UK: York-based Nidhoggr Mead Co increases alcohol sales

From thenorthernecho.co.uk

The founder of a York-based 'meadery' has been inundated with orders for his alcoholic honey mead after he burst into Dragons’ Den with two marauding Vikings last week.

Since the show aired, Peter Taylor has sold 10 times more bottles of mead than usual, as viewers were inspired to recreate their own Viking feasts at home.

He didn’t leave the Den with investment but that hasn’t stopped his Nidhoggr Mead Co business going from strength to strength since he pitched.

He has more than tripled production to 50,000 bottles a year and has proved the Dragons wrong by winning a coveted listing in Morrisons.

Peter first discovered honey mead at Viking re-enactment tournaments. In 2020, inspired by his mother-in-law who brewed homemade mead and in a bid to make some extra cash to buy a new sword, he experimented making his own authentic mead at home using 100 per cent local Yorkshire honey.

As a Viking re-enactor himself, Peter explained how staff from York's Jorvik Centre tried some of his home-made mead at one of his live shows and asked if he was selling it.

He said: "I told my then fiancée (now wife) it would be a small side project - I ended up selling the dining room table and we had honey in the bathtub, it was everywhere.

After starting the business out of his home in Acomb - and then moving to a small commercial space in Skelton - Nidhoggr has since expanded to a 4,000 square foot facility in Pocklington, with plans to grow even further.

Viking re-enactor Peter Taylor says sales of his alcoholic honey mead have soared since his appearance on Dragons Den (Image: GUZELIAN LTD)

He appeared on Dragons Den on Thursday, April 4. On the show, he asked for an £80,000 investment in exchange for a five per cent stake in his company.

Despite receiving positive reactions after the Dragons tasted the honey-based drink, challenges such as investment strategy and the company's heavy Norse branding led them to opt out of the proposed investment.

In response to the Dragons' rejection, Peter had one simple message to prospective drinkers of Nidhoggr Mead: "Try some, it will change your life."

He added: “Dragons’ Den was a surreal experience and it felt very much like going into battle. The Dragons thought mead and its Viking history was niche which is why they didn’t invest - but it just spurred me on to prove them wrong.

“Since appearing on the Den, Nidhoggr Mead Co has secured listings in Morrisons, started exporting to the US, become Warhammer’s official mead, and has more than doubled sales with the business now worth £3m. The Vikings certainly won this battle, and I’ve bought myself five new swords.”

Stafford-born Peter moved to York because of his wife, a fellow Viking actor who came to the city as a student.

"I actually met my wife at the battle of Stamford Bridge, I killed her dad on the battlefield," he said.

"She had already fallen in love with the city, and I fell in love with it too."

Nidhoggr Mead Co is a York-based meadery founded by Peter 2020. The traditional nectar of the gods, mead is brewed with just three ingredients - the finest local and sustainably harvested Yorkshire honey, Yorkshire mineral water and yeast.

Nidhoggr Mead Co’s commitment to tradition runs deep with a revery to the ancient techniques of mead-making as a tribute to Norse mythology.

This dedication results in a range of refreshing, delicately sweet and wonderfully smooth drinks which can be drunk neat or used to create thoroughly modern cocktails.

It produces a range of eight traditional honey meads which include flavours such as traditional mead, elderflower, lemon and lime, sour cherry, raspberry and lemon, apple and rhubarb and Ginger (700ml/350ml 15 per cent ABV).

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/24246094.york-based-nidhoggr-mead-co-increases-alcohol-sales/ 

Canada: A New Brunswick beverage 10 years in the making, just in time for the eclipse

From msn.com

When John Way started brewing back in 2014, he set aside some of his first batch of mead for a special occasion. 

At the time, he didn't know what that would be. 

Over the next three years his business continued to grow, making mead with the help of family and hundreds of thousands of bees. 

"If you ferment grapes, you get wine," said Way. "Ferment grain, you get beer. Ferment apples, you get cider. If you ferment honey, you get mead." 

