Where to Find the Best Meaderies in the US
Meaderies? What are they? Well, a Meadery, is where people make fermented honey, and drink it! In other words, it is another form of alcohol. Mead was used in the Renaissance Era, as the drink of choice for most people. It was used even earlier, in Greek, Roman, and Viking eras, going back as far as 3,000 BC, according to, Courtney Iseman, from delish.com (article here). It is one of the oldest drinks still incorporated today.
It takes the honey about 10-20 days to ferment, then it is put back into a cooling storage vessel for another 3-6 months. It is similar to wine, and can be flavored either very dry, STRONG (like whiskey), or sweet/fruity, like dessert wine. Most meads, you will find, have about 11% to 14% alcohol, so around the same as wine.
Thus, Mead really isn’t a new phenomenon at all, but really a relaunch of a once popular drink of choice. Due to decrease taxes on sugar in the 1700s, Mead grew out of popularity, because people could now use sugar more abundantly than honey. It was reboted in the 80s due to a Californian Renaissance Fair, and it slowly started to retake off, from there. Now, there are hundreds of different meaderies across the country, with even more awaiting to get their licenses. It seems people can’t get enough of an old habit, Mead!
Meaderies in the US
Meaderies, also gained traction when the first Mead competition took place in 1992, to promote the drink, and its community. Most people associate it with craft beer, but now people see it as its own lane, and have gone on to create what we know now as, Meaderies. There are even some actors that have jumped on the Mead bandwagon, such as, Dylan Sprouse, who opened his first Meadery in New York City. It is called the, All-Wise Meadery, and hey, you might even catch Zack or Cody there, from the Suite Life.
Now, you might be wondering, this drink sounds good, but where can I try some? Here is a great website, that will tell you about the different Meaderies, within each state! But to make it easier, I will list the ones I recommend below!
Alaska
Alaska Meadery this Meadery, is partnered with, Denali Brewing Company and is opened during the Summer, between May and mid-September, on Sundays & Mondays, from 11am-8pm. And of course, offers great mead!
Arizona
Drinking Horn Meadery has a Mead Hall Membership program, where you receive Sunday Brunches, Mead Pairing Dinners, and Viking Holiday Feasts. They have over ten different Meads to choose from, as well as, drinking horns, and glasses, with pick up orders ready for you to place!
The Meading Room offers a mix of draft mead, hard cider, and fruit wine. They have 10 different meads, 3 different ciders, and 2 different fruit wines to choose from, with curbside pickup, to make it easier for you, when you order!
California
Heidrun Meadery is located in Point Reyes Station, California, with 8 different meads to choose from, with a mead club you can join for special discounts and events!
Honest Abe Cider is a new meadery, that includes ciders and wines in addition to mead. They are open from Monday through Sunday from 12pm-7pm, with 6 different ciders, 5 different meads, 3 different wines, and 3 different cocktails!
Honey Pot Meadery offers different meads, ciders, seltzers, and fruit wines as well. They have 6 different meads, 4 different fruit wines & seltzers, and 6 different ciders.
Meadiocrity Mead offers a tasting room and Mead Garden for you to dine at. They are located in northern San Diego county, in San Marcos, California. They also grow and protect their own bees, to make their own honey for their mead, thus it isn’t just tasty, their mead is ethical and sustainable too!
Rabbits Foot Meadery offers mead, cider, and beers. They have a taproom to try their wonderful tastings, however, due to Covid, they have limited openings.
Colorado
Black Forest Meadery is located in Black Forest Colorado. They have 7 different meads, and 6 different wines to choose from!
Hunters Moon Meadery is located in Severance, Colorado, which is about an hour from Denver. They offer TONS of different meads, 19 different ones to be exact! They also offer some food as well!
Red Stone Meadery is located in Boulder, Colorado, and has 3 different categories of wine to choose from. They have nectar meads, mountain honey wines, different reserves (different dessert wines, aged for at least 5 years), and different mead cocktails. They also house and grow their own bees, to make their own honey for their mead!
Connecticut
Mad Moose Mead has meads that are centered around the Vikings and their different Gods and beliefs! Some of their meads have names, such as, Odin’s Raven, Freya’s Tears (for people traveling to Valhalla, the Viking’s version of Heaven), and Nymph’s Kiss.
Florida
Odd Elixir Meadery has 14 different meads, 6 different ciders, and odd elixir meads to choose from. Safe to say, you will find something here to try!
Georgia
Blue Haven Bee Meadery is centered around Southern qualities and their ancestors. Their mead is created based upon the land and history of the South. Their meads are made with lots of honey, fruits, and floral tastings.
