Londonderry, NH – Moonlight Meadery has set a date for the release of Utopian (batch #9) for February 18th, 2016. This traditional mead has been fermented and aged for the past 5 years in American oak barrels that Boston Beer Company so generously provided to Moonlight Meadery, a fledgling meadery back in January 2011.
Mead is a fermented beverage made from honey. Like a fine cognac, mead tends to mature at a slower pace. The natural preservative qualities of honey extend the benefits of aging and allow for intricate and complicated nuances from the barrel. As the seasons change the mead expands into the oak picking up flavors of what was previously stored in these barrels. It’s going to be a while for the next release, as Moonlight is planning a release of batch #10 in 2021.
“It takes a lot of patience to let a mead that you made 5 years ago sit and mature to perfection,” says Michael Fairbrother, founder and head mead maker at Moonlight Meadery and President of the American Mead Makers Association.
Fairbrother is internationally known as one of the world’s best mead makers. He has presented twice over the past two years at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis, and has been a featured guest speaker for the past five years.
Earlier batches of Utopian have earned medals two years in a row at the Mazer Cup International, the largest mead competition in the world, often considered the GABF (Great American Beer Festival) equivalent for mead held annually in Colorado.
Utopian #9 is a limited release with as little as three cases being allocated per state.
About Moonlight Meadery:
Moonlight Meadery’s award winning meads and ciders are crafted in Londonderry, New Hampshire, USA. Open for tours and tastings Monday to Saturday. Distribution is to 34 states across America; internationally to Australia with Japan, China, and Hong Kong in the works.