AMERICAN MAKER THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEAD MAKERS ASSOCIATION ISSUE 14.2 - SUMMER 2014

CELEBRATED STORY OF 2014 MAZER CROWDFUNDING YOUR MEADERY GETTING TO KNOW THE MEAD MAKER’S BEST FRIENDS

AN EXPLORATION OF CRAFT BEVERAGE COLLABORATIONS AMERICAN MEAD MAKER Issue 14.2 - Summer 2014

FEATURES 08 THE CELEBRATED STORY OF HONEY WINE A resource for mead appreciation 20 12 32 CRAFT BEVERAGE COLLABORATIONS Building relationships, 18 building business MOONLIGHT MEADERY’S MICHAEL 06 FAIRBROTHER Meadery Spotlight 26 10 CROWDFUNDING YOUR MEADERY Analysis of meadery COLUMNS kickstarter campaigns 5 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 34 2014 MAZER CUP LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Photo Journal 6 and Results 22 EXPERT MEAD PAIRING 42 MEAD REVIEWS 44 AMMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHARACTERISTICS 46 Getting to know the 47 AMMA MEADERY LIST mead maker’s best friends

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AMERICAN MEAD MAKER Issue 14.2 - Summer 2014

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

It seems almost weekly that I am My initial observation is that it coin- Compleat being contacted by the media to talk cides with certain events within the Meadmak- about mead and the recent growth craft movement. Indeed, mead er, consid- in the industry. TIME Magazine, USA is associated more with beer than it is ered these Today, CBS Newscorp, Detroit Free with wine even though it is more wine days to be the bible of mead mak- Press, Baltimore Sun, Bay Area News like. As craft beer has grown so has ing, another factor in this indus- Group, Beverage World Magazine, the interest in mead. So much so that try’s recent surge in popularity. New Jersey Monthly Magazine…and even the BJCP saw the need to create the list goes on. If there is one thing a separate Mead Judge Endorsement. I am sure I am missing something to take away from this it is that the This in turn created more interest in in there somewhere. Regardless, word is getting out about mead. mead. Many commercial mead mak- the popularity of mead is on the ers started as homebrewers before rise and we are on the leading edge One of the questions I am always discovering the Nectar of the Gods. of what promises to be a great asked is, “What do you think is industry. With your support the the cause of the recent growth in Then there is the Hollywood factor. Association will grow with it and the popularity of mead?” That’s Who has not seen the 2007 computer fight the battles necessary for im- kind of like asking where a cloud animated . The entire movie provement, to provide information of smoke came from. We all know is about mead. My favorite is Robin and knowledge for a thirsty public it’s there. You can see it. You can Hood with Russell Crowe when Friar and to support both commercial smell it. It fills the room with its Tuck (Mark Addy) says, “Have you and amateur mead makers alike. presence. And where there’s smoke tried the honey we call mead? there’s fire. So what’s the source? Gives a man a halo does mead”. Sláinte! Then there were the Harry Potter I, by no means, am the expert on the movies and the History Channels Chris Webber history of the industry and its growth, series and countless more. President American Mead but I have done some homework, Makers Association talked with mead makers who have One cannot ignore the impact that been around a decade or two and the Mazer Cup International Mead have come to a few conclusions. Competition has had on the indus- Mind you, these are merely my own try. The MCI has been around in one observations. It appears there are form or another for 25 years. Ken several contributing factors in the Schramm, one of the competitions current growth spurt in the industry. founders is also the author of The

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AMERICAN MEAD MAKER Issue 14.2 - Summer 2014

EDITOR LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Jeff Herbert [email protected] Jeff has been working as a Wildland and Structure Fire Fighter/Paramedic since 1999. He is a founding Welcome to the Summer Issue of American Mead Maker! nothing is being accomplished in totality. have a concept that allows everything you do to be member of AMMA and has owned and operated Su- Pour yourself a of a nice chilled mead and get ready connected in some way, and you make great mead, perstition Meadery in Prescott, Arizona since 2012. to catch up on what is going on, in the world of mead. A I remember when I was first writing my business plan you will find yourself in a small but rapidly growing lot has happened since we last published and in this issue and began to tell people about my idea of starting a industry which is really in its infancy. The demand for ART DIRECTOR you will read about a new book on mead which everyone meadery. So many folks, not successful entrepreneurs, mead far exceeds the supply and if you make the right Paul V. Reiss should have in their tasting room, we introduce a new but about everyone else wanted to remind me that choices your success will only be limited by your imag- [email protected] commercial mead review column and we take a visual 90% of small businesses fail. My answer to them now ination. Paul runs a small multi-disciplinary design com- tour of our industry’s biggest event, The Mazer Cup. would be, “No S#*t!” You have to have so many things pany in Boston. He also manages Meadist.com, a come together to have your plan be successful. So I Until next time, mead-centric blog focused on expanding the appre- We also take you on a trip through Arizona and Southern would like to share with you now a perspective that a ciation of modern meadmaking. California where collaborative mead making and successful business man once told me were his keys to Jeff Herbert come together. Ricky Klein returns again with his enter- success as an entrepreneur: CONTRIBUTING EDITOR taining style of writing with a piece on making mead and Moonlight shares their perspective on their very success- 1) . This should Chrissie Manion Zaerpoor You gotta be willing to work hard ful mead business. come as no surprise, but it can not be over empha- [email protected] Chrissie has been making mead since 1997. After 13 sized. years at Intel Corporation as an engineer and engi- We also are happy to publish a great article on crowd neering manager, she now owns Kookoolan Farms funding strategies that several new meaderies have suc- 2) You gotta have good credit. Do what you to and Kookoolan World Meadery in Yamhill, Oregon. cessfully implemented. So in this letter I would like to take keep focused on maintaining the best possible credit a moment to address the bold men and women who are score, it may come in handy when you least expect it. about to accept the challenge of starting a meadery. My ASSISTANT EDITOR wife and I are about to complete our first expansion and 3) You gotta have faith. I am not talking about George Jennifer Herbert we have gone through many trying times in the process of Michael or religion; you have to have faith in your [email protected] renovating part of a historic building in Prescott, Arizona. concept, in your product and in yourself. Don’t allow Jennifer Herbert owns a Health and Safety consul- yourself to ever have your motto be, “Just get through tant business with several clients; and owns and We took a blank slate of a cellar and turned it into a it.” Take time to refresh your spirit when you get close manages Superstition Meadery in Prescott, Arizona. tasting room and a mead production space. Unless you to being overwhelmed with the inevitable challenges are independently wealthy and starting a meadery for fun of entrepreneurship. There is no manual for success in MEMBER SERVICES you will undoubtedly face stressful times and burnout this industry. One day someone will write one, but right 6714 Lake Grove St SW when confronting the menagerie of challenges that pres- now it is up to you to figure out everything. And re- Lakewood, WA 98499 ent themselves from licensing to construction issues to member that when you have faith, giving up can never 253.537.1050 production issues. At times it is nearly impossible to make enter your mind as a serious possibility. [email protected] the best decisions and evaluate your situation when you are feeling as though you are behind on every task and If you possess these three keys to success and you

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THE CELEBRATED STORY OF HONEYWINE A GREAT RESOURCE FOR MEAD APPRECIATION

Paul Reiss have a more traditional feel to them. Meadist For example, look at the meadmak- er’s bible - The Compleat Meadmaker recently finished reading a great by Ken Schramm. The cover has a little book on mead – and by similar feel to that of Ayele’s book. It finished, I mean only a couple would be great if the cover of The hours after I started it. It was sent Celebrated Story of Honey Wine Ito me a while ago by Ayele Solo- portrayed the same feeling as the mon – author and founder of Bee pages behind it. It would differen- D’Vine (Thank you to Chrissie Manion tiate itself from the other ones out Zaerpoor of Kookoolan World Me- there. Though the prose is casual and adery for connecting us). It took me easy-going, Ayele’s appreciation for a while after receiving it to actually mead is undoubtedly strong. You can start it, but when I did – It went by tell it is written by somebody who is quite quickly. The Celebrated Story truly passionate about honey wine. of Honey Wine is a great primer for those looking to get into drinking and Throughout every page of the book, making mead. Ayele celebrates his cherished – almost to a fault. With lines like “No Ayele’s conversational style of writing wine looks as divine as honey wine” keeps the discourse informal, play- and “The best way to experience hon- ful and light. The color illustrations ey wine is to drink it with reverence throughout carry the same friendly and knowledge. To help with the feeling. The illustrations and writing knowledge part, read below. As for style are a good deviation from the reverence? That will come naturally.” cover which is a little more formal. This is a bit of a shame. I think most continued on next page of the books out there about mead

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Chrissie Manion Zaerpoor mentions I totally agree. Overall its a solid the book on amazon – Only $10: The in her review on amazon, “Consider account of the history and current Celebrated Story of Honey Wine or, this the Cliff’s Notes guide to mead, consumption of mead, geared more Ayele offers a digital version of his the bootstrap guide to mead. No toward a novice mead drinker but book for free on his site beedvine. long boring discussions of Vikings can be appreciated by experts as com and Mesopotamians here. This is the well. And the drink more mead part – quick modern guide to high-quality, absolutely! modern American craft . It’s a Right: Ayele Solomon judging at the 2014 mazer cup Below: Interior pages from “The Celebrated Story of winner! Drink more mead!” Support the Mead industry and buy Honey Wine”

EXPANDING WINE HORIZONS

Ayele Solomon expand their “wine horizons.” where the two diverge. Take, for The Honey Wine Company example, the fact that unlike As the honey wine industry grows, , honey wines are free of “Honey Wine? Mead? Seriously? Why The Celebrated Story of Honey Wine tannins, those naturally occurring would I drink honey wine? A truly hopes to be the go-to reference for polyphenols in that leaves good wine is made with grapes.” the nascent honey wines fan looking a dry, puckering sensation on your to gain knowledge about their new palate. Many wine drinkers dislike That’s the reaction of most people potent libation – a well-researched the of tannins, but there’s when they hear about the golden and enjoyable aperitif on the top- tremendous social pressure to enjoy wine. Such reactions called for an en- ic. We explore the origins, history, a glass of wine along with the rest of lightenment to make citizens aware varieties, food pairings, mixology, the dinner party (statistically, women about this hidden gem of a beverage fermentation, myth, health, environ- and younger people have a higher that’s been the choice of royalty and mental issues, bee colony collapse sensitivity to tannins). So we present ancient civilizations across the globe, disorder, and finally the rebirth of honey wine as a delightful and envi- and that’s now making the comeback honey wine and current trends. ronmentally superior alternative to of the ages. So we decided to tell The grape wine. Celebrated Story of Honey Wine in We also set out to dispel various our eponymous book. myths about honey wine, the princi- We wrote the book as a public service ple one being: “Since it’s made from to create awareness; it is available We had to approach such a foreign honey, all honey wine must taste for free on DiscoverHoneyWine.org, topic delicately, with good humor, sweet.” We delve into this misconcep- or you can get a hard copy for $10 and lots of illustrations (50 in all, tion in the chapter “Misunderstand- on Amazon. While the author is The most of them color). We decided on ing is such a sweet sorrow.” So if im- Honey Wine Company, there is es- a light-hearted, easy-to-read, but bibers shirk at the thought of tasting sentially no marketing of the compa- informative storytelling approach. honey wine for fear of its sweetness, ny’s wines, so all meaderies may want Most books on honey wine focus ex- this chapter will lay that old wive’s to buy a few copies for their tasting clusively on one topic, typically on a tale to rest. rooms. We have a meadery bulk pur- fermentation process that can be too chase price that some have already heavy-handed for enthusiastic grape While we highlight some similarities taken advantage of. wine connoisseurs simply looking to with grape wine, we also point out

