TK & Drinks

22/06/2024

Friday Night Mead Review- Mountain Due from Mountain Due is a Mountain Dew soda clone. It's sweet, lightly carbonated, and sits at 5.5%.

The aromatics start with a light bread ye**ty front, then give way to that familiar Mountain Dew citrus, sugary character on the back side. Nothing else of note is present on the nose.

The hue is about as true to the actual Mountain Dew product as possible. Small carbonation bubbles are present, and the legs are on the thinner side. A mild haze is present without any particulates.

The flavor is quite true to the Mountain Dew soda, without any honey character noticeably left. My guess is it that actual Mountain Dew soda syrup concentrate was added to a session traditional for this one. There is a mild amount of cloying happening, with a developed, moderate body, and lingering mouthfeel, quite similar to the sodal. There isn't as much of an acidity presence as I was expecting, or wanting to cut through the sweetness, and almost no tannic value.

Overall, I imagine if you're a Mountain Dew ju**ie, this will be your bag because it's basically soda with 5.5% abv. I don't much care for this, but to be fair, I don't care for Mountain Dew for all the same reasons: it's sugary & cloying to the point of acid reflux.

Aromatics 6/10
Appearance 5/6
Flavor 17/24
Overall Impression 6/10

Total 34/50

**ie

14/06/2024

Visiting to grab that elusive Czech Red Lager, 4 All Intensive Purposes. We'll'll see Salt & Oak pouring up coming to RVA this October 19th. Whis going to be there and grab some of these crazy good brews?

**ie

29/05/2024

Tonight I had an unprompted visit to in Alabaster, Alabama. I got to share a few meads with Matt, Josh, and some of the locals here in town. Their BA traditional is wonderful, along with their Orange Margarita, both are delightful. We did a quick share and trade and made the most of a shirt evening together. I'll definitely be back for a mead podcast and collab with their YouTube show Mead Talk, asap.

24/05/2024

Moving Situation Update: Blow out on the I-10 outside El Paso, TX. Everyone and everything is safe, although a bit shaken. Tire fixed and and back on the road to Virginia!

01/05/2024

Sadly I can't make it this year, but who is going to make it?

Who’s getting excited!

25/04/2024

Tonight, I'm joined by Alyson Schramm Neager, the Chair of the Mead Institute and James Naeger of Schramm's Mead. They give me some insight into the Mead Institutes' origin, their current aim for making a global standard for Mead and mead ingredient quality, as well as setting up a mead competition that's judged more in alignment with wine competitions. I love me some open discussion, and we certainly had that tonight. What's your thoughts on the Mead Institute? Are you a member? Did you compete in the US Mead Open?

https://youtu.be/K9dnBOm0qgg?si=oWCc-TFAFPQDegZ4

18/04/2024

Well, that was a bust. Tonight, I was supposed to be joined by the American Mead Makers Association but unfortunately, they pulled a no call/ no-show on me. So, instead of asking them, I pose my general questions and concerns to you, the internet, for open discussion.

Do you agree with my thoughts? Did I overstep a line? Was I completely out of my lane? Did I not go far enough?

I'd love any feedback you have and any questions you'd like to add to the discussion. Let's keep the discourse going and help mead get to the proper status it deserves 🍻

Well, that was a bust. Tonight, I was supposed to be joined by the , but unfortunately, they pulled a no call/ no-show on me. S...

07/04/2024

Upcoming Interviews

05/04/2024

Yeast Talk - 🤓 Tonight, I'm joined by two amazingly knowledgeable yeast scientists to discuss yeast and its history and evolution into bread, beer, and wine making. is the owner of in North Wilkesboro, NC, and Dr. Caiti Heil of the Heil Lab at NC University is Raleigh, NC. We discuss what yeast is, yeast anatomy, yeast evolution alongside humans, the differences between strains of brewing yeast, baking vs. non-baking yeast, and answer some viewer questions.Start sending me your follow-up questions, let's get prepped for round 2 🤙🏼🍻

https://youtu.be/i5-pWh2MFgY?si=Az0OVzA-5GG_5IKB

28/03/2024

I'm really amazed at how awesome everybody in the mead community is. John and Nina over at Rag and Bone Meadery in South Jersey are a couple of home meadmakers turing commercial. They host a YouTube channel that inspired me to do what I'm doing, so a big thanks to them for that. They're also making historical meads for the and their historic events.

