Schramms - Red Agnes (batch 2)

Schramms Red Agnes is a red currant melomel that clocks in at 14% abv. Batch 2 of this mead was released in October of 2016 for a retail of $32, so this particular bottle was drank about a month after release.

Full disclosure I've had both b1 and b2 Red Agnes multiple times so I'm not new to this mead.  However it is always a treat, and each time I drink it I take a little something different from it.  First the color on this mead is stunning.  It's a very robust red.  The above picture doesn't give it justice, it gives it a dull reddish-brown tone, but this mead is a striking deep red.  And the clarity is beautiful too.  The nose is also lovely.  It's not overpowering but there's a nice fruity tartness to the sweet honey smell.  The taste follows the nose but in a much fuller way.  The flavors are bursting.  Juicy red raspberry-like tartness from the currants.  It seems that red currants are slightly less acidic and tannic than black currants, so I taste a more juicier, fruitier berry.  I also love the balance of the tart and sweet, nothing overpowers, everything is in perfect harmony.  I can't stress this enough with any mead, but this mead really shines as it warms from a cool 50 degrees up into room temperature in the 60s.  As the mead warms in opens up more layers of flavor and complexity.  A truly enjoyable mead and a wonder example of a well balanced melomel.

RELEASE: Schramm's A Smile of Fortune (ASoF)

A Smile of Fortune Release - Saturday at 5:00pm!

$48 per bottle - Bottle limit of 1 per person.

"A Smile of Fortune is an incredibly well-balanced Black Currant, Lutowka Cherry, Heritage Red Raspberry and Oregon Boysenberry mead. The tannic, tart and acidic flavors marry beautifully with responsibly-sourced Orange Blossom honey. With flavors reminiscent of Madeline & The Heart of Darkness, batch one bottles of this limited mead will be an instant classic."

Bottle count for this mead is unknown at this point but it's low.  Schramm's has confirmed that there are less bottles of ASoF than Amelia.  Also, Lifetime members will have 2 bottles reserved, Annual Mazers 1 bottle.  So I'd venture a guess that half or more of these bottles will be for Mazer club members, making the availability to the public limited.

Four Meaderies are Pushing the Envelope in the World of Fermented Honey Wine

A great write in Paste Magazine about mead, highlighting 4 meaderies that are pushing the boundaries.  

By Jason Stein
PASTE

Believed to be the first alcoholic beverage, mead was once referred to as “the nectar of the Gods.” And those who have tried a well-executed mead will understand why. This beverage that is created by fermenting honey with water, and features spices or fruits, is quickly making a comeback, largely due to the ever-growing craft beer scene. Today, beer enthusiasts are seeking out what many consider to be the next frontier as meaderies have begun to pop up throughout the country. For those of you who are looking to join the movement, there are a few meaderies we think you should check out.

Schramm’s Mead  

Ken Schramm has led the charge for mead ever since co-founding the Mazer Cup Invitational in 1992. While the number of meaderies have increased tenfold since then, Ken has continued to push the envelope since opening Schramm’s in 2013 and has become known for his elegant fruit-forward meads, some of which come from his own orchard.

Superstition Meadery

For co-owner Jeff Herbert, becoming one of the most renowned mead-makers in the world was never the original plan. It took a screenplay, a trip to Borneo, and a sip of Chimay in Brussels to convince him that maybe he should give the whole homebrewing thing a shot (that’s the nutshell version). Five years ago, after taking a course at the Siebel Institute on how to start a brewery, and entering many competitions, Jeff and his wife and co-owner Jen moved to Arizona to make their dream a reality.

B. Nektar Meadery

Founded 10 years ago by Brad and Kerri Dahlhofer and their friend Paul Zimmerman, B. Nektar has come a long way from their 1,200-square-foot basement meadery. Today, B. Nektar is one of the largest and most recognizable names in the mead industry with an incredible 26,000-square-foot location that includes a new taproom. While they started out making more traditional styles of meads, they have now turned their focus to include several types of session meads and ciders that you can find in many locations around the country as well as, of course, their taproom in Ferndale, Michigan. While their portfolio is endless, two of our favorites from them are Cherry Chipotle and #Dragonsarereal.

Garagiste Meadery

One of the most exciting new Meaderies on the horizon is Garagiste Meadery, which isn’t even open yet. Technically, they don’t open until next year. But led by Chad Wiltz and his wife Sarah, Garagiste has been turning the heads of mead fans this year after the largest crowdfunding campaign in mead industry history. Once the Meadery in Tampa Heights opens, visitors will be able to hang out and enjoy meads on tap within view of the production facility. Two of our favorite meads Garagiste has released thus far are Goober Grape 2.0 and Black Widow.