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notes which complemented a clas- he suggested a Belgian Quad. It turns Jonathan arranged for a day when sic porter. This beer has joined the out that Belgian Quads, or depending we could accompany him to his hives seasonal line up at Granite Mountain on whom you are talking to, Belgian and participate in collecting honey Brewing and I am looking forward to Dark Strong , are my favorite from the source. the next batch. . The conversation evolved over several phone calls and meet- We assembled local honey, local The next brewery I was invited to ings, as did the recipe, ingredients, grains, Belgian malt, Belgian yeast brew at was Arizona Wilderness and process. and noble , and oh yeah a koels- CRAFT BEVERAGE Brewing Company in Gilbert, Arizona. chip, Brett, and some . After This brewery was recently voted by A collaboration often reflects the extracting honey ourselves with labor ratebeer.com as being “The Best New values of the companies involved in intensive, character building tools of COLLABORATIONS Brewery in the World.” Their practice the project so Jonathan invited a local the bee keeping trade, and brewing of using local grains and wild ingre- bee keeper, Brian Markham, to meet the beer, a bit over two wine ’s dients harvested from nature and with us over and lunch. Brian is worth was placed into an open fer- applying these ingredients to a wide an owner of the company Bee Dudes mentation vessel known as a koels- BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, BUILDING BUSINESS variety of beer styles has earned and keeps bees in the Southeast chip. The koelschip allows contact them some impressive reviews. I Valley of Phoenix. He is a fount of with the air in the brewery, and wild worked with owner and brewer knowledge on all things honey and yeast to enter the wort. In addition to Jonathan Buford to create something bees. When he spoke, we listened this, yeast was added unique. I suggested a braggot, and as if studying for a test. Brian and to contribute a funky complexity to

Jeff Herbert made many great friends in the relatively small compared to a tradi- Superstition Meadery industry since starting Superstition tional brewpub system of 7 barrels Meadery, and I wanted to see what or a production brewery which often For several years now the craft beer synergy could be created by blend- starts with a 15 barrel brew house. world has shown us that when great ing craft beverage making strategies. This however is a very popular way brewing minds get together to make Our strategy is to use Arizona honey for entrepreneurial brewers to enter a beer some fantastic results ensue. and combine that foundation with the market and grow awareness for There is no “Normal” when it comes the best special ingredients from their products. Granite Mountain has to these projects; often larger na- around the world, often applying proved to be an excellent “Commu- tional craft breweries team up with the techniques of barrel fermenting nity Supported Nano Brewery” and a smaller local brewery, or a brewer and aging. While we are a very small they make some great beer. Michael may travel to Europe or New Zea- operation, this approach has proved had a great porter recipe and we had land, or more than two breweries to be successful in both the arenas of both had luck using beans get together and develop something competition and in sales. Logistically in our own products, and naturally that has never been brewed be- speaking, the way this works is that honey is required when collaborating fore. Sometimes the same recipe is an idea turns into a recipe, and the with a meadery. So we drew up a brewed on different systems and the host brewery or meadery purchas- recipe for a Honey Vanilla Porter. results are compared. Other times es the ingredients, obtains formula one brewer invites a fellow brewer and/or label approval as required, Michael says, “Collaborative brew- to make a collaborative beer and and in turn sells the product as their ing is all about two brewers getting the invitation is returned so that the own, but with the name of the guest together and each suggesting what host brewery will later be the guest brewer or mead maker attached. As they think would make a great beer. brewery and a new beverage will be with many great ideas, collaborations One guy says this, one guy says that, crafted. This sort of effort represents begin as conversations at a . and all of a sudden an idea develops.” the true spirit of the craft beverage He continues. “It is about creativity.” world, creativity without boundaries. One evening while drinking with Mi- So we took Michael’s porter recipe chael Stanger, head brewer at Gran- and decided to add Madagascar Keeping this spirit in mind, I set out ite Mountain Brewing in Prescott, Ari- Bourbon Vanilla Beans and Arizona over the past 6 months to explore zona, we decided to make a new beer wildflower honey. The result was craft beverage collaborations be- for their line up. Granite Mountain is fantastic. A full flavored beer around tween my meadery and both other a Nano Brewery, meaning that they 7.5% ABV that was cleanly fermented brewers and mead makers. I have brew on a 3 barrel system, which is and showed subtle vanilla and honey

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Soon it was time to leave Arizona and begin a road trip to the meadery closest to me, which is in Oceanside, California. Golden Coast Meadery is the only Meadery in Southern Cal- ifornia and is really doing great. In a tale representative of the mead industry, during my visit in June they were planning their grand opening event and were already planning their first expansion. I met with owner Frank Golbeck, and his crew, and we cracked open some Super- stition meads and got the ball rolling on what sort of test batches to whip up. In order to represent Arizona for my first out of state collaboration I brought a half gallon of “Prescott Wildflower Honey.”

Maury is the head mead maker at Golden Coast and while tossing back some Sparkling Marion Mead we de- cided to make three 5 gallon batches. One would have dried and ground schisandra berry, known as the five flavor berry for its salty, sweet, sour, pungent (spicy), and flavors. The second would have locally sourced and the third would be a low traditional mead made with the honey I brought along. Frank and Maury were interested in seeing what flavors this new honey would make. Golden Coast solely produces carbonated meads and these meads were headed for a keg once they were done fermenting. As I left Gold- en Coast, we traded bottles of mead and I extended a standing invitation to my new friends to visit Prescott and make some mead in Arizona. the beer. The majority portion of the Jonathan said to his fellow owner One of the coolest aspects of collab- beer known as “New Brood” would and brewer Patrick, “This is one of orations is the sharing of knowledge be aged at least 4 weeks and the sour the best beers we have made.” I am and techniques. With mead making version known as “Old Brood” would looking forward to the Fall to try the there are some excellent resources be placed into former cabernet bar- sour version of our collaboration. I dedicated to home mead making, rels for at least 3 months. believe that it will represent a fine notably Ken Schramm’s work, but example of the cutting edge craft there is no mead making bible along It turned out that the Belgian Quad beverage making that many of us are the lines of “A Textbook of Brewing” Braggot was amazing. Think Westv- working hard to make Arizona known By Jean De Clerck. So a conversation leteren 12 with a sweet honey finish. for. between commercial mead makers

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yields many benefits covering as- contribute to the collaboration I also wanted to take advantage of pick- dried selection was unparal- batches. I began mixing up the must that working together strengthens pects of production and business. brought Jesse a half gallon of local ing up some special ingredients of leled. They even had fresh . while Jesse measured and rehydrat- our personal skills, our business rela- My time at Golden Coast was no Prescott honey. my own while on this trip. Jesse is a After looking like goofy Americans for ed the yeast. After a short while we tionships, builds bridges between our exception. As meaderies, we all have coffee aficionado and I have been passing each other bags of to had pitched the yeast and set the respective craft beverage industries, different approaches to the craft and Within a half hour of arriving we planning to make a coffee mead smell for 15 minutes we decided to two fermenters into a temperature and our customers. I encourage ev- by increasing your awareness of al- headed off to find inspiration for our for a while now. So for our morning buy a type of that I have controlled refrigeration unit Jesse eryone reading this article to spread ternate perspectives you can become project. We started at Beachwood coffee we drove to Venice and visited never seen. It was a thick bark and custom made. After primary fermen- your wings and make some mead a much better mead maker. BBQ and Brewing for a responsible the trendy coffee shop Intelligentsia. originated in India. We also bought tation Jesse will add the fresh curry with another meadery when you are meal before sampling many craft Known worldwide for their Black Cat fresh curry leaves and dried goose- leaves, cinnamon bark, and a handful traveling, or hook up with your local After leaving Oceanside I headed beers, moved on to the really cool Espresso I had to buy 2 pounds of berries for good measure. of gooseberries to create a unique brewery and invite them to make north to Torrance, California to meet Smog City Brewing Company and fin- whole beans to bring home and use blend of Indian flavors in one mead, a mead with you while you plan to Jesse Tice, a mead maker who is ished up at the famous Naja’s Place in my first coffee mead. Jesse and I arrived back at his house and the was added in primary go brew a beer with them. It does planning to open the first meadery in on the Redondo Beach pier. Before and we began the process of clean- for the second. take some time, but it is time well the LA area. We had met at the Mazer the night was over we had decided After Venice, it was time to head ing and sterilizing our equipment to spent. The mutual cross marketing Cup in Boulder, Colorado this past that our collaboration should repre- back to Torrance, and our first stop make two 3 gallon batches of sack So while I have been able to try two will expose both parties to fresh craft March and the topic of collaborating sent the multi-cultural Torrance area was at an Indian Food Market. I have strength mead. We had my hon- of these collaborations already, it is beverage drinkers and in short, make came up, at a bar of course. Fortu- by stopping by an ethnic market to been a fan of Indian food for years ey, California blossom, and fun waiting to try the rest. In looking you better at what you do. nate timing allowed this to occur source ingredients. but I have never tried to shop for California wildflower. Jesse also had back at the past 6 months of brewing during the same time as my visit raw ingredients to make it at home. blackberries, blueberries, and red beer and making mead with my fel- to the San Diego area. In order to In addition to our collaboration, I This was a really authentic place. The defrosting for one of the low liquid craftsmen, I have realized

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Fairbrother is not afraid of sharing Source Certified honey which is ters most. We pay extra to import recipes or true transparency on the ethically sourced, sustainable and Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla beans meadery tours of his facility, as he independently verifiable all the way and Vietnamese cinnamon, because believes sincerely that anyone can back to the hive of origin. are it makes such a difference in quality try follow a recipe but that there is sourced as local as possible. in the end product.” no guarantee that the craft artistry it takes will produce the perfect, consis- “But,” says Fairbrother, ”obviously as Moonlight Meadery advertises that tent quality end product. we grow our local grows. We wish we history never tasted SO Good! The MOONLIGHT MEADERY’S could get mangos in New Hampshire” company tagline Romance by the Moonlight Meadery only uses True- he laughs. “, its the quality that mat- Glass says it all. The meads are named mostly with a flirtatious, MICHAEL FAIRBROTHER romantic hint alluding to where it all started. The company name “Moon- light” came from Michael Fairbrother “moonlighting”, when he was Chief “MEAD TO ME IS LIKE AN ARTIST’S BLANK CANVAS” Operating Officer by day, and home- brew enthusiast by night. He started home brewing beer before learning how to make mead as a creative outlet from his executive job. He joined a local homebrew club, Brew Free or Die, one of the largest home- Diversity: di’v’rsitē,dī-/: The word worldwide. To see the variety of sive sources to ferment from. Moon- brew clubs in New England. He went may be a noun, but to Moonlight meads available to taste at Moonlight light doesn’t make many hydromels, on to become president of that club Meadery, it means variety is the spice Meadery’s tasting room located in instead they push the envelope and for 4 years. Fairbrother ran the Sam of life! Michael Fairbrother founder Londonderry NH is astonishing. suggest the bottles are sized to be Adams Longshot and Patriot compe- and head mead-maker continues to enough for 2 people to share. titions for Boston Beer Company. delight his fan base and newcom- Fairbrother explains, “Not all variet- ers alike with artisanal varieties in ies are going to sell the same volume Says Fairbrother of his meads, “I feel “I thought I could do this part time every style imaginable. While wine but the same amount of attention to obliged to showcase mainstream when I started,” explains Fairbrother, is commonly categorized by Cab- detail on the flavor profile is afforded adult beverage drinkers how diverse “until I met Omar from Surly Brewing ernet, , and to every single one.” mead can be. It is not just the “won- Company who changed my life with Port to name but a few, mead (wine der bread” of meads that so many one sentence…He asked me how I made from honey) can be identified The bottles of different colored people may have tried at a Renais- thought I could possibly do some- into genres of Traditional (nothing meads light up the granite bar and sance Fair. It can be SO much more. thing I loved part-time?” but honey); Methyglin (spice added); entice tasters to move from surpris- I make commercial mead the same Melomel (fruit added); Cyser (a melo- ingly very dry meads like Flame (bold, as I used to as a home brewer…. for Omar was right! With origins in mel made specifically from ); tart black currant and rhubarb) that myself.” Fairbrother laughs. “I am Fairbrother’s garage, Moonlight is Pyment (a melomel made specifical- smack the tongue into salivating, to a BJCP certified judge and I have housed today in a 4000 square foot ly from grapes); Capsumel (chilies unique barrel aged meads that pick travelled all over the country invited facility busting at the seams. added); Braggot (malt added) etc. The up the flavor profiles of Jim Beam to judge Best of Show beer, cider accepted definition is that the majori- bourbon, Sam Adams Utopias, Alla- and meads. I have won numerous “We would love to showcase a full ty of the fermentable sugars are from gash Currieux and fresh French competitions myself as an amateur cycle of Beehive to Bistro someday,” the honey used. barrels. Some of these meads have and as a professional. I know what it says Berniece Van Der Berg, VP Sales already been aged for up to 3 years takes to make quality mead, you start & Marketing, “We just have a precise “Mead to me is like an artist’s blank in these barrels, expanding and con- with only the best ingredients and vision of that space and we have not canvas,” explains Fairbrother. “My tracting over the seasons allows the ensure 100% sanitary conditions. We yet found the perfect spot or price! mother taught me to cook – she meads to soak up the previous flavor have never yet lost a batch since we Right now we are in an industrial taught me to think through flavors profiles resulting in premier meads went into business. Apply creativity park and we offer a Romance Pack- not just follow a recipe.” that sell for between $24 - $100 per and watch the wonder of tasters, age tour which is more aligned with Fairbrother takes this creativity to 375ml bottle. especially first timers. It’s like seeing the origin of mead and the term hon- a whole new level with his pletho- a baby try something really good eymoon than our production space. ra of mead varieties, 70! Currently Honey has always been and will con- for the first time, eyes widen and Knowing that women are a large tar- the most registered mead varieties tinue to be one of the most expen- generally “Wow! as the eyes smile”. get market for our brand, we insisted

