Blog - Got Mead? The Largest Mead Resource on the Web

3-11-25 Tonight we’re hanging out with Jason Elder, a home mead maker from Kansas City. His name shows up regularly on the comp results, and I can confirm he makes some pretty ‘ok’ mead. Jason has been homebrewing in Kansas City since 2010 and started making Mead and Cider in 2016. He wanted to broaden his brewing experience and found that his love for making mead was higher than for making beer....

2-25-25 Tonight we’re talking with Rob Ratliff, meadmaker and author of “The Big Book of Mead Recipes”, “Let There Be Melomels” and “Let There Be Session Meads”. An experienced meadmaker, Rob has been studying mead and its creative aspects since 2006. He has won multiple awards during competition with his meads at the Annual Mazer Cup International Mead Competition over the years and is regularly...

2-11-25 Tonight we're talking with Kirubell Araya, owner of The Heritage Winery, in New Jersey. Kirubell has taken over the making of t'ej from his father, and is now located in the old location for Melovino Meadery. The Heritage Winery has been open since 1978, making it one of the oldest honey wineries in the US. Araya Yibrehu, Kirubell's father, is a pioneer in bringing Ethiopian cuisine and Te...

1-28-25 We're hanging out with Traci Kufuss tonight, and talking about mead making, and putting recipes together. She's brought a couple of her recipes to share, and we'll dig into the mechanics of mead recipes and getting it to come out well. Traci Kuhfuss comes to us from Texas by way of Arizona. She ís been active as a homebrewer and mead maker for 20 years now, participating in brew clubs and...

1-14-25 Tonight at 9PM ET, we're talking with Kyle Ducharme and Bill Boyer Bill is in the Minnesota Mead Mafia, and if you've competed, you know he makes good mead. Kyle is from Vermont and has been tearing up the mead world as well. We're going to be exploring what they've done with their meads, and how they put their recipes together. We'll also be talking about chocolate meads! Kyle Ducharme fr...

12-3-24 We are headed for the warmer climes down in Mexico today for our last show of the year. We'll be talking with Alberto Leyva, owner of Hidromiel Aliens Kaab in Bacalar, Mexico. Alberto has been a Beekeeper in the Riviera Maya, Bacalar, Quintana Roo since 2013,  and founded of Aliens Kaab in 2019. His expertise ranges from hive management to the fermentation of artisanal mead, ensuring a pro...

11-18-24 Tonight we're headed to Alberta, Canada in the now-frozen north. We'll be chatting with her about mead in Canada, what she's doing with her meads, and what she's seeing for mead's direction. Kristeva's journey into the world of meadmaking began as a humble hobby beekeeper. In her third year of tending to her bees, they produced an impressive 450 pounds of honey. Knowing the incredible lab...

11-5-24 We are abandoning the election stuff (in the US) tonight, and visiting with Raul de la Garza, owner of Freya Brewing Company in Monterrey, Mexico. Raul is also a guest host here on Gotmead Live! We got the chance to hang out with him when Kevin and Vicky went to the Copa Hidromiel mead competition in Mexico City. Raúl de la Garza, meadmaker at Freya Brewing in Monterrey, Mexico started mak...

10-8-24 Tonight we're talking with Dominic Roth, a relatively new meadmaker in Australia. Dominic feels he's 'new' in that he thinks there is much more he can learn about making mead. We'll be talking technique, styles, recipes and more! Dominic is a home mead maker in Australia. He started making mead a couple years ago, as a replacement hobby following the birth of his most recent child. A dodgy...

9-24-24 Tonight we're talking with Frederick Rodriguez, Francisco Olachea and Rob Tyrrson in Mexico. Kevin and I were in Mexico for the Copa Hidromiel Mead Competition a couple weeks ago, and got to check out the meads that these folks produce, and we'll be talking about their methods, meads and plans. And bonus, we are bringing in a new guest host, Raul de la Garza, owner of Freya Meadery in Mont...

8-27-24 Tonight at 9PM ET we will be talking with Matthew Chrispen, with the Texas Mead Association and Texas Mead Cup, and we're doing a live demo of the BJCP Mead Exam tasting, and will be talking about getting certified and things to be aware of. Matt started brewing in November 2009 after a gift of Mr. Beer from a buddy and got hooked. He started blogging at Accidentalis.com a year later, focu...

8-13-24 Tonight we’re talking with Kyle Ducharme in Vermont. Kyle has been doing a lot of mead making classes and education and helping more people with the love of mead. Kyle Ducharme is from Northern Vermont and is a home mead maker that has experience with quality assurance positions in the food and beverage industries. He has been making mead since the fall of 2019, really diving deep during t...

Tonight we'll be talking with newer meadmaker Stewart Jacobs. Stewart is in the Seattle area. We'll talk techniques, recipes and mead making in general. Stewart is an aerospace engineer in the Seattle area who has been making mead in 5 gallon batches since 2016. He has made at least a dozen unique batches with a variety of different additives since starting. He currently has a smoked apple mead aw...

