Is it finally mead’s time to shine? Don’t sleep on this drink trend

From themanual.com

Mead is returning to the scene

Mead is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages on the planet. Otherwise known as honey wine, the liquid is in the midst of a renaissance. In fact, it’s estimated that the number of meaderies in the United States will soon surpass 500.

John Kluge is the CEO and co-founder of Thistlerock Mead Company in Virginia. The operation is the first net-zero project of its kind, set in Virginia wine country near Charlottesville. The brand is shaking up the scene, going all-in on sustainability and sourcing honey from its own estate as well as farms in far-ranging countries such as Colombia, Patagonia, and Tanzania. The producer works on a 130-acre farm, practicing regenerative agriculture and inviting guests to take in bloom-to-bottle experiences.

He says mead is enjoying a serious resurgence these days.

                                                                                            Alissa Sanderson/Getty Images / Getty

The comeback

“The world’s most ancient beverage is having a major comeback for two primary reasons,” Kluge says. “First, it’s the ultimate (and original) craft beverage with a history dating back over nine thousand years and produced and enjoyed by mead-makers from every continent.”

There’s a built-in ethos that’s tough to argue with, too. “Secondly, because mead production is optimized to support honey bees and native pollinators – it’s a beverage built with sustainability at its heart,” Kluge continues. “Most consumers today are actively seeking products that align with their values. Mead has the potential to be the world’s most sustainable alcohol – and given how delicious it is, it’s tough to beat the magic of that value proposition!”

There’s a timeliness to it all as well, with bees getting headlines very much lately. Dwindling populations have inspired recovery efforts and a greater sensitivity to the health of these vitally important insects. “Habitat loss, rampant pesticide use, and a warming planet are making things harder for bees all over the world, but thankfully, we now understand these as the drivers for colony collapse disorder, which is responsible for the rapid honeybee population loss of the 2000s,” Kluge adds. “Over 30 states have since passed laws protecting pollinators, and we are now seeing record high honeybee populations in the United States. So that’s very promising. We still have a lot of work to do to protect native pollinators, but if anything, I’d say pollinator population loss puts meaderies in higher demand. Aside from beekeepers and entomologists, meaderies are amazing advocates for our apian friends.”

The process

                                                                                     Thistlerock / Thistlerock

If you have a sugar source, you’re well on your way to alcohol. In that sense, mead is like the OG of the drinks world, a sweet product that’s been fermented for millennia. Kluge says today, it’s about elevating the approach and experimenting, not unlike the best winemakers do.

“As Thistlerock is right along the Monticello American Viticultural Area in the heart of Virginia wine country, we tend to make our meads dryer to both showcase our honey varietals while also being approachable to wine drinkers,” Kluge says. “Wine consumers can usually tell you what to look for from a well-made Bordeaux red blend or what the differences are between Pinot from Burgundy versus Napa,” he says. “But what makes for a world-class traditional wildflower mead? Should it be dry, semi-dry, or semi-sweet? Should we be blending honey or using single monofloral honey? Should mead be restricted to only 11-13% (which is what the TTB suggests), or should we listen to mead-makers who produce lighter session meads from 5-7%, wine-like meads from 11-13%, or higher abv barrel-aged meads?”

These are the questions that are driving the evolving industry. Kluege says partners like the Mead Institute are helping to raise mead’s bar. And while mead’s history is virtually unmatched, the drink has its own share of challenges when it comes to producing the stuff.

“One is the lack of understanding of mead from regulators – something the American Association of Meadmakers (AMMA) is helping to address at the federal level,” he says. “In Virginia, we recently formed the Virginia Mead Guild, a state-level trade association to support the flourishing of the mead community here in the Commonwealth.”

There are distribution issues, too, compounded by state shipping laws and the fact that most of the meaderies in the nation are very small. “I’d love for a consumer to be able to walk into their local bottle shop, restaurant, or grocery stores and have a whole slew of quality mead options, not just the one-to-two sweet meads that have been around for ages,” he says.

Sustainability and terroir

For Kluge and the growing brand, it’s about doing better. He cites a study which indicated that the alcohol industry produced some 1.5 gigatons of greenhouse gasses worldwide. That’s the equivalent of 276 million automobiles. “Our mission is to make the world’s most sustainable beverage and to bring balance to the human-nature relationship,” he says. “In some ways, we have an advantage as a new company since we’re starting with a blank slate. If we can design a company that bakes impact into everything we do, why wouldn’t we?”

