Episodes
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7-28-26 Today we'll be chatting with Clyde and Sarah Hays, owners of Vinland Meads in Murchison, TX. Vinland Meads is a family-owned meadery and artisan kitchen in Murchison, Texas, founded by Clyde and his wife, Sarah,. Although the company was officially formed in 2024 and their public tasting room opened in 2026, Clyde's history with mead began more than twenty years ago. He became interested in mead through his love of Scottish and Northern European history, and he mentioned to his grandfather that he wanted to learn how to make it. Rather than giving him a written recipe, he shared storie
6-30-26 Tonight we're getting together with Glenn Lavender, owner and meadmaker at Silver Hand Meadery in Williamsburg, VA. Glenn Lavender is a musician, mead maker, entrepreneur, and educator who founded Silver Hand Meadery in Williamsburg, Virginia, now in its 11th year. His journey into mead began in an unexpected place: on the road as a touring musician and in the pages of homesteading and historical fiction books, where a curiosity about honey bees and mead grew into a passion for varietal honey, fermentation, and the ancient craft of mead. Through Silver Hand Meadery, Glenn has built one
5-19-26 Tonight we’re talking with Bob Slanzi, meadmaker, beekeeper, and world traveling mead influencer and enjoyer. Bob 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 of the American Mead Makers Association, and very active in helping bring the word of mead to everyone. He was the person who set up and maintained the monthly deals the American Mead Makers Association has for members. Bob wa
5-5-26 Tonight we're hanging with Tony Qualls. Tony is meadmaker/owner of Manic Meadery and brewer/owner of Gnosis Brewing. And he puts on the Sugarbelt Mead Festival every year. A busy guy! Tony is not just a meadery owner, he's also a musician. He toured in the band Groovatron for 12 years, doing over 1500 shows in 12 years (makes me tired just thinking about all that travel!). In April 2024, Tony and the gang opened Gnosis Brewing, also in Merrillville, Indiana. Founded by Tony, Keith, Eric, Adam, and Brandon, the brewery embodies an unending quest for beer perfection, continually evolving
4-21-26 - Tonight we’re talking with Blair Housley, owner of Etowah Meadery in Dalonega, Georgia. A Dahlonega native, Blair grew up fishing and exploring along the Etowah River—a place that shaped his connection to North Georgia and later inspired the name and roots of Etowah. At 21, Blair joined the U.S. Air Force, an experience that strengthened the disciplined, process-driven approach he brings to building brands and crafting beverages. More than 15 years ago, he began brewing beer and mead as a hobby and quickly became focused on honey fermentation and the potential of mead as a modern cra
4-7-26 Tonight we’re getting back together with Carlos Herrera, owner and Meadmaker at Texas Longhouse Meadery in Wylie, Texas. Carlos is the owner and mead maker of Texas Longhouse Meadery, where Nordic inspiration and Texas craft meet in the glass. With over two dozen awards and a passion for building community through mead, Carlos is also the President of the Texas Mead Association, working to grow the mead industry and bring more people into the Longhouse. Carlos, an Army Veteran, a Paramedic, and a Diplomatic Security Specialist, started learning how to make mead from an outgoing mentor.
