Where to buy mead?

Boris61 · Oct 17, 2005

I am new to this board, but more importantly, I am new to mead. In fact, I have never tasted mead. I have started brewing my own beer, but I would like to try my hand at mead. Prior to taking the next steps, I would like to try mead to get a sense of how the various types "should" taste. The problem is that I don't know where to get it. I live in NJ and after stopping in a dozen liquor/wine stores, I can not find anyone who carries mead. Through this great web-site, it is evident that honey-wine is not mead - so I will not make that mistake. Can anyone offer a suggestion or two for a newbie?
Thank you.
Bob

Alden · Oct 17, 2005

Here are some options for you.

1. You might see if any of your bigger liquor stores can order some mead for you. Unfortunately, the major liquor stores around here only get Chaucer's mead, which I don't find all that good.

2. Look around your town (and maybe nearby towns) for local brewery supply stores and talk to them and see if they (or anyone they know) makes mead. Get their contact info and make a friend.

Most brewers/vinters I've met are very friendly and are usually pretty willing to help newcomers and trade/share homebrews.

3. You might chance to find someone online (via this forum or others) who lives near enough to help you out.

4. Another idea you might try is to get in touch with the Society for Creative Anachronism. New Jersey is located in the Kingdom of the East, in their Southern Region. You can look here (http://www.eastkingdom.org/branches.html) to see if you can find the group nearest to you. Contact their Seneschal, Arts & Sciences Minister, or the Baron/Baroness if there is one. Explain to them that you are trying to find people in your area who make mead and would appreciate any contact information they could give you. Whether or not you are in the SCA, most of us are happy to talk to people about things we enjoy doing.

pain · Oct 17, 2005

Hi Boris61, and welcome to my place. Actually, honewine *is* mead, that is, wine made with honey instead of grapes. However, there are a number of places that make a wine *with* honey (like Bunratty Meade from Ireland), where a finished white wine has honey and/or spices added to make it mead-like.

If you live in NJ, you've several choices for trying mead.

First is one in your own state, Heritage Wines (formerly known as Saba Tej. You can find them here (you'll want to call, it looks like their website is down at the moment):

Heritage Wines (Organic Mead)
15 Park Avenue, Suite 211
Rutherford, NJ 07070
(888-7 SABA TEJ (772-2283)
800-910-AXUM (2986)
(201) 438-9994 info@heritagewines.com

In nearby NY, you have several choices: http://www.gotmead.com/commercial-mead/us-meaderies.shtml#NY

I highly recommend Long Island Meadery, they have meads ranging from very dry to very sweet, and lots of flavors. It would be an ideal way to not only taste mead, but taste *different* meads, and see what you think you'll like when you start making it.

Meanwhile, stroll around here, check out the main website (http://www.gotmead.com) and learn! This is a great forum, due to the many wonderful posters we have here, and I think if I counted up all the years of meadmaking experience, we'd have something over a 1000 years of combined experience (not bad for one of the worlds' oldest fermented beverages!).

Once again welcome!

Vicky

Brewbear · Oct 17, 2005

Welcome to the forums ;D
You can check with one of the members on this forum, Michael Ng, he runs Known world meads. See if he can ship it to you.
Vicky's suggestios are tops!!

Ted

byathread · Oct 19, 2005

Vicky the Gotmead Webwench said:
This is a great forum, due to the many wonderful posters we have here, and I think if I counted up all the years of meadmaking experience, we'd have something over a 1000 years of combined experience (not bad for one of the worlds' oldest fermented beverages!).

Vicky, you rock! I think our goal should be to get enough mazers on the forums so that our combined experience could stretch back into the ages to the origin of our favorite beverage. Hold your heads up high and keep truckin' kids! Only another 10,000+ years to go!!

PS - Boris, you can also check the commercial meads page here and check Meadery websites or call to see if they have a distributer in your state. If so, call the distributers to see if they supply stores in your area. If not, give the manager of your local liquor the distributor's info and tell him what you'd like to see.

Boris61 · Oct 25, 2005

Thank you all for your suggestions.
Based on your suggestions, I checked-out Brotherhood Winery for their Sheba Mead. They told me about their distibutor, who in turn told me of a liquor store that carried the mead I was inquiring about. However, the manager of the liquor store didn't have it, but was willing to order it - that was last week. Yesterday, I picked-up a bottle. I could not wait to get home and open the bottle. The first couple of sips were quite sweet - moreso than I expected. Once I got to the second glass, it was more tolerable, if not enjoyable. I would say that the overall experience was probably a 5 on a scale from 1-10. I will continue my search for a less sweet mead.

Again, thank you all very much for your input.
Bob

Brewbear · Oct 26, 2005

Hi Boris,
Keep i mind that the comercial meads are made to be liked by *most* consumers. When you make your own, you can tailor it to your taste, much the same way you do with beer.

Ted

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