There’s a learning curve, of course, but that’s to be expected. Thistlerock hopes to keep fine-tuning its sustainability side. The farm is powered by the sun, and electric vehicles are used for transport. “Almost all of our ingredients are sourced from local or nature-supporting producers and social enterprises,” Kluge adds. “We re-invest our profits in supporting at-risk and important biospheres.”

He says shipping glass bottles remains a big issue. “Our bottles are 100% post-consumer recycled glass, but in time, we’d like to eliminate glass altogether in favor of flax or pine resin fiber bottles,” he says. “We are working with what is available in the market today and adjust and improve as often as we can. We are in a constant learning mode, which is why we became the first beverage company to join the Central Virginia Green Business Alliance. We know we don’t have all the answers, so we’re hoping others can join forces with us to build smart, better, nature-first companies.”

Kluge and many others in the industry would love to see an appellation system for honey that celebrates the massive terroir element in play. One could argue that mead is one of the best exemplifiers of terroir, the product of an extensive habitat from a single area.

“To produce one bottle of mead, it takes the equivalent of one to two million pollination stops among local flora,” Kluge says. “Bees are creatures of supreme efficiency. If they have an abundant forage source, as they do on our regeneratively managed flower farm, they are more likely to stay hyper-local and source their nectar close to their hive.”

He says honey is mead’s terroir. “But it’s far richer in data and specificity to a place than terroir is to a region in grape wine,” he adds. “That’s why we say mead is an ecosystem in a glass. If you like the way a mead tastes — particularly a traditional mead that uses only honey, yeast, and water — you’re very likely to love the place the honey comes from.”

How should you enjoy your mead? Kluge suggests starting with seafood. “Heidrun and the Northumberland Honey Company both produce incredible Methode Champenoise meads that go perfectly with oysters,” he says. “Our Estate Reserve, which we age in rye barrels for 12 months, tends to go well with a scotch egg or sticky toffee puddings. If you prefer beer, you will like braggart mead (carbonated mead fermented with grains and hops). Whatever type of drinker you are, I guarantee you there is a mead out there you will love, so try many and try them frequently!”

https://www.themanual.com/food-and-drink/is-it-meads-time-to-shine/ 

Why modern mead is the buzzy new drink

From msn.com

By Helena Nicklin For The Daily Mail 

When you think of mead, your mind’s eye probably conjures up syrupy souvenirs in National Trust gift shops, or images of bearded Vikings quaffing and carousing.

Now, this ancient drink — one of the first ways humans consumed alcohol, with roots tracing back to 7000 BC — is making an unlikely comeback as summer’s hippest refresher, thanks to new fermentation techniques, sophisticated new flavours and even an outpouring of support on TikTok.

Mead is simply and traditionally made by fermenting honey with water. Indeed, we get the word ‘honeymoon’ thanks to the ancient Greek custom of giving it as a wedding gift to aid fertility. But it can also have ingredients including spices, fruit or hops added to enhance its flavour. 

Usually flat or slightly sparkling, the more traditional styles taste like aromatic, honey-sweetened wine at a similar strength (12-14 per cent) and are drunk just as wine would be.

But there’s a new generation of lighter, modern meads that can be slightly sweet or almost completely dry and range from no alcohol, to low or mid strength, matching the ABVs of cider or beer.

They are drinks crafted to appeal to a new modern audience, since there’s now huge demand for more ‘natural’ tipples, with no sulphur, chemicals or sugars added.

Consider the soaring popularity of orange wine, which is usually made without any additives at all. And Pét Nat: a lightly sparkling wine made using ancient methods that pre-date champagne.

‘People are looking for lower intervention, natural and sustainable products,’ says Kit Newell from mead-maker Hive Mind Mead & Brew Co.

Then there are the bees to consider. Mead is made using honey, and most modern producers are doing their bit to promote the health of the bee population by planting wildflowers or donating to bee conservation charities.

Most are also committed to using sustainable, ethically produced honey too.

‘At a mere 4 per cent, our nectars have all the subtlety and refreshment of a good 12 per cent sparkling wine,’ says mead brewer Tom Gosnell from Gosnells of London.

All of which helps to explain why the new typical mead drinker isn’t a Viking warrior, but a discerning consumer who wants to enjoy a sophisticated summer livener without becoming too tipsy.

Mead — one of the first ways humans consumed alcohol , with roots tracing back to 7000 BC — is making an unlikely comeback as summer’s hippest refresher© Provided by Daily Mail   Getty Images

In medieval times, monks refined fermentation techniques to produce honey wine fit for European royalty. But the latest revival began in the U.S., where more sophisticated methods mean it is now taken as seriously as wine.

