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| An older bottle of Scarlet Solstice from Brothers Drake Meadery, which has been plying its trade in Columbus for nearly a decade. |
Showing posts with label Mead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mead. Show all posts
Black Friday Libations Tour: Columbus Edition (Pt. 2)
Black Friday Bedlam: The Second Annual Mead & Brew Tour (Part 2)
The second half of our Black Friday Libations tour started off at a place that seemed to pique the collective group's curiosity the most out of our destinations this day.
Reading a little bit before my visit about The BottleHouse, first established in Cleveland Heights in 2012, reminded me of Columbus-area breweries like Valleyview's Sideswipe Brewing or Heath's Homestead Brewing in Licking County. The latter two were breweries that had began plying their trade quietly on the fringes, put out more compellingly tasty products over time, and have expanded their facilities and their name recognition as a result. With The BottleHouse opening a new location in Lakewood recently, I was hoping we would find similarly compelling beverages.
Black Friday Bedlam: The Second Annual Mead & Brew Tour (Part 1)
The ritual of Black Friday has become a source of tradition (or avoidance, depending on your viewpoint) for many families around the country. While most of these experiences center around the greatest shopping bargains you can find, for my spouse's side of the family, it means a gathering of the troops for a whirlwind tour of breweries and meaderies in the area.
Last year's journeys took our collective group into the Detroit area for a sampling at places like Ferndale's Schramm's Mead and Warren's Kuhnhenn Brewing. This year, we ventured into Northeast Ohio for a whirlwind journey in and around the Cleveland area.
Two of our first three visits on the first half of our journey were repeat visits of area breweries that my spouse and I had made not too long ago, with a kickoff of proceedings at Akron's Hoppin' Frog Brewery and a more extensive lunch stop a few hours later at Lake County's Willoughby Brewing.
Not surprisingly, not much had really changed since we blogged about these two breweries not too long ago. However, we did want to say Hoppin' Frog's special Black Friday release, the Gavel Slammer Dark Ale (a direct reference to the measure which eliminated the ABV cap on Ohio-brewed beers) turned out to be an appropriate commemoration strictly based on its 17.4% ABV.
Not surprisingly, not much had really changed since we blogged about these two breweries not too long ago. However, we did want to say Hoppin' Frog's special Black Friday release, the Gavel Slammer Dark Ale (a direct reference to the measure which eliminated the ABV cap on Ohio-brewed beers) turned out to be an appropriate commemoration strictly based on its 17.4% ABV.
The Honey-Doers: Marshall's Honey (American Canyon, CA)/San FranciscoMead (San Francisco, CA)
I admit that I was late to the honey party. Basically, honey was a sweetener my parents never had around the house, and I never had any reason to seek it out for the first couple decades or so of my life.
However, eventually a life of overeating and lack of exercise started to catch up with me, and I finally decided it was time to do something about it. Interestingly, I became more discerning about what I put into my body, the universe of food items I considered on a regular basis expanded greatly. One of the many things I tried doing as often as possible was using honey as a sweetener versus refined sugars and artificial sweeteners.
I've learned that Ohio has its own share of very reliable honey producers; Honeyrun Farms and SaraBee Honey are a couple of the local honey producers which we have quite happily bought products from the Worthington Farmers Market, our personal favorite farmers market. But even then, it's not like we can't not go back to California and bring back our empty jars for refill to the place where we found our first whoa-moment honey ever.
Meading is Fundamental: Dragonmead (Warren, MI) and Schramm's (Ferndale, MI)
Mead ranks as one of the, if not the oldest, alcoholic beverages known to man, dating back to at least 3000 BCE. Columbus residents are quite familiar with this ancient beverage if they are acquainted with the fine versions put out by the Short North's Brothers Drake, which was covered on this previous blog post.
Many people may not know that to a number of meaderies lie to the north of the Columbus metro area. In Ohio, you can find several to the northeast in the form of Meniru, Crafted and the Bottle House, and to the northwest you can cross the border into Michigan, which has just under 20 meaderies or breweries who also produce mead scattered through the state.. On a recent gathering with relatives, we made a journey up north to sample the meads of two of those producers.
