From honolulumagazine.com
Traditional or fizzy, made with hibiscus, cacao, chile peppers, even durian: Where to find every kind of local honey wine
Hawai‘i, whose tropical flowers produce honey found nowhere else in the world, also boasts mead found nowhere else. Five meaderies on three islands now make wildly different versions of the drink the ancient Greeks called the nectar of the gods.
Big Island Meadery
An offshoot of Kilohana Honey Co., brand-new Big Island Meadery opened its taproom in October. Owner Vanessa Houle tells us the company was making award-winning meads for eight years before opening Hawai‘i Island’s first dedicated meadery. “There is a lot of local honey on the market,” she says. “This was our special way of supporting the Hawai‘i honey and bee industry.”
Both companies source honey from their own apiary. Meads range from traditional to semi-sweet and sweet, in varieties featuring homegrown hibiscus, ginger and cacao. Alcohol content ranges from 8% to 12% depending on the type. You’ll find the meads just at the taproom for now, by the glass ($5 to $8), bottle ($25 to $55) or flight size (1.5 ounces for $1 to $2).
Also available are keiki-friendly juice slushies ($5 to $6). What can be ordered online and shipped are different kinds of honey and beeswax candles. Beehive tours are coming in 2024, and keep an eye out for Big Island Meadery’s bottled and draft mead in stores and bars.
Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 16-313 Shipman Road, Kea‘au, Hawai‘i Island, bigislandmeadery.com, @bigislandmeadery
Mānoa Honey & Mead
O‘ahu’s only meadery sells its bottles at ABC Stores, Foodland and specialty alcohol stores like Village Bottle Shop and is even on draft in restaurants and bars (Hula Grill Waikīkī, Morning Glass Coffee). Tasting experiences and bees-to-mead tours are also available. Mānoa Honey’s hives are scattered across O‘ahu, producing honey flavoured by blossoms in each area. You can find the honey at its Honey House in Wahiawā, along with the most varied line-up of meads in the state.
Mead here ranges from the carbonated light session .ORG Orange Rosemary Session (6.7% ABV, $8.50 a can) and fruited meads such as liliko‘i and pineapple (8% ABV, $14 a bottle) to special Pō (13% ABV, $18 a bottle) aged in Kō Hana Rum barrels. If you’re not up for the drive, holiday gift sets are available online and can be shipped. Also available are different meads like durian mead ($33.50 a bottle), honey soaps ($8.45) and natural honeycomb ($16).
Open Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for retail sales only, Friday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for tasting and retail sales. 930 Palm Pl., Wahiawā, O‘ahu, manoahoney.com, @manoahoneymead
Nani Moon Meadery
Hawai‘i’s first meadery and the only one on Kaua‘i, Nani Moon was founded in 2000. Its artistic labels have been a mainstay in specialty wine shops and at beer festivals ever since. Infused with other local ingredients from across the state like Kona coffee, Tahitian limes, ginger, vanilla beans and cacao, each mead has a distinctive flavour.
Winter Sun, made with starfruit and liliko‘i, can be sipped chilled or at room temperature. Deviant Beehavior, sweet and sour, has Hawaiian chile pepper along with organic white pineapple and hints of allspice and mango chutney. At the tasting room in Kapa‘a, try a Royal Flight of all Nani Moon meads as 2-ounce pours for $25. Bottled mead ($32 to $35 a bottle) and merchandise are available online.
Reservations encouraged. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 12 noon to 5 p.m. for tastings. 4-939 Kūhiō Hwy D, Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i, nanimoonmead.com, @nanimoon
Volcano Winery
In addition to traditional grape-based wines and infused tea wine ($42 for a 375 ml bottle), Volcano Winery also makes a few meads. One is the Macadamia Nut Honey Mead ($25 for a 375 ml bottle), which can be found in most Safeway, Target or ABC Stores. There are also tours and tastings at the winery and tasting room just outside Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 35 Pi‘i Mauna Dr., Volcano, Hawai‘i Island, @volcanowineryhi
Wailuku Brew Works
One of the state’s newest breweries, Wailuku Brew Works opened in midsummer and primarily makes beer. But unique among local beer makers, Wailuku is the only brewery to make and pour mead, including a spicy Hawaiian chile pepper variety. The taproom is on the other side of the highway from Big Island Meadery and an easy stop if you’re in the Hilo area.
Shipman Office Park, 16-205 Wiliama Pl, Kea‘au, Hawai‘i Island, wailukubrewworks.com, @wailuku_brew_works
If you’re a fan of beer, coffee or wine, odds are there is a mead that will appeal to your palate. So next time you‘re near a taproom, stop in to see what these independent local businesses are making. Cheers to mead!
No comments:
Post a Comment