At 14 years old, listener William Dial was able to join a Living History group out of the University of Maryland called Markland. They would reenact the culture and battles of the Viking, Saxon and Norman period. During this time, he would learn about the culture and the people of the time and this gave him resources to explore even more. It was just a matter of time before William would learn about Mead.
Ryan and Jeff give an update to the Valkyries Horn mead competition in segment 2, and then wrap the show with a few Facebook friends.
Valkyries Horn is right around the corner, September 27-28 and the Mead House is sponsoring the braggot category. We hope to see many of you there as the whole Mead House crew will be in attendance!

Thanks for keeping the Mead House podcast free with your continued support, we appreciate all our listeners. Get a set of keys to the mead house, help keep the Mead House podcast free by subscribing to Patreon, when you do, Jeff will send you some great gifts!
And when you do get your key, it will unlock a couple of great interviews with Ash Fishbein from Sap House Meadery


Knowing the difference between cleaning and sanitizing is one of the basic fundamentals of brewing. Preventing off flavors from forming, keeping unwanted bacteria out, and making sure your equipment is properly cleaned and cared for is essential to keep consistency in your brew house. Jonathan Ettlie from Craft Meister National Chemical joins us this episode in an in depth conversation about cleaning and sanitizing. If you have questions, Jonathan says to 

He started his career out as an engineer, With degrees in Architectural and Civil Engineering on his resume, for ten years he worked in the land development and highway design industries. So how does a civil engineer go from blueprints of bridges to dumping 5 gallon buckets of honey into large vats of water for a living? Evan Henderson from
In this episode, we talk about the effects of oaking at different times during and after fermentation based on a study by Becca at 
Iron Bee first place winner Bert Mayer joins us in this episode. He has been making mead since he turned 21, and when all his friends bought set ups to make beer, his small apartment pushed him in a different direction. A mild hobby at first, he spent more of his time in the underground world of facial hair competitions. Since retiring from that after the World Championships in 2017, he has turned his focus back to the art of making mead, taking classes at UC Davis and the American Honey Tasting Society, as well as becoming a steward captain at the Mazer Cup. With hopes of someday opening a small tap room (a rolling 5 year plan), he hopes to just keep making things people enjoy drinking.
He’s a Minnesota-native, has six Mazer Cup wins, a Minnesota State Fair Best of Show and two first round placements in this year’s National Homebrew Competition. And, he’s only been making mead for a year and a half. Adam Bystrom joins us at the bar tonight.
A Hawaiian Luau mead, got any ideas or a recipe to share? Contact us at 
When asked what kinds of meads he likes to make, he answered this way, “What would I like to drink?” Award winning mead maker, Nathan Steigman drops in, he also put together the winning MVP Challenge mead at the 2019 Iron Bee. We’ll get Nathan’s perspective on mead making, and and ask him the source of his inspiration. Also in this episode, from the