Dragonmead: This Warren-located microbrewery is to the Michigan state craft beer scene what a brewery like Elevator or Barley's is to Columbus' own. When auto industry veterans Bill Wrobel, Earl Scherbarth, and Larry Channell opened the then microbrewery in 1997, there were less than twenty such ventures in the state (per the Brewers Association, the state was home to just under 160 breweries as of 2014.) After maintaining 3-barrel-capacity microbrewery status for several years, the brewery expanded to a larger facility in 2014 with a new 20-barrel system.
As one might gather from the brewery's name, the interior sports a decidedly English pub/medieval theme, enhanced by the pub-like setup (the longish bar area is the first thing seen as you enter the space), wooden bench-style seating, and other scattered artwork and media along the walls. Beyond the bar area, plenty of additional seating is found as you go further into the space, and if you head to the bathroom area, you can peer inside the facility's production space.
What one might not guess from the name is that mead is NOT the most prominent item on the alcoholic beverage menu. Dragonmead sports a large swath of brew; in fact, the five flags hanging above the brewery specials chalkboard depict the five countries (United States, Germany, Belgium, England and Norway) whose styles of beers are available for the beer drinker. All-in-all, there are roughly 40 taps of Dragonmead's beer to choose from, meaning the more local you are to this brewery, the more likely you'll be able to sample the brews and find the gems. While we were here mainly for the mead, our group did sample a few brews and we found the English-styled beers we tried to be quite traditional and overall credible efforts.
Of course, we were all here to try their mead, and Dragonmead had five listed on their menu. Our group tapped out their Cherry Mead (well-liked by all), which was replaced on tap by a fairly unique Banana version. After a slight bit of wariness, we found their banana mead to be a pleasantly and even surprisingly tasty. But by far our favorite mead of the bunch was the Old Guy Gunpowder Meth, whose unique flavor combination centered on ginger, rosemary and a "very flavorful honey" (to quote the menu) and was savored by all.
Many people may not know that to a number of meaderies lie to the north of the Columbus metro area. In Ohio, you can find several to the northeast in the form of Meniru, Crafted and the Bottle House, and to the northwest you can cross the border into Michigan, which has just under 20 meaderies or breweries who also produce mead scattered through the state.. On a recent gathering with relatives, we made a journey up north to sample the meads of two of those producers.
Dragonmead: This Warren-located microbrewery is to the Michigan state craft beer scene what a brewery like Elevator or Barley's is to Columbus' own. When auto industry veterans Bill Wrobel, Earl Scherbarth, and Larry Channell opened the then microbrewery in 1997, there were less than twenty such ventures in the state (per the Brewers Association, the state was home to just under 160 breweries as of 2014.) After maintaining 3-barrel-capacity microbrewery status for several years, the brewery expanded to a larger facility in 2014 with a new 20-barrel system.
As one might gather from the brewery's name, the interior sports a decidedly English pub/medieval theme, enhanced by the pub-like setup (the longish bar area is the first thing seen as you enter the space), wooden bench-style seating, and other scattered artwork and media along the walls. Beyond the bar area, plenty of additional seating is found as you go further into the space, and if you head to the bathroom area, you can peer inside the facility's production space.
What one might not guess from the name is that mead is NOT the most prominent item on the alcoholic beverage menu. Dragonmead sports a large swath of brew; in fact, the five flags hanging above the brewery specials chalkboard depict the five countries (United States, Germany, Belgium, England and Norway) whose styles of beers are available for the beer drinker. All-in-all, there are roughly 40 taps of Dragonmead's beer to choose from, meaning the more local you are to this brewery, the more likely you'll be able to sample the brews and find the gems. While we were here mainly for the mead, our group did sample a few brews and we found the English-styled beers we tried to be quite traditional and overall credible efforts.
Of course, we were all here to try their mead, and Dragonmead had five listed on their menu. Our group tapped out their Cherry Mead (well-liked by all), which was replaced on tap by a fairly unique Banana version. After a slight bit of wariness, we found their banana mead to be a pleasantly and even surprisingly tasty. But by far our favorite mead of the bunch was the Old Guy Gunpowder Meth, whose unique flavor combination centered on ginger, rosemary and a "very flavorful honey" (to quote the menu) and was savored by all.
Dragonmead offers (no surprise) pub-styled favorites, centered around loaded waffle fries and BBQ flatbread pizza variations flanked by a variety of appetizers. The variety of items ordered (the Loaded Waffle Fries, with chopped bacon, bacon beer cheese, sour cream and green onions, was particularly tasty and filling, not unlike something you can order Columbus-based food truck Tatoheads) provided more than adequate gustatory accompaniment and appetite satiation for the group.
