Mead is basically wine that's made with honey instead of grapes.
So it makes sense that a winery that's located on a farm with honeybee hives as well as grapes vines would also make mead.
At leat that's what Dan Brown thinks.
Brown, owner of Deerfoot Vineyard and Winery in Maidencreek Township, started making mead on the side a few years ago and even won some awards for it.
He decided to start making mead for release at the winery, but his took too long to make, so he brought on Jason Heaslet, whom he knew through work, as mead maker. Their mead brand, known as Goblin Alchemy, was released in May.
“It's been pretty well-received so far,” Brown said. “Mead is kind of a trendy thing right now, so it's good timing. It fits a niche that we don't usually serve. People who come to wineries are usually a certain demographic, and this appeals to a much different set.”
So far, they've released three flavors and are currently working on a fourth. Brown said they hope to eventually release eight or nine flavors.
Brown and Heaslet both play Dungeons and Dragons, so Goblin Alchemy has a fantasy theme. The names of the meads they released so far are Goblin Alchemy (same as the brand name), Dragon Heart and Blackberry Fairy.
Heaslet, who lives in Perry County, has been making mead for over 10 years. His style of mead is somewhat different from the mead Brown makes: it's a bit higher and alcohol and it takes less time to ferment.
“I started making mead because it's what I like to drink,” Heaslet said. “I like the older recipes, the simple stuff. I don't like stuff that's overly sweet or too dry. I like to be able to sit down and have a glass of a good strong, hearty mead.”
He thinks the partnership with Brown at Deerfoot has been successful so far.
“I think we're doing fairly well,” he said. “I was not expecting it to do as well as I believe it is.”
The meads are well regarded, too.
Brown sent Goblin Alchemy to the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition in New York — one of the largest wine competitions in the U.S. — earlier this year without telling Heaslet. It ended up winning a gold medal.
Heaslet said he was surprised to learn the mead won a medal at all, much less a gold medal.
“I just make the stuff I like to drink,” he said. “I wasn't finding the stuff that I like, so I started homebrewing the types of styles I wanted to drink.”
Brown still occasionally makes his own mead for release at the winery. It is branded as Deerfoot mead.
“It's kind of fun to see which one people like better,” he said. “I use a wine yeast, so it gets more aromatic and it's a lot less heavy. It's nice and crisp.”