Just as fine wine can showcase elements of the soil and ‘terroir’ where it was grown, mead will taste different according to where the bees have been harvesting and which kinds of plants they have visited.

‘They’re championing the liquid first, making something delicious that reflects the terroir of where the bees were foraging. Seeing it was a revelation,’ says Tom Gosnell.

So, will mead be reclaimed from the drinking halls of history? I tried the best of the modern brews to find out...

AROMATIC AND LOW IN ALCOHOL

Gosnells Hazy Nectar (4 per cent ABV), £1.49, 330ml, Lidl

Make the most of being able to find this low ABV liquid gold in Lidl for a limited time. 

It makes for a brilliant benchmark mead with its dry, honeyed aromatics and soft, slightly sweet taste – it’s made with blossom honey. 

Also try the tangy Raspberry & Hibiscus Nectar for something deliciously different. 4/5

ZINGY CITRUS

Wye Valley Traditional Mead (14.5% ABV), £30, 70cl, Hive Mind Mead & Brew Co.

This vibrant, golden nectar won the Golden Fork Award 2023 for its complex, beeswax-scented profile.

Aromatic with a moreish, yeasty note, it’s soft and honeyed with a zinging, citrus acidity. 4/5

DARK HONEYCOMB NOTES

Lyme Bay Winery Traditional Mead (14.5% ABV), £11.49 for 75cl, Waitrose

Bees and grapes often go hand in hand, and Lyme Bay ferments, blends and ages its mead on site.

A traditional version, it’s dark amber and savoury with notes of caramelised honeycomb and a waft of elderflower. 2/5

TONGUE-TINGLING TASTERS

Postcode Mead Tasting Box, £30, Gosnells.co.uk

A masterclass in a box, with four premium ‘nectars’ (lower alcohol meads) complete with pots of the honey used to make each.

These small-batch bottles show just how different the drink can taste based on where the nectar is harvested. 5/5

TANGY CHERRY

Viking Cherry Mead, (6% ABV) £14.99 for 75cl, Honey Mead Company

A bit different and incredibly moreish, this lower alcohol tipple is packed with warming honey notes, beautifully balanced by natural, tangy cherry flavours.

You can drink it warm, too. The classic Honey Mead version is also worth trying. 3/5

SWEET TREAT WITH CHEESE

Biddenden Special Mead, (12% ABV) £11.20 for 75cl Biddenden Vineyards.com

Another winery speciality and a sweeter, more aromatic version than some, Biddenden ferments fruit together with honey before subtly sweetening it.

Not as sweet as dessert wines, but enough to be a great foil for hot spices and salty cheese. 3/5

https://www.msn.com/en-in/foodanddrink/other/why-modern-mead-is-the-buzzy-new-drink/ar-BB1o6UMf

Canada: Prairie Bee Meadery unveils new tourist attractions

From moosejawtoday.com

Pollinator Pathway and Honey Highway highlight the mead-making process 

MOOSE JAW — New tourist attractions, the Pollinator Pathway and the Honey Highway, were unveiled by Prairie Bee Meadery Winery June 7.

The meadery is located 20 kilometres west of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

The Pollinator Pathway explores and explains the important relationship between humanity and their honey-producing partners. The Honey Highway explains the history and the process of making mead.

"We had a whole bunch of folks from Tourism Sask come out and sort of 'beta test' our new experiences, and they had a great time," said Crystal Milburn, co-owner of Prairie Bee Meadery.

"We genuinely hope that everyone else has a great time, too."

Darby Fiddler, Crystal Milburn and Gerard Milburn cut the ribbon to officially open the new tourist attractions. Photo by Fox Klein

 Visitors are invited to sip and savour food and mead options, enjoy a self-guided or guided tour, visit the crafting pavilion or enhance their visit with an app-based audio tour and treasure hunt games.

The winery crafts local premium honey into internationally award-winning wine. Prairie Bee Meadery started as a branch of Grandpa’s Garden U-pick and officially opened in 2016. Since then, the Saskatchewan community has embraced their products that can be found at farmers markets, more than100 liquor retailers in multiple provinces and at the Prairie Bee retail store located in the Grant Hall Hotel in Moose Jaw.

"Prairie Bee Meadery is such an anchor in our downtown core of Moose Jaw. It is an amazing destination and has been for a few years," stated Crystal Froese, city councillor.