Dragonmead Brewery and Pub
14600 E. 11 Mile Rd
Warren, MI 48089
(586) 776-9428
Facebook Twitter Website
Schramm's: My homebrewer brother-in-law, who has cranked out some tasty meads in the past, warned our group that Schramm's held within its walls a deadly lass in the form of their Black Agnes. He warned that one sip of this black currant mead, named after the lady (Agnes Randolf) who successfully defended a Scottish castle from a several-months siege by the Earl of Salisbury, could potentially ruin any future mead experiences, it was that good.
This Ferndale business is the baby of renowned mead maker Ken Schramm. Schramm, the author of all things mead making in The Compleat Meadmaker) has made a stellar reputation for himself and his meads since he started learning to be a homebrewer in 1987. According to a website Eat It Detroit, Schramm noticed the appendix section of his primary resource at the time (Charlie Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing) highly extolling the virtues of this ancient beverage.
Suffice it to say, Schramm has not looked back, helping start a mead-only competition in the Mazer Cup and authoring the previously mentioned book, which still remains the primary tome for anyone venturing into this field. His company now grows their own fruits and has had years to perfect their choices of honey, spice and other mead ingredients for both their standard and seasonal varietals.
To be honest, my first glance at Schramm's location (opened in 2013) in a modern-styled strip mall in downtown Ferndale seemed a little odd (the general feel of this section of town reminded me a bit of Uptown Westerville, or perhaps even Rockridge in the San Francisco Bay Area.) However, the interior was nicely attired yet simple, pretty much along the line of your typical small-scale wine tasting room. Along with the bar area, a smattering of tables and stylish art prints dot the textured yellow-beige walls within the interior.
As one gathers quickly, Schramm's meads are on the pricey side, and you figure they better be top of the line if you're going to be paying $8 to $24 for a 5-ounce glass and not surprising when the most sought after varietals go for around $100 or more per the bottle. Thankfully, Schramm's gives visitors a relatively inexpensive way to sample their offerings with two different three-mead flights, and we were quite happy to find that the Black Agnes was included in the slightly more expensive "Black" varietal sampler.
My spouse and I went opted for these flights first, but my brother-in-law's experience with and description of their mead convinced pretty much everyone else to go straight for the gusto immediately with a glass of the Black Agnes itself.
While the Black Agnes did not spoil my future mead tasting experiences (I and my spouse especially do enjoy drier meads), I must say that if you are into complex but sweet, extremely fruit-forward flavor profile, this mead may do just that very thing. Unlike meads I have had before, the honey was more of a luxuriant framework for the hugely fruit-forward rich currant flavor. It reminded me a bit of a port wine, but unlike a port (a wine I do not care for), this was a sweet profile I could enjoy, albeit over an extended period of time. Everyone in our group was impressed to varying high degrees with the Black Agnes, with one of literally in tears from the deliciousness she had just tasted.
In truth, all the mead we tasted from Schramm's were all quite worthy. The creations with the "black" fruits have gained the higher reputations overall, but even their more non-fruit-based mead creations like their nutmeg and ginger were quite good. Any mead maker would be proud to put these under their own label. Swept up by the delightful brews we were drinking, my spouse and I shared one more glass of their quite enjoyable seasonal Apple Crisp cyser.
On the food side of things, Schramm's has a concise menu of fancier small plate type dishes. While these items are not gut-fillers by any stretch, the selection of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and desserts offer visitors a way to provide a food/mead pairing to their liking, Our waitperson showed he was more than capable in terms of suggesting menu items (we ended up with perfectly palatable grilled cheese sandwiches accompanied by a small side salad) as well as describing the available mead varietals themselves.
Schramm’s Meadery
327 W. 9 Mile Rd.
Ferndale, MI 48220
248-439-5000
Facebook Instagram Twitter Website
Dragonmead Brewery and Pub
14600 E. 11 Mile Rd
Warren, MI 48089
(586) 776-9428
Facebook Twitter Website
Schramm's: My homebrewer brother-in-law, who has cranked out some tasty meads in the past, warned our group that Schramm's held within its walls a deadly lass in the form of their Black Agnes. He warned that one sip of this black currant mead, named after the lady (Agnes Randolf) who successfully defended a Scottish castle from a several-months siege by the Earl of Salisbury, could potentially ruin any future mead experiences, it was that good.
