A beverage once drunk from chalices in great Viking halls is now elbowing its way back into your neighborhood bar.
Mead, or honey wine, is considered the world’s oldest booze: Now new generations are discovering it as meaderies begin to pop up in Illinois. WNIJ’s Under Rocks podcast team followed the sweet smell of fermenting honey to the Kane County village of Elburn. That’s where Obscurity Brewing has added craft meads to its beer and cider repertoire. We met with co-owner Luke Goucher and brewmaster Carson Souza.
Have a seat while Luke and Carson walk us through the mead-making process, celebrate the magic of honey bees, and explain fermentation in ways a five-year-old can understand.
Then they get to the part we’ve all been waiting for: how to taste and appreciate mead like a pro.
Feeling inspired and ready to DIY a jug of your own? WNIJ Blues Host Harold Brown gets an assist from Austin Cliffe as they brew up three very special meads: pawpaw, banana, and mystery flavor!
Thanks to everyone who pitched in on this sweet-but-not-cloying adventure: The staff of Obscurity Brewing and Mead, Claire Buchanan, Jared Ortega, Mike Lundgren, Harold Brown, Austin Cliffe, Dan Libman, Spencer Tritt, and Susan Stephens. Did we forget anyone?
Under Rocks is produced at Northern Illinois University by WNIJ. If you know about something odd, interesting, and unusual here in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin that deserves our spotlight, let us know at rocks@niu.edu or head to wnij.org/youask.
