediscovered.”
Mandy Falenski said they looked at other communities, but found Irwin the ideal location for their business, which was incorporated in 2010.
“They have so many events that bring people into town,” she said.
The couple had a “soft opening” on Feb. 11. Jackie Zoglmann of Pleasant Hills — who said she prefers a dry wine — attended and was pleasantly surprised.
“I didn't think I would like it. It was sweet, but not too sweet,” Zoglmann said. “I liked it a lot.”
Laurel Highlands offers several varieties of mead: Traditional honey-based; bochet, which is made by roasting honey over a fire to produce a marshmallow and caramel flavor; one with the bitter taste of hops added; and another made with maple syrup from Western Pennsylvania.
The couple's products are available at All Saints Brewing Co. in Hempfield, Four Seasons Brewing in Unity, and Piper's Pub on Pittsburgh's South Side.
No comments:
Post a Comment