Hello and welcome to our November 2024 and Birthday Newsletter! We missed sending out a newsletter for October – Mrs Mead’s Mum is poorly, and we just couldn’t keep all plates spinning. Now plans are in place, we are back to bring you up to date with everything we have been up to in Meadery HQ.
Product of the month – Krampus’ Spiced Mead
It is that time of year… so, it’s only right to shine the spotlight on another of our Mead Madness Cup Medal winners… have you been good? Or are you going straight in the sack to Hel?
Krampus and Mr Mead
The origins of Krampus are not clear cut. There are some who believe Krampus is the son of Hel, Norse god of the underworld and accompanies St Nicholas on the evening of 5th December (Krampusnacht; Krampus Night). Whilst St Nic rewards nice children by leaving presents, Krampus beats those who are naughty and the really bad children are taken to hell or eaten.
However, there seems to be little evidence beyond the early 16th Century when a folklore figure appeared as a marriage of the mythical creatures Perchten and Straggele. In the 17th Century, the Christian faith paired Krampus with St Nicholas as it was unseemly for a Saint to deliver punishments.
Modern culture has adopted Krampus as an ‘alternative’ to Santa and he even appears at some Christmas markets in Salzburg! In the UK, the Whitby Krampus Run, has been running since 2013, raising much needed funds for St Catherine’s Hospice and the Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary. The picture is one of the Krampus’ who visited Beltane at Thornborough in 2019. They were raising funds and awareness for the run.
In 2014 we took the risk of spicing up our Loki’s Mead for Yule 2014 and it was met with much praise. From customer feedback to produce a ‘lighter’ festive mead we approached Krampus’ Spiced Mead with the knowledge that most mulled wines contain some orange zest. This left us the choice of either Freya or Aegir. With Krampus being male in 2015 we ‘ran’ with Aegir (Ran is Aegir’s wife and the Krampus run) and the rest is history.
Krampus’ Spiced has stayed as a festive addition to our line-up, however he does work well all year round for those summer nights by the firepit either in the garden or in a field. Serve Krampus’ Spiced warm, he does not like being cold. From warming a glass in the microwave, warming in a bain-marie or keeping him warm in a soup terrine on the bar (this has been proven to increase revenue on food sales!), his blend of spices will be filling the room with that festive aroma. So for that naughty tipple look no further than Krampus’ Spiced Mead, but, be warned, you will need food around to satiate those hunger pangs the spices create!
Tantalise your taste buds or gift to friends who love a good Festive tipple and put them on to the splendour that is our Krampus’ Mead!
News from the Meadery
We haven’t learned in our 11 years of trading – DON’T PUT ON FERMENTS AS THE WEATHER CHANGES!
This is why we are short on a number of flavours at the moment. The change in temperature massively messes about with the fermentation process and the brews we put on at the end of August are only just beginning to move along the production process. They have finally finished fermenting and are off the lees (dead yeast) – that’s as far as they have gotten in EIGHT WEEKS! Still, they’re always better for a slow fermentation, even if it’s rather annoying when we are waiting for stock.
The new Aegir decided to MLF too – despite it being older than the usual 6 months we allocate. Baldur is still sulking in the corner. Every time we think we can filter him again; he has another temper tantrum – it really is like working in a nursery sometimes!
We have just started on getting mini bottles through the bottle washer, so we can start on the gift packs. We are hoping that by the time we have bottled the Skadi’s, Freya’s and Odin’s, Aegir’s will be ready – fingers crossed.
Birthday Celebrations!
As mentioned, we will be 11 years old on 1st November 2024! Way back in 2013 at the start of our journey, we didn’t think we would be where we are now – still going with so many varied trade customers and events we trade at – and it’s all down to you guys, our loyal and supportive customers! We know times are hard and cash is mainly flowing outwards but small businesses really are grateful for the custom and support from their customers so THANK YOU SO MUCH for being a part of our journey. Hopefully, you (and many more!) will still be here in another 11 years – that would blow the minds of the 2013 Meadmeister and Mrs Mead!
So, to celebrate, we will be giving everyone who places an order, through the website, on 1st November 11% off their entire order (not including postage). Additionally, this will also be available on your Product of the Month. A little birthday gift from us to you.
As you can imagine, we are packed to the rafters with trading events with everybody getting the gifts purchased for the big day. Our next trading events are listed below. The full list can be found here.
November 3rd – Ormskirk Artisan Market
November 9th – Northwich Artisans Market
November 16th – Southport Artisan Market
November 23rd – Lark Lane Farmers Market
November 23rd – Georgonzola Deli, Clitheroe
November 30th – St George’s Church, Altrincham
We will be back with our next newsletter in December. Please head over to google and leave us some fantastic reviews. This helps keep us visible when people are searching for all things mead!
In the meantime, you can keep up to date with all our antics and meady goings on by following us on our blog page, Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram and TikTok!