First Coast Brews: Mead all about it!

By Stephanie Danley

You might have noticed it in shops or even coming soon to our local breweries (Wicked Barley and Engine 15), the trend in craft brewing is  moving to Ciders and Meads.  The craft beer industry is resurrecting an old style and injecting it with new ideas.  I'm always amazed at the creativity in the industry.
This past week I attended an introduction to Mead held at Total Wine.  I've just recently discovered the events and classes there and this was my first event.  I'd suggest checking them out. They have classes and events for nearly every kind of alcohol available in the store.  Costs are minimal, I paid $5 for the Mead class.
The stars of this class are the brewers/owners of B. Nektar Meadery, Brad and Kerri Dahlhofer and Paul Zimmerman and Florida sales rep Mark Houdeshell.  This Mead specific brewery is based in Ferndale Michigan and is the largest Meadery in the country. Brad Dahlhofer said that the output of the Meadery is probably smaller than Cigar City or Funky Buddha, but as far as Meaderies go, they are the largest.  They also occupy a spot on the Worldwide Top 100 Breweries list put out by RateBeer.com.

As an introduction, Brad explained that Mead is simply honey, water and yeast.  Where beer gets its fermentable sugar from grains and wine from grapes, Mead uses honey.  Brewing Mead can take as short as a couple of months (for low alcohol yields) or over a year for higher ABV content.
Brad is VP of the American Mead Maker Association. He said there are very strong restrictions regarding Mead.  Currently there is a bill in Congress called The Mead Act, that would do a multitude of things including changing the definition of what makes a Mead and making it easier for Mead to be produced.
Mead is possibly the oldest alcohol in existence.  It is thought that ancient man transported honey home and in whatever container it was carried, water leaked in, wild yeast from the air took over and Mead was created.  Archeologists have found traces of honey in ancient alcohol, lending some credibility to this.
Meads can be still or sparkling, which would make you think of them more as wines.  But today's brewers are far more adventurous and the fit is better with craft beer.  After having sampled five of B. Nektar's products I have to agree, it was very easy to think of Meads as craft beer.
Our first sample of the evening was Zombie Killer, technically not a mead, but a cider with honey and cherry juice.  Kerri, Brad's wife, is a graphic designer and explained how this first flagship brew created their entire brand.  They are very pop culture based, Zombie Killer came from one of the employees, who was into a little graphic novel called The Walking Dead.  Kerri designed the zombie (apple) being killed by the cherry.  Each label is a work of art and I'd encourage you to read the descriptions.
I enjoyed the tart apple notes of Zombie Killer, the cherry added tartness, but the honey was very present.  It is a smooth sweet drink, slightly pink and would be perfect to toast the return of a certain show.

Keeping in the pop culture, NecroMangocon is a tribute to Michigan natives Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, and their Evil Dead franchise.  Both are native to the area around B. Nektar. This is a true mead, with Mango Juice and Black Pepper added.  Interestingly Saison yeast was added to this mead.  If you like that funky flavour from good Farmhouse style ales, you'll like this too.

Grinding all the peppercorns needed for Necromangocon, turned into a problem for them.  They were destroying spice grinders and food processors.  Eventually they found a commercial coffee grinder (like the ones you see in grocery stores) to grind the pepper.  

I personally loved this Mead.  The Mango flavour was present, but that kick of black pepper tempered the sweetness.  I found myself sipping it over and over again, actually swirling it like it was wine.   I will definitely be keeping this around!
Next we moved on to Vampires and Black Fang.  Kerri is very fond of Vampire lore, this is a favourite of hers.  Originally she wanted to call it Fang Bangers, after the humans who love vampires from True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse novels.  HBO has that copy written, so Black Fang comes from the colour of this mead.  It contains Blackberry, clove, orange zest and the honey is wildflower.
Cloves are very forward in this dark red brew.  If you like mulled wine or other warm winter concoctions, you will love Black Fang.  And make sure you check out Kerri on the label, she merged a Nosferatu with a photo of herself to create this label.

Dwarf Invasion, is partially inspired by a Michigan folk tale of Nain Rouge, a red dwarf of mischief.  There is also a metal song, Dwarf Invasion, YouTube it if you like.  Such a great evening, with entertaining people.
Dwarf Invasion outside of the Nain Rouge and metal music, is a wildflower honey, Balaton cherry and Styrian Golding hops brew.  They were influenced by Belgian beer for this mead.  The hops are perfect in here and truly gives the essence of Belgium.  I could drink a lot of this.
We finished with a Special Release Mead called Devil's Juice.  This is a powerful drink, both in ABV (15.5%) and flavor.  They smoked pineapple (originally 665 pounds, but the crew made it 666 in honor of the name) and added Serrano, jalapeno and ghost peppers to the mix.
I'd suggest only trying this is you love spicy food.  A lot.  I could taste the pineapple and some smoky notes, but the pepper is in your face.  Brad said they also have a very limited run of basically Devil's Juice brewed with Carolina Reaper peppers, which are the hottest pepper.
They have fun with their brews and sometimes happy accidents happen.  They took Zombie Killer and aged it in Rye barrels, calling it Zombie takes Manhattan.  They had a funky batch of Killer Zombie that they intended to mix otherwise and it ended up being mixed with the Manhattan...so instead of tossing it, they tasted it and it was good, creating the Mutant Killer Zombie Manhattan Project Thingy.  In an ode to South Park they have Zombie Killer mixed with spices and they call it Oh My God They Killed Zombie!
Total Wine has a display of B. Nektar's meads available and Beer :30 Riverside and Kickbacks did have some on tap as well.  Until our locals get mead out, I'd encourage you to try B. Nektar.  At least read the labels. 

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