As Sunset Heights Meadery and Apiary grew, just outside of Fredericton, that batch of mead waited.

Way says he's sold tickets to an event Monday where he'll share his mead, named, aptly, Totality. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)© Provided by cbc.ca

When 2017 rolled around "and there's the eclipse south of us, and we were like, 'Wow, I wonder when the next eclipse is that's going to hit Fredericton?'" said Way. 

After a quick online search he knew exactly why he was aging his mead. 

"Are you kidding me? Seven years from now? Which will be exactly 10 years from when we started this mead? It all just came together," he said. "It was just like it was meant to be."

Way started immediately preparing for when he'd crack open his aging beverage. But at the time no one he knew was anticipating an eclipse, and no one was taking him seriously. 

The Facebook event he created seven years in advance didn't get a lot of attention. 

"Mostly disbelief," said Way. "Most people were like, 'Yeah, right.'" 

Friends joked with him at the time that they had plans on April 8, 2024, and could he move it a day.

Undeterred, he set out to make something "epic." 

He went about "solera aging" that mead, a term that actually has nothing to do with the sun or the eclipse.

Instead, it's a labour-intensive process of fractionally blending that original mead together with mead from more recent seasons to increase flavour complexity and taste.

Once completed, the mead sat undisturbed for five years until Way moved it into four wooden barrels he imported from Scotland. That's where the aging process finishes, much like whiskey. 

John Way showcases the eclipse glasses he's giving customers that double as a ticket to a second event for the next eclipse passing over Fredericton — in 2079. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)© Provided by cbc.ca

Now as the special day has arrived, Way is having the last laugh. 

"It's a great mix of trepidation and excitement," said Way. "I'm not afraid for the product, the product is amazing, I've tasted it. [It] makes your brain do these frizzly things, it's so complicated." 

He's sold tickets to an event Monday where he'll share his mead, named, aptly, Totality, among friends, family and mead lovers with live music — all under a darkened sky.

"We're actually giving them two tickets, because we're giving them a ticket to the next eclipse too," said Way. "So, you just have to wait until 2079 and we're going to do it again." 

"There is a caveat," said Way. "I have to be alive to host it." 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/a-new-brunswick-beverage-10-years-in-the-making-just-in-time-for-the-eclipse/ar-BB1lcRUP 

‘Conscious’ drinkers raising a toast to mead culture

From financialexpress.com

With ‘conscious’ consumers leaning towards quality, natural ingredients and exploring new flavours and techniques, mead—a gluten-free alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey with various fruits, herbs and spices—is increasingly making its presence felt in India’s burgeoning liquor market.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating or, in this case, drinking. Moonshine Meadery, one of the few Indian brands offering mead, just celebrated its sixth anniversary, growing at approximately 80% year-on-year since its inception. Similarly, Nashik-based mead brand Cerana Meads is all set to close the financial year at nearly 200% in the top line compared to the previous year.

Even though the industry is still in its nascent stage in India, the size of the global mead market is projected to grow from $487.9 million in 2021 to $1.62 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 18.71%, as per a report by market research firm Fortune Business Insights.

What makes mead stand out from the crowd is the fact that it is a 100% natural and gluten-free beverage made without synthetic additives. 

“Often referred to as the drink of the gods in Greek mythology, and prevalent in ancient cultures across the world, mead is actually the world’s oldest form of alcohol with references to its existence dating back to 6500 BC,” said Rohan Rehani, co-founder of Pune-based Moonshine Meadery.

What makes mead stand out from the crowd is the fact that it is a 100% natural and gluten-free beverage made without synthetic additives. Image: Freepik

Fermented alco-bevs such as wines are made by fermenting fruit, more commonly grapes, and beers by fermenting malted grains. “Meads use honey as the primary fermentation ingredient,” said Dr Yoginee Budhkar, co-founder and partner at Cerana Meads, adding that their meads are made using ethically sourced honey. “We don’t steal it from the bees, we only take what is in excess,” added Dr Ashwini Deore, Cerana Meads’ other co-founder and partner.

