I discovered mead - fermented honey - next to a mountain stream just west of Crested Butte, Colorado shortly after my 21st birthday. I picked out a bottle of Redstone Black Raspberry Nectar for a night of camping, intrigued by the label. It was delicious! So delicious in fact that I drank the whole bottle. That had the effect of bringing me out of my shell, and one of my friends said, "Mark, you need to drink more mead!"

Over the next years I discovered more meads, some amazing and some mediocre, and in 2009 I started brewing my own. Two years later, at Elizabeth's suggestion, we got our own bees, and in 2012 the first batch of homegrown homebrewed mead emerged. Our bee operation keeps expanding, as does our production of mead.

For legal reasons, these meads are not for sale. That said, I often share them at gatherings and trade them for other homegrown or homebrewed goodies. I am also interested in scaling up production at some point. I chose Linnaea Meadery as the name to reflect both an essence of beauty and the myriad species of fruits, flowers, and spices that go into each mead.

I believe that life becomes meaningful through experiences, stories, and interconnections, and I want this to be reflected in my mead. Every batch has a story, from the history of the bees, the flowers in bloom, and the flavor profile of the honey to the crafting of the recipe, the friends who helped with brewing, and the finding of the other ingredients. It is my goal to tell that story so that those who sip experience not only the flavors but also the interacting storylines and web of local connections that conspire to bring this elixir to your lips.

Batches with an asterisk(*) are made entirely with our own honey. Batches with an "E" are Elizabeth's creations.

Last updated: 4-27-2016

Return to Mark's homepage