Don't give up hope on us yet!
We have a partnership agreement with another local winery, and we hope to get our fermentation vessels moved into his extra space - as soon as he makes some extra space... We are still looking for our own facility, but the economy has hit us hard too, and our original startup capitol has nearly vanished.
My very inquisitive 11 year old son gave us the laugh of the year this week when he announced.
"Prepare your defenses! I have a question!"
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Truly comming soon!
OK, so I'm probably the worst blogger in history. But no news is better than bad news right?
I can now announce that we are much closer to actual production now. In fact I can say that we will be producing ASAP - After September April Probably... Yes, it looks as if we can get things rolling along in April. More news on the details yet to come, but stay tuned!
My new license plate arrived today. Check it out.
I can now announce that we are much closer to actual production now. In fact I can say that we will be producing ASAP - After September April Probably... Yes, it looks as if we can get things rolling along in April. More news on the details yet to come, but stay tuned!
My new license plate arrived today. Check it out.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Mead me at the Fair!
Well, now June is upon us, and we are now less than two weeks away from Derbyshire Renaissance Faire 2007! There's a lot of preparation yet to do, but this year we are better prepared, and will have more to offer.
This year we have a new blue and white round pavillion. Look for the red and yellow banner flying from the peak. Our golden falcon on a red shield should be easy to spot.
This year we will again be demonstrating basic meadmaking using the recipe Joes Ancient Orange and Spice courtesy of Joe Mattioli and GotMead. We will also be offering 1, 3, and 5 gallon glassware kits as well as a few select trinkets that you'll just have to wait to see.
New this year will be the addition of our own special "mead blend" of honey. We will be selling it in 1 quart jars which is perfect for starting your 1 gallon batch that we will demonstrate at faire.
Our good friends from Cascade Winery are once again sponsoring us with the glassware kits and other winemaking supplies. If you have a special request for that something you just have to have, contact Bob at Cascade Winery and I can have it available for you to pick up at the fair!.
This year we have a new blue and white round pavillion. Look for the red and yellow banner flying from the peak. Our golden falcon on a red shield should be easy to spot.
This year we will again be demonstrating basic meadmaking using the recipe Joes Ancient Orange and Spice courtesy of Joe Mattioli and GotMead. We will also be offering 1, 3, and 5 gallon glassware kits as well as a few select trinkets that you'll just have to wait to see.
New this year will be the addition of our own special "mead blend" of honey. We will be selling it in 1 quart jars which is perfect for starting your 1 gallon batch that we will demonstrate at faire.
Our good friends from Cascade Winery are once again sponsoring us with the glassware kits and other winemaking supplies. If you have a special request for that something you just have to have, contact Bob at Cascade Winery and I can have it available for you to pick up at the fair!.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Fine at Forty
Well, it hurt a lot less than I expected - turning the big 40 today. Now that I am officially over-the-hill, I really missed that extra hour of beauty sleep.
My opinion of Daylight Savings Time is on par with my opinion of Punksatawni Phil - whom I must accuse of being a total fraud... I am SO tired of winter. ...stupid ground hog...
At least it was a beautiful sunny and fairly warm day today.
My opinion of Daylight Savings Time is on par with my opinion of Punksatawni Phil - whom I must accuse of being a total fraud... I am SO tired of winter. ...stupid ground hog...
At least it was a beautiful sunny and fairly warm day today.
Friday, March 09, 2007
March Madness! - And I'm not talking about Basketball.
With the excitement of having my spiced orange mead selected as Best of Show, we have taken one more baby step toward getting Michigan Meadery up and running.
Anyone who can cook can make good mead. There is a huge difference though in making an excellent 3 or 6 gallon batch, and making an excellent 50 gallon batch that you can make to sell profitably.
This past weekend we started a 50 gallon batch to test our new conical-bottom fermentation vessels. We need to see if we can replicate our award-winning mead on a production scale.