Cerana Meads offers meads in two verticals. One range of meads, called ‘hydromels’ are low-ABV, carbonated meads that come at a pocket-friendly cost of Rs 199 per 330 ml pint. The products in this category are Chenin Blanc Mead, Pomegranate Vanilla Mead, Jamun Mead and Bluepea Lavender Mead. “The second vertical is the standard mead which is in the range of 10-14% ABV. A half bottle (375 ml) of this category is priced at Rs 450 and a full bottle (750 ml) comes for Rs 810. The products in this category are Pinot Noir Mead and Yule Spic. These are currently available in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Nashik and Pune,” added Budhkar.

Moonshine Meadery, too, has a wide range of meads, starting with a ‘lite’ mead at 4.5% ABV—currently with Lemon Tea Mead as the only offering in this segment. “All our other meads are at 6.5% ABV. Our flagship meads—Apple Mead, Coffee Mead and Traditional Mead—are available throughout the year. We also make limited edition/small batch meads in small quantities throughout the year, which we call ‘MeadLABs’. Guava Chilli Mead, Grilled Pineapple Mead and Salted Kokum Mead are some MeadLABs that have gained a lot of popularity,” added Rehani.

With diversity in flavours and the sustainability factor—since the main ingredient is a by-product, mead has a remarkably low carbon and water usage footprint compared to other alcoholic beverages—meads are primarily attracting the young and conscious drinkers. “As alcohol consumption is a matter of familiarity and habit, right now, the most likely age group to be interested in meads is the new LDA (legal drinking age) group, consumers who are in their mid-20s,” said Deore of Cerana Meads.

For Moonshine Meadery, “anyone in the age range of 25-45 years looking for a flavourful drink is our consumer base essentially”, as per Rehani. “We are trying to plug the flavour gap for consumers as they transition from juices and colas to beers and spirits. A consumer’s journey into alcohol doesn’t have to start with an ‘acquired taste’. This fits well with the expectations of the younger India who are looking for more flavourful beverages,” he added.

https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/conscious-drinkers-raising-a-toast-to-mead-culture/3441707/

Trazo Meadery Offers a Taste of Tradition and Innovation in Clarksville, Tennessee

From clarksvilleonline.com 

Clarksville, TN – Spring is the season of bees and trying new things. What better way to be in the spring spirit than trying mead at Trazo Meadery?

Trazo Meadery, named after the founder (Travis) and his grandmother (Zola), opened its doors in 2020 between the Roxy Regional Theatre and Blackhorse Pub & Brewery. Inside is a warm atmosphere with colourful art adorning the walls. Bee imagery can be seen in the additional outdoor seating.

Trazo Meadery all started with some yeast. Travis loved the sourdough bread his grandmother would make every week when he was younger. When Zola passed, she gave the sourdough yeast to Travis. Travis feeds it, keeps it alive to this day, and uses it at the meadery.

What exactly is mead? Mead, known as “nectar from the gods”, is an ancient alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey. The process is very similar to making wine. Collecting honey is a more difficult process than collecting grapes, so wine became the more popular choice.

To make mead, water, and yeast are added to honey. The sugar causes fermentation to occur.

The different flavours of the mead at Trazo come from the different honey used, allowing for an eclectic collection of beverages. Every honey is unique! “While lots of meaderies add spices or fruit, we focus on showcasing the flavour of each particular honey,” said David Powell, Trazo’s “mazer”. Trazo Meadery makes sure the honey is the highlight of the drink.

Trazo serves a wide variety of drinks and cuisine. In addition to mead, Trazo is also famous for their lemonade and ciders. They have created many cocktails using their mead and cider.

