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Matt explained that something the meadery were especially proud of was a 14.5 per cent traditional mead. While the pandemic has been a time of stress for the pair, who moved from their much smaller base in Chepstow and haven’t taken a wage since early 2020, pressure to produce top beer and mead has increased.
So, you are thinking of getting into beekeeping? Or know someone who is? We offer a intensive half-day beekeeping course to introduce you to the world... In the US, which has a slightly more developed mead market than the UK, [low abv] was a style that was growing in popularity,” Matt explains.vines of 15 different varieties cover an area of approximately a hectare. These old vines produce high quality grapes from which our white, rosé, red and sparkling wines are made. Over the years many awards, both national and international, have been won by our wines. Our specialities are Bacchus dry white, Pinot Noir rosé, and white and rosé sparkling wines.
The raspberry gives a nice acidity and it’s quite aromatic, quite punchy and quite fruit-forward. We then aged it on vanilla pods for six months to mellow it out,” says Kit. “It’s an unusual style, more commonly found in the US, and we are excited to see what the UK market thinks of it. It is expensive to brew as it is taxed heavily and the ingredients are more expensive compared to a typical wine – but it’s worth it.” I was about 13 or so when I approached a beekeeper at a country show and said I’d love to learn how to keep bees,” he explains. “The wages were terrible – a jar of honey for a day’s work – but I learned a lot.”The original plan was to try and make the mead and market it as a new and quirky drink,” Kit explained. “But people seem to have sought us out while looking for the old-fashioned mead.” The Three Tuns is a 16th Century Inn located next to the Castle in the historical town of Chepstow. The result was the 14.5%Traditional Mead that scooped a Gold Award in April at The Farm Shop & Deli Awards. I used to have to explain to everybody what it was,” Kit said. “When we went to do the fine food shows and wine fairs people had no idea what it meant. Recreate the taproom experience by drinking out of your very own Wye Valley Meadery glassware. Pints or Half Pint sizes available. The half pint glass...
The brothers hoped their sparkling ‘session mead’ would bring beer and cider drinkers into their world. It has an abv of 4%, far lower than traditional mead (which can be up to 20%). Wye Valley Meadery also pioneered a lighter sparkling mead, which is four per cent. "Everyone thinks of mead as this really heavy sweet drink that monks and Vikings had," said Kit. The vineyard is situated on a working farm where there is a small herd of pedigree Hereford cattle, sheep and ponies. That’s the product we’re most excited about. "The label artwork is done by an artist from Ross-on-Wye – Jessie Watkins."The business has also hired a full-time brewer and is planning to grow its on-trade presence after rolling out its first kegs.
Along your way you'll pass the first stone built castle in Wales at Chepstow, the majestic ruins of Tintern Abbey, the Georgian Monmouth Shire Hall, a Michelin stared restaurant and fantastic views over the valley. But even by the standards of culinary genius that this county has become accustomed to something special is brewing at a modest industrial estate in Caldicot. Come and make mead with us! We will cover all the basics so you can reliably make mead for yourself at home. You will also make 4.5 litres of your own... For many people, the word ‘mead’ conjures images of Vikings and medieval feasting halls. For brothers Kit and Matt Newell, it means something very different. The Wye Valley Meadery product lineup has expanded considerably since the original Honey & Hops made its debut. The sparkling 4% session mead range has grown to comprise six variants including Honey & Elderflower and Sour Cherry. There’s also a selection of beer under the Hive Mind sub-brand, and the brothers last year unveiled a traditional, wine-style mead.What actually is Mead? Here we explain the very basics of Mead, its origins and why we believe it is deserving of your consideration. Wye Valley Meadery's new premises in Caldicot's Severn Bridge Industrial Estate Picture: Ollie Barnes To create our meads, we use honey which we collect from our own beehives, dotted all around the beautiful hills of the Wye Valley region. This area is known for its high concentration of small leaf lime trees, and a high overall biodiversity of flora and fauna. After a tour, it is usually possible to book a meal at one of the local hotels. The Wye Valley Hotel is at the bottom of our drive and Sue and Barry would be pleased to hear from you. (Phone 01291 689441). If it is not through the rise of craft-brewing, the interest in home-brewing or even the surge in viking themed TV series, then maybe mead will be made popular again because of our passion at the Wye Valley Meadery. We want to make people see that mead is less ‘monks-and-druids’ and more ‘craft-beer-cool’. We want to breath new life into this age-old classic. We want to make mead new.