Episodes

2-13-24 Tonight we're headed to Texas to talk with Traci Kuhfuss, home meadmaker and mead consultant. Traci Kuhfuss comes to us from Texas by way of Arizona. She ís been active as a homebrewer and mead maker for 20 years now, participating in brew clubs and competitions in all the places she has lived and traveled.. Traci is a professional graphic designer who loves making mead. Traci got into brewing once upon a time, she was newly divorced and her friends were all getting married and having ki...

1-30-24 We're off to Arkansas tonight (where it's warmer) to visit with Tony Fry, owner and meadmaker at Arkansas Meadery in Alexander, Arkansas. Since 2001, Tony Fry has been deeply passionate about the art of fermenting, starting with beer and wine and eventually delving into the world of mead. As a founding member of CAF ("Central Arkansas Fermenters") in 2003, a prominent homebrew club based in Little Rock, Arkansas, he played a pivotal role in fostering a vibrant community of enthusiasts, m...

1-16-24 Welcome to 2024! GotMead Live is back with Carlos Herrera, owner of the soon-to-be Texas Longhouse Meadery in Wylie, TX, just north of Dallas. Carlos has done a lot in his life so far. He spent 8 years in the army as an airborne infantryman. He was medically discharged in 2011 due to combat injuries and became a Paramedic in 2013. In 2015 decided he wasn't ready for civilian life and went back overseas as a high threat diplomatic security contractor team medic. He then spent 2 years at t...

12-5-23 Tonight on GotMead Live at 9PM EST we're talking with Brian Galbreath, owner of Unpossible Meadery in Dwight, IL, just off Route 66. Brian started fermenting ciders and then mead in 2013. Pete Bakulic told him to focus on traditionals when he got started. [break]Brian went on to take a Mazer Cup win with his Montmorency Barrel Aged Mead, where he won the 2016 Home Mead Competition in the experimental mead category. Now his commercial meads are still taking awards in competitions. Unpossi...

Tonight at 9PM ET we'll be talking with Tom Repas. Tom has been on the show before, and we're having him back, as he's an absolute fountain of information! And he makes 'ok' mead. We're going to delve into the bees and their care. What you may not be aware of is that a year ago, Tom started making his 'ok' meads professionally. Apiflora Mead, made and available at Zymurcracy Beer Company in Rapid City, South Dakota. Apiflora is rapidly approaching the anniversary and December mead releases. Tom ...

7-7-23 Tonight on Gotmead Live, we're talking with Will Otte and Jacob Thill, both in Minnesota and meadmakers. They work with high gravity meads, and use several different nutrient protocols in their craft. Will has dabbled in fermentation off an on most of his life, from helping his father and opa make mediocre wines (well, mostly vinegar to be honest) from Texas grapes during his childhood to brewing a bunch of mediocre beer in the late ‘aughts until Tennessee finally repealed it’s crazy proh...

10-24-23 Tonight we're headed to the other side of the world, to New Zealand, to talk with Jay Bennett, owner and mead maker at Beehave! Craft Meadery, on the North Island, in Taupo. Jay lives in the center of the North Island of New Zealand and is the Mead alchemist and owner of Beehave! Craft Meadery. He lives in the bush at the southern end of Lake Taupo and operates the Meadery in the township of Taupo. In Jay's own words, He is an alchemist, a wizard and a guardian of the land. Jay first se...

Tonight at 9PM ET, we're talking with Ali and Shane Fox, owners of Dragon Meadery in Aurora, CO. Dragon Meadery is a craft meadery located in Aurora, CO. and is owned and operated by Shane & Alexandria Fox, two former chefs who have spent 20 years each in the restaurant & hospitality industry. Having a deep appreciation for food, and respect for the quality of the ingredients, have extended their passion to mead. They create craft meads that span the spectrum style, flavors, and sweetness. They ...

9-12-23 Tonight at 9PM ET, we'll be talking with Don Miller, head distiller and owner at Texas Rivers Distilling Company in Freeport, Texas. Texas Rivers Distilling Co. was created in February of 2019 in Brazoria County… “Where Texas Began”. They are an LLC registered with the State of Texas as a Distilled Spirits Manufacturer and engage in Distillation and Rectification of craft spirits. They make Bourbon, Rum, Sour and Sweet Mash, and Indian Corn (Milo) Whiskey; all sourced from Texas Grains, ...

8-15-23 Tonight we're talking with Ben Chaney, owner of Scale and Feather Meadery in Avondale, Arizona. Scale & Feather is a small meadery run by three friends, Ben and Tamara Chaney are high school sweethearts who are going strong with 25 years together. Amber DeGiso is a graphic design specialist–creates cool labels and logos. They specialize in using local ingredients to produce their products. Chaney and one of the other founders, Matt Cross, took a class at UC Davis to learn more about hone...

8-1-23 Tonight at 9PM Eastern we're headed out to Colorado, to talk with Mike and DJ from Honnibrook Meadery. AJ and I met Mike and DJ at the 2019 MeadCon and MazerCup, and I was *blown away* by their salted mango session mead (and all their other meads). These guys are doing something right, and if you haven't tried it, you need to. Kevin visited them in 2022 and loved their meads. Honnibrook Craft Meadery has been open for 4 and a half years now and the guys are really dialing in on serving se...

7-18-23 We are back from our hiatus with a new episode of GotMead Live. Tonight we're talking with Brian Woerner, founder of the World Honey Exchange. World Honey Exchange curates specialty honeys from places such as Chile, Columbia, Ethiopia, Mexico and Tanzania. They have provided honeys for meaderies to make unique meads. Brian Woerner is the Founder of World Honey Exchange, a company focused on creating and furthering linkages between honey producers and end makers of many kinds. Brian began...