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on a spotlessly clean bathroom and great job of educating mainstream tion. Diligence is required to monitor tasteful tasting bar. We encourage adult beverage drinkers with their pesticides and pests and research local artists to display their craft on advanced, educated palette demands is needed to find better, sustainable the tasting room walls. “ about mead as a category. Michael solutions to the challenges mead as Moonlight Meadery self-distributes in insists on a collaborative approach an industry faces. Moonlight Mead- New Hampshire, utilizes distributors for the mead market. It’s smart, the ery is striving to be at the forefront in the rest of New England, California more shelf space mead grows into, of public awareness. An infusion of and Australia and currently a brand the better success for the entire research for mead to be understood agent acts on their behalf to the rest industry”. and accepted on a mainstream liquor of the country. With explosive growth category level as well as the scientific Moonlight, has met challenges of As small businesses, most meaderies world is needed. This is imperative scaling on a commercial basis and can’t afford to reinvent the wheel if the mead category is to sustain are learning to deal with the 3 tier in the market place. As VP of Sales the injection of popularity it is now distribution system. & Marketing Van Der Berg suggests experiencing. that meaderies support each other Says Van Der Berg, “It’s a big leap and the category as a whole. That UC Davis has introduced mead from homebrew to worldwide along with professional looking labels education classes this year, pioneer- distribution. I joke that my teeny and high quality commercial meads ing acceptance from the wine world. marketing budget now has to spread she encourages, will go a long way to Michael Fairbrother is supporting across the Globe. We have had to be growing the segment in the already changes to the federal liquor laws to extremely creative with how we can cluttered craft beer, wine and cider align with modern mead making by afford to market ourselves. When world. She advises that the mead donating proceeds from Mead Free we started out, it was Michael and I industry simply must collectively or Die 2014 competition being held in supporting local area farmer’s mar- agree on the main elements of mead New Hampshire August 16th – 17th. kets without being permitted to taste to spread the wealth of mead history This will support an initial attempt to product!” and knowledge to ensure gains in procure legal representation to mod- category recognition and placement. ernize outdated laws and educate Together, Michael and Berniece main- Making mead is entwined with such a legislators on the mead industry and tain local community support by do- rich history as well as an opportunity create awareness on the challenges nating time, product and presence at to enlighten the public on how fragile commercial mead makers face in tasting events as an important part of our environment is. It offers the their craft currently. Both homebrew their marketing plan. They attest to opportunity to highlight honeybees and commercial entries are invited putting product in people’s mouths. and nature and how we all depend As a small business they have the on each other to survive. www.meadfreeordie.com. advantage of being nimble enough to quickly adapt to change and pace in Mead is the oldest fermented bev- the market. erage but the most forgotten. As an industry we depend on education Van Der Berg continues, “We do a relating to honey, bees and conserva-

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tonishing range of cuisines available to the American table, especially in EXPERT MEAD PAIRING WITH CHRISSIE large cities. Today, with the internet as a resource for recipes and special- ty ingredients, anyone has access to MEAD & SPICY FOOD everything, no matter how remote or rural your hometown. CHRISSIE MANION ZAERPOOR Urban takeout options for spicy foods are limitless; bring home the takeout food and bring out the mead Mead novices who walk into our spicy foods (the exception is Bour- for pairing. Or bring a couple bottles meaderies with the belief that all bon-barrel-aged traditional meads of mead with you for a dinner out meads are sweet, or that mead is just paired with haute cuisine Southern with friends: virtually all restaurants for Viking wanna-bes and for out-of- BBQ anything; but it’s the Bour- will open and serve your mead for fashion fare from the Dark Ages, are bon, rather than the oak, that really you for a small “corkage fee,” which about to get blown out of their socks. makes these pairings resonate) • Sparkling meads, whether session is generally far less than the markup Mead is not yet appreciated as the meads or methode champensoise, on a bottle of wine bought from the food-friendly sophisticated beverage • Very dry meads tend to accentuate cleanse the palate of pepper oils, restaurant’s wine list. A corkage fee that it actually is; I’ve never seen a the heat, usually in a bad way; while refreshing your mouth for the next around $10 to $15 per bottle is typi- restaurant with a mead list and rarely sweetness cools the burn, in a good fiery bite cal in big city restaurants; $5 to $10 have seen mead on the menu at all. way. in smaller towns and cities. Bringing At least for now, mead pairings hap- • Low-alcohol session meads balance your mead with you is a great way pen at home. It is when your custom- • Spicy foods make high-alcohol the heat, are refreshing, and typical- to be a Mead Ambassador; you’re ers pair meads with spicy foods that meads taste hot ly have a little residual sugar, all of letting both your dining companions they can really impress their friends, which play well off spicy foods and the restaurant staff know that and shatter their preconceptions • Very hot spices make the palate you wish mead was on the wine list about mead. less sensitive to subtle flavors and • Chilled meads pair better with (or better yet: that there was a stand- aromas; when paired with hot foods, scorching-hot foods than do room alone mead list in addition to the Sweet, semi-sweet, off-dry, fruity, and delicate meads seem pallid and unin- temperature meads. usual wine list)! low-alcohol meads cut the heat in teresting by comparison spicy foods for some really amazing So to restate, the list of characteris- For truly wonderful pairings with pairings. • Metheglins made with hot spices tics to avoid when pairing mead with spicy ethnic food, let the additional such as pepper and generally spicy food is actually quite short: ingredients in the mead come from Start simply with traditional (hon- complement spicy ethnic foods less hopped, oaked, spiced, very dry, or the same cuisine as the food. For ey-only) meads, and then, as your well than you’d think. (But as with with very high alcohol levels. Note example, Mexican restaurants often confidence in pairings increases, you every rule, there are exceptions: - at this point that most beers are offer a hot or iced herbal tea known can broaden your spicy-food pairings ger-beef stir-fry really amps up when hopped, many wines are oaked (or as “Jamaica” or “hibisco” which is Photo courtesy of Lost Tribes T’ej (Flushing, New York) to melomels as well. Turn up the you pair with a ginger mead. Or if red wines have high tannins, which made from bright-red dried hibiscus heat as hot as you like in your food; you’re having a dinner party themed meads rarely have at all), and many flowers. Nectar Creek Meadery in and apricot meads perform “close water, orange flower water, or mint. as a general rule, the hotter the food, around hot and spicy food, you can wines and are puckery-dry; Corvallis, Oregon, makes a lightly enough”). Because a mango-flavored Meads with these flavors always pair the sweeter and fruitier your mead go over the top with meads flavored while meads rarely are. In other sweet seasonal session mead fla- drink is already a standard part of well with Middle Eastern food. Apri- pairing can be. with chili peppers!) words, dinner beverage alternatives vored with hibiscus: this scores the cuisine, you can be sure that a cot melomels can be wonderful with such as beer, wine, cider, and mixed four different flavor “hits” to make it mango melomel will be a terrific pair- some Middle Eastern foods, espe- First, a few warnings, because there categorically pair less well with pair wonderfully with Mexican food: ing with Indian food every time. cially Turkish, but may not work for are a few combinations to avoid. DO’S FOR PAIRING MEAD spicy food than mead. That’s not to ethnically-authentic ingredient of everything. Try them out with vari- WITH SPICY FOOD say, of course, that sublime pairings hibiscus, low alcohol, some residual Plum wine is a standard in Chinese, ous dishes to see what works for you. DON’TS FOR PAIRING MEAD can’t happen with beer or wine plus sweetness, and carbonation. Japanese, and Thai restaurants; again, Earthy red pyments are also lovely • Meads with residual sugars cool the spicy food. Of course they can. The a plum melomel will pair well with with Middle Eastern foods, especially WITH SPICY FOOD heat in spicy-hot food point is that you’re much more likely For another example, Indian restau- spicy Asian food almost every time. if you’re lucky enough to find one to nail a spicy-food pairing the first rants almost always offer a “mango Redstone Meadery makes a plum pu- made with Shiraz/ grapes. (But • Spicy foods make meads with hops • Lush fruity meads, whether melo- time with a good mead. lassi” on the menu: this is a non-al- ree mead which is widely distributed. remember: don’t be disappointed if or tannins taste bitter. mels or just traditional meads that coholic drink made with mango juice Most Middle Eastern cuisines of- the label doesn’t specify what kind register as having fruity aromas, Among the many hedonistic joys of and yogurt. Innumerable meaderies fer traditions of or soft drinks of grapes were used in a pyment; in • Oaked meads tend to clash with hot, balance the heat of spicy foods the American melting pot is the as- make mango meads (and perfumed with rose water, jasmine the U.S. our Tax and Trade Bureau