FULL STORY: Paste Magazine

Superstition: Berry White Day

Tomorrow, Saturday November 5th, 2016, is Superstition's famed Berry White Day.  This is a day/fest held at the meadery which in addition to the release of their Berry White meads, is a great party with the chance to sample all Whites and other meads.

Here's a sneak peak of the tap list for the event.

I'm extremely jealous of those who are able to attend.  Have a fun and safe time!

Misbeehavin - Strawberry

Misbeehavin Mead's Strawberry mead was released in the June 2016 in 750mL bottles for $28.

The color is a beautiful burnt ruby hue.  Nose has a wonderful strawberry jam aroma, no honey sweetness on the nose, just fruit.  There's also a slight hint of soapiness hidden in the nose as well.  The taste has a very pleasant balance of sweetness, it's not cloyingly sweet. In the middle there's a bit of muddle, but a smooth finish and very little direct distinction of honey from fruit sweetness.  This melomel is definitely a little drier and lighter than other big fruity melomel, like Superstition's Straw Berry White.

Overall this is a very nice mead.  I imagine this as a beautiful summer weather sipper, or as a mixer, like with lemonade.  Enjoyable, Smooth,

Misbeehavin' - The Great Gats-bee

The Great Gats-bee by Misbeehavin' Meads out of Valparaiso Indiana is a Lemon and Lavender mead released at their taproom in early Summer 2016.  It came only in 750 mL bottles.

The nose on this mead has a lovely sweet floral sent.  You pick up the lavender aroma but the honey adds an additional layer of sweetness.  A slight lemon twinge but it's subtle in the background.  The taste is interesting, there's a nice balance of sweetness from the honey with citrus from the lemon and floral.  I did get some soapiness from the lavender and the lemon taste veers close to the Lemon Pledge spectrum, but it's not off-putting.  Lemon and lavender are difficult ingredients to use and definitely give off those flavors described.  Especially if you use fresh Lavender, you tend to get that soapy flavor.  The one thing I would change about this mead is using dried lavender, or even lavender root, to reduce that soapiness.

Overall this is a very nice mead.  Unique in its own right, and makes for a nice, lighter sipping mead.  Because this is a big 750mL bottle I actually drank the bottle over the course of a week, just taking a pour, recorking, and putting it back in my fridge for a few days.  I found that helped to soften the edges of the mead a bit and really integrate the flavors better.

MYOM - Make Your Own Mead

The intent of this blog is to centralize mead information to a one-stop-shop.  That means in addition to commercial mead information, like releases and reviews, there will also be information on making your own mead, including tips, tricks, recipes, etc that I've learned since I started making my own meads in 2014.  I've studied from the masters like Ken Schramm and a few other friends I know in the mead community who've gone on to open their own meaderies.  So I hope I can pay it forward with knowledge I've learned along the way.

Therefore I'm starting a series of posts on this blog titled MYOM - Make Your Own Mead.  These posts will focus on home mead making, All the way from the recipe formulation process through bottling/labeling/branding your meads, and everything in between.

B.Nektar - Dark Dark Goose

What a cool, fantastic mead from B.Nektar.  Dark Dark Goose is a coffee mead aged in bourbon barrels, then aged a second time in a Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout barrel.  

There's a pretty interesting story behind this mead:  The inspiration was the big stouts that B.Nektar loved to drink, so a coffee mead was made with the help of a local Ferndale, MI roaster, Chazzano in 2010.  The blend is 75% of a Nicaraguan french roast and 25% of a Yemen full city roast.  The honey profile is 50/50 wildflower and Buckwheat. The coffee mead was then put into a Heaven Hill barrel for 11 months.  Then in 2011 their co-founder Brad drove his car to Chicago to pick up a just emptied Bourbon County Stout barrel from Goose Island, which he then drove back home to Michigan on this roof.  They then aged the coffee mead in this barrel (purportedly still with some BCBS still left in the barrel) until the summer of 2012.

This mead is a limited, one-time release in 375ml bottles.  Released at Summer Mead Fest in the Summer of 2012.  It was originally $25, limit 6 bottles.  The bottle count is estimated at about 500 bottles.

I thoroughly enjoyed this mead.  The intensity of the coffee was mind blowing considering the bottle I drank was 4 years old.  There was no sign of coffee fade or green peppers.  The sweetness of the honey was nicely offset with the spiciness of the buckwheat and oaky/spiciness of the barrel. There was a huge roastiness that was both bitter and smooth at the same time.  This mead is top notch, and I loved the chance to try it.  If you ever come across a bottle don't hesitate to jump on it, it's one of the best coffee meads I've ever had, and drinking fantastically.

Superstition RELEASE - 2nd Anniversary

On October 15th Superstition will celebrate their 2 year anniversary of their Prescott tasting room.  To honor Arizona they will release the Locavore Series.  Which is 3 different melomels in 375ml bottles.  Every one made with local Arizona sourced honey and fruit.

