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10-26-21 Tonight we’re headed to Gaithersburg, MD to talk with Yancy Bodenstein, Manish Eigner and Jacob Latour at Clear Skies Meadery.
Clear Skies got started over a mead fueled Christmas discussion in 2018. It wasn’t long before they filed and got a lease and started construction on their location, in 2019. They managed to get through all the paperwork and permits in less than a year, and pitched their first batch in January 2020, and had planned to open fully in April, but COVID raised it’s ugly head. So the grand opening became a soft opening with family and friend in March, and then they had to shut their doors when the lockdowns hit. But they managed to pivot to completely online and remote business.
The meadery started out with 8 1-BBL conicals and 6 1-BBL brite tanks. And they’re working towards a full scale production facility with 2 30-BBL and 6 10-BBL conicals. And adding a canning line and kegging capacity.
Yancy is the meadmaker, and has been making mead and home brewing and making mead since 2003 in Gaithersburg, MD. He has a scientific background in chemistry and epidemiology and left the Federal workforce in March of 2021 to work at Clear Skies Meadery full time. His interest in mead began at several renaissance festivals and since then, he has won local, national, and international awards for his meads. He is excited to introduce this craft beverage and become a part of the local Gaithersburg business community.
Manisha is the business operations head, and was born and raised in Mumbai India. She is a former biotechnology industry professional and a military spouse. She inherited her family’s entrepreneurial skills and industrious spirit. She was excited about the idea of producing and marketing mead. Beginning in January 2019 she has channeled her energy into Clear Skies Meadery. She has lived and worked in Maryland, Pacific Northwest, Korea and North Carolina. She is passionate about local cuisines, diverse culture, and building new communities.
Jacob, the assistant brewer, grew up brewing with his family starting at the ripe age of 5. After college, he worked in environmental consulting and research while also pursuing his passion for home-brewing. Naturally, he jumped on the opportunity to contact with Manisha and Yancy when he heard they were opening Clear Skies Meadery. While working there, he completed the American Brewers Guild IBS&E program to further his education. Besides brewing, Jacob enjoys cooking, disc golfing, wood working, and spending time with his family.
Join us as we talk with them about mead (of course), the challenges of going pro, and what is going on with mead in the Clear Skies world.
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Sponsor:
Honnibrook Craft Meadery. Rated the very best winery in Colorado! Visit our state-of-the-art meadery and tasting room south of downtown Castle Rock, Colorado, in a converted man cave. Mention the Got Mead Podcast this month for a free draft taster! Google H-O-N-N-I Brook for hours and directions. They love visitors! www.honnibrook.com
If you want to ask your mead making questions, you can call us at 803-443-MEAD (6323) or send us a question via email, or via Twitter @GotmeadNow and we’ll tackle it online! 9PM EDT/6PM PDT Join us on live chat during the show Bring your questions and your mead, and let’s talk mead! You can call us at 803-443-MEAD (6323), or Skype us at meadwench (please friend me first and say you’re a listener, I get tons of Skype spam), or tweet to @gotmeadnow.
Upcoming Shows
- November 9 – Wendy Rohan – Rohan Mead
- November 23 – Steve at Experimeads
Show links and notes
- Let There Be Melomels by Rob Ratliff
- The Big Book of Mead Recipes by Rob Ratliff
Upcoming Events
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- Oct 1-31 – Humblebee Meadery, BC, Canada – Huck it in the Bucket: A month-long special promoting HumbleBee Meadery and Axewood Axe Throwing at the Whistler Racket Club’s Courtside Cafe, Patio, and Bar
- Oct 27 – Drinking Horn Meadery, Flagstaff, AZ – Mead Hall Trivia
- Oct 28 – Artifice Ales and Mead, Manheim, PA – Wolgemut Live
- Oct 29 – Beer & Wine Nation, Merrimack, NH – Grand tasting, including Moonlight Mead, Ancient Fire Mead, Hermit Woods, and more
- Oct 30-31 – Starrlight Meadery, Pittsboro, NC – Mead-o-ween bash
- Oct 30 – Maryland Beer, Wine and Spirits Festival – Clear Skies Meadery, Maryland Meadworks and the Buzz Meadery will be pouring
- Oct 30 – Viking Alchemist Meadery, Smyrna, GA – Mead and Mischief
- Oct 30 – Crooked Pecker Brewing Company, Chagrin Falls, OH – Mead making class
- Oct 30 – Meadiocrity Mead, San Marcos, CA – Hallow-mead party
- Oct 30 – Brix Urban Winery and Market, Sainte Genevieve, MO – All Hallows Mead
- Oct 30 – Four Brothers Mead, Festus, MO – Whiskey Wylds and the Jalepeño Poppers musical event
- Nov 4 – American Mead Makers Association – Mead Matters – Lost Cause Meadery guided tasting
- Nov 6 – Suwanee Wine Fest, Suwanee, GA – featuring Etowah Meadery from Dahlonoga, GA
- Nov 6 – Deseret Hive Supply, Ogden, UT – Mead making class
- Nov 6 – Wandering Bard Meadery, Greenville, SC – Beginning Mead Making Class
- Nov 6 – Philip Carter Winery, Hume, VA – Harvest on the Half Shell – Wine, Cider, Mead and Oyster Fest
- Nov 9 – Oppegaard Meadery, Tukwila, WA – Mead Making Class – everything provided!
- Nov 13 – The Bee Store, Lake Ridge, VA – Honey and Hops Brewworks mead tasting
- You can buy mead online at https://shopmeads.com
Got an event you’d like us to mention on GotMead Live? Send us an email at gotmead@gotmead.com and tell us about it!
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.