Mead, the honey-based alcoholic beverage consumed by knights and Vikings that dates back thousands of years, may seem like the kind of drink that someone would only crack out for a really intense game of Dungeons and Dragons or a “Game of Thrones” watch party, but the drink is finding a modern resurgence with an audience of craft spirit drinkers.
Meaderies offering complex and flavourful options full of spices and fruit flavour are popping up all over the country. In Southern California, Gardena has The Honest Abe Cider House & Meadery. Anaheim has the Honey Pot Meadery and Phantom Ales, though the latter location offers mostly beer and only a few meads. And Temecula, a place already known for its surrounding wine country and burgeoning craft beer scene, may become a hot spot for mead next.
Two meaderies have opened in the same Temecula business complex: Chubby Cheeks Meadery, which opened in late October, and Batch Mead, which opened in late November. Both business have multiple varieties of mead and some cider on tap.
Some of the mead sold by Chubby Cheeks Meadery in Temecula sits on the counter Tuesday, January 21, 2020. (Andrew Foulk Contributing Photographer )
Increased interest
Though it is dwarfed by other products such as beer, wine and distilled spirits, mead is the fastest growing alcohol industry in the United States, according to Vicky Rowe, executive director of the American Mead Makers Association.
“Currently there are probably close to 200 meaderies in the process of opening up to add to the just over 400 that are open in the United States now,” Rowe said. She noted that not all of them will open immediately and it could take up to two years depending on local and state regulations.
What accounts for the increase?
“There have been a few mentions in ‘Game of Thrones’ and stuff like that, but more I think has been a desire for new and interesting craft alcohol beverages and that is driven in part by the enthusiasm of the craft beer folks,” Rowe said.
She also said the mead movement is being led by younger people, “millennials and Gen Xers who are really jumping in with both feet and not just to drink mead, but to start meaderies themselves.”
Though it is dwarfed by other products such as beer, wine and distilled spirits, mead is the fastest growing alcohol industry in the United States, according to Vicky Rowe, executive director of the American Mead Makers Association.
“Currently there are probably close to 200 meaderies in the process of opening up to add to the just over 400 that are open in the United States now,” Rowe said. She noted that not all of them will open immediately and it could take up to two years depending on local and state regulations.
What accounts for the increase?
“There have been a few mentions in ‘Game of Thrones’ and stuff like that, but more I think has been a desire for new and interesting craft alcohol beverages and that is driven in part by the enthusiasm of the craft beer folks,” Rowe said.
She also said the mead movement is being led by younger people, “millennials and Gen Xers who are really jumping in with both feet and not just to drink mead, but to start meaderies themselves.”
“A large number, in fact I would venture to say a majority of the new meaderies, that are opening are being opened by people who are under 40. That’s where a lot of the momentum is coming from.”
Jared Caperton, owner and founder of Chubby Cheeks Meadery, stands with some of his mead Tuesday, January 21, 2020. (Photo by Andrew Foulk, Contributing Photographer)
The American Homebrewers Association are seeing an increased interest in making mead as well.
“Actually, for this year’s National Homebrew Competition we expanded the number of categories that we have for mead and last year’s competition we saw a 25% increase in the number of entries for mead,” said Gary Glass, the organization’s director. “So I think there is some growing interest in making mead and certainly a lot of growth in the knowledge of what goes into mead making.”
Glass, who said he’s been making mead for two decades, said it’s a lot easier to make than beer or wine.
“It’s actually very simple,” Glass said. “It’s about as easy as it gets in terms of fermented beverages, which is probably why it’s commonly thought of as the most ancient fermented beverage, the original fermented beverage, because it really is just mixing water and honey and adding yeast.”
“Actually, for this year’s National Homebrew Competition we expanded the number of categories that we have for mead and last year’s competition we saw a 25% increase in the number of entries for mead,” said Gary Glass, the organization’s director. “So I think there is some growing interest in making mead and certainly a lot of growth in the knowledge of what goes into mead making.”
Glass, who said he’s been making mead for two decades, said it’s a lot easier to make than beer or wine.
“It’s actually very simple,” Glass said. “It’s about as easy as it gets in terms of fermented beverages, which is probably why it’s commonly thought of as the most ancient fermented beverage, the original fermented beverage, because it really is just mixing water and honey and adding yeast.”
It was that simplicity that inspired Jared Caperton, owner of Chubby Cheeks, to start making his own years ago.
“I was bored at work one day and I was looking into how to make beer and I watched a video and I said, ‘That’s really hard I’m not going to do that,’” he said. “So the next video was how to make mead and I watched the video and I was like, ‘I can do that.’”
Derek Busch, who owns Batch Mead with his wife, Danielle, began after receiving a wine making kit as a gift seven years ago.