Viking Alchemist Meadery offers a couple different events, like Mead and Yoga. As well as, different honeywines, dry meads, sweet meads, and barreled/aged meads!
Idaho
Camas Prairie Winery makes dry, airy, and light flavors that go well with many different cheeses, breads, and much more! They make a variety of different meads that you and your friends can choose from and relax with!
Mythic Mead is owned and operated by veterans, who intend to spread a new creation (mead) to people who may not know about it, and to everyone else, you might enjoy it!
Iowa
Buzzed Bee Meadery offers many different dry, semi-sweet, or sweet meads, made in addition with, different herbs and spices, and different honeys and fruits! Some of the fruits include, aronia berries, elderberries, and goji berries!
Maine
Maine Meadworks This place offers REALLY cool flavors! Such as, Iced Tea Mead, Lavender Mead, Chai Mead, and Spiced Mead! They also have really cool designs on their bottles! Their meads are mostly made with different wildflower honey, water, and a wild version of South African yeast.
Maryland
Charm City Meadworks has different DRAFT meads, yes like draft beer, and still meads. They focus on making light, dry, and refreshing drinks for their customers and themselves. They aim for people’s reactions to be, “wow, I want more,” and really who doesn’t want that motto for their product?!
Maryland Meadworks is another great meadery, that was recommend to me, by my friends, Catherine and Anthony! Even though, it is on the smaller side, they side all their flavors, are awesome! Some of their flavors include, Florida orange blossom honey, bitter bee, tart cherry, pineapple, mango, papaya, hibiscus, and blueberry.
Orchid Cellar this meadery and winery started out with a limited collection of meads, and one red wine. Now, they have grown into a small store and taproom of mead and many different wines. They believe patience is key and a virtual for anything good in life, and always prefer quality over quantity.
Michigian
Drink Blom offers a Christmas Mead, and makes “session” meads. Which means their meads are focused on being light, dry, and carbonated. And all their ingredients come from local Michigan farmers.
Great Meadhall offers a variety of different meads, their featured mead being made with fresh pear juice and aged for 9-12 months. Rightfully so, being called, King Alcinous!
Schramms Mead offers over 30 different meads, and their own mead finder for all you midwest folks! Here is where you can find the closest Meadery to you!
St. Ambrose Mead-Wine is a bit different, when you go, you can sit in Igloos! You can choose from draft or still mead, and many different wines!
Minnosota
Sociable Cider makes drinks with freshly pressed apples, and multiple different fruits, grains, hops, and spices to create with. They have a cidery and taproom that you can choose from to visit!
Mississippi
Queens Reward is Mississippi’s first meadery and offers 9 different meads, all ranging from dry to sweet meads!
New Hampshire
Moonlight Meadery along with many different meads, Moonlight Meadery sells honey & jelly, goat cheeses, barrel aged meads, bear, session meads, sweet & semi-sweet meads, dry or fruit meads, traditional meads, spiced, and fruit & spiced mead!
Sap House Meadery creates many different flavors of mead, from traditional mead, sugar maple mead, hopped blueberry mead, vanilla bean mead, or honeyberry mead!
New Jersey
Melovino has a mead bar, different bottled meads, draft meads, flight samplers, and yes, mead SLUSHIES! So many good drinks to sip!
New Mexico
Falcon Mead offers 9 different meads, cherry, mini, dry peach, mountain mead, raspberry, dry blackberry, blackberry, peach, and strawberry mead!
New York
All-Wise Meadery is Dylan Sprouse’s meadery! Him and his co-founder, Matt Kwan, sell 6 different delicious meads! And if you stop in, you might see your favorite childhood star!
Helderberg Meadworks located in upstate New York, about 30 minutes outside of Albany. This is a GREAT Meadery! I have been here, and they have GREAT flavors, different drinking horns, shirts, mugs, and much more!
North Carolina
Honeygirl Meadery makes different meads, wine, fermented with fruit, botanicals, and flowers! Their traditional meads focus on flavors of honey, wildflower, and orange blossom. While their fruit meads focus on the different seasons, made with different local fruit that’s in season. And finally their herb meads are infused with different herbs, such as, chamomile, sage, and rosemary!
Starr Light Mead offers a honey chai mead, honey ginger, a honey nordic blend, a honey spiced apple, honey peach, honey blackberry, blackberry, pear, and many different dry and traditional meads!
