Out with the old, in with the mead…
Forget everything you thought you knew about mead. While it is the world’s oldest alcoholic drink – predating grape wine by hundreds of years – mead is having a renaissance as a refreshing sipper, or perfect dinner pairing.
Taupō-based Beehave! Craft Meadery is on the move so that it can share their modern version of this ancient drink with as many people as possible. After 8 years of beekeeping, owner and head mead maker Jay, sold his beehives to focus on bringing Beehave! Meads to the people of New Zealand.
At Beehave! it’s all about the flavour – starting with the desired flavour profile and working back to quality base ingredients. Each resulting mead takes on a unique character from the honey that went into it.
Something must be right: their range of craft meads have all won awards at the Cider Makers 2021 Mead Awards. And there’s something for everyone: the Quattro, a four-berry still mead; Honeycone, a hopped mead aimed at craft beer drinkers; Highballer, a Mojito-inspired thirst quencher and Suckerpunch, the gold-winning lemon and ginger classic.
Excitingly, Taupō is soon to have its first craft meadery and tasting room. Beehave’s central Taupō mead tasting home is slated for an April opening. Expect a range of carbonated and still mead on tap, in a funky, industrial setting.
Keep up to date with the opening on their website and social media pages or buy a taster online beehave.nz