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| The bringer of tears (of joy)...Schramm's Black Agnes |
Suffice it to say, Schramm has not looked back, helping start a mead-only competition in the Mazer Cup and authoring the previously mentioned book, which still remains the primary tome for anyone venturing into this field. His company now grows their own fruits and has had years to perfect their choices of honey, spice and other mead ingredients for both their standard and seasonal varietals.
To be honest, my first glance at Schramm's location (opened in 2013) in a modern-styled strip mall in downtown Ferndale seemed a little odd (the general feel of this section of town reminded me a bit of Uptown Westerville, or perhaps even Rockridge in the San Francisco Bay Area.) However, the interior was nicely attired yet simple, pretty much along the line of your typical small-scale wine tasting room. Along with the bar area, a smattering of tables and stylish art prints dot the textured yellow-beige walls within the interior.
As one gathers quickly, Schramm's meads are on the pricey side, and you figure they better be top of the line if you're going to be paying $8 to $24 for a 5-ounce glass and not surprising when the most sought after varietals go for around $100 or more per the bottle. Thankfully, Schramm's gives visitors a relatively inexpensive way to sample their offerings with two different three-mead flights, and we were quite happy to find that the Black Agnes was included in the slightly more expensive "Black" varietal sampler.
My spouse and I went opted for these flights first, but my brother-in-law's experience with and description of their mead convinced pretty much everyone else to go straight for the gusto immediately with a glass of the Black Agnes itself.
While the Black Agnes did not spoil my future mead tasting experiences (I and my spouse especially do enjoy drier meads), I must say that if you are into complex but sweet, extremely fruit-forward flavor profile, this mead may do just that very thing. Unlike meads I have had before, the honey was more of a luxuriant framework for the hugely fruit-forward rich currant flavor. It reminded me a bit of a port wine, but unlike a port (a wine I do not care for), this was a sweet profile I could enjoy, albeit over an extended period of time. Everyone in our group was impressed to varying high degrees with the Black Agnes, with one of literally in tears from the deliciousness she had just tasted.
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| A glass of Schramm's delicious Apple Crisp cyser, a view of their two mead flights, and a grilled bleu cheese sandwich with dried Michigan cherries on cinnamon bread |
On the food side of things, Schramm's has a concise menu of fancier small plate type dishes. While these items are not gut-fillers by any stretch, the selection of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and desserts offer visitors a way to provide a food/mead pairing to their liking, Our waitperson showed he was more than capable in terms of suggesting menu items (we ended up with perfectly palatable grilled cheese sandwiches accompanied by a small side salad) as well as describing the available mead varietals themselves.
Schramm’s Meadery
327 W. 9 Mile Rd.
Ferndale, MI 48220
248-439-5000
Facebook Instagram Twitter Website
Ninth Annual Cbus Jimi Hendrix Tribute Show (11/20/2015)/Brothers Drake/Tokyo GoGo Food Truck
This Friday, my spouse and I had the pleasure of a return visit to the annual Cbus Jimi Hendrix Tribute Show, held around the date of this legendary guitarist's birthday (Hendrix would have turned 73 years old on Friday, November 27th.) This gathering, put together by Theo Perry (of Theo's Loose Hinges), brings together a collection of talented local musicians to blaze through a number of both familiar and deeper Hendrix cuts.
Unlike previous years, a scheduling issue brought the show from its usual home at SoHud's Rumba Cafe to the sophisticated digs of Brothers Drake, located where the Weinland Park and Short North neighborhoods intersect. In addition, the show was forced to an earlier than normal time slot (the guitar strumming began in earnest during the meadery's happy hour.) These changes, however, didn't stop a large crowd from showing up to watch locally talented guitarists pay homage to a man who still holds incredible influence in today's music world.
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For future information about next year's Jimi Hendrix tribute series (next year's tenth annual show, to be held sometime in November, should be a momentous one indeed), please refer to Theo Perry's Facebook feed.
Brothers Drake/Tokyo GoGo: I had previously blogged about Brothers Drake (and their sister meadery on the West Coast, San Francisco Mead Company) on this prior blogpost. We had become intimately familiar with their mead products over the years (and of course, we couldn't not order a mead drink or two on this occasion) but until this visit had no thoughts about exploring the cocktail side of the menu.