"It is one of the most unique experiences, I believe, we have in the province of Saskatchewan."

To learn more about Prairie Bee Meadery https://prairiebeemeadery.ca/

https://www.moosejawtoday.com/local-news/prairie-bee-meadery-unveils-new-tourist-attractions-9081028

California: Hiveworks Mead Company reinvents category with session-style mead

From pressdemocrat.com

One batch of Hiveworks’ mead calls for over 700 pounds of honey. That requires a lot of busy bees, including company co-founders Sean Duckworth, Alex Mendoza and Julian Frank, who recently launched their new mead brand.

Sebastopol natives Duckworth and Mendoza met in second grade before forming a friendship with Frank (another Sebastopol local) when they were all 14.

While in college at Sonoma State University, Duckworth and Mendoza began home-brewing beer and cider in the closet of their tiny apartment, while Frank tried his hand at mead (a fermented honey beverage).

Once all three discovered the magic of mead, however, a new shared passion was born.

                        Hiveworks Mead Company founders (from left) Sean Duckworth, Alexander Mendoza, Julian Frank. 

                                                                                                             (Gunther Kirsch)

“We just loved the process of mead-making and found the history really interesting,” said Duckworth, whose family owned a brewery in France generations ago. “The fermentation process is really complex, and you have to use a lot of science and math to get the results you want.”

Noting a dearth of meads on the market — and no local producers in Sonoma County — the trio began to wonder if they should launch their own brand.

At the time, they’d been producing a traditional sweet mead. But after sampling a drier, carbonated style, they realized there was a world of possibilities.

“There is a huge range of wine and beer styles, but the vast majority of mead out there is sweet and heavy,” said Duckworth. “We wanted to create something really different — something that didn’t exist.”

That’s how they came to create Hiveworks’ “session-style” mead — a dry, bubbly, lower-alcohol (5.5% to 6.5% ABV) version they hope will attract new mead fans.

                                                      A single batch of Hiveworks’ mead calls for 700 pounds of honey. (Gunther Kirsch)

Hiveworks Mead Company produces three different styles of mead at their Rohnert Park facility, including their flagship Skyborne, Crimson Queen Blueberry and Emerald Swarm — a hopped version that takes inspiration from its IPA beer cousin. Additional flavours will be added seasonally.

With no sulfites or other preservatives, Hiveworks Mead has been ultra-filtered, a practice Duckworth said is uncommon for mead.

“We wanted to create something really natural and clean, but making mead without preservatives is a very difficult thing to do,” he said. “So we use a lot of CO2 to prevent oxygen exposure and filter the mead until it’s sterile. That ensures there’s no chance of refermentation in the can.”

The honey dilemma

A common challenge among commercial mead makers is producing a beverage that tastes consistent season after season. A honey’s flavor is determined by the local flora and fauna and will greatly impact the taste of the finished mead.

To control consistency, Hiveworks looks to a honey distributor in Oregon who partners with the agriculture industry.

“The honey we purchase is produced by bees that are used to pollinate specific crops, like fruits and nuts,” said Duckworth. “The honey they produce is a byproduct of the agricultural process. We spent years perfecting our honey recipe, so this will ensure we get the same honey every time.”

Honeybees are not native to North America and can compete with native pollinators. While Hiveworks hopes to produce limited, seasonal meads made with local honey, Duckworth said they “don’t want to promote huge-scale, local honey production in an area that hurts the ecology.”

Launched in February, Hiveworks Mead is available via its website (hiveworksmead.com) as well as at Oliver’s Market locations, Bottle Barn, Wilibees Wine & Spirits locations, Brewster’s Beer Garden in Petaluma, Flagship Taproom in Santa Rosa and Cotati, The Rewind Arcade in Sebastopol and more locations in Sonoma County.

“There isn’t anyone creating a mead like ours, so we’re excited to introduce something genuinely different,” said Duckworth. “We want to bring mead into the modern age.”

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/hiveworks-modern-mead-sebastopol-rohnert-park/?artslide=0 

UK: Mead Your Maker - Spotlight On Paradise Garage Brewing Co.

From exposedmagazine.co.uk

Sheffield, UK: The Kelham Island area has long been synonymous with craft beer and real ale, but Timothy Young, founder of Paradise Garage Brewing Co., aims to bring another drink to prominence in the neighbourhood.

The beverage in question is mead, the oldest alcoholic drink in the world. At his recently launched meadery, located within the charming Merchant’s Court courtyard (formerly Caledonia Works) at 43 Mowbray Street, Tim currently offers three varieties of homemade mead. Guests can enjoy these options by the glass, bottle, or in creatively crafted cocktails.

