Join Tysen in Episode 59 of the Meadcast, as he interviews two organizers of the Mazer Cup. Learn the ins and outs of running the world’s largest mead only competition, and whet your appetite for joining us at the 2018 Mazer Cup in just a few short months! http://traffic.libsyn.com/meadmakr/Meadcast059.mp3 Right click here to download the … Continue reading "MC59: Mazer Cup 2017"
One of Tysen’s many 2017 mead trips found him at the Domras Cup in Savannah, GA. In Episode 58, Tysen interviews Nate Watkins (home mead maker and judge), Chris Stovall (head judge), and Mike Tripka (famous mead maker). They discuss what it is like judging, hosting a competition, and the history of the Domras Cup, … Continue reading "MC058: Domras Cup 2017"
In what feels like forever ago, we sat down with Ken Hardcastle from Hermit Woods Winery to discuss his efforts in making mead into table wine. One of Hermit Woods’ goals is to replace your traditional red and white wines with suitable melomels that serve the same role. Having tasted his wares, I’d say he … Continue reading "MC057: Ultimate Wine-Like Mead with Hermit Woods"...
In episode 56, we welcome Jon Talkington from Brimminghorn Meadery on the Meadcast to talk about his meadmaking process! Learn about the oldest discovered fermented beverage from Jiahu, and Jon’s take on a mead variant. http://traffic.libsyn.com/meadmakr/Meadcast056.mp3 Right click here to download the mp3 directly. Drinks in this Episode Tysen’s Intro Beverage: Chateau Jiahu (Dogfish Head … Continue reading "MC056: Talking with Talkington – Zeus Juice?"...
In Episode 55 of the Meadcast we are fortunate to host Chad Wiltz of Garagiste Meadery as he walks us through the best processes to make mead with nuts. I learned a lot in this episode, and if you’ve ever wanted to make your own PB&J mead, be sure to follow these steps to success. http://traffic.libsyn.com/meadmakr/Meadcast055.mp3 Right … Continue reading "MC055: Oh Nuts! with Garagiste Meadery"...
The Meadcast conducts another mead tasting with our West Coast friends, revisiting session meads but with a decidedly East Coast flavor. Join us to learn about why these meads from Charm City Meadworks, Groennfell Meadery, and Havoc mead are “light and crushable.” http://traffic.libsyn.com/meadmakr/Meadcast054.mp3 Right click here to download the mp3 directly. Drinks in this Episode … Continue reading "MC054: Light and Crushable — East Coast Session Mead Tasting"...
The Cidersage Dan Daugherty joins us on the Meadcast for a Cyser Sequel. In this episode we’ll taste our episode 19 Cyser Challenge cysers, talk apple varieties, and Dan will tell us about his new commercial venture, St Vrain Cidery, which recently opened in Longmont, CO. Also, tune in to hear the latest news about Tysen’s upcoming Domras … Continue reading "MC053: The Cyser Sequel"...
We welcome Chrissie Manion Zaerpoor onto the Meadcast in episode 52 to discuss pairing meads with food. Chrissie has written a phenomenal book on the art of pairing meads releasing in a few short weeks, and we highlight some of the golden nuggets of the book. When it comes out, be sure to pick up … Continue reading "MC052: How to Pair Food and Mead"
Happy New Mead Year! In episode 51, Tysen and Allen recap their merry mead year while celebrating Meadmust (if only a few days late). We’ll cover our 2016 travels, how to pronounce Polish meads, and some segments that didn’t make it into the proper episode recordings for 2016. Specifically, you’ll hear segments from Ash Fischbein … Continue reading "MC051: Happy New Mead Year (Merry Meadmust 2016)"...
Welcome to this, Episode 50 of the Meadcast. No seriously, it’s episode 50! We couldn’t have made it this far without the support of our fans, and in their interest we’re revisiting an early topic on the show, how to make a traditional mead. We’ve had episode 4 out for a while concerning just this … Continue reading "MC050: Make Better Mead – Take 2!"
In this episode, we wrap up the soda mead challenge. You’ll hear from the guys who helped kick off this competition. We’ll discuss the three winning soda meads from the 2016 Texas Mead Cup. *** It should be noted in the photo above, this does not denote that Allen (left) or Tysen (right) won a … Continue reading "MC049: The Smooth Finish of the Soda Mead Challenge"...
Join us in Episode 48 for a discussion about Tej (pronounced tedge), the honey wine from Ethiopia. Tej is one of the oldest traditional honey wines still made today, and carries with it a history you’ll want to hear about. We’ve brought on conservationist and meadmaker Ayele Solomon from Bee D’Vine meadery to discuss Tej, … Continue reading "MC048: It’s Time for Tej"
We welcome Sergio Moutela back on the Meadcast for Episode 47 to discuss his updates to the Tailored Organic Staggered Nutrient Addition (TOSNA) protocol. We jump right into the changes that come with TOSNA 2.0, so be sure to check out our initial discussion on yeast nutrients and why going all organic works in Episode 22 (our … Continue reading "MC047: TOSNA 2.0 — Less Filling (for the Yeast), Tastes Great (for You)"...
We welcome Bruce Leslie back on the show for a spotlight episode on Griffin Meadery. Tune in to hear some more about why you should check out Texas Mead, especially from Willis. Don’t forget the Texas Mead Fest is this weekend, September 24! Mini Meadmakr’s first birthday bash is keeping us from the trip, but we’ll … Continue reading "MC046: Mead in Texas – Griffin Meadery"...