This new outlook on the mixed drink side of the adult beverage world was inspired quite a bit by revelatory experience received this summer. when we had a taste of the world-class cocktails during our fine tasting menu dinner at Delaware's Veritas Tavern. Since then, we've been willing to explore this world a bit more, and the unique mead-based offerings of Brothers Drake provided an intriguing opportunity. Indeed, from their Meadhattan (Wild Ohio mead, mixed with OYO Bourbon, cherry juice and Angostura bitters), the Wild Sweet Annie (my spouse's go-to this night, with Wild Ohio Mead, OYO Whiskey & ginger liqueur) and the Rosemary Fizz (a mix of their Motive Mead, Watershed Gin, lemon juice and soda water along with a sprig of fresh rosemary) provided tasty accompaniment to the music this night.
Providing the food this night was what can be called Brothers Drake's resident food truck. Tokyo GoGo, operated by chef Miki Ashino, offers a selection of Japanese-styled bar food items with a rotating selection of daily specials, as well as a special Ramen night on Tuesdays.
For just under $20, we picked up four different items that not only paired well with our mead drinks, but also were quite delicious in their own right. Their special of the night, fried tempura fish cakes, were nicely crispy with a pleasantly fresh-tasting, lightly chewy filet, while the Korokke balls and uniquely fried pork Gyoza dumplings (which came attached to each other in what seemed to be crepe form) were gobbled up with equal enthusiasm. However, our favorite dish by just the tiniest of margins so far is the Karaage - this crispy savory dish is a definite reorder again on a future visit.
As equally good as the food items were the variety of multi-profiled sauces that came with each item; we found ourselves enjoying experimenting with how the different sweet, spicy and savory taste profiles each item interacted with each dish. We look forward to another sampling of this food truck's offerings on another future visit to the area.
Brothers Drake Meadery
26 E. 5th Ave (Short North/Weinland Park)
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 388-8765
Facebook Instagram Twitter Website
Tokyo GoGo
typically in the parking lot of Brothers Drake
(614) 916-6476 (MISO)
Facebook Menu Yelp
Unlike previous years, a scheduling issue brought the show from its usual home at SoHud's Rumba Cafe to the sophisticated digs of Brothers Drake, located where the Weinland Park and Short North neighborhoods intersect. In addition, the show was forced to an earlier than normal time slot (the guitar strumming began in earnest during the meadery's happy hour.) These changes, however, didn't stop a large crowd from showing up to watch locally talented guitarists pay homage to a man who still holds incredible influence in today's music world.
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| Jeffro Jam of Jam Cave Productions led things off with a version of Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner" on his Keytar, and came back with a Hendrix-styled montage that referenced artists like Prince and Bob Marley |
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| Veteran jazz guitarist Derek DiCenzo got to let loose some rock chords on Hendrix favorites like "Manic Depression" and "Purple Haze" |
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| Kenny Delicious, aka Kenny Caterer (drummer for Theo's Loose Hinges and Lead Singer/Guitarist for Doctor Kenny Delicious), cranked out the well-known "The Wind Cries Mary" as well as deeper album cuts like "Castles Made of Sand" and "Red House" |
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| Event organizer Theo Perry seemed to channel Jimi himself on his renditions of "Machine Gun", "Crash Landing" and "Foxy Lady" |
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| David Martinez of The Old Norths and Slight Rebellion finished out the solo portion of the show with Jimi tunes like "Stone Free", "Voodoo Chile" and "Bold As Love" |
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| Columbus musical veterans Maxwell Button (drums) and Nathan Smith (bass) provided solid backing throughout each set |
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| All performers joined each other on stage for some final Hendrix tunes, including a rocking version of Jimi's "Hey Joe" |
Brothers Drake/Tokyo GoGo: I had previously blogged about Brothers Drake (and their sister meadery on the West Coast, San Francisco Mead Company) on this prior blogpost. We had become intimately familiar with their mead products over the years (and of course, we couldn't not order a mead drink or two on this occasion) but until this visit had no thoughts about exploring the cocktail side of the menu.
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| Brothers Drake's Meadhattan and Wild Sweet Annie, prepared with care by one of the meadery's bar staff members |
Providing the food this night was what can be called Brothers Drake's resident food truck. Tokyo GoGo, operated by chef Miki Ashino, offers a selection of Japanese-styled bar food items with a rotating selection of daily specials, as well as a special Ramen night on Tuesdays.
 | ||||
| Clockwise from top: Karaage (flash-fried chicken thigh pieces), Pork Gyoza Dumplings, and Korokke (fried potato balls with molten cheese interiors) |
As equally good as the food items were the variety of multi-profiled sauces that came with each item; we found ourselves enjoying experimenting with how the different sweet, spicy and savory taste profiles each item interacted with each dish. We look forward to another sampling of this food truck's offerings on another future visit to the area.