                                                                                           Trazo Meadery

During Halloween, you can get a taste of their “Time Warp cocktail,” consisting of mead and a blend of blood orange and rosemary syrups. A “meadarita” is another original from Trazo, using their tequila, barrel-aged mead and citrus juices.

When it comes to good eats, Trazo’s got you covered with a lovely selection of items that pair well with mead and cider! They offer specially sourced charcuterie boards, flatbreads, soups and bruschettas – their Bacon Gouda Grilled Cheese being a fan favourite of customers.

You can also buy mead by the bottle if you would like to take some home with you. Additionally, Trazo Meadery merchandise, such as T-shirts and hats, is available so you can show your support for the business.

Not only does Trazo offer a Halloween-themed drink, they also host a Valentine’s dinner. This year will be their 3rd year offering this experience. At the dinner, they have a fixed-price menu that includes an appetizer, salad, entree, dessert, and drinks.

When we use something from nature, it is important to give back. Trazo Meadery does this by raising awareness for bees and their byproducts.

David says, “We try to offer our customers information about bees and the history of mead when they visit us.” This year, Trazo is doing monthly videos to show how David is taking care of Trazo’s apiary on their Adams farm.

The world is being reintroduced to mead, thanks to Trazo Meadery. Trazo Meadery was the first of its kind in Tennessee so it is very special to both the owners and the City of Clarksville.

“Trazo was the first meadery to be licensed in Tennessee, but we’re happy that more are popping up, like Honey Tree in Nashville,” said David.

It is hoped that with Trazo Meadery, more Clarksvillians can widen their palate and try a taste of a not-so-new sweet treat!

You can find more information about Trazo Meadery, mead, and the bees on their website, www.trazomead.com

You can also order bottles of mead and merchandise.

https://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2024/03/26/trazo-meadery-offers-a-taste-of-tradition-and-innovation-in-clarksville/

UK: Gosnells rebrands mead as ‘hazy nectar’ to compete with cider

From thedrinksbusiness.com

South London-based mead maker Gosnells has rebranded its products as a portfolio of ‘nectars’ in the hope of going head-to-head with cider in the on-trade

“With immediate effect, we have stopped producing mead”, said founder Tom Gosnell.

Instead, it has opted to build a new moniker for its honey-based beverages — hazy nectar. Mead is made by fermenting honey and water with yeast. The category often has medieval connotations, being recognised as one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world.

“The word ‘mead’ has musings of high alcohol and Game of Thrones and it has stopped us from creating the future bees merit,” Gosnell said. “It’s not the economy nor the putative shortage of bees, it’s the name. We’ve realised recently that the connotations that go with being ‘the world’s oldest drink’ have proved a barrier to getting new drinkers to grab their first pint of our delicious honey-based drinks”.

According to sales director Cameron McKenzie-Wilde, Gosnells demographic split is a ratio of 65/35 in favour of women with an age profile of 26-35.

Gosnell argues that the shift in branding, changing the name on the labels to ‘hazy nectar’, will help he brand challenge the cider market in the UK on-trade.

“They’re already head-to-head on the bar with cider as they are sparkling, alcoholic and gluten-free,” he said, arguing that while ciders are made from “mass-produced fruit”, Gosnells products are producing using “high-quality honey”. He said: “In some instances, we will add fruit into the recipe, as with Gosnells Raspberry Hibiscus Nectar which contains 67% less sugar than leading fruit ciders.”

According to CGA data, in the year to July 2023 cider was the fastest growing major category in the GB On Premise over the course of the year, growing by 11.8% versus last year—faster growth than any other major drinks category. Rate of sale has been 12.4% ahead, with average outlet sales of £20,501 — a sign that there is opportunity to cash in on the category.

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2024/03/gosnells-rebrands-mead-as-hazy-nectar-to-compete-with-cider/

Bill Savage’s Lavender-Blackberry Mead Recipe

From meadist.com

Bill Savage used to work for Wild Blossom Meadery in Chicago, IL.  He now brews at Goose Island Beer Co – we wont hold that against him. He still enjoys making and drinking mead. You can take a meadist out of the meadery, but you can’t take the mead out of a meadist!