“All mead is honey-based, but the flavours and styles can vary tremendously,” explains Tim. “People are often surprised by how versatile mead can be; my favourite feedback is when customers tell me it’s like nothing they’ve ever tried before.”

Tim’s mead-making journey began in Vietnam, where he was teaching English. When the first Covid lockdown came around, Tim found himself with time on his hands and access to the required ingredients from local markets. Inspired by the country’s booming craft brewing scene, he delved into experimentation. Encouraged by the promising early results, the seeds of a potential business model were sown.  

“All mead is honey-based, but the flavours and styles can vary tremendously”

Following his return to the UK, he began making mead from a London-based brewery before realising he needed a space of his own. A quick search online revealed a brand-new courtyard unit in a thriving area of Sheffield. After researching the local craft drinks scene’s popularity, he decided that the S3 would be the perfect destination.

Named in homage to the iconic New York nightclub, the Paradise Garage taproom combines some of the founder’s passions: brewing and disco. Swing by between 6pm-9pm on Thursdays or Fridays, or 2pm-6pm on Saturdays, and catch Tim spinning his favourite disco tunes while pouring glasses of his finest creations.

There are three meads on offer: Salvation, a traditional-style mead known for its light and balanced flavour profile; Roxy, a sweet and fruity concoction infused with blackcurrants and red Kampot peppercorns, providing a subtle kick; and the intriguing Funhouse, which combines the sweetness of honey and dried apricots with the heat of habanero and guajillo chili and hibiscus.

A fourth mead – a plum-infused concoction – will be arriving towards the end of the summer, stymied slightly by a disappointing harvest last year. However, there are two mead cocktails to try in the meantime, the Funhouse Negroni and the Roxy Royale – both ideal sipping partners to while away a summer’s afternoon. 

“It is an ancient drink, but what I’m doing with it is quite modern,” says Tim. “Mead is drank in many countries across the world and there’s a growing craft mead scene over in the States. Sheffield appealed to me partly because of the community spirit here; you can already find our mead in places like The Old Shoe, The Crow, Lost in West Bar, Nook Bar and Starmore Boss. Now, we’re focusing on getting people into this taproom to try our stuff from the source!”

Follow Paradise Garage Brewing Co. on socials to find out more: @pgbrewing.

PARADISE GARAGE BREWING CO.
UNIT 1C, 43 MOWBRAY STREET (LOOK FOR MERCHANT’S COURT)
S3 8EN   

Taproom opening hours: Thursdays & Fridays: 6pm-9pm      Saturdays: 2pm-6pm

 https://www.exposedmagazine.co.uk/archived/mead-your-maker-spotlight-on-paradise-garage-brewing-co/

Emrys Beer & Mead Works, a modern-meets-historical brewery, is finally open in Liberty Lake, Washington

From inlander.com

Thomas Croskrey stands over a small kettle as he simmers two-and-half gallons of honey. He checks the viscosity with a long spoon. Suddenly, he darts across the brewing room and bounds up a step ladder to check on a bigger kettle, making sure the boil is just right — a proper roil, but not so violent that it bubbles over the top. The room is bright, and an open back door lets in a breeze that gently swirls soft perfumes of honey and hops, while Croskrey does what he does best: creates.

Croskrey is the head brewer and founder of Emrys Beer & Mead Works, a project that's been in the works since 2015 and is finally celebrating its grand opening in Liberty Lake this June. Emrys means "immortal" in Welsh, which fits Croskrey's undying enthusiasm to bring the meadery to life, but also his modern-historical fusion concept that resurrects an ancient drink for contemporary palates.

Mead, an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey, is currently the oldest fermented drink on historical record.

"Mead is so wildly different from other alcoholic beverages," Croskrey says. "It's the only one not made out of plants. It is made out of an animal product."

                                         Unique drinks, thanks to research, stubbornness and creativity.  Young Kwak photos

When Croskrey helped open Bellwether Brewing with Dave Musser in 2015, he wanted to include mead in their taproom. But they soon found out that mead required a different license than beer and was going to be difficult to get. After he and Musser amicably parted ways in 2019, Croskrey set out to build his own brewery-meadery combo. He set his sights on a spot in Liberty Lake's Riverstone District by the end of that year and set a target opening date for September 2020.

COVID, however, had other plans.

"What I lacked in fortune-telling, I made up for in stubbornness," Croskrey says.