Living on an almost 10-acre farm, they keep bees and have the desire to create an estate mead program in the future. Be sure to give them a follow and keep up to date on their progress. 2024 is sure to be there year! Cheers!

I'm really amazed at how awesome everybody in the mead community is. John and Nina over at Rag & Bone Meadery in South Jersey are a couple of home meadmakers...

27/03/2024

Wow, I'm always so impressed by the mead community. Cody and the crew at Three Hands Mead Company in Plant City, FL have been open since '21 and he is one of the great customer focused meaderies out thete. They offer a host of drink options besides mead in their taproom, a full door of craft beer and cider support their tapwall, which also has handles supporting beers and ciders. With everything from dry to sweet, traditional to berry bomb, Three Hands caters to the mead rookie and connoisseurs alike. Go give them a follow, or better yet, stop in and grab a mead!

Wow, I'm always so impressed by the mead community. Cody and the crew at in Plant City, FL have been open since '21 and he is one of the grea...

26/03/2024

from the Florida, Appreciate you

**ie **ie

24/03/2024

Getting down on some of that D3B from while prepping for my upcoming yeast talk with my microbiologist panel. Be sure to join us April 3rd for a discussion on baking vs. brewing yeasts and their evolution 🍻

Double Barrel Blueberry Breakfasts is an amazing blueberry melomel aged in a rye for 15 months and a maple bourbon barrel for 4 months. The rye on the nose is super intense, I was worried it was going to be whiskey forward on the mouth, almost like a blueberry vanilla whiskey. But it's very pleasant and balanced well. The berries are very true to the fruit, not seeming like concentrate. Full body, great mouth feel, and lingering after taste. It's definitely sweet, but balanced enough to be a crushable sipper. Totally envious, this is the type of mead I want to make 💜💜💜🍻

21/03/2024

Tonight I had the pleasure of speaking with Greg Quinn of CurrantC Currant Farm in the Hudson Valley upstate NY. Currants, if you're not in the know, are a wonderful tart black or red berry (and a few other color variations) that were outlawed in America for nearly 100 years! Greg took up a personal quest in the early 2000s to end the ban on currants, and in 2003, achieved that goal and is now the largest supplier of currants in the US.

Visit currantc.com for bulk orders of IQF berries or frozen concentrate. They are very welcoming and friendly towards the mead making community.

https://youtu.be/hVB-F_73AtU?si=NhOH9nTyAbCy6xm7

Tonight I had the pleasure of speaking with Greg Quinn of CurrantC Currant Farm in the Hudson Valley upstate NY. Currants, if you're not in the know, are a w...

18/03/2024

A weekend drinking collabs 💜 Big thanks to Rico, , and for the monsters. And thanks to for the proper glassware 🫡🍻

14/03/2024

The hits keep coming! Tonight, I speak with Lynn from Juniper Tree Meadery in Paragould, AR. Lynn gives us an insight into a side of commercial mead making that is rarely discussed, the health department. He goes over the issues he faced and how they overcome them by working with the state government to make sure that Juniper Tree and future meaderies in Arkansas had a firm path to getting licensed.

https://youtu.be/caSsvGML-vU?si=5rv19GJbgcCrNaj-

13/03/2024

The coolest coasters in mead. Probably. Go get a couple.

Check it out! Constellation designs dropped off another pile of slate Coasters!! 5 bucks a pop!

09/03/2024

Tonight, I'm joined by Cassandra Gore of B&G Meadery - Handcrafted MEAD in Stonewall, Oklahoma. B&G focuses on a core 8 mead flavors with a rotation of seasonal as well. Along with being the first meadery in Oklahoma, they are female owned and operated 🤌🏼 Family ran on a large piece of land, and with growth leaning towards a larger production space, rentable cabins, plus live music and comedy venue and a restaurant, B&G aims to be a destination to discover 🍻

Tonight, I'm joined by Cassandra Gore of B&G Meadery in Stonewall, Oklahoma. B&G focuses on a core 8 mead flavors with a rotation of seasonal as well. Along ...