Economics of scale help some. As in all industry you can buy cheaper per unit in bulk at wholesale than you can buying the same unit at retail. We found a source of honey at almost unbelievable prices - in volume. What we did not realize was that the honey was imported from China, and Argentina. One of our goals is to support Michigan agriculture, so we will be looking to network with Michigan Beekeepers to find economical sources of high quality Michigan honey.
Today we will be at the MSU Agricultural Fair. The Michigan Beekeepers Association is holding their Spring meeting. We visited last year and joined the MBA - and since then have started several of our own colonies of bees. The new threat to bees seems to be the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder, and we hope to get more information on that today.
With the excitement of having my spiced orange mead selected as Best of Show, we have taken one more baby step toward getting Michigan Meadery up and running.
Anyone who can cook can make good mead. There is a huge difference though in making an excellent 3 or 6 gallon batch, and making an excellent 50 gallon batch that you can make to sell profitably.
This past weekend we started a 50 gallon batch to test our new conical-bottom fermentation vessels. We need to see if we can replicate our award-winning mead on a production scale.
Economics of scale help some. As in all industry you can buy cheaper per unit in bulk at wholesale than you can buying the same unit at retail. We found a source of honey at almost unbelievable prices - in volume. What we did not realize was that the honey was imported from China, and Argentina. One of our goals is to support Michigan agriculture, so we will be looking to network with Michigan Beekeepers to find economical sources of high quality Michigan honey.
Today we will be at the MSU Agricultural Fair. The Michigan Beekeepers Association is holding their Spring meeting. We visited last year and joined the MBA - and since then have started several of our own colonies of bees. The new threat to bees seems to be the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder, and we hope to get more information on that today.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
International Mead Festival 2007
Well, the results from the 2007 International Mead Festival are in.
Well, the results from the 2007 International Mead Festival are in.
| Category 26C - Open Category Mead (43 Entries) | |||
| David Baldwin | Grand Rapids,MI | Spiced Orange | 1 |
| Mike Haws | Arlington,TX | Sweet Blackberry Kiss | 2 |
| Julia Herz | Lyons,CO | Cha Cha Cherry Braggot | 3 |
BEST IN SHOW
| David Baldwin | Grand Rapids,MI | Spiced Orange |
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
An experiment in learning to Blog.
Well, here we are with my first successful photo insertion into my blog! Hopefully sometime in the next 12-18 months Michigan Meadery will actually be producing a mead you can buy from your local specialty wine store.
2006 was a crazy busy year getting the organizational documents in place, the business plan outlined, and applying for grant funding - which we were very politely denied.
So our search for a suitable location from which to start has returned to square one, but we are taking the opportunity to completely rethink how and where we will get Michigan Meadery rolling.
In the mean time, stop by Mayfaire, or the Derbyshire Renaissance Faire this Spring. You can't buy our mead there, but we will be performing live demonstrations on making an orange spiced mead, and you can buy all the equipment you would need to start a 1, 3 or 6 gallon batch.
Celebrate with us the Renaissance of an ancient beverage.
Cheers!
It can't be 2007 already!
Ok, so I'm still working on my 2002 HoneyDo list... time still marches on!
The Michigan Meadery newsletter might get out in time for our introduction to Mayfaire.
This year will be our second year in the Renaissance Fair circuit. Last year our debut was at the Derbyshire Ren Fair at the Muskegon County Fairgrounds. This will be our first year at Mayfaire.
We are looking forward to more meadmaking classes/demonstrations, and we will be selling our kits in 1, 3 and 6 gallon. This year we will also have a wonderful blend of honey available to make your mead with as well.
The Michigan Meadery newsletter might get out in time for our introduction to Mayfaire.
This year will be our second year in the Renaissance Fair circuit. Last year our debut was at the Derbyshire Ren Fair at the Muskegon County Fairgrounds. This will be our first year at Mayfaire.
We are looking forward to more meadmaking classes/demonstrations, and we will be selling our kits in 1, 3 and 6 gallon. This year we will also have a wonderful blend of honey available to make your mead with as well.
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