There were days he felt no forward momentum. But Croskrey started brainstorming anyway, tapping local chef Travis Dickinson to help finalize Emrys' food menu. Croskrey originally planned to offer smashburgers, but after hosting a few pairing dinners at Dickinson's Cochinito Taqueria, the team dreamed up a "peasant food" concept that would riff off historical meals to compliment the ancient mead.

After the restaurant world went topsy-turvey and Croskrey got new, post-pandemic cost analyses, he returned to the original smashburger plan. Guests can nosh on a single, double, triple or quad smashburger ($12-$22), or a frankfurter topped with bacon, onion-pickle marmalade and sauerkraut ($13), or a veggie smashburger with grilled mushroom, hummus, havarti and hot honey ($12). Oh, and don't skip the pickle fries ($5/small, $8/large).

But a few snacks do nod to distant history. Emrys offers griddled bakestones, a traditional Welsh sweetbread from the 1800s. At Emrys, they're stuffed with rosemary and currants and served with either jam and whipped cream or cheddar and hot honey ($6/two, $10/four).

Yet most of the honey on hand will always be reserved for Croskrey's mead. After he started learning to brew beer, mead was the next logical step for Croskrey, whose background blends farming and animal husbandry.

"I come from some strong ranching in Montana, so just growing and farming and ranching in general was really fascinating and exciting to me," he says. "It included learning about fruit, and then I learned about pollination, and I learned about bees. Also, I really, really like history. I like knowing where we came from so that we know where we're going. Mead is extremely historical."

It also scratched a creative itch for Croskrey, who dropped his career as a rock violinist to settle into family and business life.

"I find mead to be the most versatile," he says. "It can be infused with fruit, botanicals, any old thing you want. It can be low ABV, high ABV, carbonated, still, blended, barrel aged."

New meads are rolling out as Emrys works through its soft opening. So far, Haze of Annwn has hit the taps, a botanical mead with hops, juniper berries and catnip, as well as a mead seltzer called Return to Innocence. Croskrey has been teasing his social media with pictures of forthcoming lilac-infused mead.

There are also plenty of options for dedicated beer drinkers. Some are collaborations with the Grain Shed, but a pilot series of the first beers made onsite are also available. Pilot Series #2, for example, is a Norwegian farmhouse and Northwest pale ale fusion, while Pilot Series #3 is a rare herbal pale ale with rosemary and lemongrass.

                                                            Owner Thomas Croskrey in his happy place

In his quest to create ancient food and drink, Croskrey has gotten more in touch with the environment and ecosystems around him today. His brewing requires about 20,000 pounds of honey a year, which is far more than any local apiaries can supply him. He sources as much honey from Washington beekeepers as possible, and tries to reduce shipping material and fuel costs when he does need to import honey from Californian or Hawaiian hives.

In a time when many consumers and environmentalists are worried about dwindling populations of honeybees and trying to "Save the Bees," Croskrey wants to take a step back to think about the larger ecosystem being affected.

"I've probably got a slightly different opinion than some people on this," he says. "And it's partly because [honeybees] are an agricultural animal. They're not native to our area ... they sometimes displace bumblebees and other native species. Sometimes honeybees can act like an invasive species," he continues. "So I'm very much in favour of saving and protecting bees. But I do try to focus a lot on the native pollinators, butterflies and moths and ants, even bats."

Not only does Croskrey want to preserve the history and tradition of mead for the next generations, he wants to make sure the environment that supplies the honey, herbs and hops to do so is healthy for those generations, too. He'll never claim to be able to tell the future, but he'll put his stubbornness toward creating a better one. ♦

Emrys Beer & Mead Works • 21850 E. Wellington Pkwy., Liberty Lake • Open Mon, Wed and Thu 11 am-9 pm, Fri-Sat 11 am-10 pm, Sun 11 am-8 pm • facebook.com/EmrysFermentations • 509-505-4519

https://www.inlander.com/food/emrys-beer-and-mead-works-a-modern-meets-historical-brewery-is-finally-open-in-liberty-lake-28075648 

Bumbling Fools Mead In Minneapolis

From heavytable.com

People have been drinking mead nearly as long as they’ve been harvesting honey. While mead has a storied history, it’s not nearly as popular as beer and wine, despite some similarities. But that hasn’t stopped mead makers from pursuing their passions in a competitive beverage marketplace. The wine-like drink has always had an appeal to those who want something a little bit different, and that whimsical spirit drives Noah Stein and Skot Rieffer, who cofounded and opened Bumbling Fools meadery in the Como neighborhood of Minneapolis, beginning manufacturing in late 2021 and slowly expanding their taproom since. They take their mead making seriously, of course, but their mead names often poke fun at themselves and there is a playful spirit throughout, from the cartoony bees everywhere to the life size cutout of their first customer.