Tonight at 9PM ET we'll be getting together with Francisco Olachea, Elba Copado, Frederick Rodriguez and Andrés Torres, with surprise guest Raul de la Garza. Francisco, Elba and Frederick are the organizers of the Copa Hidromiel México, a BJCP competition in Mexico City. Between them they've an impressive collection of education and experience. We will also have Bob Slanzi, US Mead Ambassador to M...

5-21-24 Tonight we're talking with Adam Bystrom, Josh Mahoney, Al Boyce and Josh Holbrook, members of the aptly-nicknamed 'Minnesota Mead Mafia'. Josh Holbrook has been home brewing for since 2011 and making mead since 2013. He discovered mead at his local homebrew club when a club member brought a bottle of an attempt at Curt Stock’s Triple Berry Melomel. Clouds parted, angels sang, and Josh beca...

5-7-24 Tonight at 9PM ET we will be talking with Christopher Clarke, Owner/Meadmaker at Four Fires Meadery and Head Brewer at HEAVY Beer Co. in Toledo, Ohio.  Chris got into making mead after first getting into homebrewing.  In late 2014  he took up homebrewing, a short half a year after first getting into craft beer. His brewing buddy at the time, Mack Garton, and he would brew every single Monda...

Tonight we're talking with Bryce and Savannah, husband and wife owners of Fox and Raven Meadery in Carollton, Texas. Fox & Raven Mead is Savannah and Bryce, a husband and wife team, creating Meads inspired by the stories that enchant them. They met at a movie theater eighteen years ago where they worked (mainly for the perk of free movies). They are self proclaimed Bibliophies, cinephiles and just...

3-26-21 Tonight we're talking with Bray Denard, creator of the BOMM, Bray's One Month Mead. Bray Denard, PhD is the inventor of Bray’s One Month Mead (aka “the BOMM”), one of the more popular mead styles among home mead makers. Bray has continued to refine his methods over the years to create a never fail nutrient protocol that works with any yeast! In addition, Bray continues to provide mead maki...

Tonight at 9PM ET, we're hanging out with Bob Slanzi, beekeeper, meadmaker, industry influencer and general all around pretty cool guy. Bob Slanzi has been keeping bees and making award winning meads for years. He is very active in the meadmaking, homebrew and beekeeping communities, having held offices in both his clubs in NY in the past. he is the past president of the Home Governing Committee o...

2-13-24 Tonight we're headed to Texas to talk with Traci Kuhfuss, home meadmaker and mead consultant. Traci Kuhfuss comes to us from Texas by way of Arizona. She ís been active as a homebrewer and mead maker for 20 years now, participating in brew clubs and competitions in all the places she has lived and traveled.. Traci is a professional graphic designer who loves making mead. Traci got into bre...

1-30-24 We're off to Arkansas tonight (where it's warmer) to visit with Tony Fry, owner and meadmaker at Arkansas Meadery in Alexander, Arkansas. Since 2001, Tony Fry has been deeply passionate about the art of fermenting, starting with beer and wine and eventually delving into the world of mead. As a founding member of CAF ("Central Arkansas Fermenters") in 2003, a prominent homebrew club based i...

1-16-24 Welcome to 2024! GotMead Live is back with Carlos Herrera, owner of the soon-to-be Texas Longhouse Meadery in Wylie, TX, just north of Dallas. Carlos has done a lot in his life so far. He spent 8 years in the army as an airborne infantryman. He was medically discharged in 2011 due to combat injuries and became a Paramedic in 2013. In 2015 decided he wasn't ready for civilian life and went...

12-5-23 Tonight on GotMead Live at 9PM EST we're talking with Brian Galbreath, owner of Unpossible Meadery in Dwight, IL, just off Route 66. Brian started fermenting ciders and then mead in 2013. Pete Bakulic told him to focus on traditionals when he got started. [break]Brian went on to take a Mazer Cup win with his Montmorency Barrel Aged Mead, where he won the 2016 Home Mead Competition in the e...

Tonight at 9PM ET we'll be talking with Tom Repas. Tom has been on the show before, and we're having him back, as he's an absolute fountain of information! And he makes 'ok' mead. We're going to delve into the bees and their care. What you may not be aware of is that a year ago, Tom started making his 'ok' meads professionally. Apiflora Mead, made and available at Zymurcracy Beer Company in Rapid...

7-7-23 Tonight on Gotmead Live, we're talking with Will Otte and Jacob Thill, both in Minnesota and meadmakers. They work with high gravity meads, and use several different nutrient protocols in their craft. Will has dabbled in fermentation off an on most of his life, from helping his father and opa make mediocre wines (well, mostly vinegar to be honest) from Texas grapes during his childhood to b...