They will be sold only as a set of 3, with only 50 sets being released at $125 per set.  There will be a limit 2 sets per person.

La Granada - Pomegranate mead
Honey Super Highway - Prickly Pear mead
Out of Time - Cyser aged on oak.

No water was used in these meads, just rare Arizona Apple, Prickly Pear, and Pomegranate juice, and of course AZ Honey

Schramm's - Apple

It's that time of year again, fall is upon us.  So while we've already grown sick of pumpkin beers that have been around for the last 2 months, we can thankfully move on to ciders and cysers!

I was surprised to realize this was my first time having Schramm's Apple.  Until this point I have tried nearly every Schramm's offering, limited or not, so I find it interesting that Apple was last on that list outside of something crazy like b1 HoD.

I'm a big fan of a well done cyser, and this is a well done cyser.  It's clean and crisp with a nice balance of sweetness (from the honey and apples) and tartness (from the other apple varieties in the cider).  This mead was smooth and refreshing.  It's an excellent mead, however it was not my favorite cyser I've had. There's nothing wrong, per say, with Apple, but I wasn't in love with it either.  I would give it a solid 8/10 and a must try for any cider, cyser, or fall lover.

Misbeehavin Mead: September Releases

Misbeehavin Meads, out of Valparaiso, Indiana is a fantastic newer meadery that's dedicated to art of crafting unique meads with interesting flavors and ingredients.

Misbeehavin makes tons of small batch experimental stuff, and typically releases 2 or 3 new meads a month.  Misbeehavin Meads has only been open since around May 2016 and the variety of meads up out thus far is impressive.  A wide swath has been painted with flavors and variety in the recent releases.  Here's what to look for with September's release.

The September meads, recently release in bottles on September 15th are as follows:

Pirate Love - A date mead aged in rum barrels (375 mL)

Cactus Blossom - A mead made with cactus blossom honey (750 mL)

Camel Drum - An Orange Blossom honey with orange zest, cinnamon, and saffron (750 mL)

There were also 2, in-house only meads released that are currently available as tap room only drafts.

   Charether Cutestory - a cyser with orange blossom honey, tart cherries, and apple cider

   25 year old Hawaiian Organ Donor - orange blossom honey, pineapple, and hops

Check them out on Facebook at: Misbeehavin' Meads

Garagiste - The Pits

The Pits is a melomel made with peaches, apricots, and nectarines from Garagiste

This mead sounds like a knock-out-of-the-park with the craft beer crowd.  They LOVE stone fruits.  I didn't love this one.  Don't get me wrong, it was a good mead.  There were some solid stone fruit characters, a little nutty, but I didn't get any softness that I look for with peach and apricot beverages.  There was more acidity than I would care for.  I also thought the finish was a bit astringent, I wish it would have finished a sweeter.  The rest of the people I tasted this with loved it, which is great and goes to show you the diversity of tastes.  Overall this is a good mead, and I can see how many would like this, but it was one of my least favorite Garagiste meads to date.  

Schramm's Heather

Schramm's Heather, a traditional mead made with heather honey is an absolutely phenomenal mead.  This mead is extremely sweet in the most delicate and floral way.  It's as close to drinking straight honey as I've ever experienced.  It was truly a treat to try.

Only 30 bottles of Heather was released, in 187mL bottles.  These bottles were released as part of their Raid the Cellar event for their Heart of Darkness fundraiser dinner on July 10th, 2016.

If you ever had the opportunity to try this mead, jump at it without hesitation!

Garagiste's Bangkok

Garagiste Meadery, a new upstart meadery from Florida doesn't have a physical location for their meadery yet, but while Chad is working on getting the physical meadery up and running he's been pumping out small batch meads at a very high rate.  Thus far all of his released meads go to either pouring at festivals or bottles are raffled off to Garagiste's Indigogo investor campaign.  So these bottles tend to be few and far between thus far.  Thankfully I was fortunate enough to try a great number of his meads.

One standout was Bangkok.  Described as follows: Bangkok is part of our destination series of meads.  In Thailand there is an indigenous tea made using butterfly pea blossom flowers call Dok Anchan.  It's visually striking and often a blue or lavender color.  Dok Anchen is typically flavored with honey which made it well suited to mead.  We accented it with ginger and finished it sweet.

The color on this mead was crazy.  Unlike anything I've seen in a mead.  It was this vibrant, almost iridescent purple.  The nose was very floral and tea-like. The taste followed the nose with a very soft, floral taste with lots of green tea and a hint of ginger spiciness.  It does finish a bit sweet but is really an herbal mead.  I loved it, it was unique, fun, and unlike any other mead I've had. 