22 | MEADMAKERS.ORG AMMA | 23 AMMA HERE ARE SOME HOT AND SPICY DISHES TO CONSIDER AS PAIRINGS FOR MEADS. actually forbids mead labels to list the type of grapes used and the Food Suggested Pairings source on the label, in the interest of Spicy European pork roast sparkling juniper berry mead from Redstone Meadery (Boulder, Colo- not misleading the consumer. Ap- rado) parently the TTB thinks there’s some Spicy Chinese pork plum melomel or a semi-sweet traditional mead risk that you may not know that a Spicy Southern or Caribbean pork Tupelo honey mead or a peach melomel mead or a pyment contains not only that grape wine but also a substantial Spicy Hawaiian or tropical pork guava or mango melomels, or traditional meads made from Polynesian honeys such as Lehua Blossom or macadamia blossom honeys. starting dose of honey.) Cajun fried oysters sparkling or blueberry meads , or Ethiopian traditional mead, is Barbeque anything lush, fruity meads such as peach or blackberry. Choose a melomel that plays on ingredients in the sauce! always good with all Ethiopian foods, and with most African, Carribean, Ethiopian food authentic Tej, or with any semi-sweet traditional mead, or with melo- mels such as blackberry, peach, or cherry and Cajun foods as well. In fact, Tej is a good go-to choice for pairing Sushi with wasabi sparkling, plum, pear, or subtle cherry mead with virtually any scorching-hot Hot wings fruity melomel to play on ingredients in the sauce cuisine including Szechuan Chinese. Spicy Szechwan stir-fries plum, mango, or cherry melomels; or with traditional meads, especially (In the unlikely event that you have low-alcohol -style meads such as Golden Coast Meads from San trouble locating Tej, a semi-sweet Diego. traditional mead and a good Tej are Super-Spicy Mongolian Beef melomels taking their cue from other ingredients in the recipe interchangeable in almost all applica- Latin Food (a favorite cookbook is Dave DeWitt, Melissa Stock, and Mary hibiscus blossom meads, or meads made from avocado blossom hon- tions.) Jane Wilan’s Hot & Spicy Latin Dishes: The Best Fiery Food from Las ey, or lower-alcohol session meads such as Rogue Ales, Nectar Creek, Americas) or Redstone Lunch combo plate of spicy Ethiopian Spicy grilled chicken light semi-sweet meads, orange blossom honey meads, and cusines at Habesha Restaurant in sparkling meads Portland, Oregon, with two different Spicy honey mustard chicken traditional meads T’ej-style meads; photo by the author. Silken Tofu in Spicy Red Coconut Sauce apricot, mango, and/or sparkling meads Hungarian Paprika Chicken soft traditional mead such as Solas by Sky River (west coast) Brad Dahlhofer, owner of B. Nektar or Makana Iqhilika’s traditional mead aged in barrels, or with Meadery in Michigan, says, “I really HoneyMaker semisweet or blueberry mead. Any of the Eastern Euro- pean sweeter and stronger meads, such as from Poland, , and like a traditional buckwheat-honey Czechoslovakia mead with barbequed meat. A tu- Spicy Chicken with Cilantro and Mushrooms Off-dry or semisweet traditional mead pelo-honey mead goes real well with White Chicken Chili Traditional mead, or apricot melomel, or session meads Indian or Thai food.” Try B. Nektar’s Lunch combo plate of spicy Ethiopian cusines at Habesha Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, with two dif- Wildberry Pyment with curried any- ferent T’ej-style meads; photo by the author. Smoky-Hot Molasses BBQ Sauce on Glazed Pork Tenderloin Roast almost any not-too-sweet melomel; smoky and grilled foods tend to go thing! well with oaked or barrel-aged meads generally. thing that will go a long way at your they paired our Hopped Blueberry Sweet Potato Puree with Chipotle Chile cyser, peach, or blackberry melomel Michael Fairbrother, owner of of next special meal.” Mead with Buffalo Wings and Swed- Lamb Curry with and Apricots; curries generally apricot melomel or rose mead (rhodomel) Moonlight Meadery in Londonderry, ish Meatballs. Sounded strange so Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup sparkling mango, apricot, or hibiscus melomel New Hampshire, offers this obser- Moonlight Meadery’s Blossom is a we tried it - it was awesome!” Spicy Pumpkin and Hominy Tortilla Soup cranberry melomel vation: “Pairing beverages with food fruity alternative that NOTE: This article is a condensed Thai Chicken Soup mango melomel is almost like a sport in modern works well with spicy food, including excerpt of a chapter from Mead and American cuisine, but in my opinion Green Chile Tortilla Pie; taco salad; chili relleno with salsa; Mexican hibiscus sparkling mead Latin, Indian and Asian dishes. Moon- Food Pairings, a forthcoming book by cuisine generally it’s better approached more as an light’s Flutter and Madagascar meads Chrissie Manion Zaerpoor, owner of adventure and less as a sport. Sport Spicy Falafels and other Middle Eastern or Indian spicy foods such as apricot, mango, sour cherry, or rose meads are slightly sweet and perfumed, also Kookoolan World Meadery in Yamhill, Harissa has a discernible win for one team pairing well with Indian dishes and Oregon. You can preview chapters and a loss for another. Food pairings Chinese Spicy Fried Rice plum melomels or traditional mead, especially Rogue Ale’s widely-avail- foods that might have their own nose of her book by finding her name at able 19 Original Colonies Mead are subjective, and almost always of spices from saffron or curry. www.academia.org (as of June 2014, work differently for any two people at Pasta Pinon Verde (Bow Tie Pasta with Pine Nuts, Cream, and Pobla- Choose an elegant semi-sweet wine-style mead 15 chapters down and six to go!). no Chiles) (Chef James Campbell Caruso, El Faro: Spanish Tapas and my table. It’s really more about the Ash Fischbein of Sap House Meadery Cuisine) journey than the endpoint; finding in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, Also subscribe to her mead and food Appetizer of fried Padron Peppers (mostly padron peppers are sweet, Semi-sweet traditional mead ways to present multiple and reports, “Draft Magazine did an arti- pairing blog at kookoolanblog.com. but about one out of every ten is scorching hot! textures so that there is a win over cle on “Game Day” pairings last year Grilled Quail with Espresso-Chipotle Sauce traditional or blackberry melomel the whole meal for everyone, some- around the Super Bowl; surprisingly Rich chocolate desserts such as flourless chocolate cake are lots more semi-sweet or sweet mead or melomel. (Or pair a straight-up-choco- interesting when they’re loaded with chili peppers. late dessert with a chili-pepper-infused mead such as the ones from Wild Blossom Meadery in Chicago, Illinois; from Moonstruck Meadery in Nebraska, or from Makana Iqhilika in .)

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ALGOMAH ACRES HONEY HOUSE MEADERY 1 presents the funding goals and totals per meadery, and Figure 2 Algomah Acres Honey House Meadery started as a passion and a lifestyle shows the number of backers and for Melissa Hronkin and John Hersman. Seeking to support sustainable average backer contribution. farming and artisanal products, they combined their love of with arguably the most sustainable form of alcohol available, mead. Made CROWDFUNDING BEST PRACTICES from only honey, traditional meads require no irrigation, fertilizer, or toxic pesticides. Comparing the seven successful YOUR MEADERY meadery Kickstarter projects has its To support this dream, Melissa and John started a Kickstarter project in limitations, so making direct analy- July 2011, and ran the project for 60 days. Their initial funding goal was ses is difficult. Some of the success $9,300, and 170 backers provided a total of $9,676, beating the goal by may be owed to popularity of the 4%. These funds would support the initial licensing fees and equipment AN ANALYSIS OF MEADERY FUNDING RAISED ON KICKSTARTER meadery owners, professionalism purchases necessary to get bring the Sweetness and Light to the Upper of the Kickstarter project, or sheer Peninsula of Michigan. dumb luck at the time of founding. However, there are some import- The Algomah Acres project included nine funding tiers from $1 up to ant conclusions that can be drawn $2,500, with options from thank you cards and beeswax lip balm at the when looking at the individual low end, to a gourmet meal for 2 including all of the other funding tiers at projects. the high end. to start a meadery. Luckily, recent Allen Jones only rewards based crowdfunding is Algomah Acres’ most purchased tier received 69 total backers (nearly changes in the crowdfunding market- The popularity of Algomah Acres’ MeadMakr.com examined. 50% of the accounted for backers in the funding tier table) and included a place provide a viable option for me- ticket invitation is similar to that thank you card, lip balm, 4 oz jar of honey, and an invitation to the aderies to seek funding directly from of Bos Meadery’s tour and tasting, Kickstarter is the largest and most Party at the Algomah Acres Honey House a month after the conclusion their potential customers before that where both of these funding tiers ew meadery owners face well-known crowdfunding site, and is of the project. However, this funding tier only accounted for 24% of the numerous challenges, from first batch is ever started. the only platform considered in the received the most support for their respective projects. total funding received. The tiers that included a t-shirt and gift box, and navigating the intense following analysis. Other crowdfund- a custom painted bee hive in addition to the other funding tier projects, At the time of this writing, twenty regulatory burden placed ing sites, such as Indiegogo, Crowd- brought in 24% and 21% of the total funding, despite only having 7 and Nupon the , to the meadery projects have sought fund- funder, Rockethub, etc., may also The Leaky Roof Meadery and Gold- 3 backers respectively. The two most expensive tiers, which included the ing through Kickstarter. Seven were en Coast Mead projects showed the time required to educate potential be great options to seek meadery option to help craft a production mead recipe and the option for a spe- successful in securing funding to popularity of stickers, t-shirts, glass- customers that mead is not just a fundings. However, based on quick cial dinner for two prepared by the head meadmaker, did not receive any start or expand a meadery. What set ware, and honey. Melovino’s project mispronunciation of “meat.” Perhaps searches, Kickstarter was the most backers. most importantly, a meadery owner these seven projects apart from the commonly used project for meadery suggests that glassware is more others and led to their funding? Read valuable than t-shirts to backers, as must also find the initial startup fund- funding projects. For those seeking The Algomah Acres project shows that unique ticket based options can on to find out. many more backers supported the ing to create the meadery. more information about these plat- drive backer purchases. This tier’s success cannot fully be attributed to forms and to determine which is best glassware funding tiers, however the sample size available cannot the Harvest Party invitation, as it included 4 oz of honey from the Algomah The initial expense to enter the alco- for you, check out the article “Top 10 Acres not available at the next cheapest funding tier. However, it is safe to hol industry prevents many aspiring WHAT IS CROWDFUNDING? Crowdfunding Sites for Fundraising,” definitively say the shirts are actual- ly less popular. assume the major draw was for the invitation, as $25 for 4 oz of honey is meadmakers from taking the plunge at Forbes.com. an extremely steep price. The funding tier prices may have also contribut- into the commercial market. It often Crowdfunding is the process of acquiring small amounts of fund- The Leaky Roof Meadery and ed to the popularity of this item, as the next cheapest option was only $5, takes more than a year to secure a A search for keywords “mead” and and the more expensive option was $50. winery license, during which rent ing from a large number of people, “meadery” of the Kickstarter proj- Melovino Meadery mix and match is still being paid. Then there is the compared to traditional venture ect database returned a total of 20 options (funding tiers were not time it takes to ferment and age that capital funding in large increments attempted projects, seven of which inclusive of prior levels, but instead batch before selling it on the market. from a small number of donors. The successfully met their funding goal. specific items were offered) may be When factoring in the costs of the majority of crowdfunding to date has The successful funding goals ranged worth considering for future proj- fermenting and bottling equipment been rewards based; that is, for a from $3,950 to $25,000, with an ects, as it spread support across a itself, and that honey as the primary given amount of money the funders average project value of $13,311. The wide range of funding levels and fermentable is significantly more will get a small reward. Equity crowd- number of backers per successful provides improved options for a expensive than grapes (traditional funding (where donors buy an equity project ranged from 47 to 218, and backer to purchase exactly what he wine) or cereal grains (beer), it is easy stake in the company) also exists, the average amount of funding or she wants. to see that it takes a small fortune but for the purpose of this article, provided per backer was $120. Figure

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Bee Well Meadery’s concept of an great idea. meadery. exclusive membership option was The Vanaheim Gold projects show Lastly, when designing a Kickstarter unique to their project. It is import- that even if a project is unsuccessful project, the range of funding options ant to note this idea received the in its first go around, that does not should be considered. Although greatest number of backers and most mean it cannot find supporters in a some of these projects benefit- funding in Bee Well Meadery’s proj- subsequent project. A willingness to ed from large donors purchasing ect. If a meadery is considering hav- test the market seek crowd-sourced the most expensive items, a large ing a wine club in its future, providing funding builds a sense of community amount of support comes from low an enhanced membership option to from the project’s backers, and can priced items. In addition, those who crowdfunding supporters may be a only help with early promotion of the purchase low priced items might be