Brothers Drake Meadery
26 E. 5th Ave (Short North/Weinland Park)
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 388-8765
Facebook Instagram Twitter Website
Tokyo GoGo
typically in the parking lot of Brothers Drake
(614) 916-6476 (MISO)
Facebook Menu Yelp
A Tale of Two Meaderies: Brothers Drake and The San Francisco Mead Company
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| Reunited and they taste so good: Meads from the Scioto to San Francisco Bay |
I myself had heard of but never tasted mead until I started regularly traveling to Ohio. On one visit, I happened to stop by The Andersons General Store in Northwest Columbus, where I came across a mead sampling hosted by locally-based meadery Brothers Drake. My then girlfriend had tasted their offerings on a previous shopping visit to The Andersons and encouraged me to give it a whirl if they were in house.
Mead, especially the varietals offered this day, was nothing like I had had before, and these tastings kept me on alert for future offerings. Interestingly enough, my Northern California roots came up during my conversation with my host, who informed me that a sister mead enterprise into that vast but very much untapped San Francisco Bay Area market was in the works. I made a mental note to myself to keep track of any future developments.
Forward to Christmas season 2014, where my spouse fulfilled what had become one of our increasing list of "must-do's" as a couple: make the trip out to The San Francisco Mead Company to taste and add their meads to our stash of Brothers Drakes' offerings.
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| Brothers Drake has made their Weinland Park location a prime local gathering place |
Brothers Drakes' meads, whether in their pure form or mixed in with cocktails, reach flavor profiles far beyond what ancient brewers of this beverage could have even dreamed about. Last year's National Mead Day festivities showed this in full effect, where we and other visitors that day had the chance to sample meads such as PB&J (roasted peanuts and lingonberry jam) and Brioso (a mead with coffee from local roaster Cafe Brioso, cacao, vanilla and caraway.) But even their "standard" mead varieties such as their Summer Solstice, Wild Ohio, and signature PawPaw offer their drinkers intriguing taste profiles that reach well beyond what one might think a mead might taste like.
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| Brothers Drake meads go above and beyond the traditional taste profiles |
Brothers Drake Meadery
26 E. 5th Ave (Short North/Weinland Park - Google Maps)
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 388-8765
Facebook Instagram Twitter Untappd Website
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| San Francisco Mead Company's unassuming location in the Bayview District |
However, this space does not, nor is meant to duplicate its sibling in Columbus in terms of acting as a community gathering place, as we found out during our visit. A simple setup of a large, round white table plus a gathering area of couches off to the side greeted us as we walked in the door. At this table, a very enthusiastic group of newfound mead fans was holding a conversation with Cory, our host for this day. An informal tap system of San Francisco Mead's offerings was setup along the wall, plus something that warmed our Columbus-area hearts greatly: a couple bottles of Brothers Drake's fine meads stood on the table.
Cory proved to be a wonderful host filling in for Oron and Sarah, who were away for the holidays. In fact, everyone there seemed to be quite interested that we were from Columbus and we were more than happy to relate our experiences with Brothers Drake (we may have even convinced the guests, who were from the northern reaches of California's Central Valley, to pay a visit to drop by Brothers Drake one of these days.)
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| San Francisco Mead is currently geared for production, but that doesn't stop visitors from enjoying their delicious products |
It turned out all three of their offerings were incredibly tasty, from their solid Orange Blossom to the uniquely complex California Gold and their pie-in-a-glass decadence that is the Apple Pie (we took home bottles of the latter two with us back to Ohio, and we admit we're both quite excited to have the opportunity to do an Apple Pie Mead comparison side-by-side tasting.)
While output is currently on the low end (per this blogpost by local PBS station KQED, their output is roughly 1,000 cases per year; in contrast, Brothers Drake's production is closer to 5,000 cases), Cory mentioned that San Francisco Mead does have plans to increase their output; indeed, they had just received newly obtained equipment and, with their existing space, could possibly out-produce their Ohio-based sibling in the future. We were informed there are already plans in the works for a proper tasting room closer to more foot traffic near downtown San Francisco (currently, the meadery is only open for tastings on Saturday unless a special appointment has been made.)
