11-4-25 Tonight we’re talking with Bill Bellair, founder of the Michigan Mead Coalition. We’re going to talk about mead in competition.

Bill Bellair began his mead-making journey in 2008 when his mother expressed interest in trying tej, a traditional Ethiopian honey wine, which was unavailable locally. His early attempts—while not without the occasional "bottle bomb"—yielded surprisingly delicious results.

Following this, Bill turned his attention to beer brewing, and it would be several years before he returned to crafting mead. During this time, he joined the Metro Enologist 'n' Zymurgist (MENZ) club, where he expanded his skills in winemaking. This experience gave him valuable insight into the mistakes he had made in his early mead-making efforts, reigniting his passion for the craft.

This marked the beginning of a dedicated era of mead production that continues to this day. In 2019, Bill founded the Michigan Mead Coalition, the state's largest mead-exclusive organization. The coalition has fostered a thriving community of skilled brewers, many of whom have earned prestigious awards and even pursued the coveted title of Mead Maker of the Year.

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Look no further than Honnibrook Craft Meadery in Castle Rock, Colorado, for your go-to destination for wonderful, light, and refreshing mead! We have 20 meads on tap and four seasonal mead slushees. 

Go to honnibrook.com for review our tap list, upcoming events and to order online!

If you want to ask your mead making questions, you can send us a question via email, join to ask a question on the show, or via X @realGotMead and we'll tackle it online! The show runs from 9PM EDT/6PM PDT (United States) for about 2 hours.

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Upcoming Shows

November 18 - Blair Houseley - Etowah Meadery

December 2 - Blöm Meadworks

Show links and notes

Let There Be Melomels by Rob Ratliff

The Big Book of Mead Recipes by Rob Ratliff

Let There Be Session Meads by Rob Ratliff

Upcoming Events

Nov 7 - Funktastic Meads and Beer, Midlothian, VA - Mead and Music by Damian Allen

Nov 7 - B. Nektar Meadery, Ferndale, MI - Open Mic Night Comedy

Nov 8 - St. Ambrose Cellars, Beulah, MI - Mead and Cheese Pairing with the Cheese Lady

Nov 8 - UNL Bee Lab & Kimmel Orchard, Nebraska City, NE - Mead Making Workshop

Nov 8 - Stardust Cellars, Wilkesboro, NC - Mead Making Course

Nov 8 - Stardust Cellars, Wilkesboro, NC - Harvest Mead Fest

Nov 8 - Grimsby Hollow Meadery, Middleville, MI - Drink Mead, Learn Things: Potions, Poisons and Snake Oil

Nov 9 - St. Ambrose Cellars, Beulah, MI - Sunday Brunch

Nov 13 - Silver Hand Meadery, Williamsburg, VA - 10th Anniversary Dinner Series - Mead Pairing Dinner

Nov 15 - St. Ambrose Cellars, Beulah, MI - Mead and Cheese with the Cheese Lady

Nov 18 - WTF What to Ferment Meadery, Milford, DE - Mead and Cookie Pairing

Nov 20 - Nucleus Mead, Linesville, PA - Mead and Read

Nov 22 - Crafted Artisan Meadery, Mogadore, OH - Mead and Meditation

Nov 22 - Dawg Gone Bees Meadery & Apiary, Hanover, PA - Mead Making Class

Nov 22 - Four Brothers Mead, Festus, MO - Tom Borek and Veronica Mary Agnes Musician live music

You can buy mead online at https://shopmeads.com