In episode 45 of the Meadcast we welcome Shannon on the show to share his latest BOMM recipe. Recall that we spoke with Bray Denard in episode 27 about his Bray’s One Month Mead recipe that has taken on a life of its own in online mead circles. Shannon recounts his experience with making BOMMs … Continue reading "MC045: We will drink your mead, Shannon"
We welcome Ash Fishbein from Saphouse Meadery onto the show to discuss using plastic fermenters to make your mead. This might be geared a bit towards larger scale production in plastic (think greater than 20 gallon fermenters but peaking at 55 gallon barrels if you don’t have temperature control), but there are plenty of takeaways … Continue reading "MC044: Plastic in the House"
Join us in Episode 43 of the Meadcast to learn about the 5th Annual Texas Mead Fest. The Texas Mead Association started as a couple meaderies looking to pool their resources and improve the mead industry of Texas. Today it sports six members, and their annual Mead Fest is one of the largest public mead … Continue reading "MC043: The 5th Annual Texas Mead Fest"
Join us in Episode 42 of the Meadcast to learn more about the meads we are making for the #SodaMead #MeadChallenge. We also have some tips from The Colony Meadery concerning how to make A Good Sarsaparilla. http://traffic.libsyn.com/meadmakr/Meadcast042.mp3 Right click here to download the mp3 directly. Drinks in this Episode Allen: Root of All Evil … Continue reading "MC042: How to #SodaMead"...
We welcome Greg and Mike from The Colony Meadery in Allentown,PA to discuss how they make meads “burst with flavor.” It’s a pretty bold assertion, meads bursting with flavor, but their product stands up to the description. Learn how they do it in episode 41 of the Meadcast, where Mike shares his tips to make … Continue reading "MC041: Bursting with Flavor (Good and Strange)"...
Are you a hot spice fanatic looking for something new to try? Be sure to check out Orchid Cellar in Middletown, MD for a tour of some of the world’s hottest peppers in capsumel form (I hear they even ship!). And don’t forget to tune in to episode 40 where we taste five of their offerings. … Continue reading "MC040: He Who Controls the Spice, Controls the Universe"...
Episode 39 is a special one for us at the Meadcast. It is the first chance we get to try one of our listener’s meads on air (not counting the pro meads here), and it was a great experience. Tune in to hear us go through a tasting of two fruit and spice meads, one … Continue reading "MC039: Evaluating Kellie’s Meads"
We welcome Michael and Alejandra from Costa Rica Meadery as our first international guests on the Meadcast to discuss their locally inspired meads. Learn about chichemel: what it is and how to make it. We also discuss their hopes to make a true coffee mead experience with all ingredients coffee derived, as well as their … Continue reading "MC038: ChiCheMel"
Join us in episode 37 of the Meadcast where we interview Philip Lorenz of Nectar Creek about session meads. Nectar Creek swept the session dry category of the Mazer Cup 2015. In this episode you’ll learn the Nectar Creek way of making mead. We’ll also cover some tips on how to carbonate your meads at … Continue reading "MC037: A Session with Phil"
In Episode 36, we challenge you to a mead making competition for the Fall of 2016. To do so, we’ve brought on some accomplished meadmakers in Thomas Eibner (@thomaseibner), Matt Weide (@bluehandmead) and Pavel Anisimov (@cidermead). During the episode, Thomas and Matt will talk through their 8 day hydromel challenge (yes, that is a drinkable … Continue reading "MC036: #SodaMead #MeadChallenge"...
In episode 35 of the Meadcast we revisit bochets with Matt Falenski from Laurel Highlands Meadery (recall with spoke with David Doucette about bochets in episode 24). Matt has been making bochet commercially for 5 years now, and brings a wealth of experience to making the beverage and understanding how to caramelize the honey appropriately. … Continue reading "MC035: Pro Bochet Tips, So You Don’t Botch It!"...
In Episode 34 we bring you news that Billy Beltz, recent 2 time medal winner at the Mazer Cup 2016, completed the Great Mead Ale Yeast Experiment. With 12 different yeasts, his experiment was pretty comprehensive from a study perspective and provides another data point considering how and when to use an ale yeast in … Continue reading "MC034: Mead Ale Yeast Experimentation with Billy Beltz"...
We had a blast just a few short weeks ago at the 2016 Mazer Cup. In this episode, you’ll hear about the trip, the cool people we met, and the great meads we had. Well, mostly the trip and the competition. There were so many meads to be had, it’s hard at this point to … Continue reading "MC033: Mazer Cup 2016 Recap"
Episode 32 wraps up Tysen’s Merry Meadmust adventure with stops at Schramm’s Meadery and B Nektar Meadery, two must visit locations in Ferndale, MI. Seriously, if you are going to drive cross country to hit a meadery, these have to be on the list. Merry Meadmust Roadrtip Part 1: #FoundMead Merry Meadmust Roadtrip Part 2: … Continue reading "MM032: Merry Meadmust Road Trip Part 3: Now with 3x the Mead!"...
Every now and again, we like to revisit our tasting chops in an effort to identify what meads we want to make and consider the process that allows the professionals to make such delicious beverages. We were lucky enough to source the three Nectar Creek dry session mead winners from the 2015 Mazer Cup as … Continue reading "MM031: West Coast Cyser and Session Mead Tasting"...
Episode 30 chronicles part II of Tysen’s travels during the Merry Meadmust Road Trip. Tysen takes us through Madison, Wisconsin and Grand Rapids, Michigan. While he didn’t stop at any meaderies, he did hit up a few cool liquor stores stocked with meads. Be sure to stop by when you are in the area! We … Continue reading "MM030: Merry Meadmust Road Trip Part 2: Enjoy Vicariously"...