08/03/2024

04/03/2024

Today, on a special episode of TK.& Drinks, I speak with Jason Rolhoff of about the recent revoking of his Best of Show award at a recent mead competition for what are, in my opinion, subjective interpretations of the rules.

This sparked me to open a discussion about the subjectivity of rules in mead comps and the influencing bodies who support and arguably govern the comp organizers.

What are your thoughts on mead competitions? Do you enter them? How do you feel about mead trading being a potentially disqualification event? Am I over playing this situation and making a mountain of a molehill?

Today, on a special episode of TK.& Drinks, I speak with Jason Rolhoff of about the recent revoking of his Best of Show award at a recent mea...

29/02/2024

Honey nerd alert! 🚨 Tonight, we discuss Zambezi Gold Miambo honey with Ken Schramm of Schramm's Mead, Dr. Garth Cambray of Makana Meadery in South Africa, and Daniel Ball of Forest Fruit Ltd and Zambezi Gold.

Dan has been a Zambian resident for the majority of his life and works with local beekeepers to supply the world with top-tier organic forest honey. The Miambo honey is full of earthy, woody, and drak fruit characteristics that will add a unique shine to your meads across the board (imo).

Dr. Garth Cambray also lends his decades of experience with the Zambezi honey to the conversation as well as a few stunning stories from his past.

Finally, Ken Schramm gives his personal account of the honey profile and some insight into potential fermentation routes to go with this wonderful treat.

Please email [email protected] or [email protected] for details.

Honey nerd alert! 🚨 Tonight, we discuss Zambezi Gold Miambo honey with Ken Schramm of Schramm's Mead, Dr. Garth Cambray of Makana Meadery in South Africa, a...

22/02/2024

Tonight was a fantastic interview with Michael Fairbrother from Moonlight Meadery Hidden Moon Brewing and Over the Moon Farmstead.

Michael is a legacy meadmaker with 25+ years of experience. He helped define the 2015 BJCP Guidelines that are still the standard used today for the vast majority of mead competitions. He let's us in on a bit of history, mead flavors, scaling up a meadery, and gives a great take on how to grow your meadeary when going commercial.

Tonight was a fantastic interview with Michael Fairbrother from Moonlight Meadery, Hidden Moon Brewing, and Over the Moon Farmstead in Londonderry, NH.Michae...

16/02/2024

I love trading meads. And I love collabs. Shout out to the homie for swapping me these collab bottles from 🍻 featuring The After Party with 💣 Demiurge with 😎 and Wereldwijd with 😍 Plus a surprise bottle of Coconut Stroopwaffle 🤯 Will definitely be a sweet weekend 💜

08/02/2024

That was an amazingly awesome conversation with the one and only Brickterranean Beer Hut 💜 Brick is known for his high abv cellos and braggots, as well as stouts and barleywines.

He uses the moniker and does the name justice. Well thought out flavors with an even more thought out process, Brick is, in my opinion, on the cutting edge of the craft alcohol industry. Go give him a follow and grab some glassware 🍻

That was an amazingly awesome conversation with the one and only Brickterranean Beer Hut 💜 Brick is known for his high abv cellos and braggots, as well as s...

07/02/2024

Good day y'all. I'm putting together a video regarding the AMMA and would love to hear your thoughts and opinions, positive, negative, or otherwise, in the comments or in a DM.

07/02/2024

Good day y'all. I'm putting together a video regarding the AMMA and would love to hear your thoughts and opinions, positive, negative, or otherwise, in the comments or in a DM. Picture for algorithm, and cause it's funny.

02/02/2024

from the homie .clifford.343 Thanks for the goodies 🍻

01/02/2024

Due to technical difficulties, this interview will have to be rescheduled. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Tonight I'll be joined by AMMA Meadmaker of the Year Allen Martin! We'll be discussing a variety of topics so be sure tonjoin the livestream and get your questions in!

Going Live at 6pm PST

31/01/2024

Tonight I'll be joined by AMMA Meadmaker of the Year Allen Martin! We'll be discussing a variety of topics so be sure tonjoin the livestream and get your questions in!

Going Live at 6pm PST

24/01/2024

Here we go again! Can't wait for this year's lineup. Who's heading out that way this year?