Tag Archives: new mead

Schramm's Mead

Schramm’s Mead announces Florida distribution

Press Release: Schramm’s Mead, a leader in the burgeoning mead industry, has signed a distribution agreement to immediately commence sales in the State of Florida.

Since opening in Ferndale, Michigan, in September of 2013, Schramm’s Mead has expanded into Ohio, and now Indiana, and now Florida. The highly sought-after mead has pushed the small artisanal meadery and its offerings to the top echelons of rating sites such as Untappd and RateBeer. Production was less than 6,000 cases last year, but is increasing.

“We will only grow as fast as quality will allow,” said says head meadmaker and majority owner Ken Schramm. “There are distributors in other states and even countries that want our mead, but we aren’t willing to take an industrial approach to either ingredients or technique,” he added.

“We are excited to extend our partnership with Schramm’s Mead into Florida. Cavalier Distributing prides ourselves in representing the best craft beverages including mead in the state. Floridians are going to love Schramm’s meads,” says Carolyn Graham, State Sales Manager.

Schramm’s Mead CEO Alyson Schramm Naeger is pleased with the partnership. “Cavalier does a fantastic job for us in Ohio and Indiana. There are so many mead fans in Florida. We’re very excited.”

Schramm’s Mead and Cavalier Distributing are planning a launch event to help Florida craft beverage lovers become familiar with Schramm’s Mead’s compelling meads.

Schramm's Mead

About Mead and Schramm’s Mead
Mead, the fermented beverage from honey, has long been considered humankind’s oldest alcoholic drink. The product line from Schramm’s Mead includes spiced meads made with ginger and nutmeg, as well as meads made with fruits such as Balaton tart cherries, Heritage raspberries, black currants, boysenberries and others. Different varieties pair well with savory dishes, including barbeque, sushi and cheeses, but they are also delicious on their own.

Demand for Schramm’s Mead has exceeded expectations, due in equal parts to its quality and to the reputation of Ken Schramm. The meadery has consistently had multiple meads in RateBeer.com’s “Top 50 Meads” list, and has been a Top 100 brewery since 2014. For 2018, it was ranked #33; the highest ranked meadery in the world. Schramm wrote “The Compleat Meadmaker” (©2003, Brewers Publications, Boulder, CO), which has become the current reference text of record on meadmaking, and helped to grow mead, both as a hobby and an industry.

About Cavalier Distributing
Established in 1992 by Founder/President George Fisher, Cavalier Distributing is one of the only distributors in the country with a portfolio that is exclusively American craft and imports. Cavalier is dedicated to bringing great beer, spirits, and other craft beverages to the increasingly discerning, appreciative, and educated consumers in Indiana, Florida, and Ohio. Cavalier employs more than 350 employees throughout the three states and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lakeland, Florida, and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Southern Brewing to make and growler pyments

Southern Brewing & Winemaking (Southern) will release their first series of pyments on February 27th.

A pyment is a subcategory of melomel ­ a mead made with honey and fruit ­ that specifically uses wine grapes for the fruit addition. Also known as “grape mead” or “honeyed wine,” the beverage is an unexplored style for most beer and wine drinkers in the Tampa Bay area.

“Pyments are a great drink that marry mead and wine, and appeal to lovers of both styles,” stated Marketing Manager Cindy Lyons. “It’s a fun style that hasn’t been brewed in Tampa before, and we’re really excited to introduce it to the scene.”

For the first batch of pyments, Mead Maker Brian Wing used the same grape juices that are available in the wine kits on the retail side at Southern, along with Wildflower and Orange Blossom honey from a nearby Tampa Bay apiary.
“Here at Southern we’re in a unique position where we can easily work directly with suppliers to bring in high quality juice from around the world, and pair it with fresh, local honey,” stated Wing. “And on top of that, everything that we’re doing here can be done at home by homebrewers and winemakers, because all of the supplies used are offered in the shop.”

There will be three styles available at the release party: one red and two white. The red uses Wildflower honey and a full bodied, rich Chilean Malbec­Shiraz juice that runs a deep reddish purple and shows characteristics of plum and berries with hints of oak and spice. One of the whites combines Orange Blossom honey and a New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc juice for a richer, more full­bodied pyment that highlights gooseberry tones, with hints of leather and tropical fruit. The other white features Orange Blossom honey and South African Johannisberg Dry Riesling juice to showcase a flowery bouquet of flavors, along with tones of complex fruit and hints of cinnamon.

Due to Southern’s unique position of holding both brewing and winemaking licenses, they are one of only two craft breweries in the area that can brew and serve ciders, meads, and wines on site.

Southern will begin serving the pyments on tap at 6p on February 27th, and 32 oz growler fills will be available. Hot Box’d Steamed Cheeseburgers will be onsite serving food from 5­10p.

Southern Brewing is located at 4500 North Nebraska Avenue in Tampa.

Southern Brewing Craft Pyments