Bill was nice enough to send me his recipe for a Lavender-Blackberry Mead so I could share with Meadist readers. So here it is – a milestone for the meadist – the first guest recipe.

I enjoyed a Lavender-Blackberry mead that I made about 3 years ago. There’s a nice little all organic & local-grower grocery shop in Edgewater (far North side of Chicago), where I obtained some Lavender flower tips just before they blossomed. I used about a half ounce at the time, making a sort of “tea” concentrate with the Lavender tips. The aroma is amazing!

Ingredients

• 12 lbs. of raspberry honey
• 2 tbs Yeast Energizer
• 1/2 oz Lavender Flower Tips
• Lalvin 71B-1122 Yeast
• 9-10 lbs of blackberries

Directions

1. In a 5 gal. pot, bring 4 gal. of water to a boil for 5 min. let it cool using a Copper Coil Immersion Chiller, & cool the water down to about 160F.
2. Stir in/dissolve 12lbs. of raspberry honey & 2tbs. yeast energizer/yeast hulls.
3. Continue to cool with copper coil chiller to @70F.
4. Make a concentrated “Tea” with the Lavender Flower Tips.
5. Transfer into a 5 gal. carboy & aerate.
6. Finally add your Lavender “tea” to the carboy, stir, & then add your rehydrated yeast/starter.
7. Allow to ferment for 3-4 weeks @ 70F. Then, rack again into another carboy, that has previously been packed with 9-10lbs of blackberries (if desired, 48hours prior to this step, add about 1/4-1/2 tsp. potassium metabisulfite to the blackberries/juice mixture at the bottom of your sanitized 2nd carboy, to ensure bacteria/wild yeast aren’t introduced to your mead). During the rack, also add a second Lavender ‘tea’ concentrate infusion.
8. Let this sit for another 3-4 weeks. Rack a second time, and let age for another 5 months.
9. Bottle afterwards & serve at @ room temp.
10. O.G. – 23.5 Brix. @11.5 – 12% abv.

https://meadist.com/making-mead/mead-recipes/home-made-lavender-blackberry-mead-recipe-by-bill-savage/

UK: Gosnells meadery gains ethical B Corp certification

From thecaterer.com

Honey-based drinks producer Gosnells has received B Corp approval, having met the scheme's rigorous social and environmental standards 

The London-headquartered meadery said it had examined every stage of its production, distribution, and operation to gain the certification.

Gosnells founder and managing director Tom Gosnell said: "We want to give real meaning to that over-used and under-qualified word ‘sustainability'."

Gosnells uses honey to produce its sparkling nectars, which enables it to avoid the fungicides, pesticides and herbicides used by many farmers.

It does not use diesel-emitting tractors required to produce barley, wheat, apples, or grapes and therefore has no spent grains or grape or apple skins to transport away afterwards for animal feed or compost.

Gosnell said: "In 2019, we moved away from reliance on glass bottles to cans, which now account for 20% of sales, and in 2022 started selling on draught in refillable kegs to pubs and bars - now 80% of sales. Both of these factors significantly minimise raw material usage and transportation costs."

The company also works with its local Peckham community to rejuvenate waste spaces and plans to work with its trade customers to turn pub gardens into greener spaces.

Gosnells is served on draught in venues across London including Laine pubs such as Watsons General Telegraph and the Four Thieves, draft house venues like the Duke of Hammersmith and Seething Lane Tap, in independents like the Gladstone Arms in Borough, as well as its own bar in Bermondsey which opened in 2022.

Chris Turner, executive director of BCorp verifier B Lab UK, said: "[Gosnells'] commitment to doing business differently will be an inspiration to others and really helps spread the idea that we can redefine success in business to be as much about people and planet as it is about profit."

https://www.thecaterer.com/news/gosnells-gains-environmental-certification