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Tonight we’re talking with Matt Carroll, owner of Funktastic Meads & Beer in Midlothian, VA.

About 10 years ago, Funktastic Brewing was born, focused on beer and, in particular, utilizing every kid’s cereal you can think of. This was before brewing with kid’s cereal in beer was actually a thing. Then, Matt was introduced to mead, 6 years later.

Matt Carroll, Chemist by training and Owner of Funktastic Meads And Beer got his start in the industry as a Home Brewer and Home Meadmaker.  As a self proclaimed “beer nerd” he traveled the country visiting as many breweries and meaderies as possible while selling specialty chemicals in the Paint and Ink Market Segments.  From homebrew to commercial maker, Matt has always focused on pushing the boundaries in the making of both Beer and Mead.

Following the Pandemic, Matt and his wife decided to open Funktastic Meads And Beer (Matt leaving Corporate America behind).

In 2019,  Matt entered the Virginia Dominion Cup brewing competition and placed silver in two mead categories and gold in two mead categories, also taking Best in Show (Caught in the Rain) for the Mead/Cider category!  As he continued to make mead through 2019 and early 2020, he began to realize that this was becoming more than just a hobby, but a daily passion. The thought was, can they make the product commercially if they could find an interested partner?  So, after a few meetings with Hahn Fitzhugh and Welsey Fitzhugh Holthausen of Lazy Days Winery, they were set to offer Funktastic Meads commercially in collaboration with Lazy Days.  The Fitzhugh’s were great partners and allowed them the opportunity to promote their product in the semi-local market and it was well-received. In April 2021, Matt and his wife Heather made the decision to open their own tasting room and production facility right in Midlothian, Virginia.  They feel that Midlothian is an exciting suburb of Richmond and truly look forward to being the first winery in Midlothian.

Funktastic is a Nano-Meadery and Brewery located in the heart of Midlothian, VA just south of Richmond, VA.  Funktastic focuses on creating Meads with nostalgic and unique flavors in mind.  We offer both still and carbonated meads including flavors like F&M Root Beer and Sweetish Fish and many more.  We pride ourselves on providing a special experience whether at a market, festival or in our taproom.
Join us to listen to Matt tonight!

To listen live, you can find us on Youtube, Twitch, X (Twitter), and Facebook on the Gotmead Page. On our new platform, chat is part of the podcast! Just comment from wherever you are watching, and we’ll see it!! If you’d like to call in, we can get you a link to come on!

Listen in! This player will show the latest episode:

Sponsor:

Look no further than Honnibrook Craft Meadery in Castle Rock, Colorado, for your go-to destination for wonderful, light, and refreshing mead! We have 20 meads on tap and four seasonal mead slushees. 
Go to honnibrook.com for review our tap list, upcoming events and to order online!

If you want to ask your mead making questions, you can send us a question via email, join to ask a question on the show, or via X @realGotMead and we’ll tackle it online! The show runs from 9PM EDT/6PM PDT (United States) for about 2 hours every other Tuesday starting Jan 13, 2026.

To join live, you can use this link, and here are instructions on how to join in. Once you enter the waiting room, we get a notification and will bring you in!

Upcoming Shows
  • September 8 – Joe Leigh @ Zymarium Meadery in Orlando, FL
  • September 22 – Cody Lenz @ Three Hands Mead in Plant City, FL
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You can buy mead online at https://shopmeads.com

Vicky Rowe
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