by I won’t call it a “hobby,” but perhaps my affection for craft beer could be labeled an “interest”. In our travels across the U.S. and around the world, we’ve visited hundreds of craft breweries where the vibe is chill, the people are friendly, and the beverages are tasty. My interest also includes fermented drinks other than beer, such as cider, perry, and kombucha, where the main difference from beer is the source of the fermentation. Beer starts with malted grains, cider starts with apples, perry starts with pears, and kombucha starts with sweet tea, then no matter what the starting point yeast gets to work turning sugars into alcohol.
Another fermented beverage that is fun to explore is mead, but whenever I mention “mead” to people, they raise a quizzical eyebrow. Mead is made by fermenting honey, and tends to be a fairly sweet concoction with a relatively high alcohol content. Mead often has an ABV higher than that of a lager (around 5%) or a glass of wine (around 12%). It’s usually (but not always) served still (as opposed to carbonated), and there are also “session meads” which have lower ABV. In addition, there are plenty of adjuncts that get added to meads during or after fermentation to add more flavor — from maple syrup to pineapple to peanut butter.
A facility in which mead is made is known as a “meadery,” and while there are more than 500 meaderies in the U.S., this number is far surpassed by the number of craft breweries. As a result, it can be harder to find meaderies to visit. That’s why I was happy to spend an evening at Meduseld Meadery in Lancaster, PA.
This nordic-themed meadery produces a variety of meads, so I was happen to sample a flight (and then sample a few more). They also serve beer produced by their sister brewery, Artiface Ales, as well as from a nearby nanobrewery called Little Mutants. I sampled the following off of Meduseld’s menu:
Buck Cherry Mead: Made with buckwheat blossom honey, tart cherries and oak.
Fluffernutter Mead: Peanut butter and marshmallow (!).
Old Tom’s Cyser: An oaked buckwheat honey cyser (an apple mead) made with a local blend of apples.
Draugr Mead: Semi-sweet blueberry that is also slightly tart.
All were well-crafted and enjoyable, with balanced yet distinct flavors.
If mead isn’t for you, Meduseld also has four axe throwing lanes! Just be sure to enjoy your mead in moderation if you’re also throwing axes!