11-29-22 Tonight we're chatting it up with Manny Elgarresta, friend, mead maker, previous co-host on Gotmead Live and denizen of Miami. Manny has been making mead for quite a while, and has even converted his garage to making mead, enhancing it so he could make mead and beer in the Miami heat. He has cooling systems, freezers as fermentation enclosures and has even decorated his mead cave with a ton of Star Wars memorabilia, much of it due to late nights with mead on Ebay and other sales sites. ...

11-15-22 Tonight we're headed to Illinois to talk with Luke Goucher and Carson Souza, proprietor and head brewer/meadmaker at Obscurity Brewing and Mead. Obscurity Brewing and Mead was founded 6 years ago, and has been open for the last 2.5 years, with Obscurity Mead Hall being open for about 1.5 years. The brewery side is a brew pub in Illinois that features would class Beer, BBQ, and Braggots. They focus on making the best product they can. The Mead Hall is a small niche tasting room with prod...

Tonight we're talking with Chad Wiltz, owner and meadmaker at Garagiste Meadery in Tampa, Florida. Chad has been making mead since 2014, and opened Garagiste in late in 2017, after winning the Home Meadmaker of the Year in early 2017. Chad had a life-altering event (though he didn't realize it at the time) in 2014, when he visited a small meadery in Michigan and tried their meads. And that started a quest for him. He wanted to have more mead that was THAT good, and headed back to Tampa to give i...

10-18-22 Tonight on Gotmead Live at 9PM ET, we're looking forward to talking with Keith Seiz with the National Honey Board. We usually like to have Keith and Alison on during National Honey Month in September, but this year we're doing October. We'll be finding out what the Honey Board has been up to, and talking about their Honey20 Project, the Mead Crafters Competition (5th year!), and the Honey Spirits Competition, as well as their other involvement with honey in craft beverages. We'll dig in...

October 4, 2022 - Tonight we're headed to the west coast, to talk with Mark Tanner, owner of Seattle Mead Company and Deception Cellars in Washington state. Mark is a Seattle native, and retired Army Lt. Colonel. He's been homebrewing for over 25 years, and making mead professionally since 2018. Mark got interested in mead a while back, and was the first Washington resident to pass the BJCP Mead exam, and went on to teach prep classes for the first two BJCP Mead exams in Washington. Mark opened ...

9-20-22 - Tonight is a night of mead and madness, as we welcome the Minnesota Mead Mafia gang to the show. Right on the heels of the Valkyries' Horn Mead Competition, this bunch of maniacal mead makers have a lot of great info to bring, and even more craziness. Matt Weide likes to make mead. He is also on the AMMA home board, Founding board member of the Valkyries Horn Mead Competition, 2014 Mead Maker of the Year and a BJCP endorsed mead judge. However, he mostly likes to drink mead. Nathan Ste...

9-6-22 Tonight at 9PM Eastern we're headed out to Colorado, to talk with Mike and DJ from Honnibrook Meadery. AJ and I met Mike and DJ at the 2019 MeadCon and MazerCup, and I was *blown away* by their salted mango session mead (and all their other meads). These guys are doing something right, and if you haven't tried it, you need to. Kevin visited them in 2022 and loved their meads. Honnibrook Craft Meadery has been open for 3 and a half years now and the guys are really dialing in on serving se...

Tonight at 9PM ET, we will be talking with Dan Kesterson at Antelope Ridge Mead in Colorado Springs, CO. Dan is the father of 2 boys, and he is an Army Veteran, Mechanical engineer, and the mead-maker at Antelope Ridge Mead. He started making mead when he received 30 lbs of local honey from hives on his Father-in-law's ranch in South Dakota. He immediately switched his focus from brewing beer to making mead after his first batch was a success. In 2019 they started planning to open a meadery wher...

7-12-22 Tonight we're chatting with Jeremy Kyncl, co-owner of Hierophant Meadery in Washington with Michelle, his wife, with two locations on the Green Bluff loop in Mead, Washington and a tasting room on Whidbey Island. Jeremy and his wife Michelle have a background in herbs and are focused on local-sourcing their mead ingredients and creating a uniquely local product. They love the 'back-to-nature' aspects of mead making, and all the nuances that plants can add to the mix at various stages of ...

Tonight at 9PM ET, we're hanging out with Bob Slanzi, beekeeper, meadmaker, industry influencer and general all around pretty cool guy. We're going to ramble around and talk mead both here in the US and in Europe. Bob Slanzi has been keeping bees and making award winning meads for years He is very active in the meadmaking, homebrew and beekeeping communities, having held offices in both his clubs in NY in the past. he is the past president of the Home Governing Committee of the American Mead Mak...

4-26-22 Tonight on Gotmead Live, we're talking with Rachel Lipman, owner of Loew Vineyards, in Mt. Airy, Maryland, one of the oldest vineyards in Maryland. The mead production in the Loew family dates back to the mid-1800's in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with a few prominent meaderies and distribution all over Europe. Rachel is one of the youngest winemakers in Maryland (if not the youngest), and she's pushing the boundaries in a male-dominated industry. Rachel is the granddaughter of Wolfgang ...

4-12-22 Tonight at 9PM ET we'll be getting together with RJ Cassle, head brewer and meadmaker at Bragging Rooster Beer, Mead and Cider in Warrenton, NC, just a half hour from Vicky's place. RJ is hard at work in getting Bragging Rooster to opening, which should be very soon! Robert J. Cassle aka RJ is a level 43 character in this game called life. He calls himself a jack of many trades and master of some. RJ spent 10 years in the military, 4 years in law enforcement, a few years as a Subway sand...