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Eight years ago in Fall 2010, another meadery, Fallentimber, became one of the cottage wineries in Alberta. A prolific brewer, it evolved from Ryan’s Honey, which was established by Blake Ryan in 1969. Ryan’s honey is high-grade, unpasteurized and comes from Fallen Timber’s hives which are strategically placed along the eastern edge of the foothills to avail the bees of nature’s untainted nectar of wildflowers and clover.
We toured the former brewery this past summer guided by the owner, Dan, as well as the new, upgraded and bigger facility beside it. It was a delightful couple of hours spent in an almost fairy tale setting amidst trees in the forest on a Sunday afternoon. Some bees encountered during the tour added to the ambience of the experience. Learning about Ryan’s honey and Alberta grown ingredients that make Fallentimber’s products, as well as the brewing process, increased the intensity of our thirst for the tasting part of our visit.
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We were first introduced to the carbonated refreshers, more in the beer family, referred to by Fallentimber as Session Meads. These meads are crisp with less alcohol by volume (ABV) content than the wine varieties.
Meadjito: 5.5 % ABV. Brewed with honey, fresh lime and mint. The lime and the mint balance the sweetness of the honey.
Honeybuck: 5% ABV. A mixture of honey, fresh lemon and ginger. With an earthy aroma, the pleasant tastes of ginger and lemon come through without overpowering the mead.
Hopped: 7.5% ABV. Brewed with 75% Honey and 25% caramelized honey to give it a light golden colour. A tinge of bitterness comes from the Chinook and Cascade hops.
Next, we had a taste of the “Still Meads” or the wine variety.
Traditional: 13% alc. Fermented from honey and water. This mead has a floral aroma, slightly sweet with a well-rounded finish.
Saskatoon: 14% alc. Mead infused with Saskatoon berries, rhubarb and crap apple. The fruits tame the sweetness of the honey. It has a smooth finish.
From a couple of meadery tours and tastings, we learnt the gist in pairing meads with food. It follows grape wine’s basic pairing guideline - dry with dinner and sweet with dessert. Although there are a variety of nuances in each category of dry, sweet/smooth and bubbly, generally pairings would go like these:
Light, dry meads are great with chicken and fish
Medium meads are nice with pork, lamb, venison or veal
Dark and spiced meads work well with red meats and savoury dishes
Sweet meads compliment spicy foods well
Sparkling meads are great refreshments during sweltering summers
Guidelines are there to make it easier to choose. In the end however, it’s your palate that matters so you can drink any mead or wine with your food, according to what your taste dictates to be agreeable to you. For recipe ideas to enjoy with your drink, Trail Appliances has a collection for you to try. Should you run out of room in your fridge for your entertaining beverage collection, there are various beverage coolers to keep them cozy and ready to serve.