BEE WELL MEADERY

Chris and Jeremy VanSice started their Kickstarter campaign out of necessity to meet building code requirements for their newly hatched meadery. They VANAHEIM GOLD had put five years of work into building out their facility, and were running out of funding toward the end of their meadery build out. Like many enterprising entrepreneurs, they sought crowdfunding for the final push, with the funds Torvald Adolphson, owner and vintner at Wide-in-Wisdom Winery, didn’t take no for an answer when his first earmarked for the installation of a new well and septic system. Kickstarter project failed in early 2012. The Wide-in-Wisdom Winery creates its meads under the brand name Vanaheim Gold. According to Adolphson, the Vanaheim Gold name pays tribute to the realm of the World Tree Bee Well Meadery is located in a picturesque region of Northern Michigan. where the gods of farming and fertility lived. The VanSice brothers’ roots in the town of Bellaire span six generations. Their location, nestled on a peninsula between Clam Lake, Lake Bellaire, and Torch The first Vanaheim Gold project sought $10,000 in funding, and consisted of six funding tiers, from $25 to Lake, guarantees that their bees only forage the local fruit orchards, thistle, $5,000. During the 30 days of this project, Vanaheim Gold secured $1,121 from 17 backers. and other wildflowers of the peninsula, resulting in a truly unique product that can only be found at Bee Well Meadery. Following his unsuccessful project’s conclusion, Adolphson was undeterred. Just 48 days after the first project, Adolphson sought funding for Vanaheim Gold again, but this time with updated goals, funding tiers, and project The Bee Well Meadery Kickstarter project had a funding goal of $9,000 to duration. The funding goal of the new project was $3,950, and 40 days were allowed for collecting the neces- support the construction of a new well, septic system, and heating and cooling sary funds. Adolphson simplified the funding tiers to four levels, starting at $25 and going to $100. By the end odds and ends. The VanSice brothers offered six funding tiers, starting at $1 of the project, the Kickstarter project had collected $4,502 from 47 backers, beating his funding goal by 14%. for recognition on their future website, up to a $750 tier to create a custom mead recipe they would produce and sell through the meadery. Over the 30 Comparing the two projects, some interesting trends appear. For the unsuccessful project, there were many day project, Bee Well Meadery raised $14,348 from 218 backers, beating the high ticket items that did not receive any backers. These expensive options included a framed poster of the funding goal by 59%. Vanaheim Gold logo, additional t-shirts to those provided at the lower funding levels, a set of six etched wine , and a personal tasting for the backer and friends. When creating the second project, Adolphson re- The Bee Well project funding tiers included stickers, t-shirts, an exclusive moved these options from his project and simplified the set of items that could be purchased. founding club membership (to receive advance access to new products before they hit the shelves), and the unique opportunity to create the backer’s own The successful project included four funding tiers, of which the first, a $10 option for a certificate of thanks mead recipe. Interestingly, every funding tier received backers, and the oppor- bearing the official Vanaheim Gold logo, did not receive any backers. However, each of the remaining three tunity to create a mead recipe reached its limit of two backers. funding tiers received backers: twenty-two backers for tier 2 at $25 each, seven for tier 3 at $50, and eleven for tier 3 at $100. These funding levels included a 4″ sticker of the Vanaheim Gold logo, grey t-shirts bearing the Setting the first funding goal at $1 lured 14 backers into supporting the proj- Vanaheim Gold and Wide-in-Wisdom Winery logos, and according to the Kickstarter project updates (but not ect, and likely much more from sharing the projects with their friends. Each in the table above), an undisclosed number of bottles from the first mead production run if $100 or more was successive funding tier included all of the rewards of the previous tiers. Inter- given. Kickstartr regulations forbid the giving of alcohol as one of the funding tiers, and thus it was left of the estingly, the honey and exclusive membership options were nearly identical in tier definitions for the project. the number of backers, 65 and 73 respectively. However, the funding received from the exclusive membership accounted for more than 50% of the total funding received, compared to less than 15% coming from the honey.

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AMMA LEAKY ROOF MEADERY the ones who shared the project with The seven meaderies showcased in yield important trends between the the donors purchasing the higher this article present the only success- beverage markets. Nonetheless, the priced options. Therefore it is im- ful crowdfunded meadery project crowdfunding concepts presented Leaky Roof Meadery produces a line of 6.5% alcohol carbonated meads. Leaky Roof’s three founders met portant to remember that providing data points currently available. here may not guarantee success for a working at a small production meadery in Rogersville, MO. However, the business fell through before ever funding options that all potential Further analysis of the unsuccess- new crowdfunding project. However, opening its doors, leaving Todd Rock, Jhett Collins, and Andrew Steiger to set off on their own. After search- backers may be necessary to garner ful projects may shed additional they are worth considering if a small ing for a suitable spot for a meadery, the three decided to build in Buffalo, MO. extensive support. light on what items truly are most amount of funds are needed to bring popular among backers, but are not a new product to market. The Leaky Roof Meadery takes its name from the Kansas City, and Springfield (KCC&S) Railroad, nick- included in this analysis for brevity. named the Leaky Roof Railroad. In the 1870s, plans were drawn up and work was started to run a branch CONCLUSION Additional research in winery, brew- off this railroad up to Buffalo, MO. However, the railroad went bankrupt prior to completion, leaving Buffalo, ery, and distillery projects may also MO as one of the largest ‘landlocked’ communities to never benefit from the presence of a railroad.

In the initial planning stages, the Leaky Roof Meadery realized demand for their product outstripped their production capability. Thus, they went to Kickstarter to seek the funds necessary to build an expanded can- ning line that would help them meet market demand.

The Leaky Roof Meadery sought $25,000 to build their new canning line, and offered funding tiers from a GOLDEN COAST MEAD $1 “build your own” option, up to $5,000 to name the new canning line. Over the 60 day funding period, the Leaky Roof Meadery raised $25,050 from 160 backers, just barely beating their funding goal. Golden Coast Mead, started by three young entrepreneurs, Frank Goldbeck, Joe Colangelo, and Praveen Ramineni, began in 2010 by leasing equipment and The Leaky Roof Meadery project is unique in that they offered most of their items stand-alone, with pack- borrowing space to create 70 gallon batches one at a time. Their ingredients are ages combining the items vs having every subsequent tier including the options from the tiers above them. locally sourced from San Diego orange blossom honey and San Diego springs They further drove this home by providing a “build your own” tier at the $1 level, and listing individual prices water. In May of 2012, they had realized the demand for their mead was greater for each of the items available. This resulted in six of the sixteen funding tier options receiving at least 13 than they could meet through their production space, and the three began their backers, with the most backers supporting tier 7 and tier 10 with 23 backers each. Kickstarter project to purchase the equipment necessary to move into their own meadmaking space. The items offered by the Leaky Roof Meadery included coasters, stickers, koozies, pint glasses, tickets to the LRM Grand Opening, a blue “Bringing the Railroad” t-shirt, a Kickstarter only “Track Crew” t-shirt, a Kickstart- Golden Coast planned to use any funds raised to purchase one bond for a wine- er edition Growler, founder’s plaques, catered tours, and the option to name the production fermenters and making license, two 150 gallon fermenting tanks, three 300 gallon flex tanks, canning line. one 300 gallon bright tank, eight hoses, one pump, one compressor, and a used forklift. The funding tier options included 11 separate funding tiers, starting at The most popular items included a t-shirt, founder’s plaque displayed in the taproom, a ticket to the Grand $1 for a mention on twitter to their 6,000-plus followers, up to $5,000 to have a Opening, and a specialty . The most funding was received from the canning line sponsor, netting bottled named and label designed in the backers honor. $5,000. The next greatest amount of funding came from the tier 10 level, receiving $2,300, followed closely by tier 14 with $2,000. During the course of the 60 day project, Golden Coast Mead received $20,471 from 172 backers, beating the funding goal by 3%. The Leaky Roof Meadery’s decision to offer multiple tier options and a build your own plan was met with great success by their backers. This provided the flexibility to purchase exactly what the backer wanted, Three of the Golden Coast funding tiers garnered support from more than 30 without throwing money away on the items summed up in the funding tier with the item the backer was backers each (tiers 4 through 6). These funding levels, inclusive of the items most interested in. available from the less expensive funding tiers, included a founder sticker and t-shirt for $25, founder pint glass for $50, and a 12 ounce jar of Golden Coast’s honey for $100. However, despite constituting the most popular items, com- bined these three options only accounted for 33% of the total funding received from the project.

Funding tier 7, priced at $500 for a permanent founder’s plaque, an invitation to the launch party, and a free tour and mead tasting, provided the most funding to the completed project, totaling $6,000 of support from 12 backers. Funding tier 8, including the backer’s name on a cask to be opened at a local gastropub received $4,000 from 4 backers. Funding tier 9, which included the backer’s name and portrait on one of the six production tanks financed through the Kick- starter project, received $2,700 from 2 backers.

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BOS MEADERY MELOVINO MEADERY Sergio Moutela, founder and meadmaker at Melovino Meadery, created New Jersey’s first Colleen Bos, a medieval historian and homebrewer for more than 9 years, start- official meadery with the help of Kickstarter. Moutela grew up helping his grandfather ed Bos meadery in an effort to provide the meads she likes to drink to the local produce homemade wines, and per his Kickstarter funding video, “earned [his] purple foot Madison, WI market. Madison is a hotbed for local food and beverages, including from a very young age.” As an adult, Moutela began exploring with home and at least 11 breweries, many local bars and eateries, and the Old Sugar Distillery. brewing. After submitting Moutela’s homemade concoctions to many competitions, he Madison is even well known for the largest producer’s only farmers’ market in the realized his mead came away with many more medals than his beers. As such, he decided US, the Dane County Farmer’s market. to take the plunge and begin the journey of creating Melovino Meadery.

Bos started her meadery close to downtown Madison to ensure foot traffic when When Moutela started his Kickstarter project, he had already secured a Federal winery li- they are able to build out their tasting room. Prior to the Kickstarter project, Bos cense, was working on receiving a state license, and had purchased much of the necessary had already secured the space and equipment necessary for the meadery, and equipment to run the winery. However, Moutela needed just a bit more money purchase needed the last bit of funding to purchase the materials to bring Bos Meadery to the ingredients for his first mead production runs. market. This included honey, yeast, fruit juices, bottles, corks, etc., with any remain- Melovino sought $15,000 through Kickstarter, offering 16 funding tiers starting at a $10 ing funds going to help furnish a tasting room. Melovino Supporter sticker up to $2,000 to assist Moutela with the development of a new production mead recipe. During the 36 day project, Moutela raised exactly $15,000 from The Bos Meadery Kickstarter project sought $11,000 and offered 15 funding tier 59 backers. options. The funding options started at $15 for a tour and tasting, up to $3,000 for the opportunity to consult with Colleen on creating a mead recipe, being a VIP at Melovino received support for 12 of the 16 available funding tier options, and secured two the Bos Meadery Launch Party, and lots of swag that included a t-shirt, drinking backers at the highest funding tier (to consult on the creation of a new production mead horn, , and travel . recipe). With the large variance in backer purchasing decisions, the three funding tiers pro- viding the most amount of funding from the backers were: funding tier 16 received $4,000 The Bos Meadery Kickstarter project was available for 32 days. During this time, from two backers to consult on creating a new production mead recipe; funding tier 11 166 backers provided $15,767, beating the funding goal by 43%. received $1,600 from eight backers that included a wine glass, t-shirt, deluxe personal tour of the meadery, the backer’s name on the MVP (MeloVino Pledgers) plaque; and funding Bos Meadery received backers for 12 of the 15 funding tiers available. The most tier 10 received $1,000, and included everything in the tier 11 option except only a person- popular item by far was the $15 option to receive a tour and tasting with 48 back- al tour (not deluxe). ers. The second most popular item was a funding tier for $45 that included a Bos Meadery wine glass and a personal tour and tasting, with 19 backers. The third Given how broadly the Melovino backers spread their support, it is difficult to draw many most chosen option received 16 backers, and added to the second most popular conclusions from this project. One interesting item is worth noting, however. Tiers 5 and 6 item, with the backer’s name listed as a founding supporter on a plaque at the me- included options to purchase wine glasses, and received six and four backers respectively. adery, a t-shirt, and a travel corkscrew for $200. Tier 7 included a t-shirt and sticker, and received no backers. This may suggest that wine glasses are a more popular item than t-shirts when given the option to purchase both. Even though the first tier item received the most number of backers, it only ac- These three tiers are within $15 of eachother, so it is unlikely the difference in popularity is counted for 5% of the total funding received. Rather, the two tiers contributing the solely due to price. most funding to the project were tier 11 receiving 23% of the total funding and tier 9 (the third most popular described above) receiving 21%. Tier 11 included every- thing in funding tier 9, with the additional of a quality drinking horn.