The meadery and taproom are something of a hidden gem, located at the corner of East Hennepin and 21st Avenue SE but lacking true signage on the busy Hennepin Avenue. The complex of formerly industrial buildings are primarily artist studios. This makes a trip to Bumbling Fools an adventure itself. There are two entrances to the building, both with wandering hallways that are colorfully adorned with pointing bee signs to get you to your destination. Once there, you’ll find a large Mead Hall event room and a small bar around the corner that fits the artist studio vibe. Reclaimed furniture gives a cozy and one-of-a-kind atmosphere with ample room to sip your beverage as you socialize, read a book or, on Thursdays, play trivia. Art shows take place the last Friday of each month in the building.

HEAVY TABLE: What is your origin story?

NOAH STEIN: About 8 years ago Skot and I happened to be making mead for the first time, separately and independently. We exchanged notes and bottles. Many years later, we said, “We should do that again but bigger this time.” So we made a bigger batch and different flavors and had some fun. We made some more and made some more. We were starting to do tasting parties…

The Massachusetts Renaissance Festival was doing their first mail-in mead homebrewing event, bringing in wine and mead judges from Europe. “They don’t know us and they know the game: they’ll be able to tell us why our mead is so terrible and what we can do to fix it.” Then the pandemic happened. I left my job. Skot left his job. Later that week the results came in and we won. Our traditional mead won Best In Show and Best Traditional. Our Bee Sting (jalapeño lime) won Best Experimental and third place overall. We looked at each other: “Maybe we’re doing something right.”

I’m probably not giving myself enough credit. Homebrewing is an odd hobby because there is frequently nothing to do; you’re waiting for it to age, ferment or whatever. So I spent a lot of that time reading and researching the science behind yeast and the history of wine … Considering that we both had more free time on our hands, we found the [small bar room] space across the hall. We moved in and started brewing. We got our license about two and a half years ago. We opened the bar about a year ago.

We started there. The landlords were very good to us. Due to the nature of the product, we cannot make a dollar off this for at least nine months.

Originally we were all distribution. We could sell bottles ourselves but we couldn’t pour drinks and we weren’t set up to do tastings. But after the first year we noticed this building does 4-5 art shows a year and is involved with Art A Whirl. On those days the building was getting great traffic. We set up a little table and did tastings in the hallway and it was very popular. Last year, in February, we decided, “Let’s get in on this.” 

The front room was storage and office and we shoved everything into the back, gave it a facelift, and turned it into a tasting bar and we were open for one of the art shows. It was massively popular and it was great. Shortly thereafter we realized that, because the majority of the honey we use comes from local Minnesota growers, we count as a farm winery, which means we can serve in the space where we manufacture. So we leaned into it and opened as a proper bar.

HT: How big a change has the taproom been for the business plan? You’re now a bartender?

STEIN: Right. It changed pretty quickly, going from all distribution to doing it as retail, essentially. Once we saw the potential we jumped right in. The profit is much larger. You are essentially giving up your Thursday and Friday and Saturday nights for the rest of time. [Laughs.] But eventually we’ll have an actual staff and can take the occasional weekend off.

Right away we started getting regulars. Trivia has been a big deal. We see people coming back every week and we see new people that haven’t been here before. And people see our sign and wander in and stay for trivia for a couple hours. It’s baby steps, but they’re all forward. It’s a comfortable place right now.

HT: It’s a bit of a stereotype, but I associate mead with Renaissance fairs. Do you have a background in that scene or do you play off that association?

STEIN: It’s an odd but significant section of the market… I do work at the Ren Fair. My sister owns a sewing shop so I’m there several weekends out of the year, but the mead at the Renaissance Festival is through J. Bird Wines and it always has been. White Bear Meadery are the Viking bar with wolf pelts and Viking memorabilia and their mead is named after Norse stuff.

We weren’t interested in fighting over [branding]. Mead is heavily associated with Vikings. It features pretty heavily in their stories but literally everywhere in the world that had honeybees had mead – even if they called it different things in Greek, Danish and Swedish, in Africa – that’s one of the things we try to recognize and play to… We make the Egyptian mead. We’re working on something approximately Scottish. The Bee Sting with jalapeño and lime. We like to get weird and experimental.