I'm very much looking forward to more meads like this from Garagiste.  For me, this is what mead making in this currant day and age is all about; taking an extremely class fermented drink and taking it to the next level with new flavor/techniques to create a newly unique drinking experience.

Superstition's Berry White Series

The infamous Berry White series is a collection of 4 meads (Berry White, Straw Berry White, Blue Berry White, and Black Berry White) that are released by Superstition Meadery.  At this point there have only been 2 batches of the series released (one of Straw Berry).

The meads come in ceramic 500mL swing top bottles, all with about a 300 bottle count. Batch 2 was released in Fall 2015 so these meads were about a year old at the time of tasting.  Retail for the set was $375.  They're not cheap.

Given the province, price, and low bottle count these meads are typically highly regarded in the mead community.  Additionally, they're delicious.


I previously tasted the set when they first came out in the Fall of 2015.  At that time I was not impressed by the set.  I thought they were tasty but overly sweet, to the point of cloyingly sweet.  However the second time drinking these, in August 2016 about a year after release, they are truly special meads.  They are still very sweet, but a bit softer and nuanced.  I was particularly fond of Staw Berry White, which was my favorite of the group.  It had this intense jamminess to it, almost like liquefied strawberry jam my grandma and mother make.

Overall all 4 were outstanding meads and I was very lucky to get to try them all again.  They are aging very gracefully and I think feel are worth the time and effort to seek out if you have the means.  It was an extremely enjoyable drinking experience.  If I had to rank my preference it would be as follows: Straw Berry>Blue Berry>Berry>Black Berry, although all 4 were fantastic.  If you're a fan of big, sweet, fruity melomels, these are right up your ally.

Meadapolooza 2016

I recently attending a yearly mead tasting with friends, dubbed Meadapolooza.  This is just a private tasting with a group of friends, between 14-16 depending on year.  But we're all very much into mead and we like to bring out the big guns.  There's more honey water that could possibly be consumed in one night.  Originally on the list we had planned to open 58 bottles of mead and do a honey tasting with 15 different honey varietals.

We ended up getting through all 15 honeys and about 30 or 35 meads, which is impressive for 14 people in a few hours, considering the risks for diabetic shock.

In subsequent posts I'll detail my thoughts on some of the more interesting or themed meads we tasted, but for the time being , here's a kill shot of the majority of the stuff consumed.

I make my own mead

I've been making my own mead now for over two years now, since mid 2014.  I got into meadmaking for a few reasons.  One being that in 2013 and 2014 I very much enjoyed some great meads like Schramm's Statement Reserve, Heart of Darkness, BlackHeart, etc, which are some of the best liquids I've ever put into my mouth,  Unfortunately they're also very rare and expensive meads, not something you drink every day, or even able to find available often.  That really sparked my interest in home meads.  Aside from these amazing rare liquids, back in 2014 there really wasn't that many commercially available meads out there that I could easily walk into a store and buy.  So I decided to satiate my own thirst for honey water by making my own.

I talk like it was the middle ages, but I'm not shitting you when I say that the mead world has really exploded in the last few years.  The landscape between 2013 and 2016 is night and day.  There's so many more meaderies and resources out there.  In 2014 there really were 2 books on mead making, The Complete Meadmaker (by Ken Schramm) and then recently published The Complete Guide to Making Mead (by Steve Piatz).  There were a few janky blogs and some pretty inactive sub-forums on homebrewing sites, but all in all there really wasn't much information out there on homemade meads.  Thankfully to fill the gaps I also had a tasting group friend who had been making his own meads for quite a while, so I learned as much from him as I could as well.  The rest came from experimenting and experience.

So here I am today with a nice variety of homemade meads and I'm always creating recipes in my head.  The problem is I usually don't have open fermentor space to make batches as often as I would like.  But I have a laundry list of recipes written down just waiting.  There will be plenty more mead made.

Holiday Market/Schramm's Meadery Lord Jim release

ANNOUNCEMENT: MEAD RELEASE

Holiday Market/Schramm's Meadery Lord Jim release.

Per Holiday Market: Royal Oaks MI Facebook:

This was the first barrel purchased by our liquor department, so with the team at Schramm's we came together, after some experimentation, and decided to fill it with Ginger mead.  The barrel was tasted every month until it was found to be perfect.

This is the first in a series of barrel aged projects, 2 more meads and 2 beers are currently in the works for later dates with different suppliers.

We will have 180 bottles to sell, with a 1 bottle per person limit per day (I don' tthink there will be a second day).  The sales will begin this Saturday, September 10, at 10:00am at our store. The price per bottle is $48.99 for 375mL.

As for the line, which I am sure there will be.  We will likely begin outside, weather permitting, so as not to clog the interior of the store.  We will give instructions as needed where to line up.