by Allen Breed (AP)
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PITTSBORO, N.C. — Mead, that drink of viking saga and medieval verse, is making a comeback. But this ain’t your ancestors’ honey wine.
“It’s not just for the Renaissance fair anymore,” says Becky Starr, co-owner of Starrlight Mead, which recently opened in an old woven label mill in this little North Carolina town.
In fact, this most ancient of alcoholic libations hasn’t been this hot since Beowulf slew Grendel’s dam and Geoffrey Chaucer fell in with the Canterbury pilgrims at the Tabard.
“I literally get new notifications of meaderies at least every couple of weeks,” says Rowe, who runs the website from her home in the woods north of Raleigh. “So they’re just popping up all over. And a lot of those are wineries that have decided to add mead to their mainstream product lines, which is just incredible.”
Traditional mead is made with three ingredients – honey, water and yeast. The biggest hurdle has been overcoming that centuries-old misconception that something made from honey HAS to be sweet.
Read the Full Story: Not Just For Renaissance Fairs: Mead Producers Triple In 10 Years
She is also an experienced marketing coach and consultant who has recently decided to focus her marketing expertise exclusively on the craft beverage market to help meaderies, cideries, breweries and distilleries expand their business and get more customers while doing what they love.
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