We felt special when Cory gave us a sampling of some of the other mead products within their building at the time, including a sneak peek of their Blackberry mead. Due for release in mid-2015, this still young mead has fruit notes even now that promise something spectacular once it is bottled. In addition, we got to taste two of Brothers Drake's mead products that they had on hand. The Brioso mead, which we found to be a bit harsh on the coffee taste when we first sampled it on National Mead Day in 2014, had obtained a more balanced flavor profile that we enjoyed immensely. On the other hand, their Pawpaw had gained a more-pronounced crispness to its overall sour/tart profile and proved to be another palate-pleaser.
Based on our experience here, The San Francisco Mead Company appears well on its way to being successful in its own right. Both San Francisco Bay Area and Columbus residents have a lot to be proud of in terms of the people behind these businesses. Even better, anyone, regardless of residency, can gain immense enjoyment from either of these companies' finely crafted products.
The San Francisco Mead Company
1180 Shafter Avenue (Bayview/Hunters Point - Google Maps)
San Francisco, CA 94124
(415) 819-4941
Facebook Instagram Twitter Untappd Website
Memorial Day Musings, Part 2: Honeykiss Bakery
I came to find out that I married into a pie-loving family. At all the big family gatherings, there were all sorts of crusted examples of baked goodness, some of which had been passed down from previous generations. I've also learned that my new home here has plenty of delectable examples of this baked good.
We hadn't decided what our contribution to the family get-together on Memorial Day would be as I was perusing one of my favorite local area blogs (The CMH Gourmand) when I happened on a post mentioning our subject line establishment: Honeykiss Bakery. I had learned about and glanced at their website several months prior, posting a note to my brain back then that this site would be worth revisiting again.
Well, why not bring a pie? It was time to check out the Honeykiss Bakery website again. Sure enough, the bakery was taking orders for Memorial Day, but they needed to be put in within a couple days.
My spouse is a cherry fiend, and it's not a surprise that cherry pie is one of her favorite foods ever. Honeykiss has a Cherry Cobbler and a Cherry Pistachio Pie on their menu that sounded awfully tempting. But we're also fans of Brothers Drake mead and other brewed beverages in general, so when we read the bakery's description of their "My Blueberry Heaven Pie" together, even she had to agree that this would be our choice:
Our award-winning creamy blueberry pie features blueberry filling
reduced in cinnamon, Brothers Drake Blueberry Mead & lemon. Between
the blueberry filling and the sugar-lemon streusel topping, is a creamy
layer of Snowville Creme Fraiche, locally sourced eggs, & Rockmill
Belgian Ale.
Because of our itinerary, we shot an e-mail to the owner Rachel to see if we could pick it up sometime after lunch on Saturday; she responded back quickly saying it would be no problem. So after the Asian Festival (written about in a previous post) we skedaddled over to Grandview Heights to pick up our goodies.
A happy placard with the bakery's name greeted us at the entrance to the townhouse/bakery, located in a residential area not too far from Grandview's main drag. We were invited in but not immediately greeted by Rachel, but in the kitchen we could see the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies resting on the counter that dominated the generally wonderful scents of freshly baked goods.
Shortly after, Rachel popped in, decked out with apron and cherry smile,
though both my wife and I could tell this was not going to be a restful
holiday for her. We chatted for a bit on how we came to know of her
business through the blog (while she did not know him personally, she
had the pleasure of baking up a few goodies for the Gourmand), our love of the ingredients she used for the pie, and family gathering plans to pair up the pie along with very same mead she had used in her recipe. She sounded quite excited
for us, and we promised we would let her know how the pie went over.
Suffice it to say, the pie was a hit. Unlike lesser blueberry pies where the filling is much too sweet, the blueberries provided all the needed sweetness, offset quite nicely by the tang of the lemon in both the surrounding filling and the topping itself. The creamy layer between the topping and the filling and the from-scratch crust just added another sublime touch that made each bite worth savoring.
I think a cherry pie from Honeykiss is calling our name sometime in the future...
Honeykiss Bakery
1665 King Ave (Grandview Heights)
Columbus, OH 43212
(614) 620-6689
2017 Update: Sadly, Honeykiss Bakery appears to have ceased operations around September 2016. What I wouldn't do for another slice of their peanut butter pie <sad face>
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