“I got the bug and I was like, ‘All right, I want to make more stuff, but what else can I make?’ and I ended up going to the store and I was watching the TV series ‘Vikings’ at the time and they were drinking mead and I was like, ‘What is that?’
He was hooked after trying the drink.
“I said, ‘Well, I bet I can make this because it’s just honey, water and yeast’ and gave it a shot, loved it and I said ‘I can make this with fruit, I can make this with spices, dry or sweet, however I want really — the sky’s the limit.’”
Caperton was also impressed with all the different things he can do with mead.
“I was bored at work one day and I was looking into how to make beer and I watched a video and I said, ‘That’s really hard I’m not going to do that,’” he said. “So the next video was how to make mead and I watched the video and I was like, ‘I can do that.’”
Derek Busch, who owns Batch Mead with his wife, Danielle, began after receiving a wine making kit as a gift seven years ago.
“I got the bug and I was like, ‘All right, I want to make more stuff, but what else can I make?’ and I ended up going to the store and I was watching the TV series ‘Vikings’ at the time and they were drinking mead and I was like, ‘What is that?’
He was hooked after trying the drink.
“I said, ‘Well, I bet I can make this because it’s just honey, water and yeast’ and gave it a shot, loved it and I said ‘I can make this with fruit, I can make this with spices, dry or sweet, however I want really — the sky’s the limit.’”
Caperton was also impressed with all the different things he can do with mead.
“It is in my opinion the most versatile of all alcohols, not only because of the honeys that you can use but because of the external flavourings,” he said.
The meads
Batch Mead’s meads range from sweet and fruity to drier variations. They currently have four meads, two ciders and a mead-cider hybrid called a cyzer. The meads range in alcohol content from 7.5% to about 10.5%.
Some of the varieties include a pineapple mead, a blueberry mead and a seasonal mead with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and clove as well as orange peel. Pricing for the meads and ciders ranges from $12 for a flight of four, $7 per glass and $18 per bottle.
Chubby Cheeks has a variety of fruited and spiced sweet and semi-sweet meads with creative names such as “Pineapple Under the Sea,” “Pear Pressure” and “Blurred Limes.” His range in alcohol content from 8% to about 14%. Pricing at Chubby Cheeks runs $3 for a 4 ounce pour, $6 for an 8 ounce pour and $8 for a 10 ounce pour.
The meads
Batch Mead’s meads range from sweet and fruity to drier variations. They currently have four meads, two ciders and a mead-cider hybrid called a cyzer. The meads range in alcohol content from 7.5% to about 10.5%.
Some of the varieties include a pineapple mead, a blueberry mead and a seasonal mead with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and clove as well as orange peel. Pricing for the meads and ciders ranges from $12 for a flight of four, $7 per glass and $18 per bottle.
Chubby Cheeks has a variety of fruited and spiced sweet and semi-sweet meads with creative names such as “Pineapple Under the Sea,” “Pear Pressure” and “Blurred Limes.” His range in alcohol content from 8% to about 14%. Pricing at Chubby Cheeks runs $3 for a 4 ounce pour, $6 for an 8 ounce pour and $8 for a 10 ounce pour.
What really accounts for the versatility and differences in flavours in meads is the honey used.
“Honeys come from bees that are pollinating various plants and in many cases they’re pollinating very specific crops so depending on the source of the pollen the honeys can range dramatically in the flavour,” Glass said.
Glass said that most people are familiar with the store-bought honeys that are from alfalfa or clover pollen and those have the typical, most recognizable honey characteristics, but there are others, such as buckwheat honey that can impart a muskiness, or meadowfoam honey which can give the mead an almost marshmallow-like flavour.
At Chubby Cheeks, Caperton uses primarily orange blossom honey from the Pauma Valley, but he’s used some other very unique honeys as well.
“We have honey from the superbloom in Lake Elsinore," he said. “It’s a wildflower honey. That honey has some crazy waffle characteristics… You taste the honey and you get almost the aftertaste after you’ve eaten a bite of a waffle.”
At Batch Mead, Derek and Danielle Busch are currently using different varieties of Temecula Valley Honey Company honeys in all their meads, but they plan to soon incorporate honeys from elsewhere on the West Coast and Hawaii.
The future
Caperton said that as mead continues to surge in popularity, that he expects new meaderies to open in the Temecula area. He said that’s something he welcomes.
“Variety is the spice of life — just think about how many wineries we have and it’s a destination spot for them now, so now you can go get wine, we have some of the best craft breweries in the area and you can get some great mead now with the two new meaderies,” he said.
Information: chubbycheeksmeadery.com.
Information: batchmead.com.
Information: Honeypotmeadery.com.
Information: Facebook.com/HonestAbeCidery
https://www.sgvtribune.com/2020/01/30/want-to-drink-like-a-viking-mead-is-gaining-popularity-in-southern-california/
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