It all started in the summer of 2005. Dan was encouraged by his Aunt Nancy to head to Denmark for 10 days with his 2 cousins to do some "on the ground research" regarding the family genealogy. He left me back in Massachusetts with infant twin girls just over a year old. He on vacation, me in baby work world. So, he, being the thoughtful husband, brought back for me a ceramic bottle of "Viking Mead." "Viking Mead??" I scratched my head. Very romantic (??). Never heard of mead. He (being testosterone laden) thought it looked cool. I (being full of estrogen) thought it a waste of money (I would have loved a lovely old vine zin at that point being by myself with 2 "busy" babies to look after while he was gone "researching.") So, there it sat on the liquor shelf along with all the other half used weird booze one buys for a specific cocktail you only use once.
Fast forward a year...
"Hey, what is this?" as he dug deep into the pantry. There is was, no worse for wear, a bit dust coated, but "well aged." We opened it, lacking that lovely old vine zin of which I spoke, and poured 2 glasses. We sniffed. We sipped. We were HOOKED. Mead was amazing! It was not the sweet syrupy drink we assumed it was! Delicious. "We can make this!" He said with a smirk. The rest, as they say, is history.
We had always been beer brewers - started that in grad school as a hobby and to save some money. But mead and wine was to follow. Dan tried his hand at all sorts of wine, some good, some okay, some, well, good for cooking. Mead creating soon followed the wine. Neighbors came to sample and give feedback. "This smells like dirty socks." "Wet sponges?" "Nice fruit overtones." These are some of the comments overheard on our deck among or many friends. Dan became the "mad scientist," keeping dutiful log notes about quantities , measurements, temperatures, and fermentation activity. Honey was ordered by the bucketful. Spice racks were gone over and perused and spices chosen. Kids were shooed out of the basement. We waited. We watched the bubbling. We waited some more. And then we sipped. Pure bliss! He did it! The hard work had paid off!
So, now many years down the road, we are ready to share our passion for mead with others. We hope you will come and check us out, come tour the production room, partake in the tasting room, and hopefully support our honey nano-winery!
A new batch of peach vanilla mead has been released!! This smooth, delicate mead, made with the freshest local peaches we could find, is made by fermenting the fruit and honey together for about one month, then aging the mead with some Madagascar Vanilla beans. The result is a fragrant, after dinner delight. Good for sipping over ice, having with ice cream, or making a cocktail!
This multi-berry mead (blackberry, raspberry and blueberries), all locally sourced, are fermented dry with local wild
flower honey. A slightly tart berry first mead, combines with a hint of honey for this almost red-wine tasting mead.
This mead was named in honor of the legend of the "Devil's Footprint" here in Ipswich. So the story goes:
The famous Rev. George Whitefield was traveling thoughout New England giving sermon to thousands of people.
His stop in Ipswich was no different - he was preaching atop the town hill, at the location of the First Church of Ipswich.
So impassioned was his speach, in front of thousands of listeners, that the Devil himself showed up, as he did not like
what was being said about him. A wrestling match ensued, with the Reverend and the Devil going at it! They chased
each other around the pews a few times, and eventually made there way to the the top of the steeple. There, the preacher,
in all his glory, knocked the Devil of the top of the church. The Devil found him falling to the ground, and when he landed, his
feet hit the ground, sending sparks everywhere. He had left his footprints embedded in the rocks. We do not know what
happened to the Devil after this, but his footprints can still be found!
Always a fan favorite, Blueberry Dreams mead has made a return after months of aging.
This off-dry mead is made with a combination of both locally grown high-bush berries, and Maine sourced "Wild" berries.
Good for a dinner accompaniment or and after dinner delight, you will not be disappointed! Try a bottle today!
Our 'Lil Jack Hormer mead has been release! This fine, after dinner sipping mead is made from local plums
and local honey. Aged to perfection (over 10 months), this mead goes down easy. Fresh plum aroma with
warm soothing after taste, this off-dry mead will please you pallet!
The wait is over! After 22 months of waiting and work, we have finally released a very special mead. Made in honer of our good friend Luke P., this mead is made in a style to the first mead that Dan and Luke drank together. A bit higher in alcohol than our others, but smooth and clean because of the age, this goldenrod honey mead has been aged with both black and white cardamon. This is a special mead to share with friends as an after dinner treat!
Thanks Luke, for all your support and help with the meadery!