3-24-26 Tonight we're talking with Melody and Kyle Stout, the new owners of Spacetime Mead and Cider in Dunmore, PA. They bought and took over Spacetime from owner and mead-maker Dan Schreffler has retired to take time for, well, whatever he decides to do on any given day. They are the next generation for Space Time! Melody began homebrewing in fall 2021, and really got into it, like it does for so many. She continued and got her BCJP Mead Judge certification in spring 2024. Her meads have done well in competition, including at Valhalla, the Mead Stampede and Your Honey or Your Life. Medaled i
2-24-26 Tonight at 9PM ET, we're talking with Ryan Kretchmer, owner of Barbarian Mead, a meadery in planning in the Philadelphia area. Like many people, Ryan has lived a quiet, normal life growing up in the suburbs of Chicago — quietly wrestling tigers in the Roman Colosseum, serving as a United States Senator, accepting a beauty pageant crown, conducting questionable laboratory experiments, and occasionally floating through low Earth orbit as an astronaut. Unfortunately, a demanding schedule of international diplomacy, space travel, and tiger hand-to-hand combat made it difficult to maintain
2-10-26 Tonight we’re talking with Roger Wanner, owner and meadmaker at WA Meadwerks in Long Island, NY. Roger is the founder and mead maker of W A Meadwerks. Founded in 2018, they have experienced rapid growth in the early years of operation and disappointment in the post COVID years. After right-sizing the operation and focusing on small batch production, as they did when founded, they’ve added a new fan base and are reshaping the way mead is perceived and enjoyed. W A Meadwerks will be celebrating its 8th anniversary this year with a focus on barrel aged meads. The celebration starts on Mea
2-3-26 We're doing a pre-recorded episode today! We are talking with Krzysztof Jarek and Mateusz "maTEJ" Błaszczyk, meadmakers and founders of the Mead Madness Cup and the European Mead Makers Association. Kings of Mead represent the powerhouse duo of Krzysztof Jarek and Mateusz "maTEJ" Błaszczyk, two recognizable mead authorities in Europe. Hailing from Poland—the global heart of mead tradition—both have been crafting mead for over 15 years, blending deep-rooted heritage with modern innovation. As cornerstones of the global mead community, they launched their YouTube channel over 8 years ago,
1-27-26 Tonight we’re talking with Ryan Carlson again. He had a lot of information, and we just ran out of time last time! Ryan is a Colorado mead maker who has been making mead for quite a while. Those of you who have listened to the early GML episodes may remember him. He has been quiet publicly for a few years, dealing with personal things, but during that quiet time, he’s also been doing a lot of learning and experimentation to deepen his mead making expertise. I'll just let Ryan tell you himself: Hi, my name is Ryan. Some of you will know me from the mead world going back a long way. Some
1-13-26 Tonight we’re talking with Ryan Carlson. Ryan is a Colorado mead maker who has been making mead for quite a while. Those of you who have listened to the early GML episodes may remember him. He has been quiet publicly for a few years, dealing with personal things, but during that quiet time, he’s also been doing a lot of learning and experimentation to deepen his mead making expertise. I'll just let Ryan tell you himself: Hi, my name is Ryan. Some of you will know me from the mead world going back a long way. Some of you won’t know me at all — and that’s just fine. I was very active in
12-2-25 Tonight we're talking with Matt and Lauren Bloom, owners and meadmakers at Bløm Mead and Cider in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. Bløm Meadworks (pronounced “bloom”), makes modern ciders and session meads – they’re light, dry, carbonated, and remarkably sessionable. For their meads, they start with the same ingredients as a traditional mead - honey, water and yeast - which means they can source all of our ingredients from Michigan. They ferment it like a dry craft cider, so the result isn’t nearly as thick or sweet as traditional mead. So, if the word “mead” automatically conjures a drin
11-4-25 Tonight we’re talking with Bill Bellair, founder of the Michigan Mead Coalition. We’re going to talk about mead in competition. Bill Bellair began his mead-making journey in 2008 when his mother expressed interest in trying tej, a traditional Ethiopian honey wine, which was unavailable locally. His early attempts—while not without the occasional "bottle bomb"—yielded surprisingly delicious results. Following this, Bill turned his attention to beer brewing, and it would be several years before he returned to crafting mead. During this time, he joined the Metro Enologist 'n' Zymurgist (M
10-21-25 Tonight we're chatting with Brian Bookmiller, co-founder and meadmaker at Queen City Meadery in Buffalo, NY. They been making mead since 2018. Brian Bookmiller is a driving force behind Queen City Meadery, serving as both co-founder and mead maker. His passion for craft fermentation began as a hobby shared with lifelong friends, eventually evolving into a full-fledged business. Bookmiller’s leadership has helped shape the meadery’s identity as a community-focused, artisanal producer of honey-based beverages. In 2023, Queen City Meadery announced a major expansion at its current locati