HT: How do you pick what is on tap at a given moment?

STEIN: The Traditional, The Featherweight, and the Two Ravens are always available. The Featherweight is probably our most popular. The Traditional is our solid, classic mead that’s very popular. Two Ravens is my favorite. It was one of the first flavored meads we’d done, so we’d had a chance to really dial in the recipe. 

Aside from that, we did the Queen’s Kiss for the first time last year. When we ran out people were sad, so we made some more. The Caramel Apple is new. Froop? We did it on a whim and it was well received, so I had to turn around and make more. We have a board out there where we ask people for flavor suggestions. We just talk with people and come up with ideas. I have a book of old world mead ideas I flip through sometimes.

HT: You also do custom mead. Is that a sizable part of your business or more special events?

STEIN: [There is a cutout of Mark in the bar.] Mark doesn’t work here. He is one of our first patrons. We were at a party and he handed me a body of New Glarus raspberry sour and said, “I want this, but I want it to be mead and blackberries.” So I took the bottle home and did some actual research (not just drinking it). Then I asked him how sweet, how sour, things like that. A week or two later he shows up at my door with 30 pounds of frozen blackberries: “I want however much this will make,” which ended up being about 11 gallons.

I want to get into more commissioned meads for weddings or big events. A wedding is one of the few big parties you know enough in advance to start and finish a mead.

The unspoken thing is if you order 5-10 gallons for your wedding reception I’m going to throw in a case of bottles for the couple, each with a tag: 1 month, 6 months, 1 year. These are your anniversary meads. They will keep better than the frozen top of a cake which isn’t meant to be frozen. Plus, the etymology of honeymoon is giving a couple enough mead to last one month.

HT: Do you find that most people who come in understand what mead is?

STEIN: It’s about 50/50.

It’s usually 3 answers:

1. I’ve never had mead.
2. I had it at the Renaissance Festival.
3. Or I homebrew mead.

Honestly, it’s one of our big hurdles: getting people to bite and walk in the door. Mead is coming back a little bit but it’s still unknown. And what people do know about it from past experiences have been some dusty bottles of Chaucer’s sitting on the liquor store shelf for who knows how long or at the Renaissance Festival, which is intensely sweet and very different from what we do here. Our mead is much more like a dry white wine.

When people that have done some homebrewing come in, it’s a lot of fun to talk shop. There’s a lot of people in the world who have a little carboy sitting in the back of their coat closet quietly aging.

HT: How do you guide those first-time visitors?

STEIN: We usually start with The Traditional as an introduction. Beyond that we ask, “Do you like dry or sweet?” We have a flight. But for the most part, if people walk in our door, they are at least a little interested.

HT: Do you get foot traffic versus people seeking you out?

STEIN: More than you would think. We relied on word of mouth and it took us 2-3 months to put a sign outside. When we put a sandwich board outside, number of people took a chance on the long, weird hallway. There is a lot of walking traffic in this neighborhood: people who live 2-3 blocks away and never knew this place was here.

HT: What is your elevator pitch on how you are different than other meaderies?

STEIN: There are like 3 other meaderies in town and a couple others in Minnesota. What makes us different is that ours is a dry wine. We’re a little more accessible in Minneapolis. (The next closest is White Bear Meadery.) If we have a thing, it’s that we love bees and sustainability. All the furniture in this room came from the ReStore. And as many of our ingredients as we can [source] come from local communities. The vast majority of our honey comes from Stillwater, Jim’s Bees and Honey.

We try to be your very local mead haunt. We’re pretty casual about everything.

HT: How do you weigh experimental versus traditional?

STEIN: That’s one of our taglines that we toss around. Bumbling Fools: traditional and clever. I feel like we would be doing a disservice to ourselves just to focus on the tradition. A lot of homebrewers like to do wild ferments, open tank stuff. When we’re doing it commercially, we need a certain reproducibility. We make traditional recipes with modern practices. There is a lot of niche science with fermentation between chemistry and biology. We can get weird and experiment.

HT: Do you have a timeline for building out the taproom?

STEIN: We don’t want to go for classy or too far out there, but not full-on Cottagecore. It will probably look similar to what it is now but with new stairs, a lift, a wall, a stage, a bigger bar…and this old, stained floor.

Bumbling Fools Mead, 2010 East Hennepin Avenue #11-106, Minneapolis, THU 4-10pm, SAT 2-8pm, MON-WED, FRI, SUN CLOSED

https://heavytable.com/bumbling-fools-mead-in-minneapolis/