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2014 MAZER CUP PHOTO JOURNAL

THE MEAD MIXER

34 | MEADMAKERS.ORG AMMA | 35 AMMA THE JUDGING

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THE AWARDS

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BRACKET OR BRAGGOT SESSION MEAD

gold ESB Braggot Dragonmead gold Pollinator Crafted Artisan Meadery silver Crooked Door Amber Dragonmead silver Ginger Session Mead Nectar Creek Honey Wine Ale Braggot bronze Nectar of the Hops Redstone Meadery bronze Big Ass Braggot Rogue Ales & Spirits SPECIALTY (OPEN CATEGORY) – DRY CYSER gold HoneyMaker Mead Maker’s Maine Mead Works Blend Reser gold Stonewall’S Cyser Celestial Meads/ silver Pomegranate Pyment Bos Meadery Alaska Meadery bronze Peachin’ to the Choir Monks Meadery silver Honeycrisp Apple Cyser Arktos Meadery bronze Lumberjack Orchid Cellar SPECIALTY (OPEN CATEGORY) -SEMI-SWEET

DESSERT MEAD-SEMI-SWEET gold Kurt’s Apple Pie Moonlight Meadery silver Oracle Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery silver Mead Dragonmead bronze Chocolate Mead Sap House Meadery DESSERT MEAD-SWEET SPECIALTY (OPEN CATEGORY) – SWEET

gold Berry White Superstition Meadery gold Sambuccus Campbell’s Gold Honey bronze Spiced Pumpkin Mead Dragonmead Farm & Meadery silver Dry Hopped Cyser Sunset Heights Meadery OTHER FRUIT/VEGETABLE MELOMEL – DRY bronze Hunter Orchid Cellar

gold Cherry Mead Dragonmead TRADITIONAL – DRY silver Elderberry Campbell’s Gold Honey Farm gold Oak Barrel Reserve St. Ambrose Cellars bronze Blackberry Sack Schramm’s Mead silver The Golden Drop Honeydew Apiaries OTHER FRUIT/VEG MELOMEL – SEMI-SWEET bronze Winter Mead The Hive Winery TRADITIONAL – SEMI-SWEET gold The Statement Schramm’s Mead silver Fling Moonlight Meadery gold Sokoli Corpo Sp. z.o.o S.K.A bronze Honey And Intermiel silver Elegance Kookoolan World Meadery bronze Mead Munro Honey & Meadery OTHER FRUIT/VEG MELOMEL – SWEET TRADITIONAL – SWEET gold Sunset Blues Cyser Sunset Heights Meadery silver Castellan Orchid Cellar gold AM Pasieka Jaros Maciej bronze Blackberry Mead Falcon Meadery silver Ragnarok Superstition Meadery bronze Original Slovenska Medovina Apimed METHEGLIN – DRY gold Wicked Moonlight Meadery gold Orange Blossom Mead Meniru Meadery & Brewery silver Fire ‘N Spice Chinook Arch Meadery silver Black Sage Meridian Hive Meadery bronze Flavorburst Metheglin Meniru Meadery & Brewery bronze Bouquet Printanier Intermiel Spiced Honey VARIETAL – SEMI-SWEET PYMENT silver Tupelo St. Ambrose Cellars gold Que Syrah – Syrah Celestial Meads silver Aphrodisia Superstition Meadery VARIETAL – SWEET 2014 COMMERCIAL MEADERY RESULTS MEADERY COMMERCIAL 2014 bronze Mead Noir Rosewood Estates Winery gold Staroslovanska Medovina Svetla Apimed silver Staroslovanska Medovina Tmava Apimed

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metabolites of yeast!2 icant sulfur during primary fermen- is not to let it get too warm or too tation,” or “gives your beer a German cold. Since there are compounds in must hefeweizen taste,” but more often (or wort) other than sugar, there are than not you’ll only learn through While often overlooked, second- also other reactions taking place. experimentation. ary metabolites represent a huge amount of a beverage’s “character.” If, for example, yeast encounters The yeast we use, for example, has A skilled brewer, vintner, or mead- ferulic acid (found in grain and some completely different characteristics maker can take a yeast strain, play YEAST CHARACTERISTICS honey) it will, under the right cir- at fermentation temperatures only a around with the fermentation envi- cumstances, convert it into 4-vinyl few degrees apart. At low tempera- ronment, and produce a huge variety guaiacol or a whole set of aldehydes. tures our mead tastes likes cider, at of flavors with the exact same ingre- Don’t like the sound of eating 4-vinyl warmer temperatures it starts to dients. Pretty cool, right? GETTING TO KNOW THE MEAD MAKER’S BEST FRIENDS guaiacol or aldehydes? Well, they’re taste fruity. Why? Dunno. That’s the also known as and vanilla mystery of the microbe. All we know respectively.

It is well known that we are huge advocates of sanitization at Groenn- fell Meadery, having written no fewer 1. We are well aware that most banana bread is made with baking soda and not yeast, but some are yeast than three articles on the subject. breads, and it makes for a better title. The reason is that if Brettanomyces 2. Word to the wise, this is not a popular riddle at parties. gets into your mead instead of the 3. Riddles in general are not popular at parties. sugar (in this case a glucose mole- strain of yeast Ricky Klein you want, the Groenfell Meadery 1. Strain traits are easy to understand cule) and turns it into two ethanol and most of what we covered in the molecules and two carbon dioxide ferulic acid will What do bananas, cloves, eggs, and aforementioned article. Basically, it’s molecules, aka alcohol and bubbles. be metabolized yeast have in common? the list of known characteristics of a into 4-ethylphe- particular strain of yeast. This is significantly less efficient than nol instead of They all go into Banana Bread! 1 aerobic respiration, making only a 4-vinyl guaiacol. How warm should the yeast be? tiny fraction of energy by comparison. The difference? What they have to do with mead is (Temperature Range) That would explain why all macro- Instead of cloves, perhaps not quite so obvious. How much alcohol will kill (or deacti- fauna (y’know, like humans) opted to your mead will vate) the yeast? (Alcohol Tolerance) respire rather than ferment. smell like the A long time ago – over a year which What percentage of the sugar will it south side of a is tantamount to infinity in internet eat? (Attenuation) Well, their loss is our gain because horse blanket. terms – we had an article on our Will it settle out of solution, or will my not only do we breathe, but we also blog about choosing yeast strains. In beverage be hazy? (Flocculation) have the outstanding ability to pro- Esters, phenols, this article we said that the primary cess ethanol into energy in the form aldehydes, hy- function of yeast in mead was to turn Exempli gratia, our yeast works best of ATP, parties, and weight gain. drogen sulfide sugar into alcohol. at ale temperatures, and it possesses (egg smell), and high attenuation, moderate floccu- But we know that mead is so much a million other This is basically true; without yeast, lation, and extremely high alcohol more than just ethanol and the re- compounds are honey and water would never be- tolerance. In many ways, it’s the siduals of honey, which means we’re all secondary come the transcendent tipple known microbial equivalent of our head still missing an important piece of the metabolites of as mead. But as usual, if you want meadmaker. puzzle. fermentation. the full picture it gets much messier very quickly. 2. Primary metabolites are the chem- What is going on in that tiny little If you’re lucky, icals that a cell makes in a process factory known as Saccharomyces cer- the strain traits In fermentation it is important to which is essential to its life-cycle. For evisiae other than fermentation? guide will con- know three things about your yeast: yeast it looks like this: tain information 3. And now we come to the answer to about these 1. Strain Traits C6H12O6 > 2 C2H5OH + 2 CO2 our riddle. What do bananas, cloves, secondary me- 2. Primary Metabolites and eggs have to do with mead? Their tabolites such as, 3. Secondary Metabolites All that means is that yeast takes a flavor compounds are secondary “produces signif-

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MEAD REVIEWS WITH DAK & KYLE

Dakine Beckman and Kyle Corum will present collaborative mead ratings for American Mead Maker. The score they give is reflective of the flavors, aromas, structure and overall enjoyment of each mead. For our Summer issue they have randomly picked out 2 meads from their collection to review and share with you. Neither Dak nor Kyle are asso- ciated with any meadery and they present a candid perspective on commercial meads from two mead fans who have 2014 EVENTS collectively reviewed thousands of craft beverages on ratebeer.com.

February 1st Souper Saturday — Soup & 10—6 pm

REDSTONE BLACK NECTAR March 1st Mardi Gras 7 pm—11 pm

On initial glance this pours pink with a hint of peach. The color immediately takes back to the days of underage drinking and reminds us both of Boones April 6th Lady’s Day 1 pm—5 pm Strawberry Hill. An aroma of sweet up front with is followed by a faint bouquet of raspberry fruit. More than anything, strawberry is the main May 11 th Mother’s Day — Rusty Rose 2 pm—6 pm aroma taking center stage, which reminds us of frozen strawberry popsicles. Honey aroma is very faint and comes off more as beeswax than true hon- ey. The carbonation is light, not offering many bubbles on the tongue. The June 15th Pirate Faire — Tripleshot 2 pm—6pm flavors bring forward much more cherry/strawberry than raspberry. There is no real tartness, which may be the reason there is no pronounced raspber- ry flavor. We found the sweetness level to be very moderate and the flavor July 13 Parrot Head Day —Cruize Control 2pm—6 pm of honey is on the lighter side. Overall, this is a very light, refreshing, easy drinking mead. We would recommend this with lighter food, and we can see mixing it with some orange juice to make a really nice take on the standard August 10th Anniversary Celebration — TBA mimosa. Is there a such thing as a meadmosa? Well there should be! Overall Grade: C+ Sept 21st 7C’s MEAD FEST — Rowan’s Crossing 12 pm—6 pm

Oct. 5 Live Music — Steampunk Revolution 2 pm—6 pm

Oct. 12 OctoberFest— Tripleshot 2 pm—6 pm CELESTIAL MEADS SCHEHERAZADE

At first glance, this mead pours a hazed gold reminiscent of natural apple juice. It’s not only the color of natural apple juice but its chunky as well! The No Cover Charge aroma reminds us of holiday spices used in ciders that come straight from the Bring a Picnic or something to grill apple orchards. The flavors coming through are apples, plums, mulling spices, and sweet honey. This has an unexpected flavor of cherries that makes an Enjoy the music and some wine appearance on the palate. The finish is sweet with very little alcohol notice- Family Friendly able and a wonderful honey flavor. This is a fairly sweet mead and stands well on its own, however we both agreed that it would pair very well with some 7Cs Winery Lat: N 37 deg, 26 min, 12 sec spicy Thai or Indian cuisine. 502 E 560th Rd Long: W 93 deg, 32 min, 52 sec Located 1.8 miles North Overall Grade: B+ Walnut Grove MO 65770 417-788-2263 of Walnut Grove www.7cswinery.com Off Hwy 123 Right on 560th Road www.facebook.com/7cswinery.com