10-7-25 Tonight we're talking meadmaking with Bill Bellair and Rob Barnhart. Both are experienced meadmakers that create excellent meads. And both have taken their share of awards at competitions. Bill Bellair began his mead-making journey in 2008 when his mother expressed interest in trying tej, a traditional Ethiopian honey wine, which was unavailable locally. His early attempts—while not without the occasional "bottle bomb"—yielded surprisingly delicious results. Following this, Bill turned his attention to beer brewing, and it would be several years before he returned to crafting mead. Dur
9-9-25 Tonight we're talking with Kris and Karen Pruitt with Kold Prairie Mead in Elizabeth, Colorado. They opened their meadery in 2022 and have been out there kicking it! Kristopher Pruitt’s journey into meadmaking began in 2017 with an initial desire to become a beekeeper. Within a short time, his curiosity led him to explore mead, and on Thanksgiving Day that year, he and his wife, Karen, brewed their first experimental batches. Those early efforts quickly earned recognition, beginning with the Mead Free or Die competition and eventually included two Mazer Cups, Best of Show at the Domras
8-26-25 Tonight we're talking with Brian Green, owner of Centeur Imports in New Hampshire. Brian is bringing meads from Europe to the United States, and even has a direct online sales platform for people to get these meads shipped to them. During a long career as a professor of sociology, Brian spent a lot of time in Eastern Europe traveling and doing research. While there, he discovered incredible Polish, Czech and Slovakian meads. In 2013, together with his wife Jana, Brian founded Centeur Imports to import wine and mead from Central Europe. They quickly found that mead was their best sellin
8-12-25 Tonight we're talking with Matthew Mead, a home meadmaker who has burned up the competitions over the last couple years with his excellent mead. He has set out to win in competitions in every US state. And so far he's doing really well! Matthew been making mead since around 2017, he got into making meads when a local friend who was opening up his own meadery told him with his last name he needed to start making mead. He started entering his meads into competitions to get better feedback on them and from there he joined Modern Mead Makers on Facebook to learn how to make better meads. H
7-29-25 Tonight we're talking with Corey Mason, owner and meadmaker at TreeHive Meadery in Brocton, Illinois. Corey was introduced to mead in 2012. IHe started picking up bottles for a friend when he went on trips. He finally found one he liked. It was a Polish mead, and he picked up several other meads. After that he went down the rabbit hole of mead and never looked back. He would get Moonlight Meadery, B. Nektar, Wild Blossom, and Wyldewood Cellars meads there. But that wasn't enough. He found New Day Meadery when he went through Indianapolis. He started ordering from VinoShipper. There wer
7-15-25 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 3 years ago, Tom started making his 'ok' meads professionally. Apiflora Mead, made and available at Zymurcracy Beer Company in Rapid City, South Dakota. Tom is a Master Beekeeper and owner of Canyon Rim Honey Bees, providing bees and honey in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Tom speaks on beekeeping all over the country, a
June 17, 2025 - Tonight we’re talking with Adrian Beebe, owner of Cloud City Mead in Leadville, Colorado, and is the highest meadery in the country at over 10,000 feet. Adrian is making mainly session meads, and doing it well. Adrian has been homebrewing beer & mead since 2009. Volunteering at various homebrew competitions and beer festivals, he became a certified beer judge in 2015 and got a job brewing at a brewpub in the small mining town of Leadville, Colorado where, in 2022, he opened the world's highest meadery, located dead center of CO at an elevation of over 10,000 feet. Cloud City em
6-3-25 Tonight we‘re talking with Peter Taylor, founder and meadmaker at Niddhoggr Mead in the UK. Peter Taylor is the owner and founder of the Multi Award winning Nidhoggr Mead Co. based in the UK. His mead is has won the Mazer cup and Mead Madness cup several times and has a total of 11 medals across his 7 flavours. All his mead is made using 100% honey and natural ingredients and he now has a 12,000 sqft factory and 20 staff in York in the UK. In the heart of York, Nidhoggr Mead Co. has revived the ancient art of mead-making. Founded in 2020 by Peter Taylor, a Viking reenactor, the company
5-20-25 Tonight we're hanging out with Joe and Tricia Marshall, owner of Lily Belle Meads in Lancaster, NY. This husband and wife team are kicking it outside Buffalo with their meads! Joe and Tricia's journey into mead was gradual but Tricia definitely led the charge on it. In 2004 Tricia got Joe a home brewing beer kit for his 26th birthday and got herself a winemaking kit for his 26th birthday! She made wines, Joe made beers. Tricia's personal goal was to make a delicious blueberry wine. She wasn't happy with the results, so she did some research and found that she could replace the white su
5-6-25 - Tonight we’re talking with Alen RadoŠević with Fool Moon Meadery in Romania. Alen makes excellent mead and has a meadery that sells in Romania only (for now). Alen is owner and meadmaker at FoolMoon Transilvania - Romania. Alen is Certified through the Level 2 Mead Judging Program at the European Mead Makers Association. He is also winner of gold and silver medals at the 2025 Mead Madness CUP (MMC). Alen is relatively new to mead, but it hasn’t slowed him down at all. He’s been making mead since 2020, and has a long family tradition of making wine and rakija. Somewhere in 2020, Alen s
