Newest Lexington taproom offers world’s oldest drink: Mead, not just for Vikings.
Move over craft beer, there’s a new drink in town and it isn’t just for Vikings.
Mead, the oldest known alcoholic beverage, is on tap at Lexington’s newest craft brewery, Myriad Meadery.
Douglas Price, who opened the new brewery at 732 National Ave. with Mirror Twin Brewing owners Derek DeFranco and Mike Sobolak, has been sharing samples of meads at Mirror Twin and is expanding to a separate taproom across the road.
“Kentucky doesn’t really have that niche filled. There’s only one other one in Louisville, Hive & Barrel,” Price said. “I’ve been making mead at home for a while and would bring it in and everybody seemed to enjoy it.”
What is mead?
Mead is made from fermented honey and is sometimes called honey wine. Sometimes associated with Vikings, Celts and other ancient peoples, mead predates them all. In fact, it’s thought to predate both pottery and agriculture. Evidence of mead has been found in the earliest pottery vessels in China, Egypt and Africa. The Greeks recorded some of the earliest recipes and it turns up in “Beowulf.” Healing properties have long been attributed to the beverage.
Where can you taste mead?
Lexington’s first meadery opened at the end of January with a limited menu but in February plans to have 20 taps, including eight for mead and 12 for Mirror Twin beers, Price said. He also plans to bring the mead to the Lexington Farmers Market this summer.
Traditionally, mead is fairly high alcohol content, at 9 to 16%, he said. Myriad will offer at least four low-alcohol meads that can be served as a spritzer, carbonated with fruit, in a flight.
Price will make mead on site and is looking for a local producer to source honey. It takes between two weeks and one month to make it, he said, and at least 30 gallons of honey are needed to produce up to 300 gallons of mead.
Mead has been gaining in popularity in the last two years, Price said, along with other offshoots of the craft brewing including cider and sake, both available in Lexington now.
“It’s gluten-free, so you hit another market in that,” he said.
What does the Lexington taproom serve?
The lineup of meads and spritzers will rotate with the seasons, he said.
A recent flight included Cranberry/Hibiscus made with wildflower honey, Lemonade/Grapefruit Shandy made with clover honey, Tangerine/Vanilla made with orange blossom honey and Black Currant made with wildflower honey.
The flavor of mead can vary depending on the kind of honey used, the yeast, the grain and the fermentation temperature, he said. “You can add fruit, which will be a lot of what we do, you can add spices, hops and there are a lot of different honey varieties as well ... wildflower, orange blossom, buckwheat.”
Myriad also will have a full cocktail bar with offerings that feature honey such as a honey lemon-infused mojito and a honey-infused martini. And “mead-mosas” are served on the weekends.
The taproom has room for 86 people and will add outdoor seating when the weather warms up. Myriad is bringing in food trucks such as Shon’s BBQ and Rolling Oven, which is in Mirror Twin, also will take orders directly from Myriad online and bring the food over.
Extra parking is available behind the building and the space is kid- and dog-friendly.
“One thing we learned with Mirror Twin is that you don’t want to limit people’s choices if you don’t have to,” DeFranco said. “The more that this area grows, the better it is for everyone.”
They hope that mead will appeal to beer drinkers, cider fans and wine lovers.
“It’s something that lot of Kentuckians haven’t really had before and they’re going to have to come in and give it a shot see what they think about it,” Price said. “It’s one of those drinks that you’ll keep coming back for.”
Myriad Meadery
Where: 732 National Ave.
Hours: Monday-Thursday 4 to 11 p.m., Friday-Sunday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Online: Myriadmeadery.com