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AMMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS AMMA Meadery List # com Bus: (907) 235-8484 E-mail: [email protected] PRESIDENT & CHAIR OF TREASURER 51 North Brewing Company Arsenal Cider House & Wine EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 51 North Broadway St Cellar Bee Well Meadery Cheryl Webber Chris Webber Lake , MI 48362 300 39th St 39342 Canterbury Dr Dragon's Lair Dragon's Lair Bus: (248) 690-7367 Pittsburgh, PA 15201 Harrison Twp, MI 48045 Lakewood, WA Lakewood, WA E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (412) 260-6968 Bus: (586) 322-6705 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] 7 C’s Winery & Meadery VICE PRESIDENT & CHAIR OF 502 E 560th Artesano Mead Beekman & Beekman DIRECTOR AT LARGE & CHAIR 5236 Geer Rd NOMINATING COMMITTEE & Walnut Grove, MO 65770 1334 Scott Hwy Rt 302 Groton, VT OF BYLAWS COMMITTEE Hughson, CA 95326 TECHNICAL PROGRAMS Bus: (417) 788-2263 05046 Phil Lorenz E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (802) 584-9000 Bus: (209) 667-5812 Brian Schlueter Nectar Creek Honeywine E-mail: info@beekmanandbeekman. Moonstruck Meadery A Atlantic Brewing Co Corvallis, OR com Bellevue, NE 15 Knox Rd Acoustic Draft Mead Bar Harbor, ME 04609 Beowulf Mead Elberta, MI Bus: (207) 288-2337 San Rafael, CA 94903 DIRECTOR AT LARGE & CHAIR Bus: (231) 883-2012 Bus: (415) 491-0908 SERGEANT AT ARMS E-mail: [email protected] OF LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE E-mail: [email protected] Ben Starr Adytum Cellars B Chrissie Zaerpoor Starrlight Mead 15132 148th Ave NE Bias Winery Kookoolan World Meadery Durham, NC Woodinville, WA 98072 B Nektar Meadery 3166 Hwy B Yamhill, OR Bus: (425) 482-9030 1481 Wordsworth, Suite B Berger, MO 63014 E-mail: [email protected] Ferndale, MI 48220 Bus: (573) 834-5475 313-744-6323 Aesir Meadery E-mail: [email protected] SECRETARY & CHAIR OF E-mail: [email protected] 2109 Wetmore Ave MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE Bjorn Mead Everett, WA 98201 Bacchus Meadery Waterford, CA 95386 Colleen Bos Bus: (425) 495-6201 217 E 3d St Bus: (209) 665-6368 Bos Meadery E-mail: [email protected] Loveland, CO 80537 E-mail: [email protected] Fitchburg, WI Bus: (970) 461-4071 Ah-tu-gi-s-di Meadery E-mail: [email protected] Black Bear Winery Rt 1 Box 100 248 County Rd 1 Vian, OK 74962 Bardic Wells Meadery Chenengo Forks, NY 13746 COMMITTEE CHAIRS Bus: (918) 774-8091 6737 50th Ave Bus: (607) 656-9863 Montague, MI 49437 Alaskan Wilderness Wines E-mail: mamabear@blackbearwinery. Bus: (231) 893-6418 com CHAIR OF PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE 498 Shearwater E-mail: [email protected] AMERICAN MEAD MAKER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT Kodiak, AK 99615 Black Forest Meadery Bus: (907) 486-1420 Jeff Herbert Luke Schlueter Bartlett Maine Estate Winery 6420 Burrows Rd Unit A E-mail: [email protected] RR1 Box 598 Superstition Meadery Moonstruck Meadery Colorado Springs, CO 80908 Bellevue, NE Gouldsboro, ME 04607 Prescott, AZ Algomah Acres Honey House Bus: (719) 495-7340 Bus: (207) 546-2408 E-mail: mail@blackforestmeadery. Meadery E-mail: [email protected] com 29534 Post Office Rd MARKETING COMMITTEE Mass City, MI 49948 Bayfield Winery Blacksnake Meadery Bus: (906) 883-3894 PO Box 1391 1815 Windsor Ave SW Ken Schramm E-mail: [email protected] Bayfield, WI 54814 Roanoke, VA 24015 Schramm's Mead Bus: (715) 779-5404 Bus: (540) 834-6172 Ferndale, MI Amber Moon Meadery E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: blacksnake@blacksnakemead. 7600 NW 3d St com Oklahoma City, OK Bear Creek Winery Bus: (405) 496-5663 60203 Bear Creek Dr Blue Dog Mead E-mail: ambermoonmeadery@gmail. Homer, AK 99603 254 Lincoln St

46 | MEADMAKERS.ORG AMMA | 47 AMMA Eugene, OR 97401 Chaucer’s Cellars Centennial, CO 80112 Bus: (541) 506-1560 3535 N Main St Bus: (720) 529-3846 E-mail: [email protected] Soquel, CA 95073 E-mail: [email protected] Bluegrass Brewing Co Bus: (831) 475-2258 Dogfish Head Brewery E-mail: customerservice@bargetto. 3929 Shelbyville Rd #6 Cannery Village Center com Louisville, KY 40207 Milton, DE 19968 Bus: (502) 899-7070 Chrisman Mill Bus: (302) 684-1000 x2112 E-mail: [email protected] 2308 Sir Barton Way Ste 190 Lexing- E-mail: [email protected] Bos Meadery LLC ton, KY 40509 Dragon Meadery LLC Bus: (859) 881-5007 5805 Seminole Ridge Circle Fitchburg, Aurora, CO 80013 E-mail: [email protected] WI 53711 Bus: (720) 371-1970 Bus: (608) 628-3792 Colony Meadery E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] 905 Harrison St Ste 115 Dragonmead Allentown, PA 18103 Boyd’s Cardinal Hollow Winery 14600 E 11 Mile Rd Bus: (855) 632-3669 720 W Prospect Ave Warren, MI 48089 E-mail: [email protected] North Wales, PA 19454 Bus: (586) 776-9428 Bus: (215) 801-2227 Colorado Cellars Winery E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] 3553 E Rd Dragon’s Lair Country Wines & Brimming Horn Meadery Palisade, CO 81526 Bus: (970) 464-7921 Meads Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 E-mail: [email protected] 6714 1/2 Lake Grove St Brimstone Springs Meadery SW Lakewood, WA 98499 E-mail: [email protected] Crabtree Brewing Co Bus: (253) 537-1050 625 3d St #D E-mail: [email protected] Greely, CO 80631 PO Box 190 Bus: (970) 356-0516 E Washingtonville, NY 10992 E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (845) 496-3663 Earle Estates Meadery E-mail: [email protected] Crafted Artisan Meadery 2770 State Route 14 Penn Yan, NY 14527 Brothers Drake Meadery 1189 State Rte 43 Mogadore, OH 44260 Bus: (315) 536-1210 26 E 5th Ave Bus: (330) 618-5050 E-mail: [email protected] Columbus, OH 43201 E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (614) 388-8765 Easley Winery E-mail: [email protected] Cumberland Brewery 205 N College Ave Indianapolis, IN 46202 C 1576 Bardstown Rd Louisville, KY 40205-1154 Bus: (317) 636-4516 Camas Prairie Winery Bus: (502) 458-8727 E-mail: [email protected] 110 S Main St D Elsa Wine & Mead Moscow, ID 83843 625 W Katella Ave #23 Bus: (208) 882-0214 Dadeez Bees Apiary and Meadery Orange, CA 92867 E-mail: @camasprairiewin- PO Box 90832 Bus: (714) 639-6323 ery.com Portland, OR 97290 Empire Winery & Destillery Cascade Winery Bus: (503) 772-3565 E-mail: [email protected] 11807 Little Rd 4665 Broadmoor New Port Richey, FL 34654 Grand Rapids, MI 49512 Dancing Bee Winery Bus: (727) 819-2821 Bus: (616) 656-4665 8060 E US Hwy 190 E-mail: [email protected] Rogers, TX 76569 Enat Winery 910 81st Ave Ste #18 Celestial Meads Bus: (254) 983-2337 E-mail: [email protected] Oakland, CA 94621 600 W 58th Ave Ste B Anchorage, AK Bus: (510) 632-6629 99518 Bus: (907) 250-8362 Depoe Bay Winery E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] PO Box 1492 Enchanted Manor Winery Chateau Lorane Depoe Bay, OR 97341 Bus: (541) 765-3311 37615 FM 1774 PO Box 47 E-mail: [email protected] Magnolia, TX 77355 Lorane, OR 97451 Bus: (281) 770-0710 Bus: (541) 942-8028 Dithyramb Winery and Meadery E-mail: jon@enchantedmanorwinery. E-mail: [email protected] 8312 E Briarwood Blvd com

