Colorado’s booze scene has an previous beverage on the upward push — mead.
Whilst the Centennial State is understood for its craft beer scene, Michael Fagan has eyes just for the honey-derived beverage. He based Honnibrook Meadery in Citadel Rock 5 years in the past with DJ Kurtz, when there have been best about 10 meaderies within the state.
“It’s indubitably a fast-growing trade and it’s truly roughly amusing at the moment,” Fagan mentioned. “It’s roughly how beer used to be within the ’80s. There’s numerous white area.”
The choice of meaderies is now as much as 23. And Fagan and Kurtz are increasing their industry too. Honnibrook is including a 2nd taproom, this time in downtown Littleton at 5757 S. Rapp St., in a development Fagan calls “the cottage.”
Fagan mentioned Honnibrook has turn out to be a vacation spot position the place folks can find out about “the oldest beverage recognized to guy,” and he sought after a 2nd location that may succeed in extra folks than the Citadel Rock warehouse area.
“This assets in Littleton got here up and we noticed that lets do one thing truly particular with it, like a cottage lawn,” he mentioned.
They signed a hire for the old fashioned, 1,000-square-foot area ultimate week and await making an investment over $150,000 in updating the 114-year-old development. Fagan mentioned they’re investment the buildout from Honnibrook’s earnings and private financing. The meadery did $420,000 in gross sales ultimate 12 months.
Ahead of Honnibrook, Fagan and Kurtz deliberate to open a brewery. However whilst taking industry categories, Fagan mentioned, they began experimenting with mead and, after you have just right comments from classmates, modified path.
“It used to be gentle bulbs,” Fagan mentioned. “Do you need to be one among 800 breweries in Colorado or, on the time … 10 meaderies within the state? We wish to be one among 10 as an alternative of 800.”
Mead, which is made via fermenting honey, water and yeast, is typically made similar to wine, leading to an excessively candy, high-alcohol beverage. However, with a background in homebrewing, Fagan mentioned he approaches mead fermentation equivalent to brewing.
Fagan described Honnibrook’s mead as heavier than craft beer, however lighter than wine. The result’s a much less candy mead with a 6.2-percent alcohol content material. The meadery now has about 90 mead recipes, the most well liked being the peach habanero mead.
After perfecting their strategies, Fagan and Kurtz opened Honnibrook in a 1,000-square-foot warehouse unit at 2276 Manatt Court docket. They’ve been on a enlargement spurt since. Fagan mentioned they’ve added 3 extra gadgets to the unique area and still have 4,500 sq. ft.
The Citadel Rock meadery, which is divided between a manufacturing facility and taproom, produced just about 8,000 gallons of mead ultimate 12 months and is ready to surpass that this 12 months.
“I believe the object that surprises numerous folks is it’s essentially the most sustainable beverage recognized to guy,” he mentioned. “Honey simply occurs, you don’t must farm it, you don’t must water it. It’s a byproduct of agriculture.”
Honnibrook assets its honey from Colorado Springs’ Lockhart Honey Farms and distributes to 22 craft tasting rooms in Colorado. It’s additionally offered within the liquor retailer Bevy’s.
With the Colorado trade increasing, Fagan mentioned his objective is so as to add extra Honnibrook taprooms across the state to coach folks about mead.
“We’re roughly looking to create an enjoy,” Fagan mentioned. “It’s no longer with regards to ingesting and having a great time. “I believe that’s the rationale we’ve been tremendous common in Citadel Rock. I’m hoping we will be able to do the similar factor in Littleton and get the phrase out that mead isn’t this horrifying bizarre beverage, it’s if truth be told great and sustainable.”
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This tale used to be reported via our spouse BusinessDen.