My Friday Night BeeMeading
Alternate post title #1: To Mead or Not to Mead
Alternate post title #2: I’m So Meady
I’m flabbergasted when the occasional glass-half-empty-er complains that there’s not much to do in Savannah. There’s a swarming beehive of activity seven days (and nights) a week around here! Take last night, for example. I walked down Broughton Street to the Savannah Bee Company …
… one of the coolest shops on Savannah’s “main street.” They were having a Mead Tasting Event at our city’s only mead bar.
Now, I don’t know about you, faithful blog followers, but I didn’t really possess much mead knowledge before last night. I thought I remembered something from world lit about Beowulf helping the king of the Danes, whose mead hall was under attack by bad monster Grendel. Remember? After Beowulf kills him, Grendel’s mama plays tit for tat by attacking said mead hall but is also defeated. The lesson I got from that story: Do NOT mess with mead halls. Ever.
So I was on my Absolute Best Behavior when I walked through the honeycombed front doors.
Pushing our way through the crowd, we met Michael and Bernice Fairbrother (how hip is that name?), owners of Moonlight Meadery of Londonderry, New Hampshire, who were on hand to pour and explain. Watch this so-cool short video about Michael and Bernice.
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According to the Moonlight Meadery website, “Mead is a wine made from honey, water and yeast. The sweetness ranges from dry to sweet, it can be still, petillant (ever so lightly carbonated), or sparkling. It’s the oldest fermented beverage, but the least known.”
Here’s Michael:
And here I am buddying up with Michael (and standing sort of behind him in case a huge evil monster is about to storm the mead hall).
And here’s delightful Bernice hard at work pouring perfectly:
And here’s the third character in the night’s sweet narrative, beautiful Danielle Hicks, the Mead Bar Manager of the Savannah Bee Company.
But hold on just a second! Stop the presses! What’s that on the right in the photo above?!
I looked, starting to shake visibly.
Terror began to grip my heart. Even though I pasted on a false, meady smile for the press.
Because I just KNEW that Danielle was innocently cradling Grendel’s descendent, come back to seek revenge–in Savannah, Georgia of all places! I had to get outta that blame mead hall! What was I thinking coming in the first place?!
I ask you … is this the face of pure evil or not?
Okay maybe not, AND I hadn’t yet tasted the last of the evening’s meads, Kurt’s Apple Pie Mead …
… so I hung around for a while. And lived.
What a great time with Michael, Bernice and Danielle.
But the evening was far from over. Danielle asked if we liked music, and still trembling a bit, I uttered “Sure!” and she gave the invitation to be her guests at the get-in-by-member-key-only House of Mata Hari near the river on Factor’s Row. Come to find out, Danielle was the featured singer! Check out her website at daniellehicks.net and take a listen.
Oh my gosh, what fun was had by all! And for five dollars.
So let’s Meet for Mead one of these evenings!
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Other than the fabulous Savannah Bee Company, here’s a list of other Savannah spots where you can find Michael’s mead. Get your mead list.
Related posts you might enjoy:
2013 Savannah Irish and Cherokee Indian/Native American Book and Bee Festival