Ohio
Western Reserve Meadery creates many different meads from dry to sweet, light to hearty, and sparkling to refreshing! Their motto when making their mead is, “careful craft=great meads.”
Oregon
Nectar Creek Meadery was created by two brothers, after their life long goal of opening a business together. Their meads are light, clean, and refreshing, made with the finest and most sustainable products available.
Oran Mor Artisan Meadery is a small meadery located in Southern Oregon, who makes delicious meads, from ancient traditions. All meads are made with local and seasonal fruit, herbs, and spices, and look delicious!
Pennsylvania
Colony Meadery offers a variety of different flavors with their meads, such as mint and lime, sarsaparilla, hopped, and orange blossom mead.
Upper Reach Meadery strives to create modern tasting meads, with great ingredients, and many different packages. Their weekend water series is made up of refreshing flavors, while their mixologist series has cocktail recipes, and finally, their haymaker has their highest ABV levels. It ranges from bone dry to sweet meads, barreled aged, and traditional meads.
Laurel Highlands Meadery creates many different meads, some of their stand out flavors are orange vanilla, bourbon barrel, hopped chocolate cherry, whiskey barrel, spiced holiday, triple berry, cinnamon-vanilla, chamomile lavender, ginger hibiscus, cranberry, avocado honey, oaked, and buckwheat-clover.
South Carolina
Wandering Bard Meadery creates flavors of mead such as, blueberry, black cherry, elderberry, peach, Carolina peach raper, peach tea, star of anise, oaked black cherry, and oaked blueberry.
Texas
Dancing Bee Winery offers 14 different meads, some of their biggest being, Citrus Tango, Logi’s Liberation, Merry Texasmas, Mulled Harvest, Raspberry, and Sparkling Cranberry.
Vermont
Groennfell Meadery offers SO many different meads, with a great variety of different designs on their bottles and mead bottles!
Sticky Paws Meadery has flavors such as, Barrel Magic, Mulled Over, Thorny Side, Tobey’s Brew, and Maple Mayhem in progress.
Virginia
Black Snake Meadery has been in business since 2006, and is one of the longest standing meaderies in Virginia. They were one of the first meaderies to create mead with hops (the honey is caramelized). And all their meads are made from Virginia wildflower honey, diluted mountain well water, and at their farm!
Silver Hand Meadery offers a variety of different meads, some of their flavors are, Strawberry Swing, Raspberry Passion, Black Velvet, Dream by the Fire, Terres Brulees, Ginger Me Slowly, Heart of Gold Christmas Berry, Virginia Tonight, and Soak Up the Sun!
Washington
Hierophant Meadery offers some unique flavors as well, such as, Rose Chardamom, Matricaria Chamomlie, Gilead Popular Vanilla, Lemon Balm, Chai Session, Lavender Citrus, Ginger Pear, Spiced Apple, and Butterbee Butterscotch!
Oppegaard Mead makes classic viking mead, with a modern twist. They offer 9 different meads, all containing 14% alcohol, safe to say, you’ll have a good time with these meads!
Sky River Meadery has seven different meads to choose from, including a variety of different wines. Some cool mead flavors are sky river chamomlie mead, and their cherry vanilla!
West Virginia
Honey River Meadery is made in the mountains of West Virginia at Healthberry Farm. They make their own honey, and are beekeepers, that create delicious honey without any refined sugars, and even better mead!
Wisconsin
Bos Meadery offers SO many unique flavors and names for their meads. Some of the flavors/names include, Equinox, Cranberry, Buckwheat, Black Pepper, Oaked Wildflower, Hammer Smashed Cherry, Hibiscus & Cherry, Pomegranate Pyment, Magic Carpet Ride, and Ace of Cascades!
Wyoming
Big Lost Meadery has many different meads, beers, and mead cocktails. Some noteworthy ones are, Wild Man Mead, Crazy Woman Mead, Sweet Dance, Fall Special (all meads made with 18% alcohol), Wassail, Autumn Rose, Craz-Tea-Ni, and Ginger Sunrise!
And that wraps up all our fabulous Meaderies! I hope you found one within your state, that isn’t too far from you, however, some states are sparse with their Meaderies. But hey, it’s not their fault, it’s still a new trend, so maybe they’ll get on it, eventually! Or maybe you could do a fun road trip to one! Anyways, thank you for reading, and get tasting!
P.S. A fun little trivia fact, I found, from Delish.com is, according to Mental Floss, the term “honeymoon” comes from a recently married couple, consuming honey or mead, a month (moon), after their wedding. They would drink this for good fertility for their future (here is the article)!