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Enlightenment Wines E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (801) 546-1997 E-mail: [email protected] 84 Fork Mountain Rd Bus: (888) 632-3379 E-mail: [email protected] Auburn, PA 17922 Clintondale, NY 12515 Groennfell Meadery Jilbert Winery Medovina E-mail: raphael@enlightenmentwines. Bus: (570) 366-6443 856 Hercules Dr, Ste 20 homebrewchemist 1496 Columbia Rd PO Box 629 com E-mail: askthehippies@longtroutwin- Colchester, VT 05446 E-mail: [email protected] Valley City, OH 44280 ery.com Niwot, CO 80544 F Bus: (802) 497-2345 Bus: (216) 781-4120 Bus: (303) 845-3090 E-mail: [email protected] Honey Moon Mead E-mail: [email protected] Lost Tribes Brew E-mail: [email protected] Fairwinds Winery PO Box 2701 H K Bus: (888) 582-7397 1984 Hastings Ave W Bellingham, WA 98227 E-mail: [email protected] Meniru Meadery Bus: (360) 734-0728 5868 Fulton Dr NW Port Townsend, WA 98368 Haight-Brown Vineyards Kenco Farms Bus: (360) 385-6899 E-mail: contact@honeymoonmead. Louisville Mead Company Canton, OH 44718 29 Chestnut Hill Rd PO Box 454 E-mail: [email protected] net 3028 Dartmouth Ave Bus: (330) 244-8515 Litchfield, CT 06759 Sutton, WV 26601 Louisville, KY 40205 E-mail: menirumeadery@hotmail. Falcon Meadery Bus: (860) 567-4045 Honey Run Winery Bus: (304) 765-7680 E-mail: louisvillemeadcompany@ com PO Box 5947 E-mail: [email protected] 2309 Park Ave E-mail: [email protected] gmail.com Chico, CA 95928 Meridian Hive Meadery Santa Fe, NM 87502 Heidrun Meadery Kookoolan World Meadery Bus: (505) 819-8323 Bus: (530) 345-6405 Luna de Miel PO Box 1363 PO Box 208 E-mail: [email protected] 15713 Hwy 47 Salinas, CA 93901 Pflugville, TX 78691 Farm & Winery, Hill Top Berry Point Reyes Station, CA 94956 Yamhill, OR 97148 Bus: (805) 985-7229 Bus: (512) 417-3769 2800 Berry Hill Rd Nellysford, VA Bus: (415) 663-9122 Honeyjack Meadery Bus: (503) 730-7535 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (434) 361-1266 E-mail: [email protected] 9769 W 119th Dr Bay 7 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Broomfield, CO 80020 M Michigan Meadery Helderberg Meadworks Bus: (303) 709-7422 Kuhnhenn Brewing Co Grand Rapids, MI Florida Orange Groves Winery 990 W Duane Lake Rd E-mail: [email protected] 5919 Chicago Rd Mace Mead Works Bus: (616) 301-9686 1500 Pasadena Ave S Duanesburg, NY 12056 Warren, Mi 48092 250 E Main St E-mail: [email protected] St Petersburg, FL 33707 Bus: (518) 795-8964 Honeywood Winery Bus: (586) 979-8361 Dayton, WA 99328 Bus: (800) 338-7923 E-mail: peter@helderbergmead- 1350 Hines St SE Salem, OR L Bus: (509) 540-0000 Mike’s Meadery E-mail: [email protected] works.com Bus: (800) 726-4101 E-mail: [email protected] LaGrange, IN Hellbender Meadery Hoodsport Winery La Buena Vida Vineyards Magpie Farms Winery Minnestalgia Winery Four Quarters Meadery 416 E College St 190 Walker Lane 3812 State Hwy KK N 23501 Hwy 101 1849 State Hwy 41 PO BOX 86 McGregor, MN 55760 Bus: Grapevine, TX 76051 Artemas, PA 17211 Rogersville, MO 65742 Hoodsport, WA 98548 Bainbridge, NY 13733 (866) 768-2533 Bus: (817) 481-9463 Bus: (814) 784-3080 Bus: (417) 429-4985 Bus: (360) 877-9894 Bus: (607) 639-4400 E-mail: [email protected] Misty Mountain Meadworks E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: caitlyn@hellbendermeadery. E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] com 1531 Pack Horse Rd Hunters Moon Meadery L’Abeille Honey Winery Maine Mead Works Winchester, VA 22603 Fox Hill Meadery 638 S Main St 33 Selby Court Heritage Wines International 404 Immigrant Trail 51 Washington Ave Portland, ME Bus: (540) 888-4420 Stowe, VT 05672 Marshall, NC 28753 640 W. 158th St Severance, CO 80550 04101 Bus: (207) 773-6323 E-mail: info@mistymountainmead. New York, NY Bus: (970) 590-6059 Bus: (802) 253-2929 com Bus: (703) 298-4705 Manatawny Creek Winery E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (888) 835-2986 E-mail: kim@huntersmoonmeadery. Lakewood Vineyards E-mail: [email protected] com 227 Levengood Rd Douglasville, PA Mobtown Mead 4024 State Rte 14 19518 Baltimore, MD Full Circle Brewing Co Watkins Glen, NY 14891 620 F St Hermit Woods Wine Hydomiel Apidoro Bus: (610) 689-9804 E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (607) 535-9252 Fresno, CA 93706 56 Taylor Rd 2212 Calle Parana E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: wines@lakewoodvineyards. Modern Craft Winery Bus: (559) 264-6323 Sanbornton, NH 03269 Ponce, PR 00758 com Maple River Winery 2760 E Booth Rd E-mail: fullcirclebrewingco@comcast. Bus: (603) 253-7968 E-mail: [email protected] 628 Front St Au Gres, MI 48703 net E-mail: [email protected] I Laural Highlands Meadery Cassleton, ND 58012 Bus: (989) 876-0270 G Hidden Legend Winery Greensburg, PA 15601 Bus: (701) 347-5900 E-mail: moderncraftsocialmedia@ 1345 Hwy 93 N #5 Independence Brewing Co Bus: (724) 249-6323 E-mail: [email protected] gmail.com Golden Coast Mead Victor, MT 59875 3913 Todd Lane #607 E-mail: [email protected] Austin, TX 78744 McPhee Meadery Monks Mead 4216 Copeland Pl Bus: (406) 363-6323 Linganore Wine Cellars San Diego, CA 92116 Bus: (512) 707-0099 PNW Puget Sound 265 B Newton Bridge Rd E-mail: ken@hiddenlegendwinery. 13601 GlissansMill Rd E-mail: frankgolbeck@goldencoast- E-mail: bertharvey@mcpheemeadery. Athens, GA 30607 com Isaaks of Salem Mt Airey, MD 21771-8599 mead.com com E-mail: [email protected] Hierophant Meadery Salem, MA Bus: (410) 795-6432 Great Cats Meadery Liberty Lake, WA Bus: (401) 290-8256 E-mail: [email protected] Meadery of the Rockies Montezuma Winery E-mail: [email protected] 3701 G Rd 2981 Auburn Rd Clemmons, NC Bus: (208) 405-8338 Long Island Meadery E-mail: torahanjyuu+kumaltygris@ Palisade, CO 81526 Seneca Falls, NY 13148 E-mail: contact@hierophantmeadery. J 1347 Lincoln Ave Ste 11 gmail.com com Bus: (970) 464-7899 Bus: (315) 568-8190 Holbrook, NY 11741 E-mail: [email protected] James Arthur Vineyards Bus: (631) 285-7469 Meadery, New Day Green River Ambrosia Hive Winery 2001 W Raymond Rd 324 Wells St E-mail: [email protected] 1102 Prospect St Moonlight Meadery 1220 W Jack D Drive Ste 2 Raymond, NE 68428 Greenfield, MA 01301 Indianapolis, IN 46203 23 Londonderry Rd #17 Layton, UT 84041 Bus: (402) 783-5255 Long Trout Winery

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Londonderry, NH 03053 ery.com Bus: (907) 235-2656 E-mail 2: denice@skyriverbrewing. Bus: (918) 256-3000 Von Jakob’s Bus: (603) 216-2162 E-mail: [email protected] com E-mail: wine@summersidevineyards. Northwest Mountain Winery 1309 Sadler Rd E-mail: [email protected] com Pomona, IL 62975 2825 Marvin Rd NE Ste Q Rogue Ales Point Meadery Bus: (618) 893-4500 Moonstruck Meadery Olympia, WA 98516 2320 OSU Dr Salt Point, NY Superior Lakes Mead & Wine E-mail: [email protected] 2221 Madison St Bus: (360) 464-7125 Mewport, OR 97365 E-mail: [email protected] 36241 Jefferson Bellevue, NE 68005 E-mail: raycurtis@nwmountainwine. Bus: (541) 867-3660 Harrison Twp, MI 48045 W Bus: (402) 934-7544 com E-mail: [email protected] San Francisco Mead Company Bus: (586) 231-9501 1180 Shafter Ave Walton’s Mountain Winery & E-mail: [email protected] O E-mail: [email protected] Rohan Meadery San Francisco, CA 94124 Vineyards Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery 6002 FM 2981 Bus: (415) 819-4947 Superstition Meadery Obec Medovina PO Box 526 2000 Level Rd La Grange, TX 78945 E-mail: [email protected] 120 West Gurley Street Cellar-1 West Point, CA 95255 Havre de Grace, MD 21078 E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (979) 249-5652 Prescott, Arizona 86301 Sandhill Crane Vineyards Bus: (209) 293-4010 Bus: (410) 939-0913 Oliver Winery E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (480) 296-4212 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] 4724 Walz Rd E-mail: superstitionmeadery@hot- 8024 N State Rte 37 Royal Court Meadery Jackson, MI 49201 Bloomington, IN 47404 mail.com White Winter Winery Mountain Meadows Mead Sheboygan, WI 53081 Bus: (517) 764-0679 68323A Lea St PO Box 1199 Bus: (812) 876-5800 Bus: (574) 971-7515 E-mail: heather@sandhillcranevine- T E-mail: [email protected] Iron River, WI 54847 Westwood, CA 96137 E-mail: [email protected] yards.com Bus: (715) 372-5656 Bus: (503) 256-3233 Table Mountain Vineyards Orchid Cellar Winery S Spruce Mountain Meadery Box 24 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] 8546 Pete Wiles Rd Larkspur, CO Huntley, WY 82218 Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery Mountain View Meadery Middletown, MD 21769 Sap House Meadery Bus: (719) 351-4909 Bus: (307) 459-0233 Bus: (301) 473-3568 PO Box 595 10033 S Western Ave Chicago, IL PO Box 370 E-mail: Information@SpruceMoun- E-mail: info@tablemountainvine- 60643 Lench Valley, Tasmania, Australia E-mail: [email protected] Center Ossipee, NH 03814 tainMeadery.com yards.com Bus: (603) 539-1672 Bus: (773) 233-7579 7008 Bus: (61) 0408 331 165 P E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Spurgeon Vineyards and Winery Texas Mead Works Pirtle Winery 16008 Pine Tree Rd Highland, WI 5151 FM 20 Wills Winery Mt Hood Meadery Schramm’s Mead 53543 Bus: (608) 929-7692 Seguin, TX 78155 502 Spring St 1545 McManus 814 S. Main St Ste 3 Washougal, WA Weston, MO 64098 Bus: (816) 640- E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (830) 379-9463 Lapeer, MI 48446 E-mail: [email protected] Troy, MI 48084 E-mail: [email protected] 5278 Bus: (248) 816-1592 St Ambrose Cellars Bus: (810) 245-9463 Mystic Meadery Prairieberry Winery E-mail: [email protected] 971 S Pioneer Rd Thistle Meadery E-mail: [email protected] 1650 Judson Dr Beulah, MI 49617 Gawler, S. Australia Bus: (605) 574-3898 Shady Grove Meadery Winehaven Winery & Vineyrd Longmont, CO 80501 E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (888) 912-0017 E-mail: [email protected] 9757 292d St E-mail: [email protected] 709 Norris Freeway E-mail: [email protected] Prawlocki’s Stout Viking Mead Lake City, TN 37769 Tomahawk Mill Vineyards & Chisago City, MN 55013 Bus: (651) 257-1017 N Del Ray Beach, FL 33445 Bus: (865) 426-4900 Starrlight Mead Winery E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (407) 922-5562 E-mail: meadguy@shadygrovemead. 4606 Stllliview Dr 9221 Anderson Mill Rd Nani Moon Mead com Durham, NC 27712 PO Box 939 E-mail: [email protected] Chatham, VA 24531 Woodstone Creek Winery & Dis- Bus: (919) 533-6314 Bus: (434) 432-1063 Kapa’a, Kaua’i, HI 96746 R Shalom Orchard E-mail: [email protected] tillery Bus: (808) 823-0486 Route 200, 158 Eastbook Rd E-mail: [email protected] 3641 Newton Ave E-mail: nanimoonmeadinfo@gmail. Rabbit’s Foot Meadery Franklin, ME 04634 Stonekeep Meadery U Cincinnati, OH 45207 com 1246 Birchwood Dr Bus: (207) 565-2312 Boyertown, PA Bus: (513) 569-0300 Sunnyvale, CA 94089 E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (610) 743-8693 Urban Farm Fermentory E-mail: [email protected] Nashoba Valley Winery Bus: (408) 747-0770 E-mail: [email protected] 200 Anderson St Bay 4 100 Wattaquadock Hill Rd Shields Demesne Winery Portland, ME 04101 Bolton, MA 01740 Raftshol Vineyards 374 Smith Creek Rd Strad Meadery Bus: (207) 773-8331 Bus: (978) 779-5521 1865 N West Bay Shore Dr Spraggs, PA 15362 430 Scenic Vista Way E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Suttons Bay, MI 49682 Bus: (724) 435-7246 Fair Oaks, CA 95628 Bus: (231) 271-5650 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] V Nectar Creek Honeywine E-mail: warren@raftsholvineyards. 33848 SE Eastgate Circle com Skep & Skein Tavern & Meadery Sugar Clay Winery & Vineyards Valley Vineyards Corvallis, OR 97333 2106 Harrison Ave NW Ste B14 1446 240th Ave 2276 E US 22 & 3 Bus: (541) 760-1592 Redstone Meadery Olympia, WA 98502 Thurman, IA 51654 Morrow, OH 45152 E-mail: info@nectarcreekhoneywine. 4700 Pearl St #2-A Bus: (360) 292-4400 Bus: (712) 628-2020 Bus: (513) 899-2485 com Boulder, CO 80301 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: sugarclaywinery@iowatele- E-mail: [email protected] Bus: (720) 406-1215 com.net Nector of the Gods Meadery E-mail: [email protected] Sky River Winery Volcano Winery 1205 NE 2d St 14270 Woodinville-Redmond Rd NE s Summerside Vineyards Winery & 35 Pii Mauna Dr Bend, OR 97701 Ring of Fire Meadery Redmond, WA 98052 Meadery Volcano, HI 96785 Bus: (937) 478-1718 178 E Bunnell St Bus: (425) 242-3815 Grand Lakes o’the Cherokees 441251 Bus: (808) 967-7772 E-mail: info@nectarofthegodsmead- Homer, AK 99603 E-mail: [email protected] E Historic Route 66 Vinita, OK 74301 E-mail: [email protected]

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Meadery and Tas+ng Room: over 115 different meads available for sale from all over the world, about 30 open for tas+ng on any given day! Are we the world’s biggest mead superstore? Open Friday-­‐Saturday-­‐Sunday 11AM to 5PM and any+me by appointment. Located on the Sip47 Wine Tas+ng Route just outside Yamhill, Oregon. www.kookoolanfarms.com

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